Fools Afloat. Day 8.

Day 8 Saturday 9^th June 2018

0700hrs. Another clear blue sky. Flat calm, no wind. This was Suzie’s last morning aboard the Chrysanthi.  Her cab was booked for 0800hrs to take her to the Airport. All had begged her to stay another week but alas she had family commitments. We all hugged and wished her a safe homeward journey. She passed her bergan up onto deck and Mike took it onto the jetty where we were soon joined by Tim. He was to walk her the short 500 metres to the taxi rank. There was no point in him seeing her away at the airport. This would only incur more cost. With Suzie now departed we were down to four. That meant promotion for the Stopportons and with that extra responsibility!!

0835 hrs. The order was given, “Prepare ship for sea.” Well something like that. Perhaps not quite so dramatic. We set about tasks. The spring line was taken in, hatches closed and all loose items stowed. With David at the helm, the motor was fired, Tim let slip the aft warps and on command Mike let go the forward warp. Meanwhile Jackie was finishing the last furl of the Bimini. Within minutes we had passed through the harbour mouth and Kardemena was falling astern.

There was no wind. It was mirror calm. We motored onward towards ?????. Several times we cut the engines hoping for some wind to fill the gib. Nothing. On we motored. Toady we had a mere ten miles to cover we had done almost five before we managed to find some wind. The sails barely filled but with the correct trim set by Tim and good helmsmanship by Jackie we managed a steady 5 knots.

The entrance around the mole was narrow but of a good depth. Tim stood in the bow, forward lookout and directed David at the helm to a berth. The harbour was fairly deserted there were ample moorings. Having chosen, with good teamwork we were soon tied up and congratulating ourselves on our performance.

1100hrs. Palon Harbour. Nisiros. 36*37’.24 N 27*10’.44E.  Alongside. Soon a Turkish gin palace arrived, stern to like us. It had a male crew of two and the owner and his wife. They docked with the minimum of fuss apart from when David pointed out the potential trip hazard with their gangplank passing under  our starboard aft warp. Someone on board was not happy with this and they moved a few meters away. Again with total proficiency.

This was in total contrast to  a French yacht that was attempting to come alongside on our port side. All, bar the ‘Captain’ on board, could see he had his motor going too fast and had not aligned his reverse in line with his anchor and chain. Many shouted ‘slow down’ but the guy seemed to be flustered. He hit the boat moored on his port side bounced off and was headed for us on the rebound when he managed to regained control and took her out for another couple or three attempts. Eventually with Tim, David and a few other guys on the quay shouting instructions they managed to get the boat stern to and tied up. It seems they had problems with the anchor chain not feeding out correctly. At this point neither Mike or Jackie had any input, we were busy literally swabbing the decks. We had run a hose from the shore and filled our water tanks and took the opportunity of the fresh water to wash down the decks. It is surprising how dirty they can get. Mostly dust blown on board when in harbour.

The Captain. A strict disciplinarian.

This sleepy little harbour is not on the general tourist route. The grockle boats seemed to have by passed it. At this time of day it had an innocent charm but later tonight? Who knows, there were berths a plenty. We shall see how many yachts arrive. Literally twenty metres from our stern lay a charming looking Resto called Ellinis. We noticed that they advertised a laundry service.

 

We gathered up all sheets, pillowcases, towels, tea towels and such personal kit that needed washing, counted and listed all items then Tim and Mike walked over and dropped it in their laundry room. An area out back of the resto with a solitary washing machine. Because Tim and I were considered good looking fellows the charge would be E8 per 5 kilo. Before I could ask, we were told if we had been ugly, the cost would have been E10.

The Captain at Ellinis updating the log.

Ellinis resto was one of those blue and white tablecloth restos. Tables facing the boats, good overhead cover and with just the right amount of potted green shrubs to add charm. It looked clean and well kept. Not only was the menu comprehensive but the English speaking owner, his waitress, cum laundry girl and chef were also polite and keen to answer our questions.

We returned to the boat and suggested we go ashore try a beer and check out the Wi-Fi. That occupied another hour. The place was quiet. Charming but quiet.

The afternoon, hot with a gentle breeze was spent under the bimini reading or in Mike’s case catching a few zeds for an hour. It’s tiring this sailing business. 

A short walk around part of the harbour, the other half we can do tomorrow, brought us to the car hire ‘shop’. Now this harbour and village is small. 36*37’.24 N 27*10’.44E. The bike, quad, car hire business is very much a local affair. As we approached the young girl stood up and said ‘Calimira’, Good morning. We replied likewise but as our path took us away onto the North harbour wall she soon sat down again. Business here cannot be that fast. The visiting yachts might offer some half day rental business and there seems to be a few Greek tourists but this lovely harbour of Palon on the Greek island of Nisiros is seemingly a forgotten back water. The larger harbour option is Mandraki a few miles away on the same coastline. Here there is also another caste of the Knights of St John.

