Woke early, around 6 am to the sound of our neighbour setting off on their journey South. We ate breakfast had a cuppa then radioed into inform them of our plan to leave. Within minutes the two marina guys were detaching our lazy line and beckoning us forward. Stern lines undone, and we were off. The temperature was cool, settled winds as around 03.00am this morning the wind was whipping around the boat again, which was annoying, we assumed it would cause an issue today. So far so good. With Kevin on the helm, I took in the fenders and tidied the ropes, within a few minutes we had a reefed Genoa out, the winds are due to pick up later but for now only 12 to 13 knots carry us out around the coastline. Four or five little fishing boats share our 07.00 o'clock sunshine, not too hot yet and a very gentle breeze, perfect start to the day. We maintain 4-5 knots of speed, with a few adjustments to the sail. The ever changing land formation and height has an enormous effect on the wind direction and speed, which means constant fiddling to achieve enough wind in a suitable direction. For an hour we travel easily on the now full Genoa, before adding the mainsail, allowing us to capture a touch more of that vital wind. Two hours later as we adjust our course north, the wind has increased to 19 knots with gusts of 23, unfortunately it is right on the bow! We tack a few times in order to manipulate the wind, but gaining no mileage what so ever. We admit defeat and pack the sails into their home. Finishing our journey on the engine is always disappointing. By this point though the sea is becoming quite lively with a swell of around 2 meters, which is rather bouncy and a little irritating after four hours, therefore the sooner we arrive the better. Samos can be seen from quite early point in our journey, the little Greek island of Agathonisi is to our port side. As Samos grows in size and begins to show colours and landmarks, our excitement heightens. It is not a large Island, but is really pretty. We head for the south east port of Pythagorea, the closest port to Turkey. A few yacht's are leaving the port as we edge closer, we begin to see beautiful yellows, oranges and terracotta colours as the building come into focus. A little more activity can be glimpsed in the waters as we make our way into the east bay where we plan to anchor. There is a small marina on this coast about a half a mile to the right of Pythagorea, however, we choose to be closer to town where the holiday feeling can begin bristling on our skin. We drop anchor in a sandy spot, a little way out from the pretty beach, but still within the cocoon of sheltering land. The view is just heaven, those buildings in yellow and terracotta with greenery nestling between each, together with the blue and white traditional Greek tones on every boat that catches your eye, all paint a typical holiday postcard picture. The wind is relentless, 20 knots and above whipping around your head is kind of annoying after a six hour journey. We expected a bit more shelter from land when at anchor, but not today 😶 unfortunately it is set to continue for the next three days at least, great! I hate wind, yes ......... I know we bought a sailboat and we kind of rely on the wind, but what a bloody pain when it is non stop. Everything you do is awkward because of it. Have you ever tried standing on the bow of the boat in 20 or more knots......then trying to fathom out what someone is yelling 36 feet away!! Then try and get 'Zoe' the tender off of the deck, into the water the correct way up in that same wind! Have you sat in a tender in 20 knot winds, being drenched by the salty spray in your lovely dress on a night ashore........the things I have to put up with 😶😶 So, wind ........ we have had enough thank you. Once happy that the anchor was not just playing around, and that it seemed nicely set, Kevin dived down for a check. This anchorage is well known for its tendency to drag on the sand and grassy bottom, we did see one German flag yacht gently drift past us, when it's captain recognised and corrected the issue assuming all was secure. We then once again watched him glide by our lovely stable boat, completely unaware of his plight....we do have a giggle at the other boatees. Before you say it.......yes they also have plenty to chuckle about when we turn up alongside their beautifully secure boat 😁😁 There are fewer boats here than we expected, four or five at anchor and another six or seven on the harbour wall. We prefer to be in the bay out of sight of the wandering tourists, yes it feels lovely sitting on the boat with a glass of wine, smiling and waving like royalty at each person who catches your eye. It is not so lovely when you are trying to catch shade from the baking sun in your skimpiest