When is a marina not a marina?

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Sat 1 Aug 2009 17:28
38:23.1N 26:08.3E

Saturday 1st August.

Made early start today on the trip to Khios. We had planned to go yesterday,
but the winds had blown hard all that night and so we elected to take a day
off in the light of Thursdays epic trip.

Very light wind today and we ended up motor sailing pretty much the whole
way. Of course as chance would have it, the wind suddenly whipped up to 25
knots as we made our final approach to the extremely tricky entrance to
Khios Marina. This nautical scrap yard is something of a Greek national
disgrace to my mind. Part funded by the EU, they built the basic structure
here years ago, with the mole, concrete fingers and even a bay for a lifting
gantry. But that is when worked stopped years ago and what is left is a
rundown semi-derelict place with just moorings for visiting boats along the
inside of the outer mole. The entrance has an unmarked reef beside it and
the only way in is by approaching at exactly 270 degrees (due west) and
skimming close to the end of the mole and then turning very hard to
starboard. For good measure there is also a bar at the entrance which
reduces the depth to 2.8 metres even though inside the depths are much
better. Of course 2.8 is OK for us, on a good day, but when you factor in
high pressure and the large seas that were building as we arrived, 0.6
metres is not much to play with under the keel. Politics aside it would take
very little to have this running as a functioning marina and an asset to the
town and the island. But how many times have we seen this around these
islands during this season?

Once we were in behind the mole it soon became clear that the quay was full
and although a helpful Dutchman was signalling that we could go alongside
the rusting hulk of an old Greek island ferry and that he would take our
lines, we decided that we would abort the visit and head back out to sea and
cross over to Cesme in Turkey. At this point the elderly Italian couple on a
Grand Soleil 46 signalled that we were welcome to go alongside them and so
we eased our way over and were soon tied up safe and sound. The next boat
behind us on the quay then indicated that he was leaving in around one hour,
so we waited for him to vacate the slot, but eventually he decided that it
was all too windy and decided to stay, so we were finally able to walk off
to the supermarket nearby and stock up on supplies.

I now have to make a small confession about yesterday. I was replacing one
of the toilet pumps and as part of this lovely job, you need to disconnect
all the hoses. As I removed the last of these, it leaked out water if I let
it drop down at all, so craftily I turned to the turkey baster that we use
for removing water from such awkward places and started to remove water from
the upturned hose and put it into a bucket. After quite a few goes it dawned
on me that the water level never changed. Yes, I had forgotten to shut the
sea cock and so I was trying to empty the Aegean Sea into a bucket with a
turkey baster.......

I also forgot to mention the very salutary sight of a wrecked steel yacht
that you pass on your way into Sigri (Thursday 30th July). We were not able
to get a photo on our way in as we were more than a little preoccupied at
the time (!) with the rolling seas and 38 knot wind, but I did manage a
quick snap at a distance as we left the comparative shelter of the rocks and
reefs. You will be able to view it at www.rhbell.com with all our other
pictures as soon as we get to Wi-Fi again.