15/08/09 We move out of Petalioi and finally leaving Evia to port we sail full and bye on to the next large land mass island of Andros where we put in to Gavrio 37 53.087N 24 44.05E for a planned stop, however it turned out to be suitable only for lunch as there was no room at the pier as all the local boats where seeking shelter from the wind and there was no room at all. We just anchored off the town pier and enjoyed the comings and goings for an hour or so while.
Deciding to make a hurried break for it when we spotted a rather large ferry heading our way that would need our space to manoeuvre.
We sailed further south passing a anchored Greek frigate looking menacing in the bay by Kypri we moved on enjoying the sail as we proceeded south to Batsi where we found a good space on the south side of the town pier that proved to be a winner of a spot for the night.
16/08/09 We leave early morning under headsail alone and sail on to the south now leaving Andros and passing on to the next large land mass of Tinos going across the boisterous gap between the islands enjoying the fun of being in the close company of an overtaking ferry.
These ferries, by the way, are bloody big monsters the size of ships the likes of which we have only one back in New Zealand, which NZ ferry is entirely used for transporting cars, freight and people between the North and South Islands. This Greek one passed us about 50 metres off, it was fun waving to all the people who must have looked at us thinking we were quite stupid to be out sailing in such conditions. Just a day in the park for us though and we were thoroughly enjoying our adventure.
End of the day 18:00 and we put into the thriving large town of Tinos itself 37 32.2148N 25 09.72E. Still blowing a gale we drop an anchor into the town basin and go stern-to, to the Town Pier all under the directions of a referee's whistle blowing port captain who looked to all the world like Hulk Hogan complete with the red handkerchief covering his bald head and big blond moustache. He told us we could stay 36 hours as a large annual religious festival taking place on Sunday and the whole of the space was required for a Greek gunboat that was scheduled to be there to show the flag. It was to be a case of Gunboat in Elixir out! We enjoyed the next day and a half though watching the festivities and all the people who had gathered to get the blessing from the church up the hill and hopefully be cured of whatever it was that was ailing them. Lots of fun was had by all as there were street vendors everywhere, colour and people.
Few foreign tourists were evident so we just mingled and merged in the crowds.
A confused SWMBO and another woman both captured working out what they can do for tea incorporating dried tomatoes, or perhaps just bewildered for choice...or something!
In the late evening the next day we watched with concern as several storm damaged boats entered the harbour, a modern yacht with a blown genoa and a launch belonging to a Russian who had had quite a bashing trying to go north. We ended up joining up with a friendly and highly experienced Aussie skipper and jumped onto the Russian boat when he came close and moored it for him as his stress tolerance was not coping at all with his low experience level and his crew were not handling the whole anchoring then backing in thing at all well in the heavy breeze. All was well with him in the end and he will have learned a lot from finding himself in that position. We did however turn down his copious pleadings to deliver the boat to Russia for him. David and I did not contain the courage that would be required to suggest it to the Admirals, no matter what the money!
18/08/09 05:00 and we slip quietly out of Tilos in the dark with the destination the tourist Mecca of Mykonos half a day's sail away.
37 27.94N 25 19.48E Other than witnessing a wonderful sunrise and enjoying sailing some of the way in company with a yacht that materialised out of the darkness and finally disappeared on the other tack it was a rather uneventful crossing.
We were however looking forward to arriving at Mykonos as David and Elizabeth had visited there on an earlier cruise ship visit and related to Jenny and I how they had really enjoyed the experience. We pulled into a cruise terminal and wharf situated about 4km from town and found a spot on the inside highly protected from the blasts of the wind that were still a feature. David and I immediately hired motor scooters, picked up our two bikie girls and headed off to the bright lights. Well David and I had fun for two days touring the island and the girls had to put up with eating out and shopping of which the island provided plenty. Riding Scooters around the Island was a very enjoyable way to get up close and personal with the Island and it's inhabitants, however we were just another couple of tourists of which there were hundreds.
20/08/09 10:00 We bash out of Mykonos into a rough sea and blustery wind, hard on the nose for a couple of miles and then turn south again destination Naxos. 37 06.288N 25 22.48E.
A beautiful maxi sloop in full sail in the blustery conditions was awe inspiring to see.
We approached at a great rate of knots, furled sail as we entered the marina and were delighted to be directed to the only vacant spot left at the end of a Pier in the centre.
However this town marina had large pipes opening to the sea and a swell entered the marina which made the mooring an uncomfortable one where we were forced to keep a watch out at all times to ensure that boat was kept safe from other boats coming and going in various states of control. There was the added danger of boats around us dragging on their anchors, banging against the pier and without crew posed a constant threat.
We did survive the environment for a day as we took turns to explore this historic town and its labyrinth of narrow streets and dozens of small intriguing shops and eating places.
We were though pleased to leave Naxos due to the ever present danger of suffering real damage in the marina, just happy that we were indeed fully intact not having hit anything and nobody hitting Elixir. Our original plan of heading Southwards towards Amorgos was now too dodgy by far as wild stories of 50/60 knot winds and dragging anchors reached us here in Naxos. So with the wind being a tiresome impediment for comfortable continuance of our southerly plans we set a new course to take us eastward over the horizon getting the heck out of the windy side of the Aegean Sea with the real objective of returning the smiles to the faces of our two ever patient Admirals.
We leave the Island astern first by sailing over the top of the Northern side then putting in two tacks, a short then a long one Eastward.
We had a comfortable wind now and doing 8 knots on a very broad reach we slid down to the small island of Donoussa which appeared to have a small bay on the southern side offering good shelter, which bay we duly entered and anchored within. It coincidently turned out to be a favourite holiday destination for naturalists of which there were at least 100. Not that I was counting mind you!