clothes sweating buckets and dribbling as you drift into an exhaustive slumber. It is equally not lovely to be trying to sleep at two in the morning as giggling, shouting drunken tourists wander by. Then there is the music, for some reason each bar/ restaurant raise their melodic volume as the evenings progress, this can of course be rather pleasant, but not when you are 20 feet from their resonating speakers. When the dog makes a comfy bed on your gangplank, then chooses to alert you when anyone of the thousand holiday makers so much as stroll nearby. For those and a few more reasons which I will cover later, we stay at anchor. It is bliss, gently swaying in the now forceful gale, watching the town go by, literally by almost 360 degrees. However, it is quiet, odd tunes drift out towards us, buffered perfectly by the wind. We can gaze at stars in our pyjamas with a glass of wine whilst munching on salt and vinegar crisps, ( hard to come by in Turkey) and no one can see us 😁 That will be our evenings entertainment, for now, we are heading ashore, a new country awaits our excited feet, cameras twitching, eyes grasping any signs of what is on land. What excites us more is that we made this journey ourselves, no travel agent, no airplane no bus or itinerary, just our amazing boat. It feels fabulous 😁 We take ' Zoe's to a safe little spot on the harbour wall, secure her and her engine with some chain. This may sound a bit unnecessary, have you ever had your engine or oars pinched? Well, we have ...... on our motor boat a few years ago, we (rowing as hadn't really needed an engine) came ashore, stowed the oars under our tender in what we thought was a sleepy town in a safe spot!! On our return, the oars has been nicked, pinched, stolen from our little tender. Now what? Our boat was half a mile away (Kevin likes to be away from the swimming community when at anchor!) We had no way of reaching it. We wandered around as if in mourning not sure where they could be, hoping that someone would miraculously appear with our precious oars displayed like trophies for us. Alas, it was not to be. We eventually gave up on the miracle, called into a sailing/ windsurfing shop where a very kind 'surfy dude' offered us a paddle, not two, just the one and ........... he needed it back before he opened the shop next morning!!! Helpful ......I think 😑 So having negotiated our way through the cluttered sea with one bloody paddle. How to get it back to him.........hmmm a glass of wine may be needed for this one! After wine, we had a plan ..... Kevin will swim over with paddle in the morning 😁😁 sounds good to me, just have another glass of wine to celebrate plan 😁 As we are signed out of Turkey, in Nomans land! We must present ourselves and our papers to the Greek authorities. First stop the coastguard, very efficient young guy who hands us some documents to fill in and points us in the direction of the nearest bar, in order to do this in comfort, very civilised 😁 We return to decent young guy who then sends us to the Port Police, they happen to be out of the office, down at the ferry terminal stamping the passports of 500 cruise liner passengers. Hmm this could take some time!! We wait very patiently in 36 degrees ....... eventually a couple of very bored looking guys appear. ( wouldn't you be by passport number 501 !) They duly stamp and sign anything put in front of them and we wander back to the coastguard. He then sends us next door to the customs chap, what a lovely guy, 60s very smart in his pressed, starched dust free uniform. He asked us about Brexit we just laughed and we had a good old chat about politics, he very kindly took €20 as the fee for his services and passed us back to our efficient coastguard friend. He took his fee of €15 stamped and signed and with a smile said ......I have booked you out of Samos ready for your next sail on Tuesday, therefore no need to do anything more. So all in all a good bunch of people doing their up most to help us on our way. Now that formalities are over, we find a reasonable place for car hire and arrange to collect at 09.00 am tomorrow. Pythagorea is so pretty, beautifully decorated bars and restaurants, colourful tables, chairs and cushions. Polite staff tempt you under their protective canopy away from both the heat of the day and the never ending wind. Once inside we feel like goddess and gods, with care and attention each drink is carefully twinned with a small bowl of savoury delights, salty tasty snacks which encourage the thirsty to continue ordering. Polite conversation from the host and hostess enlighten us to the slow business this year, less sailing boats and cruising visitors additionally less flights all make a difference to the livelihood of these charming people. Unfortunately