Sensational!!!

Simi Harbour at its very best...!


5 October 2009

To meet Rod and Fi we moor right on the ferry wharf, one of Kos Island’s best kept secrets this summer. We know we can go here free of charge. It is a newly repaired section of wharf, which was destroyed by a southerly storm last year. Water is laid on but no power. Rod and Fi arrive right on time at 4.30am and they are suitably impressed when we walk them across the wharf and step on board SY Matelot, parked as we are right outside the castle walls.

Ouzo all round on board SY Matelot as we welcome the new arrivals!



A quick stock up and we are off for a look at the island of Leros north of here and the lovely town of Pandelli with its castle on top of the hill.



There is very little wind so we motor all the way, then drop anchor outside the small harbour where the swimming is gorgeous off the boat.


...Pandelli Castle beckons from the hilltop....

Cap’n Buck ferries the crew ashore for some exploring while Pippy takes care of herself and the boat.

The afternoon’s entertainment consists of the local fishermen working their nets right inside the harbour and all around SY Matelot, and later on we all go ashore again ...


for a slap up dinner at Zorba’s right on the beach where the food is exceptionally good and the company even better.



6 October 2009

Our return to Kos Island the next day is a bit more boisterous as the prevailing north westerly has kicked in and we romp our way back downhill. The sailing is fun and we stop for a quick (hair raising) peep into the tiny harbour of Vathi on the eastern side of Kalymnos. After an aborted attempt to tie up Med style to the harbour wall in a very confined space (just not worth the hassle in the fresh wind), we carry on to Kos and back on to our spot on the ferry terminal. Deb and Greg leave us tomorrow so we make the most of our last night on board with them. No meal with the Cooks would be complete without gastronomic flavours and we realise it is the lure of the ice cream shop which has brought us back here, as after dinner we all take a short walk and......

like children in a candy store, try to decide what we will have.




In the end most of us go for the ice cream but some of us have still not had enough Baklava!!


Wednesday 7 October

It is just too hard to sit on the wall on such a lovely day, so we opt to sail the 17NM around to Kardamena for a last swim and a quick taxi ride to the airport.


The boys enjoy their lunch....

...Deb enjoys one last swim....



Sadly we all say farewell around 5pm. It has been great having you on board D and G – come back again some day!

We have fun provisioning SY Matelot for our next adventure, and (just because we can!) eat a tasty dinner at the Blue Note Café. We are just about regulars here now!

Thursday 8 October

On the way to Nisyros....

We are up early on SY Matelot as our adventure awaits us. Sailing out towards Nisyros we stop for the obligatory Dom Perignon dip before heading on to Nisyros Harbour - to the sound of our latest Nisyros music - and organising our scooters for the next day and a half.

We eat a quick lunch on board and then are on to the scooters heading out to our favourite Black Pearl Beach and a swim in the dark waters. There is just time to also visit the village of Emporio, wandering again through the old stone village first and then on to the inhabited side afterwards, a site which we never get tired of. Dinner at Aphrodite is its usual superb standard of food and bonhomie. We love the custom in Greece where the waiter (and in this case our host) sits down at the table with us to discuss what our menu choices are going to be. (The next morning we see him again - working on a building site in Mandraki!)

Friday 9 October

Mandraki Village is our destination this morning and we are up and away early by SY Matelot standards, exploring with Rod and Fi our favourite haunts, the museum with its many fascinating exhibits dating back to before 7th century BC, the monastery, the shops (numerous) and the castle. On from here (the scooters know their own way) up the winding road to Nikkei, the village high up on the edge of the crater, where Rod and Fi take in the Volcanological Museum and we stop for (a late) lunch.

By now the word "Sensational!" is cropping up fairly regularly!....


On our way back from here we turn left over the crater edge, plunging down the steep road inside the crater, to see the steam vents in good form today possibly due to the recent rain. (An active sleeping volcano, with the last eruption 15,000 years ago.) The sun is going down and the light is fading slightly, making for amazing colours and rapidly cooling temperatures.

By the time we have taken in the crater, we are ready to get back to the boat and enjoy hot showers and a long cold beer. The weather is warm and balmy here at water level and we eat a late dinner on board SY Matelot.

Saturday 10 October

Fascinating Tilos Island, due east of Nisyros, is our destination today. Although it is a small island (63 sq km), it is of interest because it is a specially protected area. ("SPA" which basically means the locals can’t shoot the bird life and put it into a pie.) This is due to some important flora and bird species which live here namely, Bonelli’s Eagle, Elonora’s Falcon and the Mediterranean Shag. There have been hordes of shooters with their dogs on the neighbouring island of Nisyros and we are told they are shooting crow, partridge and anything else basically that moves.

