Kalamos is the port on the island of that name and is the next island to Kastos so when we finally dragged ourselves away we headed there. (Actually we needed to move as four days is close to the maximum our ‘black water tanks’ can contain. The port tank was getting very smelly which is a sure sign that it’s too full so it was time to leave before we had any leaks!)

We had avoided Kalamos earlier in the season as its very popular and busy and the harbourmaster has a reputation for cramming in boats in large ‘rafts’ to fit them all in the harbour. We didn’t want to be part of that but thought that September should be quiet enough! (we were wrong again and talking to people in most places here the yacht visitor volumes are still at summer highs though the same does not go for land based tourists).

We deliberately arrived around 11.00 hrs just after boats had left for the day and got a space on the outer quay in our preferred position. During Saturday the arriving boats filled the quay but there was no need for rafting, probably because this is the changeover day for the charters and flotillas so there were none present. George, the harbour master runs the main taverna on the end of the quay and is a personality, strolling up and down guiding the boats in “reverse, reverse, everything’s perfect my friend, everything’s perfect”. When the lines are on this is followed by “Welcome to Kalamos, my name is George, you are welcome to eat in my taverna tonight”. It’s a very low pressure sell, probably because there is very little competition for his establishment. We ate there on the Saturday and the food was good, a swordfish steak and ‘Fishermans spaghetti’ filling us up.

We walked about on Saturday and found really nice bread in one of the two bakeries a steep 5 minute walk up from the harbour. This is quite unusual as Greek bread is not always wonderful. It was hot so we spent time chatting to our neighbours, Mike and Sue on ‘Secret Breeze’ and Harry and his friends on’ Tifys II’ and doing small chores.

It was Sunday when things livened up... by mid afternoon the harbour was getting full and the arrival of a ‘Flotilla Lead Boat’ indicated there were more to come. Around 16.00 we walked up over the headland towards the main beach for a swim but found that the swell had increased from the south and it looked uncomfortable there. We retreated to a small bay around the corner and had a swim from our ‘private beach’ in more sheltered conditions.

Our 'private beach'

When we returned the entertainment was in full swing.
As we were on the outer quay we had a grandstand view combined with the risk that someone opposite would trip our anchor out as they moored so we were alert. By 18.30hrs most of the moored crews were sat on their bows with beers watching George coordinate the ballet of rafting opposite. The ‘cats’ moored to the quay were rafted three out with mono’s on their outside and the other boats were in two rafts extending from the short mole in lines across the front of the quayside boats. There were anchors down from every second boat and lines running everywhere to stabilize them. George ran it all from his dingy with calm assurance “drop anchor sir, now reverse, reverse hard, everything is perfect”. We had a few chains dropped over ours and it was clear we couldn’t leave early the next day but it was worth it for the theatre. We counted that George had moored 62 sail boats in quay space for around half that number. He claims to have once got 108 boats in to the harbour! You would have been able to walk across from one side to the other. Later we met Mike and Gill from ‘Andromeda’ for a drink in the quayside bar and then ate on board.

Some of Georges rafting, taken the next morning

We left eventually the next day (Monday) when the raft opposite had cleared out with much catching of chains and crunching of windlasses. With forecasts of very strong easterly winds for four days from Tuesday we needed supplies and shelter from the east/northeast. Vlikho Bay south of Nidri provides this and a quick dinghy trip to town replenished the cupboards. We have been told a number of times about the ‘Yacht Club’ in the south of this bay so we decided to visit as we might be boat bound for a few days in strong winds.

On the trip across the bay in Fid we stopped to say hello to ‘Magnificat’ whom we had met earlier in the season and they guided us on where to moor for the Yacht Club. The club turned out to have a quayside bar, a covered dining area behind this and a main building behind that across a small road. As we arrived another couple were mooring their dinghy and were friendly in telling us where to go and chatting for while. It seemed as if all the clientele were English sailors who had been around the area for a while and the place was clearly a ‘local‘ for this community. The food we chose was fine from a menu that would be expected in a UK pub and we enjoyed the evening as it was very different from the Greek taverna’s. However, we are not sure if we would return often as we sail to ‘move on and explore’ and we struggle with the thought of finding a UK expat ‘home’ and spending most of the time there – each to their own!

As we write this on Tuesday morning the forecast has been downgraded from 30 knots + to a more reasonable 20 knots but we shall see what arrives over the next 48 hours. We will stay in the bay here until we are clear what the weather will bring.

Main photo: Kalamos harbour in a quiet period