Wind continued overnight. Woke at 06.00, and readied ourselves to set off at 07.15. Sail out by 20 past. Wind settling to 14 knots, calmer seas. Genoa first then as wind subsided, the main came out too. 6 knots assisting us for a short time. Then the wind disappeared completely. Engine on after 2 hours, cannot believe it can change so quickly! Swell picked up again but with no wind we were rolling around a bit. A few tankers could be seen milling around as well as fishing boats. 21.2 N.ms in total with very calm seas on the approach to Leros. Lakki is a large open bay, harbour wall is in the far northern corner next to the tanker :( not the most attractive harbour we have been to. Reversed in 'stern to' on the wall, there were boats either side of us one a catamaran with family on board, the other side was a large cruiser with no one on board. Hmm could do with someone to jump out to assist with ropes ....... no help appeared at all, catamaran family completely ignored our shouts for a little help, to have to call out three times before one of the occupants lazily wandered down his gangplank to look slightly interested in giving a hand :(( We tied up and once secure we had lunch then decided to head out for a walk. It was however really hot and with no breeze we were soon struggling, what a difference a few miles makes to the weather. From strong winds and manageable temperatures to stifling hot with not a whiff of air. Perhaps we misjudged Greece and it's constant wind! Our plan was to hire a bike tomorrow travel round the island then set off the following day back to Turkey. Instead we chose to find the bike as soon as possible just to experience breeze, by 5 pm we were on the scooter and loving the blast of air ( albeit warm!) Our first stop was north east of the Island to Pandeli beach, where clear waters gently wash over a rocky coastline. The town above this beach is fabulous, very pretty with stunning views we will head there tomorrow. For now we just needed to cool down and enjoy a swim. Some local elderly men sat fishing on the large mossy green rocks beside us their chatter and laughter filling the otherwise quiet surroundings. One of them after a bit of a fight with his watery prey, caught a fairly large octopus. He played the squirming suctioning creature until it conformed and came reluctantly onto the rocks. The octopus broke free from his hook and squirmed his way to the edge of the rock. Each long wriggling tentacle stuck firmly to the wet surface pulling him free from his predator. One by one each leg felt for a safe spot to cling to until eventually his suction power took him safely to freedom in the cool sanctuary of the sea. Meanwhile the fishermen stumbling over slimy stones reaching out to retrieve their mobile slithering supper, without a chance at all of catching the slippery little sucker. Their laughter and experience will no doubt be the talking point over beer for quite sometime. :) We wallowed in the shimmering sea gazing over the many boats anchored around the bay, how much money is here just floating on this vast ocean. How many of these superb vessels are used regularly and how frequently do their owners enjoy the pleasure of taking to the waves as most boats here are worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of pounds. When you consider that most boats are idle for most of their watery lives, marina's all over the world are packed with these fabulous pieces of machinery yet having spent huge amounts of cash on them, the owners as so busy working ( to pay for the boats and fuel probably!) that they are barely used. We feel so grateful that we have an opportunity to visit so many beautiful places and experience this lifestyle, it is such a fantastic way of travelling. Once thoroughly perspiration free we take the scooterl to the next bay known as Agio Marina. This is where the port police and customs offices can be found however, the harbour master is in Lakki! Not too helpful if you need to check out of Greece especially if you have no other means of transport. Fortunately as we have this little scooter until tomorrow evening we are able to complete out paperwork easily. In Agio Marina we walk around the small harbour looking at the fishing boats trying to imagine what sort of lifestyle these guys must lead. Out every day at ridiculous hours trying desperately to make a living from a seemingly fishless sea. Trouble is there are hundreds of these little boats fighting for their catch to support a family, how they survive is amazing. We have the gyros of pork, salad, garlic sauce and chips all packed into a wrap of bread, gorgeous. We head back to Lakki port for sleep as we have some scootering to do tomorrow!
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Set out at 06.30 for our passage to Levitha, 35.9 nautical miles, at 6 knots 6 Hours journey. Wind was on the bow as we headed north away from Katapola, rounding the Island the wind sat perfectly on our stern. With 23 knots coming behind us we sailed only on the Genoa to reach 6 knots.. Swell was still high but less than our previous journey. Followed a German flagged yacht all the way, he seemed to stay very close to the land, not sure why. We assumed he must know better than us! As we approached Levitha we were taking in our sail when the wind seemed to accelerate to 30 knots, just hope the bay is sheltered! As we turned into the bay, the same German flag boat came out, hmm does this mean there are no buoys left. When we entered the bay, there were six or seven buoys available, perhaps German flag missed the buoy he was aiming for, felt embarrassed so left! We took a mooring buoy perfectly and tied off securely as the wind was still challenging us. Once set, we had lunch then chilled for a few hours. Sailing is quite tiring you know :) In our previous visit to this quiet little island, you may remember we had a fabulous evening. The island at first glance seems deserted yet there are anchor buoys and lots of boats. Within minutes of your arrival here a man in his spluttering motorboat comes alongside to invite you to his taverna, yes there is an amazing little taverna extremely well hidden on this unassuming tranqil Island. Taverna owner informs us that tea is from 6 pm onwards on shore. He also assists with ropes and will in fact collect you in his boat if required. We thank him and agree to see him later, our budget suggests tea should be on board! At around 7 pm we climbed into Zoe ready for our trip ashore, with oars as our engine requires Intensive care :( luckily the wind lessened just in time for us to row to the jetty. Once ashore the stones are painted white producing a vague footpath for us to follow through bushes, over stones under trees until we reach the taverna. Obviously not quite as easy to come on said pathway in darkness. Tonight the atmosphere is quite different from our previous visit around four weeks ago, when each tender arrived on the concrete jetty we assisted each other getting out of bobbing boats and helped secure ropes for our new neighbours. The walk to this elusive taverna was filled with chatter and intrigue as well as stumbles and trips, too busy talking to watch where we were walking! Once inside this well established restaurant we all exchanged greetings, and over the next few hours conversion and laughter filled the evening with drinks flowing and really good food passing our noses. As everyone left we again stumbled and tripped our way along the partially painted path ( managed to get lost at one point) before we all said goodbyes with exchanges in addresses and details. Great evening had by all. :) lots of French and Italian sailors have come into the bay today and seem less chatty and willing to greet their fellow sailors. In the restaurant we sit on one side watching the incredible difference as the evening unfolds, no one even makes eye contact with their neighbouring table, no one smiles a greeting or shares a joke with their water buddies. We finish our drinks relieved to have experienced this beautiful little Island with a fun happy group of boatees four weeks previously :)
I do confess that during the evening a smile was raised from everyone ( just about everyone) when the restaurants family donkey decided to join us all for drinks and food, he clip clopped his was in through the gate nudged his way past chairs and tables and parked himself next to a family of eight. His grin was great but it didn't last long before he was ushered out by the staff, he made four appearances in all the first seemed to have an impact, after that our boat neighbours were disinterested! We wandered back via the partial pathway using the torch ( which we forgot on our first visit) to Zoe, with less wind than earlier that evening we rowed to 'Kejstral' where we watched an incredible starry sky made more fabulous by the lack of artificial lights around the island. |
Sailing Kejstral AdventuresRetired and following our dream of sailing around the world Archives
April 2019
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