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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Sailing Kejstral AdventuresRetired and following our dream of sailing around the world Archives
April 2019
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