A 6 hour journey with no wind, just what we didn't want. We hadn't expected to use the engine this much in such a short time, this means a fuel top up pretty soon, therefore a chunk of our money gone, not good! Our passage takes us from Mandraki bay, around Poros Island and will finish in Epidhavros. This small town sits on the Greek mainland not too far from Athens, yet another place we would love to visit. Perhaps on our return from meeting our friends, for now we are on a time schedule. The sea is glassy calm and very few yachts seem to be travelling in our direction, plenty of tourist boats zip around and past us on their way to various destinations. An occasional ferry tears through the water leaving his frothy trail behind for us to bob around in. The sky is a beautiful deep blue, summery colour, just the nip in the air reminding us that we are only just entering May. A few white fluffy clouds seem to be gathering, hopefully not a threat to our day. As we motor onwards rounding through the narrow passage between a few small rocky, unnamed islands and the mainland, a few other yachts begin to emerge from the little coves and inlets. Dodging them can be a challenge as at times their intentions are not clear, one second they appear to be aiming at us, the next their bow appears to be aiming down our starboard side. As none of us are actually sailing, the guidelines state, travel on the right therefore pass port side to port side. Clearly not everyone reads the aforementioned guidelines! We dance with our opponents for a few moments until we are in an appropriate position as we then have to pass through a narrow stretch of sea, who goes first? Well ideally the vessel closer to the obstruction should take the lead and have the right of way. Again there can be a little hesitancy in these instances, it's all great fun, if not a touch stressful! Following our nimble and creative show of agility, the water opens out with Poros Island on our left, it looks barren with no signs of farm land or buildings, however, the main port on the southern coast is very popular, we will perhaps visit in a few weeks when time is on our side. The clouds have been congregating, billowing further across what was, a fabulous blue skyline. Each time we look upwards a little less blue and a lot more grey seems evident, how frustrating, the last thing we wanted was rain. The breeze however has also picked up, giving us the opportunity to actually sail, quickly we release the mainsail and unfurl the genoa, the wind whips them both into a fabulous shape and carries us forward. Great, we can switch off our engine and enjoy the pleasant 10 knots of wind which seems to be building quite quickly. Our sails are reefed, only allowing part of the sails to unwrap, minimises the risk if the wind should suddenly flare up too briskly. As we have a little control we relax into a good breezy sail, cautiously aware of the gathering cloud and it's darkening colour. Over towards the Athens coastline on our right, an enormous cargo vessel takes shape as we draw closer, it's size is overwhelming, I cannot imagine the weight and it's engine power enabling this beast to travel through the water. He appears to be on anchor in extremely deep waters, how long must his chain be and what type of anchor would hold this monster? Our attention is abruptly drawn to the huge patch of black sky ahead, a grey/ blue shadow looms across our path, we speedily realise that this is more than just a rain shower. Leaping to our feet, grasping at ropes, we haul in, first the genoa which is easier to manipulate, then the main. Unfortunately this sail really requires Kejstral to be facing into the wind for a successful wind in, at this moment big wet splashes splatter onto our heads. Just as we thought, this is more than normal rainfall, the sky grew black within a few seconds, our efforts to turn into the wind were suddenly hampered by a huge wind gust, try as we might, Kejstral was blown around past the direction we aimed for. The main sail struggled to squeeze into its encasing space, as each time we pulled it's furling rope, the wind grabbed at the canvas again like a vice. The rain pounded our bodies, soaking our cold skin, splashing onto our faces to make our task all the more difficult. The wind whipped at our wet clothes, our slippery hands grasped onto Kejstrals chrome rails which hampered our movements as our boat rolled from side to side. With the sail almost home, we pulled on our wet weather gear, hauling on coats and trousers over wet clothes is almost impossible, everything sticking to everything else. Eventually the sail was stowed, well almost ... Our clothing was more appropriate but the storm was only just beginning, all of our possessions had been neatly tucked into the cupboards, yet when thrown around in gusty high winds, those safe cupboards fly open!! Bangs and crashes, doors slamming and items dislodging