Kythnos - Hydra 44 Nm

Sans Peur
Grete & Fred Vithen
Thu 14 Jul 2016 12:33
37:21.29N 23:29.05E 12 & 13 July

Rise and shine at 5:15. Is this really happening, yawning?? We both slept well in the cockpit during the night in spite of the unpredictable gusts. The wind comes and goes all the time, annoying. More trouble for me, Fred doesn't hear a bloody thing. He just snores along happily.
Ok. No sun yet, but soon it will surely start "working". Yes, yes, that for sure.
Nice and smooth sailing for a while but then the Meltemi strikes with full force, big short waves and up to 45 knots of wind. We are sailing half wind. It's like beeing in a roller coaster and there is saltwater spray everywhere. "It's going to be a bit tough today," says Fred!! Oh yes, but Sans Peur dances like a ballerina, and we do, on average, those first three hours 7 knots with only a reefed yankee and the cutter, no mainsail. What a ride, but a rough one. Breakfast is served and eaten down in the galley, standing, no possibility to eat in the cockpit. No worries, we are very happy for a simple sandwich and above all a cup of coffee. It's now 09.30.
Approaching Hydra, around one o'clock the weather changed again. Smooth sea and almost to little wind. Weather in the Med is almost impossible to predict. Our goal is Mandraki, a small cove with just one taverna, 2 kms away from the crazy overcrowded main port! Feels very tiny. Where shall we anchor for the night? It feels a bit crowded already. 
Some yachts leave finally. Thanks, more room for us. At this moment there was 6 yachts at anchor. More about this later.
Time to anchor. First attempt was  not a good one. It feels that we are to close to everything.  New spot we new try. Time to attache to the shore with our new floating orange lines. We never tried this before. Dingy plus Fred and two lines goes to the shore, about 100 ms of line. Seems "We are ok". How clever and smart we are. Not.
No, no wind turns and we suddenly drifting towards the rocks , shit .... anchor up, 60 meters, take some time to get in. Fred trying to keep the boat clear. 
Another close call. Third try and now we are anchored in 15 m, snorkel check. Rocna well dug into the mud. Two lines to the shore.
Time for a well deserved rest soon, after a challenging day.
Mandraki, Hydra. 
There you go. Two floating lines to the shore.
13 July. Hydra crazy party port. No space and to many yachts. Impossible to sleep during the night. It's all about party.
Main transportation on the island.​We went We went the 2 km:s to the port to get some fresh bread for breakfast. 
This is the view at the entrance. Already this early there are about 15 charter yachts queuing up. 

That's where we are. The silent site, this is morning. Later on they managed to squeeze  in about 50 charter yachts. 
Taxi boats going and coming al the night. Party, party ... 
Crazy place!