Remains of dwarf elephants have also been found in a cave on Tilos island, but excavation on this site is still in progress and not yet open to the public.

We arrive in Livadia Harbour (the main port of the island) around 1.00 pm. Pippy (successfully) practises reversing Matelot stern-to and we soon have the sun covers up as it is very warm. It is a short walk around the waterfront to our favourite Med style swim in front of the Ilirock Hotel. We clamber in over the rocks. The buoyant water is warm and crystal clear almost like swimming in turquoise jelly. Amazingly, we are almost the only ones here and the beach umbrellas are all packed away. Rod fishes a Nike hat out of the bushes, which has washed up on the beach and Cap’n Buck instantly souvenirs it!

Capn Nike Buck...!

A fun dinner out follows when we sit on the waterfront and enjoy the balmy evening and very good food, preceded by drinks sitting in an old boat on the shore. The local silversmith is open and Fi and Pippy do some retail therapy. The designs are original and interesting.

Wonderful Tilos Island....

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we will take the coach (which only goes on Sunday) across the island to visit the stunning Byzantine Monastery of Pandeleimonas.

Sunday Morning

We drive across this lovely island enjoying spectacular views from high up to the sea stretching away into the distance.

The monastery chapel is really special with ancient frescoes covering the ceiling and many fascinating icons. It is not hard to imagine the time in the past when this monastery was powerful and wealthy and even printed its own money. Today it is virtually deserted except for the caretaker and staff who cater for the tourists.

It is a place of great beauty and peace, set high up overlooking the sea, with tall trees growing all around and a natural spring cascading down the hillside.

We are back on board Matelot in time to sail across to the southern end of Simi and the anchorage of Panormitis with its gorgeous bell tower and monastery on the shore line. The night is calm and we relax into the wonderful ambience all around us, but do not linger the next morning as have more places to see.

Monday

After a quick swim we head for another top spot on the eastern side, which we have inadvertently been calling Nonou Bay, when in fact it is Thessalona. We know from past experience that it is better to be here in the morning and then move on as the afternoon breezes can make it uncomfortable.

Thessalona does not disappoint and we are fascinated by the abundant bird life around the tall cliffs as we lounge in the sunshine and calm waters. It is good that we move on before 1.00pm and get ourselves into Simi, because the harbour is almost full and a charter fleet is expected to arrive at any time.

The remainder of the afternoon is spent either watching or helping people who have “anchor issues”.



Honestly this harbour is a challenge. It is so narrow that anchors from boats on the other side are constantly pulling up and getting tangled in the yachts moored on the opposite side. The gullets are the worst problem as they lay their huge anchors right across the deep harbour. Laid moorings would solve this problem instantly.

Tuesday

The next morning we decide Matelot is safely anchored far enough off the wall, so we all take a walk into the old town of Simi, heading straight back up the hill behind us.




It is a fascinating walk and the many old and lovely buildings, some in a complete state of disrepair are a testament to the age and history of this island. In one place the buildings are extremely badly damaged, and a local person explains that they were hit by a bomb in the war. Walking through these streets is an architectural and pictorial treat.

We even see Pethi Harbour in the distance.

High up on the hillside, we catch a glimpse of Matelot in the harbour far below and Fi comments that there is another yacht parked at a funny angle near to her. We make our way quickly back down through the maze of streets only to find that a charter boat has fouled our anchor, and has its chain wrapped chain right across the bow. It is lying alongside the quay beside us. Matelot’s stern is rubbing up against the concrete wall (luckily our large fender is preventing any damage). We jump on board and motor off the wall but can’t go far as our anchor is trapped under the offending boat, and there does not appear to be anyone on board who is prepared to do anything about it. We sit there helplessly in mid harbour, waiting for something to happen. A half hour later, the occupants appear and pull up their anchor and leave, allowing us to depart. We then discover a bent stanchion and some damage where the boat has obviously dragged alongside our port side, so we follow them to where they anchor. They look a little surprised and somewhat guilty but don’t speak any English! We let them know we will be making a claim against their charter company.

All in a day’s work! It is a great shame as we were enjoying Simi and had planned to stay another night, but the wind is gusting through and we decide to move on.

We find a secure anchorage in Pethi Harbour, over the hill from Simi - our third try at setting the anchor is finally successful! Fi and Pippy head back over the hill to Simi on the bus for some unfinished business and desert the ship until after dark. The boys are happy though.

