Tuesday 8^th September – Órmos Sívota, Levkas - Iris Hotel, Nidri, Levkas

38:41.922N 20:42.468E

Mid morning we left Sivota and headed back the short distance to the ‘Dutch’ pontoon near Nidri to restock and recharge the batteries.  Outside the shelter of Órmos Sívota we found quite a bit of wind; naturally it was right on the nose and so we had to plug on under motor.

As we arrived our Dutch neighbours from Fiskárdho were berthing at the pontoon and we went in beside them.  It was a bit of a snug fit for us as they are quite a large boat and the downwind side of the pontoon was quite full.  Once we were in and had the lazy line attached, we were advised that the lazy lines were not too strong on this side of the pontoon, being intended for the smaller charter boats that operate from here, and that it would be better to lay to an anchor, albeit that the anchor needed to be set well-off the pontoon so it was clear of the ground tackle for the lazy lines.

Well, having suddenly become ‘experts’ at re-laying anchors whilst attached to a quay in Sivota, we put the outboard on the dinghy and Richard took the main anchor out as I let the chain out (a method we had seen one of the flotilla leaders doing ‘single-handed’ and an adaptation of the ‘loads of chain in the dinghy’ approach we used a couple of days ago).

Once he had laid the anchor in the water, I retrieved the chain but the hook was getting too close to the floats marking the ground tackle for us to be comfortable and it still hadn’t set.  So, out went Richard to pull the hook back up into the dinghy and off he went again.  The second time it did bite so we have now got a lazy line and the main anchor out, belt and braces we think, especially as the wind is due to be from astern and we are holding on our stern lines.  But you never know what may happen.

Whilst we were doing all this, Cape arrived and we helped them in as the wind had built.  They came in on the upwind side of the pontoon but their anchor did not hold.  Fortunately the lazy line kept them in place as they then re-laid their anchor, taking it out by dinghy. 

After this their Dutch friends arrived and also had ‘fun’ getting in.  After a couple of attempts, with some dinghy assistance to help fight the wind blowing them sideways, they landed successfully and now all the boats are settled.

After all that entertainment it was time for some lunch and then a swim in the lovely hotel pool and a bask in the sun.

This evening we took trolley into town to stock up on food.  It was quite late by the time we got back and so have cooked dinner and, with the benefit of shore power, settled down to watch a DVD.