another twist to their tale was the events of the previous two days. A fire was accidentally started out in one of the farms, due to the high winds, the fire took hold and spread terribly. For this reason, as we approached Samos by sea, sea planes and helicopters flew over the island dousing the escalating flames and smoke. What an awful ti,me, we were relieved to hear that no one came to harm and no one lost their home. The town of Pythagorea is very pretty, shops and buildings are painted in those fabulous blue and white traditional Greek style catching your eye. Tasteful displays of cottons and silks adorning the pavement rails and tables, inching out towards the visiting passerby. Old stone churches can be glimpsed between the shops on winding little streets with painted steps, luring you closer. Framed by vibrant climbing flowers these churches create a stunning vision, photographers must love this place. We find a reasonable place for car hire and arrange to collect at 09.00 am tomorrow. Ambling through the streets trying hard to absorb everything before sundown, we are in love with Greece, but, our weary bodies need food and fluids. We head back to our tender, back on board 'Kejstral and enjoy a salad and glass of wine. Our intention for tomorrow is take a tour around the Island and enjoy some of the local cuisine, after all, it is Kevin's birthday 😁 We then climb into bed a sleepy pair of happy people excited for our day on wheels rather than water!
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8th July 2016 We have finally made a start to our journey, we have been delayed by around a week due to high winds and the Bayram holiday. Ramadan finished on Monday evening at sunset which is followed by three days of holiday, this is known as the Seker Bayram or 'sugar holiday' It is a little like the Christmas holidays. Families travel to their ' family' home where they were brought up. Everyone dresses smartly even buying a new outfit for the occasion. Children are delighted with lots of sugary presents and everybody seems smiley and happy. It is lovely, however, as with any holiday all official buildings are closed, even the marina offices! For this reason we travel to the marina at the first opportunity after the holiday. We took most of our clothing and provisions to the boat over the previous few days, easing our final top up. At around 6.20am we drove with our last bits and pieces to the harbour then returned home leaving our car safely on the drive.Our walk to Akbuk harbour with the wind whistling around us terribly told us this journey may be a little lively! At 08.45, am we were on the sea with winds gusting up to 23 knots, then settling to 12 within seconds. We managed to sail for the whole journey, avoiding the local holiday day trip boats and fisherman and arrived at the marina by 10.30. In the bay nearby we anchored and called the marina for permission to enter, this is quite normal procedure as some rather large and some very speedy boats zip out of there regularly. We waited ages, but after 11 am we tied up to fuel / dirty water station inside with our escort tender. These guys are really helpful, nudging you into position when required. Having made a fabulous docking at fuel station 😁 we asked about emptying our toilet. This involves walking to the other side of the Marina to complete paperwork, pay €10 then the technician appears with a huge hoover !! Lovely thought a poo hoover 😶😶 We then had to walk all the way back to the boat to actually attach the pump to the hoover. While in the reception to complete paperwork, we ended up booking into the marina for a night as the wind was so strong in the bay outside, meaning a very sleepless night, not what you want at the start of a trip. €56 for both marina berth one night and dirty water empty. Back to boat then to empty tank and move to G pontoon, with a little assistance from the marina chaps, we were securely wedged between another yacht and a cruiser. We had lunch, got chatting to our neighbour an English man with Turkish wife. They had travelled across from Leros where their boat is kept over winter, and were en route to the Bodrum peninsula and southern Turkey. Our next step in the checkout process was a visit to Osman the harbour master. Now when we first met Osman we were a little nervous, British couple trying to complete paperwork without an agent. How relaxed and laid back can one man be! Wearing orange checked shorts with a red checked shirt, he was almost horizontal in his armchair whilst attempting to reach the computer. He spent more time questioning Kevin on his fishing escapades than about our boat and forthcoming journey. Once he completed and stamped his section, we headed to the Port police, sounds very official, but yet again