A Sail in a Gale

Photo: 697

A gale is the least of our expectations when we leave Elafonissos at 1020 H on the morning of Friday 26 August. It is a very hot day. The weather report is easterly Force 5 (17-21 knots) on the eastern side of the Gulf of Lakonikos between Ak Maleas and Ak Tainaron, fading out to Force 2-3 (11-16 knots) on the western side of the gulf where we are heading for. In hindsight, given our experience with Windfinder weather forecasts, we should probably have added 10 knots to this forecast, but as they have been fairly spot-on lately with their predictions, we did not. In any case, what we are about to experience is due to local conditions and influences and can never be predicted.

Our chosen destination is Yithion (sometimes called Githio) where we plan to leave the boat and visit the famous site of Mystra after an overnight stay.

We have very favourable winds for the first hour or so, but suddenly the wind fills in and we are reefing the genoa (the main is already reefed) and belting across the gulf towards Yithion in white foaming water. Suddenly Pippy is filled with misgivings and suggests we just head off around Ak Tainaron and keep on going towards the west. In her words “I don’t have a good feeling about today.”

Capn Buck thinks nothing of it and we continue on having a “fabulous sail”!

As we cross the gulf where the wind is supposed to be easing, it swings to the north and increases. However we sail into a calmer patch of water further north and are reassured that soon we will be ‘out of it’.

A radio call ahead to Yithion Harbour Authority gives us confirmation that the conditions in the harbour are not excellent, but good, and they do have a place for us, so on we go. By the time we arrive at the entrance to the harbour the wind is up again and we are relieved we will soon be out of it. In spite of giving our name several times over the VHF, the female Radio Operator insists on calling us Lancelot, not Matelot. In we go looking for the promised space only to find the harbour crammed full of small local boats and rusty ‘riff raff’ who have laid moorings for themselves and left no space for visiting yachts. The ‘space’ we are offered is by the harbour entrance, already taking considerable surge from the wind and just not tenable or safe for Matelot. Just like Lancelot we grit our teeth and say a polite thanks but no thanks and turn around and head back into what is now a screaming howling wind.

Our next option is Plitra (back on the eastern side), which promises good shelter, 12 miles away. In no time we are there but the white water at the entrance and the howling gale now appear to come from a different direction, putting us on a lee shore if we sail up the harbour and attempt to anchor. We do not know this harbour, and the holding is not reported in the pilot book to be good. With the afternoon moving on into evening, Pippy makes the call (thank you Capn Buck) and we decide to go back to Elafinisos where we know we will be safe and where we have left from that morning.

It is at this time we hear our first gale warning come over on Channel 16. We are now experiencing gusts of 44 knots and with only a scrap of genoa and no main are moving along at 7.8 knots. But it is the sea, waves standing up on end, with very short troughs in between and coming at us from the port side off the land as we head back south west to Elafonnisos, which causes us most concern. .

The next two hours are really scary and certainly a salutary lesson and experience for us. We are on a beam reach with only a tiny bit of sail out. At times, strangely, there is no wind at all and we have to motor. Then we can see the wind coming across the water at us again and we brace ourselves for the it driving the great huge waves, which stand up straight and break over the top of the boat. Soon we are both soaking wet. Capn Buck fights the helm to stop us from rolling too much and takes wave after wave of horizontal water over his head. At some stage Pippy manages to change into her wet weather trousers and some dry clothes.

The final effort of rounding the point and motoring into our anchorage is when we experience the fiercest conditions. We can see it up ahead as we approach the point but have no option and must go on. Foam is streaking horizontally across the tops of the waves and the sound of the wind is hideous.

Suddenly, although clipped down, the main is threatening to escape from the lazy bag which is unzipping itself in the wind. Capn Buck has to stay at the wheel. Pippy clips herself on to the safety line and goes up to the mast to try to lash it down. Howling sheets of water are hitting the bow and slamming over the boat, and Pippy struggles to get a rope over the boom with her back to the sea, water running down inside her clothing.

At times when we are hit by gusts, Capn Buck has no option but to turn downwind away from our goal, and he comments that he has never seen anything like it … white horizontal streaks of water in a churning caldron, screaming and howling like crazy. The noise of the wind is so loud it feels like it is coming from inside our heads, then some time later once we are around the point and heading back into Elafonisos, Capn Buck has to relinquish the helm because he is frozen and shaking uncontrollably. He needs to go down below, dry off and change into his wet weather gear. It is a haven of peace and normality down below, still warm and comparatively sane!

