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Date: 20 Oct 2009 11:51:48
Title: Wed 30 Sept to Tue 13 Oct Zea Marina, Piraeus, Athens - Lakki marina, Nisos Leros
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Spellbinder slipped from Zea marina on a fine sunny morning with only a zephir from the northwest. The motor took us 18nm to the southeast before the wind freshened from the NNE as the Kea channel was approached. We had been told it was always windy here and we were fortunate to have a good F4 on a reach and flat sea across to the Ormos Kavia on Nisos Kea. In a lovely bay with a beach and taverna ashore we were to enjoy two nights at anchor here swimming, exploring and enjoying the facilities of a lovely taverna early in October. There were two other yachts anchored here in a bay that is crowded in the summer months. The taverna employee ruefully told us, however, that it had been a very windy and unsettled summer and trade had not been so good. The next port of call was a stern-to mooring in Loutra harbour on Nisos Kithnos. We had weighed anchor with a heavy dew on the deck and sailed in a gentle F3 to a harbour were the luxuries of electricity and water were available. We explored Loutra and its hot mineral springs and enjoyed a tidy village that has been spruced up and painted. Saturday 3 Sept saw Spellbinder reaching across to Nisos Siros in a F5 with initially two reefs and 6 rolls in the genoa. These came out as the gusty wind eased somewhat. After viewing the cramped harbour at Fournika that was full of boats we went to the south of the bay to the "new marina" at Posidhonia and berthed alongside a wooden Greek yacht MELIA and had a comfortable night and useful advice from its friendly owner. At Nisos Siros we explored the lovely town of Ermoupolis, the capital of the Cyclades, with its many churches and cathedral, enjoying dinner at the Plakostroto taverna in the north of the island. The views from here were spectacular and we saw the sun set to the west as the full moon rose over Nisos Mikonos to the east - truly magical. The passage to the harbour of Paroikia on Nisos Paros was a steady plod with the motor. We made some water and enjoyed the hot October sunshine and anchored in the northeast corner of Ormos Paroikia in the expectation of a strong blow from the northeast. This duly occured and the new wind generator did sterling work in keeping the battery topped up as we walked and explored ashore and enjoyed swimming off a beach nearby. A hire car took us to the outskirts of the most delightful village of Lefkes where vehicles are banned and a taverna in the church square offered Greek food served gratiously by the proprietor who discussed the history of the place and explained family photographs and past scenes of the village. We were at Paros to say farewell to Keith and Sheila on the ferry to Piraeus and made a rather hair-raising mediterranean mooring to the outer mole of Paroikia boat harbour. The timing was perfect for intercepting a mini tanker for fuel already parked on the mole and taking on water. Then it was back to our anchorage in the bay for the last night before sailing for Nisos Naxos the next day. Weighing anchor on a bright, clear but cool morning with heavy dew on the deck, Spellbinder headed west and then northeast to round the northern point of Nisos Paros. A fine sail ensued hard on the wind in a F4/5 before easing sheets to sail south between the islands of Paros and Naxos. After a superb sail on a clear, sunny day giving magnificent views of the two islands Spellbinder came to anchor in the Ormos Kalandho. Here we found a completed new harbour with shore facilities in place but empty except for two small fishing boats. The only building was a shut taverna that probably managed it in the summer but now it was almost deserted. We anchored anyway off the adjacent beach in delightful surroundings, the water crystal clear. We fell asleep that night to the tinkling of the bells of flocks of sheep as they grazed in the cool night air under a canopy of brilliant stars and planets. We had been remarking on how few birds we had seen in the Greek islands but here there were plenty - grey heron, large egret, cormorant, terns, wagtails. On Sat 10 Oct we weighed anchor on a bright sunny morning and set sail for for Ormos Kalotiri on the small island of Nikouria separated from Nisos Amorgos at its north end by a 5m deep channel that we were to negotiate the next day. Again, this was beautiful and deserted except for one other charter boat on its way to Turkey. A swim and walk ashore before dusk was enjoyed and a reconnaisance made of the 5m channel to provide confidence it was still there. An early start found Spellbinder successfully negotiating the channel to anchor off the harbour at Eyiali to send a shore party to find some stores. An entertaining time was had meeting the friendly islanders and walking round the town. Our next destination was the truly lovely small island of Levitha that is the most westerly of the Dodecanese. In the season it is full of boats moored to buoys provided by the authorities but in mid-October there were just three yachts. There is only one family on the island that has had a presence here for 300 years! Today they run a smashing taverna, a small holding with goats, sheep, crops and kitchen garden, run a fishing boat and administer the moorings. This harbour was the gem of the cruise so far and we lingered, explored and swam. But the crew change at Leros beckoned so we sailed for Lakki harbour on Nisos Leros. We shot across on a reach in a gusty southerly F5 to arrive at Lakki to find the marina was full, and in a howling wind (F8?) and driving rain anchored in the harbour getting some shelter from the breakwater. With the anchor securely dug in to thick mud we watched the yachts mediterranean-moored to the quay on a lee shore looking most uncomfortable and considered ourselves fortunate to be where we were. The stay in Leros was fascinating for its history in particular its part in the second world war but more of that later as I sign off for now.

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