all of which is happening below decks, with little or no chance to run down and rectify. The rain came slashing down, blanketing our view and disguising our surroundings, knowing that not far behind us, were two other yachts, yet they were obscured completely. Scary to think they were so close, yet we had no visibility to catch sight of their battle against this abrupt storm or squall. An immense sea swell was gathering momentum, we could head straight into both the swell and the ever increasing wind, which would lead us into Epidavros. A more sensible option would be to gently veer off and aim away from the weather in order to reach a safe place. We can easily come back to Epidavros as soon as the weather settles, therefore, this was the option we chose. Thunder crackled above our heads with an occasional dazzling flash of lightning signalling it's distance away from us, it was very close, as each flash of bright light was immediately followed by a huge rumbling noise. Still fighting to stand upright on a slippery wet, windy deck with wind and rain whipping through every available space, we make some headway towards the next bay along from Epidavros. Water gushes across the decks, taking with it any last crumbs and dust that we have managed to collect over the past week. Kevin's reading glasses crash to the floor, while below our soggy feet and deck, items fall from shelves and out of wardrobes. Everything is sodden, us, our clothing, cushions and covers, at least everything will be clean when we arrive! The black sky empties its contents, the waves thrash us from side to side while the high winds, reaching 45 knots on occasions, well they just beat us into submission. Wrenching the ropes, clawing at our canvas bimeny and spray hood, this squall continued for almost an hour and we are becoming exhausted. Still no sign of the yachts who were travelling behind us, this scares us to think they could actually be in trouble and we may not know. Our VHF radio crackles nearby with nothing audible on the channel, to indicate a problem,, we can only assume their radio's are actually switched on! The rain eased in volume just as the gusts lost their force, the sea however, maintained it's lumpy, bumpy swell. Gradually our surroundings began to come into focus as the last few drops of rain touched our dripping faces. The storm was passing over, we could begin to relax a little, our first thought, how were our watery companions who we had lost sight of as the squall took hold. We still could not pick out their outlines, could they have turned back or perhaps taken an alternative course? Our distance from Epidavros was only half a mile, easily achieved as long as the weather behaved. Our course was reset and with a reducing wind we could perhaps have sailed this last section, but we were tired and just needed to be moored safely. The harbour entrance coming into visibility looked very welcoming, but it looked rather busy. We tried to pick out a space, yet we could barely make out any left on the town quay, that would be a bit of a nightmare, having come all this way, and going through a heavy storm we just needed to get there. Fortunately, as we drew closer, gaps seemed to open up between the numerous vessels moored, clearly a very busy place to come. A few guys lingered on the quayside, they acknowledged our approach and indicated an appropriate space for mooring, fantastic, stress over! Dropping the anchor and reversing into our new parking spot felt such a relief, however, we were still very aware of those yachts following us into the harbour. Just hope they are all ok! Within the hour each of the "lost" yachts appeared on the horizon, gradually making their way into this lovely protective bay. The entire harbour and its occupants appeared to appreciate the need for the new comers to have a safe haven, soon vessels were squeezed along a few inches, ropes were adjusted and gradually a few spaces opened up like comforting arms. The new arrivals moored with the assistance of the entire crowd, smiles and words of thanks conveying their appreciation before they finally sat back with a well earned beer. What a sense of comradery and teamwork, fabulous! Our neighbours on one side turned out to be a pair of American guys, father and son on a bonding trip, these lovely guys Liam and Alex spent the evening with us, chatting over drinks and enjoying a pizza in one of the local restaurants. Always great to meet people on the journey, they are heading off in the morning whereas we will spend the next day or so here in Epidhavros. Now that the seas are calm, the wind has eased and the skies have settled, we can relax and enjoy a day topping up with fuel, gas and provisions.
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Sailing Kejstral AdventuresRetired and following our dream of sailing around the world Archives
April 2019
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