Now head-to-wind and motoring at 2400 revs Pippy takes the helm. Its freezing cold –unbelievable, but the wind drags all the warmth from the air. We are not there yet!

We claw our way into the Bay. Pippy keeps checking the headland to see if we are moving forward because the waves are still huge and regimental in the way they stand up with incredibly short spaces between them, and the tops blow off in great white streaks. But at least we are not taking them on the side any more. The engine pushes us through and we are encouraged by the anchored yachts we can see up ahead and know it will be fine once we get there.

Closer in, the wind suddenly eases and we are immediately in comparatively flat water. Very soon the anchor goes down and we breathe a huge sigh of relief. There is a big pile of wet clothes in the cockpit and it is 2000H. We have sailed 50 NM at least on this day. Thank you Elafonnisos – you are a beautiful haven.

We have lots of hugs and a very strong ouzo each, then start the tidy up before falling into bed for an early night!

Sorry, no photos on this day, but there were other windy days.... (above and below!)

Crete to Peloppinisos

24 August 2011

Arrival Elefonisos Bay

Our departure from Crete is rather low key. We quietly let go our lines and motor out of the harbour in pitch darkness at 0130H and once we have the boat settled down lay a course of 321⁰T. Our passage plan is for a distance of 100 NM and 17 hours. Our goal is Elafonisos Bay. We are leaving at this ungodly hour because we want to arrive and transit Cape Maleas in daylight, such is the fearsome reputation of this cape and stretch of water.

We have said our goodbyes to the cruisers we know in this marina especially Trevor and Susan on Little Cat who we have quite by accident caught up with here in Rethymno... and sent our Trip Report off to Matt, Nicci and Trevor on Little Cat.

We are not expecting to have any benefit from the moon as it was full 2 weeks ago, but a sliver of moon soon comes up over the horizon and bathes us in a bit of a shimmer which makes our going easier. Every two hours we plot our position on the paper chart and correct our course where necessary. The radar on board comes into its own and we spot ships (there are quite a few) from many miles away and know which direction they are heading.

As we pass by Souda Bay (NATO base) a helicopter checks us out with their spotlight, hovering in the sky off to our port side. By this time we are motor sailing with main up, but do not get enough breeze to turn off the engine until around 0900H.

The angle of the breeze pulls us further north than our course but that is okay as it is predicted to go NE later in the day which it does, so we are able to ease sheets and run off a little with better boat speed. We are well ahead of schedule averaging 6.75 knots mostly due to the breeze which has freshened considerably so that we are getting wind of 5 then 6 Beaufort and some pretty big and confused seas (2-2.5m) the closer we get to Cape Maleas, but nothing too bad and nothing over the boat.

Our friendly dolphins pay us another visit but do not hang around.

In what seems like no time at all in hindsight (for Pippy especially as she has spent the last hour asleep) we drop anchor at Elafonisos at 1715H, really thrilled to have made it in such good time (15+ hours rather then 17). It wasn’t so bad really. Eight or nine other yachts are anchored here already.

The NE wind is howling and coming in over the head of the bay. We are pleased and fall into bed for an early night with the sound of the wind bothering us not at all.

The anchor is well down on a sandy bottom and if we drag, Libya will be our first stop and we should be awake by then!

Souda Bay War Memorial

We visit Souda Bay where the memorial to NZ soldiers who lost their lives during the second world war is located.

We walk amongst the graves of all the Kiwi soldiers here. Most of them died when they were well under 25 years old.....so young.

It is a beautiful and peaceful place, close to the water's edge, well cared for and obviously highly respected.

Visiting here enables us to read the history of the fierce battle which occurred here and relate it to actual places we have visited.

It is a very emotional experience for us.

It is a place of honour and remembrance which we can be proud of as New Zealanders.

Samaria Gorge and Sfakion

Thursday 18 August

Samaria Gorge is rated as one of Crete’s top tourist experiences.

We can walk in from the top right through the 16 km gorge, or catch a ferry from the town of Sfakion to the bottom and walk approx 2.5 hours in then back out again to catch a later ferry back. This option is our preference.

