8/24-26/17 A little about Rethymno

We arrived at Rethymno after pulling out of the harbor of Iraklion at 0715. We rounded the breakwater and returned to the harbor to set the sails. We set one reefing point on the main and the jib at ¾. We spent five hours into the wind changing tack every half hour to clear the point and head to Bali beach. The waves were anywhere from 4 to 8 feet white caps. The wind was at 20 knots at NNW. We had trouble with distance made good but, we were having a great sail. Neverland is proving her strength in weather.
We made it to Bali beach on the recommendation of the Coast Guard ladies in Iraklion. But, there was no room at the dock and there was too much swell to anchor. We continued on for another three hours to Rethymno. But, this time the wind had died to less than 10 knots and we were motoring sideways to the waves. We kept the main up for balance. We arrived at Rethymno Pier A which is the guest dock. There are no marina folks to assist. It is a back in, drop anchor off the bow dock, no mooring lines place. We are at our first place in Crete that has both electric and water hook up. The marina charge is 5 euros per day for electric and 2 euros per day for water. We washed the boat down real good from all the salt build up from the waves across the bow.
Friday we went first to the Marina to fill out their paperwork and pay for the slip. Then we did our usual round with the Coast Guard Port Authority and turned in our Transit Log, with boat documentation, insurance, crew list and passports. There is no computer data base for any of this information, so every port we repeat the same scene. We have a good conversation with the officers and it turns into a great experience instead of a hassle.
We shopped, went to the butcher, took a little tourist train ride to show us the town, and went to dinner. The tavernas along the Venetian port are remarkable. These have the finest seafood menus. There are many others along the main road in town as well. This is a great town-not too big-with a convivial atmosphere. Also, there is 12 kilometers of sandy beach just to the east of the harbor.
Today is Saturday and we just had fuel delivered to the boat. We will spend a few hours sightseeing and come back and prepare to leave at 6 pm. The trip to Kithera is about 18-20 hours and the winds are going to be challenging based on the grib files. We did run a line for the third reefing slot on the main.
We plan to be in Kalamata on Monday. Be back on dry storage on Wednesday and head back to the US on Thursday.