We had some difficulty making the boat safe as
the wind was determined to smash the back of the boat against the concrete quay.
Eventually, after over an hour since we dropped the anchor and took lines
ashore, the boat was secured and we went ashore to make our purchases. Skala is
a delightful, unspoilt little town but with too many steps for me just now. I
cannot believe how long it is taking to regain my strength following that nasty
bug that attacked me while we were in the Middle-east.
We rose at 6am on Wednesday morning, to catch a window
between blows. The wind was forecast to be force 4 to 5 and blowing from the
north should make for a good sail. By 8.25am, we were tied up again in the harbour
following a problem with the genoa, the cause of which we were unable to
ascertain until we were back at Skala. Fortunately, we didn’t need a sail-maker,
although a neighbouring catamaran had located one for us. It seemed that the
sail had become detached from the swivel at the top of the foil. Using a winch,
I pulled Dick up the mast so that he could lower the offending item, which he
was subsequently able to fix.
At 10.30 we were again on our way to Amorgos,
whose claim to fame is that it was used as the setting for the film, The Grand
Bleu. Nonetheless, this island is not on the main tourist route, remaining
unspoilt and therefore, for us, a lovely place to visit.
Within the hour we put a reef in the main sail
but shook it out later as the wind decreased as we moved away from the
island of Astipalaia.
The pod containing the auto-pilot became
detached from the boat, other than by the cables linking it to the instruments
below. We tied it onto the bimini supports to stop it being buffeted by the
movement of boat.
I started to wonder if perhaps we should have
set to sea today. It was after all, the 13th of the month, though not
a Friday. Then I wondered, as things generally happen in threes, what the
3rd misfortune was likely to be. When the trim fell off the port side
cross-trees, I was relieved. I am not really superstitious but I don’t care to
tempt fate.
Three hours before we reached our anchorage on
Amorgos, the wind was strengthening and the sea steep and confused. We put a
reef in the main sail and then a second reef an hour later. The water threw
itself over the bows and the fly-bridge as we fought our way north eastwards,
close hauled, with the wind blowing 40 plus knots. The log tells us that it
registered a high of 46knots.
We sailed along at 7, 8 and 9 knots then at
1.9knots as we went up and down in the steep troughs. I kept looking at the log to see
how far we had still to travel to our anchorage and the estimated time of
arrival. While we were sailing at the higher speeds, we could expect to reach
our next waypoint within the hour but when our speed was much reduced, it looked
as if we were going to spend most of the night at sea.
We tacked closer to the island and switched on
the engines, motor-sailing to our destination, where we arrived soaked, cold and
tired. What an awful passage! At times like this, I wonder why I want to reach
out of my comfort zone.
We stayed 3 nights in the protected
bay of Kalotaritissa. There was a mono-hull in the bay
on the morning following the second night, but it had left by 10am. A couple of hours later a 49foot catamaran
arrived. By the look of their main halyard and a couple of other lines, one
dangling into the sea and the genoa sheets badly twisted, they had experienced a
problem and taken refuge in this bay to rectify the
situation.
On the morning of the 16th August,
we cautiously moved out of the bay. The wind was blowing a gentle force 4,
though the sea was still steep. However, after the onslaught of the previous
passage, we found this to be an encouraging start.
We made our way to Katapola, a distance of just
7 miles, planning to tie up on the town quay. So much for remote islands, the
quay was choc-a-bloc with boats rafted 3 deep. It seemed that we had chosen to
visit here, the same weekend as two separate yacht rallies had also arranged to
be here. Good business for the island.
We dropped an anchor in the bay, had a swim,
then went ashore for lunch, in the rib.