We leave the boat early (for us) at 7.30 am after a good breakfast. The drive across the island to meet the ferry at Sfakion comprises a fast trip westwards along the National road until we turn off and take the winding road southwards across the mountains enjoying a passing panorama of fertile valleys and ruins of fortifications on hilltops until we find ourselves at the top of the range. We pause and look a long way down some very rugged and barren hillsides to the coastline below. The road, which zig-zags down the steep southern side is a very impressive engineering achievement and appears to be quite new. Richard is driving and his arms feel as though they want to continue turning corners long after we have ‘arrived’ at the port of Sfakion.

It is not until some days later that we discover this is the very port where the Allied Forces, including we understand, the 2nd New Zealand Division, were evacuated from Crete to Egypt after the German invasion in 1941. Pippy’s father may have been somewhere in amongst all this, having earlier been evacuated from mainland Greece. It is now easier to imagine the hardship faced by thousands of allied soldiers who passed through this tiny little port surrounded by this very rugged landscape.




There is plenty of time for coffee and something sweet before we board the fairly substantial ferry for Agia Roumelli where we will get off to walk the Samaria Canyon. This is a popular destination and the ferry is reasonably crowded.
The view of barren and very rugged terrain continues from the ferry....



...which stops at Loutro to let of a lot of day trippers.





We round the next headland and sight the small village of Agia Roumelli. From here we notice quite a bit more green vegetation but the rugged hillsides still tower over us from the unusually calm water below. We know we have to walk 2 km to the start of the gorge but all we see are sheer cliffs.



Once off the boat and past all the obligatory restaurants and tavernas, the pathway opens out in front of us. The walk takes us through the ruins of what would have been the ancient village here. Sad looking goats and sheep are penned up in small enclosures under the trees, but one thing they do have is plenty of water.



The gorge itself soon opens up in front of us. We make our way into the massive opening, walking over simple bridges made of half round small logs and cross rails and a stony, irregular river bed. The sides of the gorge made up of tortured twisted rock, soars higher and higher above us.



It takes around an hour criss-crossing the small stream in the boulder strewn river bed, to make it to the narrowest part known as the iron gates, 3 metres apart at the closest point and 300 m high. A cool breeze forces its way through the crack and the sun seeks the valley floor but only gets the slimmest of rays to the very bottom.




The walk is challenging for the uneven ankle breaking surfaces and the constant climbing. It is important to constantly check where the feet are going. The cliffs above appear to be leaning over further than vertical and the blue sky in places is just a crack above. At 1.00 pm we stop for lunch in a clearing and make up sandwiches from a loaf of fresh bread bought at Sfakion and cheese, tomato, cold chicken and boiled eggs, all brought from the boat.




The sounds of the wind through the trees and the cicadas – very loud in places – accompany us. The fresh clear, pale turquoise, sunlight enhanced water in the river is just a trickle compared to what it must be in the peak of its flow during the winter when the gorge is closed, but we come to a clearing where water is piped to taps where people can refill their water bottles. It is a popular rest spot under the trees.


Further up the gorge a guard stops walkers from swimming in the tempting cool stream. This water is for drinking only!

The natural beauty and grandeur of this gorge provides us with many photo opportunities.
Dried up waterfalls have left their mark from the last wet season.




In places one can only describe it as a canyon.


Pippy decides to walk slowly back down and leaves Brenda, Andy and Richard to walk on a bit further. Richard takes a tumble and grazes his leg soon after that, a salutary reminder that the uneven ground is tricky.

Once back at the beach close to where the return ferry will depart from, we plan to take a swim but oh dear, look at those boulders one has to scramble over to get to the water. Nothing deters us. We need to cool off and the crystal clear waters of the Libyan Sea are a welcome refresher.

Crete is Awesome!

There is so much to see on Crete, it is difficult to know where to start, and the heat in the middle of the day makes it almost impossible to function. So much so, that we eventually leave Crete with a feeling that we have not really done it justice.

One of the most advertised and famous sites near to Iraklion is the ancient site of Knossos originally the capital of the Minoan people who lived on this island. We make a bee line for it once we have picked Andy and Brenda up from the bus station. It was the subject of a restoration in the early 1900s which we are somewhat underwhelmed by, despite the size of the site and its importance in Crete's history.