Wednesday

We are now keeping a close eye on the weather forecast as a gale force southerly is coming our way in a couple of days. We decide we will just have time to stop at Palamutbuku for one night before running back to Kos Marina for shelter. However, on arrival we find the tiny harbour is packed out except for one fairly shallow and rocky space on the south east corner. The Marinara beckons us in and Cap’n Buck decides to give it a go as the option is to anchor outside the harbour. It is really dicey running the gauntlet between sharp rocks and up against another boat.

We make it in and manage to tie on to the boat next to us plus a large boat 3 x over from us so that our bow will not swing on to the rocks which are less than a meter off our starboard side.



Palamutbuku is its usual peaceful beautiful self, but our visit is a little tense and no-one sleeps very well. Fortunately the wind dies completely overnight, but we are up before 7.00am the next morning to beat the breeze coming in. We slip out of our tight spot very gingerly with great crew work letting off all the important ropes as we go.

This means we can have a breakfast stop at lovely Knidos. Unfortunately, temperatures are dropping a bit and the wind is getting fresh so by late morning we decide it is time to exit and make our way quickly back to Kos Marina.


We are Racing!

We happen to exit Knidos harbour with two other much larger boats. A Beneteau 47.3 and a Beneteau 50 or 54, we don’t know which because surprisingly, we leave them behind very quickly. However, it is not too long before we realise that the 47.3 has taken up the challenge. Hard not to notice, as they sail down on us as we draw close to them, preventing us from passing them to leeward.

The race is then on. Rod and Richard are all over the boat trimming sails, as Pippy helms under instruction from Richard. Eventually the 47.3 slides around 100m in front of us, and we think we might have lost the struggle against their longer water line, however hope is restored as they begin to haul out their gennaker.

Richard and Rod, enthralled by the possible chance of getting the massive masthead spinnaker flying, get busy up for’ard setting it all up. Pippy in the meantime speeds up the boat by sailing up slightly and over the top of the 47.3, (who by now has their genniker hoisted). This gets us better positioned for a downhill run, but we hold off with the hoist as we notice a wind line up ahead. We get up to it as quickly as we can. The excitement on board Matelot as the wind line turns out to be coming ahead, is palpable. Matelot puts on a spurt and we are soon flying past the 47.3 who is struggling with a very shy gennaker which wraps itself around their forestay. Yeeeehaaaaa!

We make it back to Kos Marina about half a mile in front and feel exhilarated by the whole experience and a fun day out despite the fact that the spinnaker did not get an airing after all. Later on we go for a walk and make ourselves known to the crew on the 47.3 who have gone on into the harbour. They are gutted to have been beaten by a 411! The skipper says “Oh no… I was sure we should have beaten you!” It makes for a good laugh and some fun carmarderie.

Back on the boat after a delicious Souvlaki dinner at a local restaurant, the southerly starts to blow and we are grateful to be tied on and well inside the marina. Our friend Sophie has made sure we are safely tucked up. The gale builds overnight and really howls. Rod and Fi take the ferry to Bodrum for the day as we attend to some on board tasks. The gale is forecast to peak around mid afternoon and by then the spray is hitting the haul out area in great phoomfs, which smash skyward in big clouds of spray.

We are a little anxious that the ferry may not have been able to make the trip back from Bodrum, but soon Rod and Fi return loaded with Turkish goodies, as well as a new Greek Flag, much needed as we have shredded the old one.

We have caught up with the charter boat which damaged us when we find it is based right here in Kos Marina. But Richard's mind is soon taken off this when Pierre invites him to sail in the Bodrum Race Week, starting Monday, on a rather sexy very new X-Yacht which he and Greg Cook had decided was their pick of all the yachts in Kos Marina. It turns out that girls are not invited and Pippy can't believe her ears when Richard turns down this magnificent opportunity for some special racing. What a Guy! We do everything we can to find a way to enter in Matelot, but it is too difficult as she is not rated for IRC and it would be a major getting this done at the last minute.

These ice creams are a very popular treat! Some people just can't leave them alone....!


All this is going on as we enjoy our last two Sensational!!! days of Rod and Fi's company. The weather dictates that we must stay in the marina until Sunday morning when we plan to hire a car but this plan is short lived as none of us have international drivers licenses and we are therefore not allowed! Instead we take a relaxed stroll through Kos Town, explore some of the many ancient ruins and find some new places we do not already know about.

The Roman amphitheatre has been restored underneath and is an interesting place to visit....These archways led to shops.


Before we know it we are waving our friends (and last visitors for this season) Rod and Fi goodbye.

We return to Matelot with our memories of a truly wonderful sailing season. Matelot's bulkheads have absorbed the carmarderie, the fun and the laughter, and we will carry it with us for ever.

We turn now towards Turkey, our last cruise along the northern parts of the Datca Peninsular and then back to Marmaris.