Monday April 22, 2013
After a rough night banging and crashing we are motivated to leave this concrete dock if we can. Brian was up several times in the night adjusting fenders and lines to try to minimize the surge and no one got a great sleep. The wind was still blowing strong all morning and we waited till about 4PM before deciding to head out for the 110 mile sail to Crete. The wind was about 20 knots but was forecast to drop overnight. We finally left the dock about 5:30 with 20-22 knot winds on our beam. Seas were 1-2 meters but were predicted to drop with the wind overnight. We were able to have the motor off for the first time this trip and sailed about 9 hours before the wind dropped. It was an excellent if lumpy crossing north or the island of Karpathos and into the Sea of Crete. By daybreak the winds were up to 16 but coming from more westerly direction so we motor sailed the rest of the way arriving in the marina about 1:30.
Aghios Nikolaos is a small resort town on the west shore of the large bay in eastern Crete. We will stay here on the hard over the summer and it seems a lovely place with many English living aboard.. The girls reported the showers were clean and had lots of hot water. Brian & Howard attempted to wash off the salt Necessity had accumulated on the crossing and then we all relaxed with a pasta meal aboard and all were ready for bed by 9. It was a treat to have a bed that didn’t move and wasn’t being hit by a jackhammer at regular intervals.
Brian on board Necessity, Aghios Nikolaos, Greece