However, it provides us an opportunity to catch up with each other as we walk around and explore the site.





Soon its time to go back to the boat for an evening catchup! Its so special having these guys on board.


17 August 2011

Chania

With Andy and Brenda now on board we are in expedition mode. We plan to visit the far western part of the island today, taking in a city (Chania), a beach and an ancient site (Falasarna).

We are on the National road reasonably early (One main highway traverses the island from East to West) and make our first compulsory stop in Chania for expresso coffee Americano and a tasty sweet cheesy custardy pastry which is a local specialty, known as Bougatsa. Mmmm!!! delicious - and now we are ready to see the sights.




Chania, formerly the capital of Crete, and the island’s second largest city, is full of Venetian and Ottoman architecture and the harbour entrance is one which we would really love to come in through in Matelot.



We wander around with all the other tourists, enjoying the delightful ambience of the very lovely Old Town with its narrow picturesque streets and glimpses of the harbour.



There is still evidence of the German bombing during the 2nd World War in the scarred remains of a hotel on the harbour front, which has been left untouched it would seem, as a monument for what happened. Everywhere there are reminders of this island's recent and ancient history.

We walk under a low archway into a courtyard and find ourselves at the front door of a church. Inside there is an atmosphere of such peace it is indescribable. It is also deliciously cool.

The heat of the day is building and our desire to visit some of the western end of the island has us in the car driving westwards before too long. On past the town of Kastelli (Kisamos), to the far north western peninsular, our goal is Falasarna, but by now we are so very hot and the gorgeous beach of turquoise clear water we detour to beckons to us for a refreshing dip. Lots of Italian visitors are enjoying this spot – that’s a sign that its a good choice! The hot climb down the hill (fortunately via wooden steps) and the even hotter sand, make the swim an even more exhilarating experience on this rugged coastline.




A refreshing drinks stop on top of the hill is mandatory we are so hot and sticky, then we drive another 2 kms past simple farm buildings, where the ruins of an ancient harbour have been discovered and the excavation is in its early stages, uncovering what was apparently ruined by a massive earthquake. This is wild rugged country and dangerous seas, but was once a busy and well-constructed harbour on an important sea route. Now it is deserted. The atmosphere of grandeur still remains in the towering hills surrounding this site and the echoes of the wind. We wander around and try to reconstruct the site in our mind's eye.





We are replete and head back to Matelot for barbecue chicken, which we have left marinating in honey, garlic and soy sauce. The coals take a while to get going, but thanks to Andy we soon have a hot fire burning and the sound of sizzling accompanies our pre dinner drinks.

First Impressions of the Island of Crete

Pippy spots this example of cheese made inside a goat skin in the market on day 1.



Richard is fascinated by this craftsman who makes string instruments.



Feta cheese stays on the menu....


Crete is a huge island. Our friends Andy and Brenda on SY Deep Blue have arrived on the eastern end but are having atrocious weather still and cannot get around the top to a marina. They wait it out on anchor while we explore the immediate area.




Our calm flat beach next to the marina here turns into a surf beach overnight.

The fortress on the headland close to the marina is a wonderful place to explore at sunset.




This model on the top of the wall provides Richard with a photo opportunity!





Plakias beach on the southern shore of the island south of Rethymno Harbour where we are moored, is a worth while bus excursion.



A monastery nearby is beautifully kept and we are informed that the church in Greece is 'not short of money'. We see one of the cars the priests drive and believe it.






Finally the weather eases and we hire a car and drive to Iraklion to meet A and B off the bus from Ag Nicholas!

Let the real exploring begin...

Cap'n Cool having a Bad Day at the Office...

Fortunately we are woken at 5.30am by a huge ferry berthing not far from us and are quickly up and away 20 minutes later.

We motor for an hour after leaving the beautiful little harbour of Skala Sikinos behind us in the darkness, then the bright yellow orb of the sun coming up over Ios heralds the arrival of the wind. Right after finishing breakfast and down below doing the dishes and making the bed, Pippy notes the gentle swish of the boat gliding through the water, almost sounding like wind in the treetops, and enjoys the morning sunshine coming through the galley window.