 

Returning to the boat Tim was already at ‘our table’ we had booked it earlier, reading from his laptop. We waved at the young girl whom David had named Aphrodite, popped below decks changed t shirts and emerging into the saloon was met by David who had just woken. “Common David, scrans up.” We walked across the road and had a very pleasant meal. Fillet fish with salad and chips for Tim and Jackie, Lamb chops for David and stuffed Calimari with chips for Mike. Callimari here is the whole squid with wings and is a feast in its own right without the stuffing, vine leaves, rice and herbs, salad and chips. E12. About the same as you would pay for maybe a dozen calamari rings in batter at home. The tables started to fill and when we left at 2130hrs there were still people arriving. They closed a little after 2300hrs. David had left shortly before us, he was so tired he was virtually falling asleep at the table we paid for the meal, in cash, E120 their comms for the credit cards was poor!

On board we spent about fifteen minutes in the cockpit, ‘sans alcohol’ before retiring. 

 

The local supermarket.

Fools Afloat. Day 7.

Day 7 Friday 8^th June 2018

We had made arrangements last night for the waterman to top off our tanks at 0700hrs. I was awake about 0600hrs thinking about getting up when the boat started rocking fairly roughly again. Nowhere near as bad as yesterday morning but enough to get me on deck to see what was happening. I could see nothing. However the number of people walking past indicated to me that the Ferry must be in. These Greek ferries which criss cross the islands show little respect for other shipping or any posted speed limits. Their attitude seems to be ‘I’m trying to earn a living, these other boats are just tourists.’ Hence we get woken at Oh Christ Double O by their wash.

0700hrs came and went. No waterman. Whilst Tim went to the port office to see where he was Mike laid out the water hose, connected it to both our stern tank and the tap on shore and turned it on. Checked the water was flowing and turned off again. Not long after the waterman arrived, saw all was connected asked “is that your boat?” “Yes.” And then asked “Why have you not turned the tap on?” “We were told to wait for you.” He shrugged his shoulders. Turned on the tap and cycled away again.

0751hrs. Departed Kos Old Harbour under power. Once outside the harbour we hoisted gib and main and soon had a Gullwing out and were running before the wind. There was a good strong wind for the next couple of hours as we ran South down the coast of Kos. On this side of the island there was little to no habitation. Mike was offered the helm and gladly took it. The wind fairly bowling us along. Six knots being the average but often we were in the upper sevens, touching eights. At one point I managed 9.9 knots a very respectable speed. Tim and David had been sailing for five weeks and had only reached this speed once before when Jane, Suzie’s sister had the helm. Thus I was joint record holder.

There were only two small glitches.

The one that causes me the most embarrassment is when with the boat, running tight to the wind was hit by a sudden, even stronger gust of wind, despite it blowing strong, the boat really started to heel over. We had done this on a few occasions earlier today but this seemed quite violent. I recall squealing like a little girl and shouting “Tim.” He, stood behind the other wheel was glanced down at the Garmin, looked up and immediately grabbed the wheel and put us hard a’larboard, into the wind, the situation was resolved. Lesson. If in doubt face into the wind.

The other occasion was when the wind dropped off as though the ‘fan’ had been switched off. The gib, we had taken in the main at this point, flew to the other side and we turned a complete circle. Most strange.

1230hrs Motor into Kali Harbour. This according to the charts had a very shallow draft. We had 2.1 metres under the keel and so took our entrance with caution. To add to the inconvenience there was a strong wind blowing us. Yes the sails were down but when the engine was placed in slow or neutral the wind took over. Most disconcerting. Eventually we tied up on the furthest side from the tavernas and other moored yachts. We broke out the beer and congratulated ourselves upon what had been a tricky manoeuvre getting alongside. We had also fixed springs.

After a while, sat relaxed, the Coastguard drives up and tells us we will have to move as we are berthed on the cross island ferry point. Politely pointing out there is nothing to indicate this he too shrugs his shoulders and walks away. He expects us to move and of course we do. He has directed us to the side of a sign that says Mary Magdalene. We reverse in and warp up.

 

M and J go ashore to stretch their legs and try to locate a resto for tonight. At some point we enter a gift shop where there were various objects stamped with Donkey logos. T shirts mugs, towels etc. We bought a Donkey bottle opener for Callum. The lady spoke good English and I asked where we might find a good Greek resto selling traditional food. “You want fish chips?” “No, if we wanted Fish and chips we would have stayed in England.” She gave us a card of a resto she maintained she ate in owned by a Greek family and suggested we try there.

