We had last been to Porto Heli in 2003 on a Neilsen flotilla holiday with the two boys aged around 11 and 10. We didn't remember much about the bay itself but it turns out to be a great anchorage in a large bay with a narrow entrance facing west. They have now partially built a marina in the north corner but there is still plenty of room to swing at anchor in reasonable depths. We tucked in between the local moorings and some other yachts in about 3m of water.

Splice anchored in Porto Heli bay

As an enclosed bay it's not the most enticing water but the shelter here was very good and we can see why boats come here in stronger winds. We spent the night on board and then dinghied ashore the next morning and we identified the hotel we had stayed in before, it hadn't changed much. The town is fine but not that interesting so after a coffee we returned to Splice and decided to find a more attractive anchorage where we could swim and scrub Splice's bottom.

There are a good few coves around outside Porto Heli but the swell in the main channel was heavy and making them uncomfortable, so we retreated into the Porto Heli channel and anchored in a bay on starboard. As we did so we noticed an unusually dressed woman fishing on the shore. Long, black, fully covering clothing of some light material and a wide brimmed straw hat. We then realised there was another woman dressed the same on the other shore, when we looked again at the data we have, one of the names for the place was 'Nun's Bay'.... which sort of explains the sightings. We couldn't see where the Nunnery was though.

We had a pleasant visit, managing to swim and have a scrub at Splice and despite five boats of partying youngsters arriving around 17.00, they did not disturb the peace later in the evening.

Main Photo: Nuns Bay, Porto Heli