We are sailing at 6.4 knots and Capn Buck has just shaken out the reef in the main which has been there for the past week or so. We are expecting 15 knot winds today going down to 10 and becoming variable later on. Crete here we come. As usual no other yachts are in sight – we are on our own out here. By 9 am it becomes apparent that we have ideal conditions to fly our spinnaker. This will be our first hoist of the season and with only two of us on board, we must get it right. Richard goes forward to see to the foredeck while Pippy prepares the cockpit. Richard calls for the hoist when all is ready and with puny arms Pippy attempts to haul the sail up the mast, with the odd “hurry up” from Richard. (response not printable) A combination of winding and pulling soon has it in place, some adjustments to the guy and sheet and we are able to drop the genoa and let it fly.




Our speed instantly goes up a knot and a half and now we are leaving a satisfying wake in the blue sea behind us with the accompanying sound of the water now rushing past the hull. The sea state is incredibly flat for the Med. From time to time we get some small waves, but nothing much.




Suddenly around 10.30 am we are joined by a pod of dolphins which stay with us for around 20 minutes, giving us wonderful photo opportunities. This is most unusual. Normally we only see dolphins in the distance and they do not hang around. They are shy and frightened of humans. Today they really put on a show for us, leaping and diving around the boat.




Kristiana island off to port near to Santorini stays on the horizon until midday but we have long since lost sight of Sikinos, Folegandro s and Santorini.


Cap'n Cool decides it s time for a nap.





The wind now backs to the west and five hours later we drop the kite in a nice controlled drop which we are both happy with.

We sight Crete when we are around 35 miles away, but only the tallest part of it above the haze and it is not until we are around 10-15 miles off that we can start to really see details. Bali is our chosen destination where we can drop anchor and have a swim after our long sail. We arrive almost exactly 12 hours later into this picturesque bay.

Sikinos

It is so typical of this life that our plans about where we are going to next have to be fluid. Probably because the weather dictates to us what is possible and fun and what is not. The Meltemi, the prevailing wind for this part of the world and this time of the year, has been a little slow to get going this year but it is now making up for lost time. Our favourite weather site www.wind finder.com (no space in the middle - put there insistently by the iPad) shows a big yellow/orange weather system spreading over the whole of the southern Agean towards the end of this week. Given that we find this forecast always a little conservative and add on 10 knots to what they are predicting, it looks like the region is in for a slamming.

The past two days in southern Paros, listening to the howling wind, that was only forecast up to the green (Beaufort 4-5) which is not as much wind as the yellow and orange forecast (B 6-7-8), is as much meltemi as we need for one week. So just because we can, and because we have some old friends visiting there as well, we have decided to sail to Crete. The weather looks better down that way.

In what was a truly wonderful sail with the wind peaking at around 20 knots, we moved the boat to the island of Sikinos this morning. There is nothing quite as good as jumping out of bed at first light, pulling up the anchor and heading out before the wind fills in for the day. There is usually time for coffee and breakfast along the way before we get busy and today is no exception.

By 10.30 am the tiny turquoise harbour of Sikinos appears around a headland. It does not look very big and the golden sandy shore appears to be lined with buoys. It is not until we get closer that we realise they are heads of people sitting in the water. It is so small it takes us a couple of tries before we get the anchor in just the right place, then Pippy goes over the side to take a look. It is well bedded into the clean White sand (don't know why the iPod always changes White to a capital letter! Too smart for it's own good and we all know that there should not be an apostrophe in its.). There are groups of little flounder nibbling at the sand around the chain as it moves. We have never seen this before.

It is beautiful here but cannot upload photos so will try to describe it. This is the only harbour on the island and the pretty village is built up the slopes on either side of the harbour. Tavernas and small shops line the shore and on the hill up the valley in the distance we got a glimpse of the White buildings of the chora or old town. Right beside us there are holiday accommodation buildings painted White with varying hues of blue on the shutters. There is "Maistrali Rooms to Let", Luca's Studio Rooms and a jumble of others. The valley floor in the middle as it opens out to the harbour is green with vegetation, and the golden sand beach on the shore line is well patronised with swimmers and day trippers.

We are sitting quietly in the cockpit when we hear the voices of two Greek women very close by. We peep over the side and there they are chattering away under the Lee of our boat. We startle them and off they go giggling back to the shore.

Aliki and more Meltemi

A pirate ship anchors alongside us for a couple of days.



