Dragging a wall from Leros to Kalymnos
24 June 2015 | Xirokampos bay
Chris and Francis
Wednesday 24th June 2015: Dragging a wall from Leros to Kalymnos
It is Sunday 20th June, and yesterday our second crew said their goodbye. All of a sudden it is very quiet on Clio again and time to do some cleaning and repairing. We spent the day lazing about and wandering around Pothia (the capital and the port of Kalymnos) and restocking our supplies. That night we went for a walk along the pontoons and again met up with Henk and Anneke on Sea-N. Francis first met them in September last year in a little cove near Fethiye (Turkey), then we met up with them in Yacht Marin in Marmaris in April. It is really great being part of the yachting community here, we are meeting so many interesting people and making friends wherever we go.
That night we dined at Stukas Taverna, recommended by Indi and John who we met here last year. There we met Pantelis and Maria who welcomed us into the fold. We are now members of the Stukas Taverna Family Secret Society, thank you for a lovely meal and great company. We will see you next time we are in Kalymnos.
On Sunday, 21st June, we had planned to do absolutely nothing, but as there is a lot of wind predicted over the next week we decided after we had a feast of bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes to head around the corner into the lovely little bay of Emborios (or Emporios). We tied up to one of the many mooring buoys provided by the restaurants and enjoyed a great swim in 24°C water, as per our CSMD-SWT. Chris took out the yellow lie low and to ensure that she did not float away in the wind we tied her to the end of one of our mooring ropes (top-right photo).
What was a very simple job last year, getting gas for cooking, had become a hard job this year. Many shops, including chandlers and some grocery shops, sold camping gas. This year we had no luck in the last four places we went to, including the fairly big cities of Symi and Pothia. In Pothia the story was that the French distributor had seized operations in Greece. These may be every-day life consequences of Greece’s sad economic conditions, as well as the increasing number of people selling little packets of tissues in the streets.
We decided to risk running out of the LPG gas we bought in Symi and Chris cooked a veggie bake dinner. With the help of very nice Greek cheese, the bake was delicious (and we still have gas). The wind picked up over night and Clio started to roll a fair bit.
It is now Monday, 22nd June, and this morning we went ashore to check out options of getting to Leros by ferry to fill our gas bottles. After a wander around the village and omelettes at the captains restaurant (who owned the mooring we were using), we phoned the ferry operator only to be told that the ferry was not coming tomorrow due to a already full schedule and no they don't operate on Wednesday. Well, that was that then, luckily we have our own means of transport.
Chris swam back to Clio while Francis battled with the ever problematic dinghy outboard. It has now decided that it does not want go anywhere but is happy to just idle away in neutral. So on with the oars and Francis paddled his way back. Chris won the race!
After another night of uncomfortable rolling we decided on Tuesday 23rd June to chance heading out of the bay and make a run for the southern end of Leros 6 NM or one hour away. It was a fairly bumpy ride with 1.5-2m chop and with 18-20 knot wind right on the nose, but Clio took it in her stride and we were turning into Xirokampos bay one hour later. Again there were many mooring buoys to choose from and after some anxious moments in water a bit shallower than was comfortable and some tangling of rope and gusting wind, we finally got Clio secure, or so we thought. Francis went for a quick swim to check the mooring. The mooring line was in good condition and was attached to a piece of brick wall on the bottom. We bunker down while the Meltimi (strong NW wind which blows through the summer months) howls around us. Time to catch up on our viewing of Mr Selfridge and Chris to pull out the cross stitch. Leftover veggie bake for dinner tonight.
Wind still gusting over 25 knots on Wednesday 24th June, but no rolling here so we got a good night’s sleep. With the outboard still not cooperating it is hard to get ashore, rowing is not a pleasant option against this wind. But, not to be outdone, Francis sets to pulling the troublesome motor to pieces on the back deck. As it turned out, the breaking pin (a safety device to prevent damage to the engine when the propeller hits something) had done its job and only a small fragment was still in place. This explained the erratic behavior as the remaining part of the pin sometimes linked up with the propeller and sometimes not. So it was not a gearbox problem as we had assumed after all and no good reason to take the outboard apart (live and learn). Francis cut the head of a stainless steel bolt to rig up a temporary replacement and after some struggling with putting bits back together again, we now have a functioning outboard again.. Yay, Xirokampos here we come.
We explored the very small village of Xirokampos with its very large athletic and soccer stadium which is almost bigger than the whole village. And after a delightful lunch (top- and bottom left photos) at the tavern whose mooring line we are tied to, the woman who served us offered to take Chris on her scooter to the one and only mini mart in search of bread and muesli. As it turned out, it was mini (if not micro) indeed and they had no bread and no muesli. Not wanting to walk away empty handed Chris just had to buy a bottle of Greek wine (that is her story and she sticks to it). Back as the pillion passenger on the scooter of the very kind Tavern-owner for another thrilling ride down the hill.
We then headed back to Clio for an afternoon siesta. As a seasoned sail coward and skeptic, Francis regularly plots the position of Clio (center photo) on anchor or even on a mooring on his iPad. At around 6.00 Francis checked his trusty plotter and discovered that the piece of brick wall that our mooring line is attached to is not holding us in place and the wind has actually pushed that piece of wall and us with it about 50 meters (160 ft) towards Kalymnos in the South and into deeper water. The piece of brick wall was now actually under the boat in a 25 kts wind, not a couple of meters before its bow, as you would expect. The forecasts were that the wind would be over 20, gusting to over 25 kts all through the night. To prevent us being dragged down by a piece of Greek wall (instead of a flock of beautiful sirens), we decided that it would be prudent to find another buoy. So in very blustery winds we let go of that line and move ourselves back in and attach to another buoy. On the second attempt Chris was able to catch the line with the boat hook and get Clio tied on, much to the delight of nearby onlookers on neighbouring yachts who clapped and cheered.
Francis then went for a swim to inspect the new mooring to find that it is attached to a more substantial block of concrete and chain, so we can rest easy tonight (but still plotting the position, to be sure to be sure). As it turned out, we were not moving anymore.