Champagne Cruise

Matelot has a new Silver Fern Flag courtesy of Terry and Diana Beckett... Thanks very much! We are now very visible Kiwis and start to see the results immediately as people call by to say hello.







Nanou bay on Simi Island, one of the many magical places we visit...



We meet up with Diana and Terry Beckett at Kos Marina on Wednesday 19 August. We are looking forward to showing them our latest Greek Island ‘discovery’ of Nisiros. Nisiros does not get a very red hot review in the Heikell Pilot book but we have to say we are very impressed with this lovely island. So are lots of other yachtsmen as we later discover.

We are quite nervous as we know that one of our guests is prone to seasickness, but the weather gods are smiling on us and the forecast is for calm conditions for most of the week ahead.

We sail out of Kos and manage to keep our sails up for around half an hour until we round the north eastern corner when the wind dies and we drop sails and motor. We have 22 miles to go and the wind fills in around one hour out of Nisos Yali which itself is 3 miles NW of Nisiros. We are taking Diana and Terry for a “turquoise champagne swim” in the thermal waters off the coast of this island which is the most recent centre of volcanic activity in the area between Kos Island and Nisiros.

We soon see the quarry part of N. Yali come into view and admire the ‘tuff’ shapes on the cliffs to our starboard. This material is volcanic in nature and similar in structure to the ‘tuff’ seen in Cappadocia. A private company mines the island for minerals and there is a large loading gantry built out into the bay, but somehow even this does not deter from the beauty and uniqueness of this place. We find our champagne swim without too much difficulty and dive and play on the venting bubbles.

Around 4.30pm we call in to Nisiros to confirm our booking in the harbour only to find that it is full up. A charter fleet has arrived and there is no room at the inn. Not taking ‘no’ for an answer we arrive and circle in a predatory manner inside the harbour, eyes peeled for an opportunity. The only chance we see is alongside a 40 ft Bavaria moored alongside the concrete pier. Off we go. He is not happy and tries to repel us. We do not take no for an answer as he is taking up space for 3 boats and we must have a calm place to spend the night. (Our seasick guest has suffered a little today.) Eventually he backs down and we tie up alongside for a peaceful night. We are very respectful Kiwis and do not attempt to climb over his immaculate boat to go ashore. Soon the wind gets up but we are on still water. We sleep soundly.

The new day dawns and we grab the first free space which becomes available as boats start to leave for the day. We are backed in to the town quay and tied up by 8.30am and confirm our rental car booking for the day ahead when we will explore Nisiros. From the wonderful village of Emporia on the edge of the crater, with its unspoilt very ancient ruins and picturesque ‘newer’ village (still very old and quintessentially Greek), to the volcano crater, the fantastic Volcanological Museum in the village of Nikia - which covers in fantastic detail the volcanic activity over the whole of the Agean Sea, (not just Nisiros) - and then on to Mandraki where we are disappointed to find the Monastery and the Museums closed at 3pm. This island’s beginnings go back into the mists of time and there is plenty of evidence of this. We end the day with a feeling of having done something very special.

Volcanic crater on Nisiros Island






Ruins going back into time near to Emporio on Nisiros Island.

We have previously foraged for ripe figs on the side of the road here (they are currently drying on the boat ready for fig and ginger jam) and today we enjoy with our lunch the local delicacy of pickled caper leaves (sprigs actually). Later, while we are visiting the Monastery and the old walls of the castle in Mandraki we recognise the caper plants tumbling over the old rock walls. They are laden with fat green caper berries and Pippy picks some to take back to Matelot for pickling. Unfortunately they turn out to be full of worms and hence perhaps the reason why only the leaves are used here!

Friday 21 August dawns calm and clear so we set a passage plan for the south-western anchorage of Panomitis on the island of Simi some 33 NM away. However, despite a forecast for light winds, we get more than that accompanied by a rolling sea. It is not long before the seasick problem rears its unpleasant head so we change course for Palamutbuku, much closer, on the end of the Datca Peninsular. The rolling sea at this angle is side on and gets worse the closer we get to land. We make a decision to cut the day’s passage even shorter and head straight into the sea towards the ancient harbour of Knidos very close by. This turns out to be a good decision and very soon we drop anchor in close view of the ancient stone ampitheatre. The ruins of the important ancient city of Knidos cover an area of several square kilometres. It is a wonderful area to walk around with plenty to see. The harbour is full of day-trippers, but later in the day it empties out and we go alongside the pontoon for a very peaceful and pleasant evening including dinner out at the restaurant. We realise we may not make it to Simi, but it does not matter.

We make our next passage plan for Palamutbuku and creep quietly along the coast the next morning, stopping to swim in an idyllic bay along the way.

It is very hot in Palamutbuku Harbour, so we wrap the sun covers across the back of the bimini and spend the afternoon hopping across the sea wall and swimming off the sandy beach. Later we walk along the waterfront where we find some of the locals processing the almond crop.




The fresh fat almonds are selling for 30 Turkish Lira for a kilo, and there is plenty of local olive oil for sale as well.

We eat dinner right on the beach at Merhaba Restaurant being hosted by Altan. As always, the food is excellent.




Altan is a charming and gracious host.














This is becoming a place of many memories for us.


