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!