The density of white caps was increasing rapidly ahead of Diomedea as she made her way towards Seriphos. We had had a pleasant sail after a motoring start but now the wind was building rapidly. The closer we approached the island the greater the breeze. Finally we were sailing along the southern coast in 30-35kts, having furled the headsail just leaving double reefed main up. Blasts from the mountainous interior tore up the water all around. More for practice than anything else we put in the incredibly deep third reef which is designed for storm conditions. It worked really well but slowed us down too much. We slogged into the nicely indented Koutala bay still to find the wind foaming the place into a lather but managed to anchor in what we thought was the relative lee of a small cliff.
Seriphos is famous for its mythology surrounding Perseus, for the alleged muteness of its frogs(?), as a place of exile for Roman politicals, and for a miner’s strike in 1916. The island was extensively mined for iron ore and the tailings and factory remnants were clearly visible to us. Unbeknownst to us, the wild winds brought ore-laden dust into our rigging. This was revealed to us a few days later as you will see.
By next morning the wind in our position was steady 30’s with gusts into the 40’s. Williwaws of water and wind raced across the bay, giving that classic appearance of “smoke” on the water. And all of this on a forecast of 15-20. Clearly Seriphos was a total wind factory. We had to get out. It was thus a rather unusual experience to weigh anchor in such big winds to go to sea. Going around the SW cape of the island was very wild indeed but after we had cleared away by some miles the wind backed off to the 20’s and we were set for an awesome sail 50 miles west through the main Athens shipping lane to the island of Idhra on a beam reach. As we had procrastinated our departure until 1.30pm we did not arrive at Idhra till just after dark but we found the delightful quiet Ay Nikolaus bay for the night, awakening in the morning light to find gorgeous limestone crags enfolding us. The water was deliciously clear so we swam and enjoyed our surroundings. It was too good to last naturally, as day ferry boats and various charter yachts appeared with their loads of punters. So for us it was onwards to the pretty village of Limenas Ermioni (Hermioni) on the Peloponnisos. The anchorage is nice but rolly with slop coming down the Gulf of Idhra. The crew of Diomedea enjoyed lunch at a quayside taverna and then walked around the small peninsula with the ruins of a temple to Poseidon. We met another Australian registered yacht, “Amble” and had a lovely chat, getting the gen on our forthcoming destinations, which they had recently visited.
It was a gusty and fluky wind that took us up the Gulf but we still had good sailing in flat water before turning the cape to head north to Poros and trees. Yes, trees. One sees none of these in the Aegean islands so it is a pleasure to view forests once more. A narrow but frantic channel separates Poros from the Peloponnisos. A bit like Swansea channel with its tide races and extensive sandbanks, but with 100’s of boats a day transiting its length. Anchorage was made in Navy bay rather than the very congested town quay where boats were rafted up 4-6 deep. Even our dinghy was squeezed off the dock by the press.
It was here that the extent of rust appeared in the standing rigging. You may remember that we had cleaned the rig back in Turkey after the shipping so it was most disappointing to ponder trips aloft once again. Nonetheless up it was with bucket and oxalic acid to remove the rust/salt/grime/dust which had caked everything. Part of the problem with this cruise has been that it never rains. The boat is never really washed despite our efforts with the hose at deck level. Thanks Seriphos.