Anchors Aweigh
24 July 2017 | Lefkas, Greece
Sabrina and Dierk
Some times in this racket you see some funny things. Recently Sam and I were in the bay of Vlikho on Levkas at anchor waiting for the passage of a cold front. It is a very protected bay surrounded by mountains and is subject to "bullets" of wind, but nothing serious.
On this night a few charter boats arrived. The charter boat industry is huge, particularly in the Ionion Sea. It is a great way for people who want to learn about sailing larger type yachts to learn as they often go in convoy with a lead boat or flotilla captain. Being that as it may, many are quite inexperienced and once at anchor get straight into the social scene at the tavernas....so got the picture.
This particular night, two yachts anchor near each other. The weather was closing in, but not too much to worry about. These guys were part of a flotilla we think and they set off in their duckies for the taverna. We were cooking a barbie just on dark and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that on of these boats was dragging its anchor in the gusty winds. Although ever so slowly, as the wind picked up it would become more of a concern.
Sam and I decided we should go in to the shore and alert the skipper. So, on arriving at the absolutely crowded taverna I approached the staff and informed them of the dragging yacht. The manager asked me what flag the boat was. I told him it was of Greek origin and he said, there are no Greeks here tonight. "Mate, these are charter boats hired by people of any nationality, it doesn't mean that Greeks are operating it. During this conversation some members of the flotilla overheard us and mentioned that someone was on the way out there. Cool, job done.
I went back to Quack Quack and noticed no one was at the drifting boat so I went out to it. By this time it had come to rest on some else's yacht amidships with its anchor caught on the hand rail stanchions of the other boat.
I climbed on board to asses the situation when two wide eyed guys approached with their Duckie. As they climbed on board they proceeded to work out what to do. The skipper went to start the engine and I screamed "no captain, make sure the other boats chain is not near your propellor", as the boat was caught amid ships. So, we pushed him clear and started the engine and were able to separate ourselves.
I bade them farewell and proceeded to jump back into Quack Quack. The skipper then asked could I stay and assist. It was obvious that these poor guys were really shaken, given also it was neigh on dark in marginal weather I stayed to help. So grabbed the helm and took the boat to an open area free of boats where we could safely drop sufficient chain and provide enough swing. The first attempt at anchoring failed on account of the weed, so we went to another spot. On this occasion it was good. It was lucky in a way as they had poor markings on their chain, so I got them to let out a fair bit more than required. It was explained to them that once the anchor is down and that they have sufficient chain that they must reverse the boat to confirm the anchor has bitten in and is holding, and not only that, someone must remain on board an anchored boat on what we call "anchor watch" when weather conditions are deteriorating. You can't do much in the bar when a yacht lurches and lunges at anchor in a blow. Sometimes you have to go elsewhere, a safer haven if you will.
Anyway, I never saw them again. One thing is for sure, everyone learns from the errors of their ways....a good thing, builds on experience, we all learn from them.