We woke at 7.30 am, wind a little less so far. During the night it crept back to disturb our slumber once again. We had already stowed our possessions therefore we just had to take the engine from 'Zoe' our tender and secure it on 'Kejstral'. Hatches closed and anchor lifted, away we go by 09.00hrs. Still breezy hopefully just enough for our sails to enjoy, we unfurl the Genoa and allow it to fill then gently unroll the main. We are sailing and if feels great, 12 knots of wind push us from behind at around 5 knots, perfect conditions true 'fair winds and following seas'. On a few occasions the wind drops to 6 knots, flapping sails lead up to quickly tighten where possible and take in when the wind has just stopped. Gradually over the journey the wind steadies giving us a good 17 knots, however the swell increased as we head further into open water. Our trip should take us 5 and a half hours. 31 N.ms A few yacht's travel past us going north, we see them battling the wind, repositioning sails and trying to maintain a vision of calm, not easy for anyone when the swell is 2-3 meters!! We pass a few familiar Islands as we near Patmos, Arki and Lipsi are two Greek Islands we have previously visited, both are really lovely. Arki is the smaller, quieter Island with easy anchorage. Lipsi the larger has a few bars restaurants and a small fishing harbour. Both are very welcoming to the sailing / travelling community. Each of the Island we have explored have had ferries linking, therefore visitors are continuous. Because of the ferries, each of these remote little land masses have a thriving tourist trade. We have found that most sailing vessels follow the same pattern of islands, therefore we are likely to meet up each evening, just in a different place! As we approach Patmos, as with any new place, we are nervously excited. A little fearful of the mooring or anchorage yet exhilarated to be in our new holiday destination, I do believe we have a healthy fear of each new situation. There would be nothing worse than an over confident attitude, we could (and frequently do) look a little silly when we make our regular mistakes. Patmos is a bit quieter than we expected, which is great for us ( less people to notice us messing up the mooring) As we near the harbour wall, the harbour staff come to meet and assist with ropes, they also inform us where is best for our boat. With a very sharp whistle, we get the idea he wants us to pull in next to a rather sophisticated looking sport fishing vessel. I have never seen so many fishing rod holders in 40 feet of fibreglass, wonder if he actually catches anything, we never seem to! Anchor down and into reverse we go, unfortunately yet again we misjudge the anchor chain length, suddenly we come to an abrupt halt, Kevin yelling ( over the wind and 36 feet of boat) let out more chain! I yell back ( perhaps a little louder) we have no more bloody chain! Yet again we find ourselves pulling in the anchor to start the process all over again. Second time round we have perfection at least we are now moored, secure with a few rope adjustments to hold us firmly in place. Patmos is also a popular day stop for the few cruise ships in the area, which of course is brilliant for the town. Within an hour of us arriving the first big liner pulls into the narrow inlet, it is enormous. We discuss, as probably every other onlooker is, whether this captain has ever moored here before and will he make it in! The ship actually does a three point turn in an area so small, we all want to cheer and clap at his skill. Our discussion changes to ' well, he does have the benefit of bow thrusters and has probably been here hundreds of times ' poor captain, we do love to judge! On the dock we see a small party of school aged children wearing what we assume is traditional dress, they sing and perform a sweet greeting dance to the incoming visitors from the Turkish port of Kusadasi. Lovely gesture, just a pity we didn't have our decent camera available at the time. We only caught a glimpse of them performing The reason for our ' less capable camera situation' is that we are on our way to check out the scooter hire for tomorrow. We find a reasonable bike for € 18 euro per day which is pretty good as the bike is rather new. It will hopefully be returning to him just as clean and shiny! For the evening we wander through the pretty streets gazing longingly at the fabulous food being served to table loads of ravenous chattering guests. Laughter, glasses clinking, cries of ' salute' from around the tables give a sense of contentment and pleasure, if only vicariously in our case. What a vibrant town. In the evenings more shops open up to the sun kissed tourists who are by this time, eager to explore. Believe me, in 36 degrees the last things on your mind are walking too far and shopping. When sunset arrives the town becomes alive, shop owners smile and greet the excitable customers with 'kalespera'. Beautiful materials catch your eye, sparkling costume jewellery draped around the gowned maniquins, pretty sunhats and bright beachwear with elegant footwear laid out ready to tempt you. These hypnotic treasures encourage sublimely, the money from our tight pursestrings. Yet we take great pleasure from just watching the excitement of the purchaser and the gratitude of the vendor, each as happy with their end of the exchange. Should we choose to purchase every beautiful item that takes our heart, we could not travel and enjoy all of these experiences and for that we are truly grateful.
Back on board we settle into a dream filled sleep, with visions of our day ahead on the scooter !
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Sailing Kejstral AdventuresRetired and following our dream of sailing around the world Archives
April 2019
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