Ormous Eristos, Nisos Tilos
Minka of Southampton - Cruising Log
Edmund Wigan
Fri 15 Aug 2014 07:19
Carrying on from my desert island it was midnight before I got into this anchorage.
Just as I was approaching the island in the pitch black I heard a powerful diesel engine quite close but there were no navigation lights or anything showing on AIS. I turned on the radar and found quite a small blip heading straight at me.
By this time I was getting a tad concerned so put on my searchlights so Minka could play at being a Christmas tree. The other vessel put on its navigation lights and then turned on a powerful searchlight. It was coming straight at me doing 20kts. By this time it was only a few hundred metres away. At 100 mts it altered course slightly and came alongside me within 10mts. At this point it throttled down and stayed there for a minute before hailing me. It was only a Hellenic Coastguard cutter.
We had a chat about where I was going, where I had come from and why hadn't I got any friends. Quite often the marine authorities seem doubtful when you tell them you have no crew.