The exceptionally calm conditions tempt us to try for Simi again today, Sunday 23 August. For those people who suffer from sea-sickness, it takes a lot of courage and trust to come on board a sailing yacht for a holiday. We are aware of this and do not wish to inflict the discomfort of this on our friends. We all hold our breath as we head out, but we have no problems on the trip across to Simi, some 25 NM away and the all round protection of Panomitis (we call it Monastery Bay) provides us with a calm anchorage, despite the many wasps which come to investigate once we get out the drinks and food!

We love the location. It is a fertile looking area, with lots of trees covering the slopes. The old monastery is a spectacular building with an ornate bell tower, which is lit up at night and so very pretty. The museum and interior of the monastery is a must see with many interesting exhibits to view.

We climb the hill behind the monastery and look back over the bell tower out to the harbour entrance.






Inside the monastery the floor is a visually disturbing zig zag pattern. The chapel is the most beautiful we have ever seen with ancient friezes on the ceiling.

We have heard that there is a bus in the morning to Simi town and the trip is an interesting one to take, so we are ashore early ready to go. It proves to be a fantastic trip winding up to the highest parts of the island and providing us with stunning views along the way. Before we know it we are in Simi town and enjoying walking around the winding streets in the old village close to the castle. Later in the day and back on board Matelot we take a quick cooling swim then head out to investigate the anchorages along the eastern side of the island. We initially check out the anchorage on the islet of Seskli to the south, but it appears a bit wild and woolly (perhaps another time) as the afternoon breeze has come in and is blowing in there. Our first attempt at anchoring in the bay of Faneromeni is a disaster as the anchor will not set so we keep heading north, eventually finding a magical anchorage for the night in Marathouda Bay where we squeeze in between two other yachts, taking the last place for the night.

We cannot decide which is our favourite meal of the day. Diana and Terry about to eat lunch on board Matelot.

The goats are our entertainment here as they come rushing in from all directions, goat bells ringing. It seems to be something they do just before darkness falls. The sound of the goat bells signals the sinking sun. Later, after dark we swim in the warm sea surrounded by sparkling phosphorescence.

Tuesday 25 August dawns and we have a visitor. A local fisherman from Pethi has been fishing overnight and had a fuel leak. Unable to use his winch to wind in his nets he has had to do it by hand and is pretty exhausted. (The small pile of fish which is a result of all his labour is astonishing) Someone has towed him into this bay where he wants to tie alongside and call his son who is the Harbourmaster at Simi Harbour. After some hot coffee and a short wait, he is sorted and we head north again, this time looking for a place to spend a few hours before going into the harbour of Pethi for the night.

Richard is inspired to try an arty shot...bow roller into blue water...

We are stunned by the loveliness of our next stop of Nanou Bay where we moor stern to in the absolutely crystal clear turquoise water, with a backdrop of massive cliffs rising up above us. Half way up the sheer rock face we can see that someone has painted a Greek Flag. How on earth did they get up there? It must have been done by abseiling from the top. We spend the next few hours here, marvelling at the loveliness and swimming, swimming, swimming. The water entices us over and over again.


Diana gets the record for the most swims!

There are a few fish but they are not that excited about the bread we throw to them. We are one of many day-tripper boats, the last one to arrive being a large gullet which lays its chain over ours. We have to ask them to move later so that we can leave.

Pethi Harbour does not get a great writeup in the Heikell Pilot Book. The holding is not reputed to be that good. However, we find it works for us and enjoy a walk ashore where there are lots of fascinating old buildings.

Richard muscling in!...




The locals are very friendly and we bump into our fisherman friend again. We are happy to be anchored in here as it is quite breezy tonight.




Our fisherman friend and his boat.



Our final morning on this cruise dawns, and we feel as though we have covered a lot of ground. We make one last breakfast swim stop at Ay Marina, a tiny bay between Pethi and Simi Harbours.


Last swim stop...

Once again the water entices us and we enjoy a couple of hours here before heading in to Simi Harbour to do the anchor dance. We choose the least busy time of day and squeeze in between two boats. It is hot and breathless and we break out all of our sun covers, getting them in place as quickly as we can. The hussle-bussle of downtown Simi envelops us for the next few hours. We eat delicious sole for dinner at a local restaurant and wander around enjoying the night time ambience. We don’t exactly have a quiet night, with our next door neighbours leaving at around 3.30am and taking ages to get their anchor up. Before we know it we are walking along the quay with Di and Terry and their bags, where they will catch the ferry back to Kos, fly to Athens then back to NZ. Thank you for visiting us – we have loved having you on board.

We stay on in Simi for another night before making our next passage plan for the island of Nisos Tilos. We have not been there yet but hear it is good. Our Silver Fern flag has done the trick again and we have a visit from NZ friends Peter and Barbara Brandley on SY Musketele. They call in for a chat and we exchange cruising notes. It is good to catch up. It is very hot so we take our pillows out into the cockpit and fall asleep, despite the fact that there are people walking by only a couple of meters away! The endless motor scooters going by eventually wake us up. Richard goes down below about 1.30 am, Pippy much later around 4.00 am.

This is Capn Buck and Pippy signing out for now on Thursday 27 August. We have caught up with some emails and phone calls and as usual, do not know when we will next be able to get on line. Our love goes out to all our family and friends.

Our next visitors will be Emily and Marc who we rendezvous with in Kos on Thursday 10 September.