37:07.55N 24:27.15E

Muskrat
Chris and Alison
Sun 22 Aug 2021 18:29
We left Apokriosis Bay at 0830, a lot of yachts had already left so that  made leaving much easier than I had thought. We sailed into a lumpy sea with the wind gusting up 30knts but it was downwind so we sailed on a broad reach with a reefed Genoa making 6+ knots towards our next destination, Serifos. The wind moderated after about 4 hours and the final leg of the trip was a gentle sail into the bay at Koutala on Serifos. There was only one other yacht in the bay so we had our pick of anchorages. Soon after we arrived the other yacht up anchored and left, was it the sight of Rambo on the foredeck directing the anchoring procedure? We will never know, but we were left entirely on our own in a large bay. The wind was expected to increase again for the next 3 nights to 35+ knots so again we are stuck at anchor riding out the Meltemi. We dived on the anchor once we were happy it was set and sure enough it had set in sand. 



Koutala Bay on Serifos.





Rambo on the foredeck in charge of the anchoring procedure.





I am convinced this is why the other yacht left soon after we arrived! To put you in the picture, we wear motorcycle intercom sets for anchoring so that we don’t have to shout to each other in an anchorage. They work very well but when it is windy and you are working with the anchor it is difficult to keep them in your ear as they are designed to go in the motorcycle helmet. So to combat this we have taken to wearing head bands to keep the ear piece in!  No excuse for the pose though.



The next night and the next day saw the wind increase as predicted to 30 - 35+ knots but feeling a lot  more. The anchor dug itself in more into the sand until we couldn’t see it any more!
On the afternoon of the 22nd Aug we were riding out a particularly nasty blow when we heard a mayday call from someone with an English accent, assumed they had a charter boat. They had blown out their mainsail that was now flogging in the high winds with the risk of the mast coming down. They were under engine but were obviously very scared and with two adults and 3 children on board it appeared that they had no idea how to handle the situation. The local coastguard told them, once he had established there was no risk to life, that their call was not a mayday, but they did arrange some help for them. An hour later we heard the port police calling them up!