We are ready now to move on from Naxis and have a wonderful sail south towards our next planned destination of Milos Island group.

We shelter in the bay of Aliki at the bottom end of Paros for two days while the wind keeps howling.



Not much else to do but be a bit creative with the food on board.

Ipad2 and other frustratiing technology

This Ipad is driving me crazeeeeee!


We are currently sitting out a howling meltemi on the southern end of Paros Island in a little bay called Aliki. Our sole means on Internet is via the Ipad2 which is fantastic for emails and navigation through the Navionics App, but we have yet to figure out how to connect with the flash drive on the computer so we can copy our blog writings into here.

Also, the blogger upload screen does not work on the IPad so we are stonkered for the moment on how to get our photos on to here too but will keep trying. Its pretty pathetic actually because we have some photos on the iPad which we would love to publish, but cannot get the Blogger upload screen to give us that option. We see on the on line forum lots of other people are having the same issues.

We have encountered quite a few people who are using a "Kindle" while travelling. This clever little machine somehow links into the 3G network wherever you are so you can send and receive emails without having to purchase a sim card. It works through Amazon.com and is mainly for downloading books but also does other clever things like downloading weather forecasts. Would suggest that anyone thinking of buying the ipad2 to use while travelling thinks carefully first. We find it does not have a very strong wifi card and cannot pick up wifi signals that our Mac and Samsung computers are easily getting. The Samsung notebook pc has the strongest capability of all in that respect.

The ipad2 is great once you have the sim card in it but will need to buy a new card with each country we visit. We hear that there is an international sim card on the Market from a Dutch company but that is pretty new and probably expensive.

Well better go and make lunch for Capn Buck.

Best wishes to all
First Mate Pippy

Naxos

30 July 2011

We think we have really lucked out because we are free anchoring in the small harbour of Naxos Island enjoying a view up the hill to the chora and across to the Portara, the huge marble gate, a remnant of Apollo’s Temple which was never finished and which stands out on the islet of Palatia joined to Naxos by a causeway which forms one wall of the harbour. Where else in the world could we do this?





We have sailed most of the way from Paros and look forward to our next adventure, which does not necessarily include staying long on this island. First of all though, we must get fuel for the outboard. This requires us to walk around 2 miles inland to the first fuel station, but first we have to find it as we wander along a strange network of lanes with tall stone walls and even taller bamboo growing up behind the walls. Finally, sweating and gasping for our next drink, we locate the fuel station and fill up both the canisters, get them strapped on to the small trolleys we have brought with us and head back to the boat.

Mission accomplished and fresh bread located, we next set about exploring the interesting old town which is built up the side of the hill and appears to be Venetian in style. It certainly is. A maze of narrow twisting alleys keep opening out in front of us, lined with fascinating shops, restaurants and art galleries.



We soon come to the top where the Venetian Museum is located and they are advertising an August music festival with different concerts on each night. This is exciting because after the Agean Jazz concert on Paros, we are on a roll and suddenly feel we want to stay a little longer, to immerse ourselves in the culture of this island, to dig a little deeper than the surface which we see is very Italian due to its Venetian heritage.

We are very happy with this decision as the next few days roll by. On Monday 1 August we go to a piano recital by ValeryI Ismaghilov at the Venetian Museum. It is a lovely intimate affair with around 25 people attending. Samplings of local wine and liquers are available free of charge at interval. We sit looking out over the Mediterranean Sea through a red geranium plant and beyond a large black grand piano, listening to Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky (Russian Dance from Petrushka), and others. It is a truly lovely evening. We are enchanted.



The boat goes into the marina so that we can go further afield.

On Tuesday 2 August we hire a quad bike and go explore the interior, or what we can manage to cram into the day.

Ancient temples and monasteries are explored, then we find our way to the village of Halki and just love its ancient Venetian style. Its time for a gastronomic treat so we have cheese pies and creamy desserts then move on to the small distillery to sample the locally made liquers!








The "Fish and Olive" gallery in Halki has us drooling and wishing we could buy.







The final expedition for the day is to Plaka Beach to swim and cool off.

We truly love this island and give it a big thumbs up.

Top of the list is Nicholas who runs the marina. He is such a good man - so kind and accommodating. Thank you Nicholas. Naxos Marina is top of the list.