in a beige 'bucking bronco' tee shirt and jeans, with a massive grin from ear to ear, Hasan greeted us like old friends. On examination of our papers he informed us that we must not leave the marina grounds once our passports have been stamped, fair enough as we hadn't planned to. From there our procedure took us to meet the Customs man, as laid back as his colleagues in tee shirt and jeans. He very quickly scanned each page, stamped the appropriate box and sent us back to Osman the harbour master again for a final stamp. Now that our check out was complete, we could relax knowing all that happens next is when ready, we untie and go 😁 So back to the boat for a snooze, it is 38 degrees !! Realised at 5pm we had left one document with the Harbour master, we panicked and ran to get there before he went home at 5pm. Missed him, dam! Fortunately his phone number was on the door and he had left our documents at the security desk phew!! Need a beer now 😁 We plonk ourselves in the comfortable soft sofas, sinking into the cool breeze as we are protected on one side by the building. Within half an hour we are completely relaxed but, struggling to prise ourselves out of these divine cushions, we eventually make it back to 'Kejstral' for tea. The facilities in this marina are sumptuous therefore we make use of the wonderful showers hose down the boat then climb into bed. The journey home will take around 4.5 hours with an average speed of 5 knots. The weather is calm, sea fairly settled, therefore, not expecting too much sailing. As we round the headland leaving Yalikavak, if the swell and wind are going to assist us, it will begin here. This little peninsula usually gathers most of the swell as three differing directions of wind and water, come together. Alas no, we gently glide through a glassy sea watching the egrets (a type of heron) dip and dive, searching for that tasty morsel swimming by. They scatter reluctantly as we invade their feeding ground, only to slowly return as our stern slips past. It is stunning, calm washes over you while you take in the formidable rock face, shimmering sea and jewels of light dancing as a consequence of the emerging sun. The rocks change colour before your eyes as the shadows alter and the sun breaks through their darkened slumber. The wind is light, yet a slight breeze on my skin sends messages, telling me it is building, picking up with the heat from the land and sun. I had never realised just how in tune with the wind you become when sailing. Living in Scotland for the first 18 years of my life, where the wind is harsh and so arduous, all I knew was that I felt irritated by this constant, usually very cold force of nature. In the past few months however, since our introduction to sailing, I see wind in quite a different light. I had no idea just how your skin becomes accustomed to change, direction and force. I find us saying things like, we should perhaps reef the main now, just from a feeling .... or let's free the Genoa, in anticipation, just from instinct. It feels so ........ powerful, to have an understanding, albeit an inexperienced knowledge. We have truly learned so much in this last few months, these skills can only enhance our future journeys and give us a greater experience. It is exhilarating when the sail is uncurled and flying free ( clearly with ropes attached) but it gives us a sense of freedom and ability to travel using no energy whatsoever. Today however, the wind is mellow, playing with us occasionally, giving us the impression it is strengthening, then disappears. The main sail is out, searching for that breeze, the Genoa is beginning to flap as the wind is changing direction with each puff. Gradually we are offered a little more, using each flurry to adjust and tighten, moving us successfully through the gentle swell which in turn is gathering momentum. Tacking carefully, altering our course where possible, we grow with enthusiasm as we see the speed increase, carrying us over the sea towards home. Akbuk harbour, as previously mentioned, is always a little bit of a challenge to enter. With numerous fishing boats zooming around, and the many tourist gulets filled with excitable guests weaving through the chaos. An occasional jet ski bouncing past or swimmer lingering a little too long in front of the bow, all are sent to fill us with apprehension. We glide, albeit a trifle awkwardly into our mooring, pick up our anchor lazy line then secure the stern lines. We are becoming a little less clumsy and feeling more confident with each new arrival and departure, not sure that is a good thing!! :)
We set off home ready to spend a week with Emily, one of our amazing four daughters who will be arriving in a few days time. |
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