Set out 08.00, cloudy with very little wind. Managed to unfurl the genoa 15 mins later in 10 knots of gentle breeze which gradually increased over the hour. By 09.00 we were moving along beautifully at 6.2 knots. Lorraine and Paul flying off ahead as usual, probably on the engine! A pod of dolphin join us very soon after our departure dipping and diving through our spray, they appear to have been loitering around the fish farms at the entrance to the bay. Out in the open sea yet another small batch of dolphin played around in the surf at our bow, weaving and nudging our hull, they are such beautiful creatures. Clouds break up in front of us but also hang around behind, they sneak up on us gradually to empty their contents over us, fortunately only for a few moments We managed 3.30 mins sailing before the sea became sloppy and the wind subsided, then the dreaded engine was put back into use. Four hours left to go and we would hate to have to rely on fuel to take us there unfortunately this was the case. A fender cleaning session followed as the tyres on Ikaria marina left a horrible thick black residue on our port side fenders, white spirit or acetone works well to remove the mess and of course a bit of elbow grease! Kevin leapt from his seat, the fishing line was being torn from the reel at a great speed, fish on! The battle commenced, what a fight. I ran to collect our net, sought out our biggest bucket in view of the challenge facing Kevin, after a good ten minutes of sweat and grueling work he managed to reel in with as much strength as his muscles would allow............................a damned plastic bag, a sign of the times I suppose! Needless to say he was not thrilled. As we near the coast of this large very green island we see small patches of terracotta roof tiles peering over the mass of shrubbery and foliage, in stunning landscape. Most of the islands even in April have large expanses of barren land, here the scenery is totally different. Our passage takes us up into the channel to the eastern side of Lesvos, and our plan is to moor is Skala Loutra. Friends have spent many weeks in this small fishing village claiming its beauty and facilities are second to none, we are excited to see our new home for the next few days stay. To our surprise rusty fishing boats, clearly at the end of their sea worthy days sit sadly against the pretty green shores, an unused cruiser which in its youth would have been rather spectacular, lies abandoned against its iron buddy previously yet another elderly vessel. It was not what we expected at all, perhaps the grey/ black heavy clouds and sloshing sea gave us a slightly tainted view of the bay and it's little fishing village. Dropping anchor we moored stern to against a very tidy pontoon, power and water were available, but we had to split the powers as only one socket appeared to function. Having caught our lines once again we settled with Lorraine and Paul in the cockpit for a well earned beer, we were all weary from another day on the waves. Soon the electric was hooked up and our individual heaters on for tea a film and relax in our separate boats listening to the drip drip drip of rain, before the full downpour began. Hopefully tomorrow will bring us better weather!
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Sailing Kejstral AdventuresRetired and following our dream of sailing around the world Archives
April 2019
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