Thursday April 18, 2013
We all arose about 6:30 to fill the water tanks and generally get Necessity ready for sea. By 8 we were ready but had to wait for the Marina staff so we could pay the bill. Then we were off to the Port Police to add Brenda & Howard to the crew list and get our Transit Log completed. By 9:30 we pulled away from the dock only to find another small wooden sailboat had anchored at right angles over our anchor chain. We couldn’t lift his chain up nor could we pull our well set anchor out from under his chain. After trying several unsuccessful maneuvers, we went back to the dock and sought help from the Marina office. It turned out that the owner was a local who showed up after about 20 minutes after being called from the marina and pulled his anchor so we could float by. The day before the same large powerboat which had gotten into trouble on Tuesday had moved to our end and set his anchor was also across ours a bit further along the dock than the sailboat. Fortunately, I had put him on notice that I thought he had fouled us as he anchored but he was confident he had not. It now became clear that he was over our anchor as well, so we hovered while he undid his lines and pulled his anchor clear. The new electric windlass got a supreme workout and we were glad of the extra hands on board. By 11:am we were on our way to Halki under motor in light air and fairly calm seas, arriving about 4:30.
Halki (or sometimes called Chalki) is a small island 8 miles off the coast of Rhodes, which is home to about 100 inhabitants year round and maybe 400 in the summer. There is a large ferry dock but no other place to tie up. As we approached the dock, the Coast Guard officer advised we could stay on the ferry dock after the 6PM ferry had departed. Standing by as the large car ferry arrived from Athens and disgorged people, supplies and truckloads of materials we pulled in alongside the dock with 2 other sailboats once the ferry departed. Not long after a fishing boat arrived and forced the smallest sailboat to give up his space and raft alongside Necessity for the night. We dined aboard on chicken curry and chatted with Spiro, a California native with roots on the island, who told us some of the history. We can even get some slow wifi on board, enough to do email.
A bit of surge in the harbour but an uneventful night.
Brian on board Necessity, Halki Island, Greece