Walking back towards the harbour we bumped into Suzie who was off in search of Honey to take home tomorrow as a gift. She was also on the lookout for a taxi rank to organize her cab to the airport tomorrow am. “Tim’s in a bar around the corner.” She said. We found him online on Wi-Fi updating his log. We sat with Tim for a beer for a while before returning to the boat. The Stopportons still restless then decided to walk to Anemos resto on the seafront which had been recommended as a good Greek family restaurant on a recce. As much to locate it in anticipation of tonight’s meal as something to do. This part of town was nowhere near as commercialized as the far side of the harbour. The other side as you walked past a bar you were accosted “Best fish and chips.” “Good burgers.” These statements reinforced by huge plasticised boards with all the combinations available. ‘Blackpool in the Aegean’. We turned a corner and there was Anemos. It looked pretty good. We were welcomed and I asked if we could look at a menu for this evening. Nothing was too much trouble. He named various fishes that had been landed today and would be on the menu. We returned to Chrysanthi.

I had been sat in the cockpit beneath the shade of the bimini updating my diary. My eyes kept closing. Sod it I thought, I would go below and have a snooze. This would be the first time I had taken a nap during the day in the six days we had been aboard. Below in the cabin I switched on the 12v bulkhead fan, the two small ‘portholes’ did not allow that much ventilation, and stretched out on the bed. Just before I dropped off I was joined by Jackie. The time was 1530 hrs.

1700hrs. There was commotion. It was that which brought me to wakefulness. Tim and Suzies voices could be heard. They were explaining to somebody that they had already moved and were told to moor stern on here. There were also loud shouts coming from various other points from within the harbour. I thought it best I go on deck. Emerging, there before me, was a scene of chaos. Three grockle boats with hundreds of tourists on board were staring down upon us. They insisted the mooring we had taken was theirs. Yes. This we agreed, ‘cos it said so on the wall but we were well clear. The coastguard had told us it was OK when he inspected after we moved. There was much shouting now and shrugging of shoulders from all sides, all of this directed at us. The captain of the pirate boat seems to think we have dropped our anchor over his lazy lines. We disagreed but due to the amount of shouting and screaming we thought we might well move.

We motored across to another jetty and settled down once more. Barely thirty minutes had elapsed before the local fishing boats, the smaller ones, started leaving the inner harbour. Then one of the other boats moored behind us started its engine, the skipper, it was only a one man boat, started chatting away to us. He told us we were ok where we were ‘Do not worry.” Now a much larger three crewed fishing boat wanted to come and moor behind us. There was however no drama. He simply slid in behind. Tim and I leapt ashore as the crew threw us bow and stern lines. We made fast around a couple of rings and were immediately made honorary crew members. These guys did not seem to be speaking Greek more Arabic but Tim said he did not recognize the dialect. They soon had a ‘table’ laid out on the aft deck and a fan of something heating through. It was scran time for them.

The journey down today had thrown up a fair amount of salt spray. All on board had showers prior to G+Ts in the cockpit then the short ten minute tab to Anemos Restaurant for dinner. This was a great feast at E100 including tip for five, Last nights in Kos Old Harbour had been E230. It had however been a different location and type of establishment. We sat looking out over the palm fringed beach over the radiant blue waters and gradually watched, between mouthfuls of very good scran, the sun set.

The return journey was via the main avenue of shops and stallholders. Avenue perhaps bestowing upon it a degree of sophistication that might well have been missing but the myriad lights and numerous languages and dialects added a certain something. |Tim stopped off to purchase some new shorts. David walked on and was soon swallowed up in the throng, Mike and Jackie stood outside the shop bemused as Tim spent some considerable Tim looking through the women’s selection before the shop owner directed him towards the men’s rack at the rear of the shop. They walked off giggling.

Now back at the boat, we all seemed to arrive out of the darkness at the same moment. We had a wee nightcap before bed at 2230hrs.

 

Fools Afloat. Day 6.

Day 6 Thursday 7^th June 2018

0625 hrs. We were woken by the violent rocking of the boat and the sound of items crashing to the floor and glass breaking. We both flew out of bed. Considering the difficulty we normally experienced extracting ourselves from the bed it was nothing short of a superhuman miracle worthy  of Clark Kent. The sounds of glass breaking and items falling lent speed to our exit. It was impossible to stand and we were being bounced from wall to wall. Mike undecided weather to enter the saloon without shorts, thus ‘bollocky’ and perhaps cause Suzie, or myself some degree of embarrassment. Or should I put my shorts on first and let the boat sink. I opted for modesty. Still being thrown around we emerged into the Saloon. Tim was on his knees in shreddies picking up broken wine glasses and Suzie was busy chasing items that were rolling around the deck. It seems either we had been hit by a tsunami or one of those damn Greek ferries had motored past at some ridiculous speed and sent a series of waves into the harbour. The Greek ferry Captains have seemingly little respect for other smaller sailing craft. Might it be that they reason they are trying to keep to a schedule and earn a living whilst we are merely pleasure craft on vacation?