The naturalists were not at all put off by us anchoring close by, we needed to you see in order to avoid the lumpy seas further out in the bay. We tried to not take any notice of the holidaymakers as enjoyed our happy hour in safety and quiet.
From Donoussa we moved on East staying overnight at Livitha before sailing on to Kalymnos, Pserimos and Kos
The approaches to Kos with the Basin hidden behind the ancient castle. The entry not shown but at the extreme right of the picture. We had no idea as to the adventure we will face therein.
On arriving back at Kos we found the marina full with an influx of charter flotillas, which meant that we needed to move to the polluted and crowded town basin to find a mooring where David and Elizabeth can disembark before flying back to New Zealand. Well we did indeed find a spot between a large Gullet and another cruising yacht. All vessels, including us, had anchors out into the muddy centre and were tied stern to as is the custom. This custom works well for allowing a lot of vessels to moor where otherwise if they were side on would take up at least four times as much room at the pier.
Unfortunately on this occasion the well managed yacht on the north side of us left in the afternoon thus leaving a space that was quickly snapped up by an American flagged fine looking twin engine fizzy. Well here is the rub, the fizzy skipper did not have the knowledge, seamanship or experience in trying such a manoeuvre to moor in the cross wind, he just dropped his anchor too short and backed in, manoeuvring with his twin engines and not allowing his anchor to take up the strain. That is just fine for the aft end but it left no holding power through his anchor at the bow, as a result of which the wind caught him, his bow fell off towards us with his anchor letting go as expected and he crunched hard back into the pier. Panic was quite evident by now on board the fizzy as without thought of the consequences he let both stern lines go and powered up at a wickedly dangerous angle fouling his props on our anchor warp and rapidly followed by the chain of the large Gullet next door. We were facing imminent major damage so we in turn immediately let our anchor go while retaining just our strong stern lines to avoid banging into the Gullet. I forthwith stationed Jenny on the bow of Elixir with strict instructions not to take her eyes off the location of our anchor as the water is muddy and black and we would have to retrieve the anchor at some time later. The Gullet followed our lead and released his anchor as well. Both the Gullet and Elixir maintained station by putting our own engines into slow forward with our attached stern lines keep us straight and in control with the help of quickly attached spring lines.
The fizzy had by now no steering or motive power due to his fouled props and proceeded with high revs to jam his motor first into reverse and then in forward in an ever increasing cacophony of tortuous effort to unwind the chain tangle and get some control but by now the wind had carried the fizzy away from doing any further damage to us when he then sawed through our rode with a knife to free himself. He finally managed to break free of the rode and chains and with a call as he went past of apology to us and an assurance that he will return to make good all damage to our bow rollers and anchors he fired out of the town basin, never to be seen again!
This left us without our anchor which was lying deposited some 70 metres out in the foul mud somewhere. The Gullet sent a diver overboard that retrieved his anchor chain but disregarded appeals from us to retrieve ours, even though we offered to pay. The reply from the Gullet was that the water was way too polluted for his diver to stay down and so we were left to sort our own problems out. I told our crew that we would just have to abandon the anchor and leave the spot on the pier to set our spare one meaning that some other lizard would immediately grab our spot. David, forever just the right man in a crisis, offered to dive in an effort to find the end of our anchor chain. We were all horrified that he would do this without an aqualung as there is not enough disinfectant soap in the whole of Kos that would be needed to clean him afterwards. Talk by Jenny of botulism and all manner of other greebly infections would not deter him.
David fetched our flippers and face mask and dived over.
I passed to him a long light line with which he could, in the unlikely event of finding the chain, tie to it and we could drag same back to our capstan. Failing that event we could drag him back in if he got overcome by the fumes and mud. Jenny, so worried about stuffing it up, had retained her critical job of spotter on the bow and cleverly directed David to the approximate whereabouts of our anchor with its 60 metres of chain.
Skipper with the cushy job in the rescue rubber ducky
The water was about 8 metres deep on top of about half a metre of sludge into which the chain would have sunk some way. Remembering also that the chain had been dragged some way by the bloody fizzy, David made his calculations and proceeded to dive and as luck would have it, and we were due for some by this time, notwithstanding that he was diving blind, on his second dive struck gold and a chain to which he tied the light line. We all held our breath while we hauled on the line half expecting that it might be another boats chain or an abandoned one and not ours.
We were relieved to find it was indeed ours and we duly dragged it back to our capstan and hauled it in enough for me to cut off the demolished and ragged rode end and put in a new splice on the end of the chain. We untied from the Gullet that had allowed us to stay tied to him during this time. Retrieved David over the stern and quickly hosed him down with fresh water while Elizabeth and Jenny covered him with all of the soap and disinfectant we could find.
I found it within my duty as skipper to broach a big bottle of rum and join David in cleaning out his insides with alcohol which in sympathy I found quite just the thing at the end of an adventure. Jenny and Elizabeth deserved credit too so wine was their poison and disposed thereof.
Next morning David and Elizabeth left for the plane as we followed another yacht out of the basin, back to just me and the wonderfully attractive SWMBO once again.
On to Dacta (Turkey),Simi and eventually Marmaris.
Overnighting at Dacta before moving on to Symi
Returning to Marmarus and cruise end for another year.
Unknown to us at the time my prostate would require some medical intervention next year so this was the last happy hour we would be able to have on board, albeit up on the hard, for two years, So for now it is Big Bird back to New Zealand to make plans to sail Elixir back to the Ionian side of Greece at the first opportunity.