0950 hrs. We weighed anchor. Sailed out of the harbour, moved the helm to port and were away, headed for the coast of Kos. We were initially on motor,  then, once clear of land put up gib and main. We sailed along at 4 knots. Not very fast but at least we were sailing. The sea was flat calm. Unbelievably so seeing as we were some distance off the nearest land. Depth under the keel gave us 26 meters. Eventually off the coast of Turkey we lost what little wind we had and therefore resorted to the engine once again.

Not poor harbourside maintenance but the results of the July 21^st 2017 earthquake.

1230hrs. Kos, Old harbour. We chose this mooring over the new marina. Our thinking was that it might be cheaper. It still cost E37 inc electricity and water. We went stern to onto the quay that ran at the base of the old castle walls. This castle was built in the late 1400’s by the Knights of St John. Mike ran out the anchor. Janni on shore, guided us in. After tying up beneath the walls of the old castle we decided we were taking up too wide a berth and therefore upped anchor went out and then astern to line up better. Once we had powered up the boat from the shore we cracked out a few beers, G+Ts and some fruit cocktail. It was hot. As a matter of course we set up the bimini and Jackie and Mike disappeared below decks to rustle up a salad. We even managed to find some choritzo hiding in the back of the fridge. That went in with a handful of peppers and Feta cheese, onions, toms, and peppers. Strangely no Kos lettuce despite the fact it is from here that the lettuce gets its name.

Mike and Jackie decided on a walk and took themselves off to investigate the old castle beside us. We eventually found our way up to the drawbridge entrance but alas it was closed. It seems an earthquake on 21 July 2017 shook two huge cracks in the walls at both ends and as such the authorities closed it to visitors. In fact the square where we were to eat tonight had suffered badly as well. This is the square with the tree of Hypocrates, he of Hippocratic Oath, the father of medicine. The tree is supposedly more than a 1000 years old but has been proved to be nowhere near that age and by the looks of it will not last many more years.

We walked back down to the harbour plonked ourselves in a front seat beneath some shade and ordered two iced cappuccinos. E10. The robbin’…???  We had spotted a small green land train, the sort of thing which young families take their children on for a ride around town. Shall we? Of course not. It was all too twee. But we did. I had to elbow quite a few six and seven year olds out of the way to get good seats! The ride around Kos town lasted for about 30 minutes but we saw enough to convince us the old town of Kos had nothing to recommend itself to us. The main drag was all fish and chips or burger bars, tacky souvenir shops, football and tee shirt selling shops and bars advertising ‘Football’ the general rubbish one finds in most seaside towns. As we alighted we agreed the best looking Restaurant we had seen was earlier this afternoon, in the square beside the castle. This was to be our recommendation to the crew.

We were to take on water in the morning and so there was no excuse for not taking a shower tonight. Dressed in our ‘run ashore’ rig we returned to the Restaurant. Here we were greeted warmly and ordered cocktails all around. The Stopportons opting for Margarittas, David a Negroni, Tim a G+T and Suzie a Radler. OK that’s a shandy but so what. We were all completely happy with the ambiance and decided we could happily eat here. We selected from the menu. Apart from the delicious fresh baked complimentary bread rolls we skipped starters. David had Lamb, Tim and Jackie Salmon, Suzie  ???? Mike the Risotto in ginger and lemon with Langoustines. Deserts were bought this evening, unusual but this was more a restaurant than a Taverna. The waitress service, the wine handling and tasting, not exactly a sommelier but it was far superior to that we had previously encountered. We enjoyed a couple of bottles of Greek white as recommended by Laura the waitress.

 

It wasn’t Elkie Brooke’s but she was OK. 

Towards the end of the meal David decided he was feeling somewhat under the weather and returned to the boat. No sooner had he left than Laura brought out five complimentary gin and ginger cocktails. Jackie and I made short work of David’s. The meal was superb and made all the more enjoyable by the electronic organ player and his selection of soft jazz music. He was joined at one point by a female singer and the sounds of their performance echoing off the walls of the ancient buildings added mightily to the evening. ‘There will always be Kos.’

We returned to the boat where David joined us for a last drink.

2200hrs. In bed.