The crew of Alexina give a big thumbs up for the Northern Sporades, though we had our doubts at first. August can be a tricky time for cruisers as you can experience crowded anchorages, strong winds, hot weather and even hotter tempers. Instead we've had a fantastic time with our chums on Maritea, visiting the Alonnisos National Park and finishing up in the Gulf of Volos. The anchorages have been memorable and the protection of the chain of islands gives wonderful swell free sailing.
So a bit more about this month.
The first 10 days of August were spent catching our breath at Neas Marmaris. The boat was cleaned from head to toe (not that you would know it now), the engine serviced, the lockers were filled with delicious food, Peter the wonder wizard mended our radar and I created clip on sun shades for our sunroof. For two days I deserted my family and popped back to the UK as Pippa, my best friend from school, was getting married in Bath.
By the 11th we were well rested and with itchy feet. Maritea met us at the harbour entrance and we had a good first day's sail in light winds. Why so good? We beat Maritea into port for the first time ever (not that we were racing!)
With the solar panels broken, we have to watch our energy consumption closely. This means no energy gobbling autopilot whilst under sail. The next day we had to motor the thirty odd miles to the Sporades. I was freed from steering duties as the engine provided lots of power and Tiger and I could settle down with a good book. Peter entertained himself by muttering darkly about the price of fuel.
We motored from a bumpy sea into Planitis, an enclosed bay at the top of the Pelagos.
At only 80 meters wide, the entrance to Planitis bay is spectacular and easy with little wind around. By 2pm we were anchored in serene surroundings with Maritea only a child's leap and swim away. Alexina was now in the Alonnisos National Park, created to protect the habitat of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monarchus Monarchus) who breed in the caves around the islands.
The entrance to Planitis just cried out to be explored, so we packed biscuits, masks and snorkles and set off in Tommy Thumb (our dinghy). Suddenly a dark furry shape appeared about 50 metres ahead and splashed about in the water. To our delight we had spotted a rare Monk Seal. In fact it made so much splashing that we thought that there was more than one seal. Later we discussed our sighting with a Park Warden who revealed that the seals were creatures of solitary habits and thus the name '”Monk” Seal. We also learned that breeding starts in September so we were glad to have visited them without disturbing their breeding time.
Two days later we moved on, planning to take in the site of a lonely monastery on the way. However, once out of the anchorage the wind was up and it was pretty bouncy at the narrow entrance. Any viewing of the monastery would have to been done through binoculars, sails went up and off we went at a cracking pace. As we rounded the bottom of the island the Alexina managed 8 knots under reefed foresail alone. Maritea steamed past us at 10 knots with full sail up! (Not that we were racing.)
For a week we toured around the other islands in the Alonnisos National Park enjoying wonderful anchorages everywhere. Tiger, Damian and Juliette made many friends from two English charter boats and whisked them off to the beach to show them exactly how to handle sea urchins and catch jellyfish. Eventually lack of provisions drove us into Patitiri on the Island of Alonnisos but in the three hours we saw so many crossed anchors and arguments that we pulled out and went back to paradise, having stocked up on beer and sausages of course.
We were luck enough to bump into Ray and Hilary from Koala, last seen in Rome 2004. (When we say 'bumped into', we mean literally when our mooring went a little wrong!) They have been cruising for 25 years, raising kids on board who have long since gone onto grown up lives. Hilary was a great inspiration to me when Tiger was 4 and I was in panic mode about how to tackle the subject of school. I copied her sensible approach to educating kids on board.
Skopolos was the next stop in the itinerary and we were happy to see one of the English charter boats full of children moored right next door to us. There was a romantic story behind their trip. Some 18 years ago, Gary and Nicky had chartered a boat in the Sporades for their honeymoon and here they were back again for the second time with their two children. Gary recreated a photograph of Nicky perched on the bow of their boat in the same dress as18 years before. Ahhhhhh.
Dedicated followers of fashion that we are, at Skopolos we just had to do the 'in' thing and watch “Mamma Mia”. This was shown in the open air cinema on the island where it had been filmed. In my enthusiasm I managed to drag Tiger, all the crew of Maritea and Gary and Nicky, their children Christian and Elouise a long to it. Here is my happy band of dancing queens!
Sometime in the night Tiger's ABBA fever turned into real fever and by 4am I was sponging her down and administering paracetamol. Nicky, from next door, turned out to be a paedriatric nurse so was great to talk to for advise. Once leaving harbour you have to be pretty self sufficient so I bought half the chemist shop before setting off next day. Tiger would choose the hottest day of the year to be ill and there was absolutely no wind to cool her. I spent the trip navigating one minute and fanning my daughter the next.
Ever read Gates of the Wind by Michael Carroll? Well to me the book was abo
ut a sailor in search of the perfect anchorage. He discovered Panormous in the south west of Skopolos, put down a mooring buoy, built a beautiful house and perhaps never left (see right). That was some 50 years ago and I knew times had changed, but we had to go see for ourself. Our first turn into the approach revealed a beach swarming with hotels and gaily coloured beach umbrellas. Never a good sign. The final turn was into a narrow channel and we were there, just as he described. It was heaven on earth, clear water and green trees running down to the water's edge. Kingfisher's swooped from tree to tree. Poor fever riddled Tiger was able to sit in the shallows under a shady tree to cool down.
A couple of boats up from us was Thierry on his Bernard Moitissier Ketch, “Tamata Moa”, who supplemented his income by painting water colours of other people's boats. Having brought up 2 children himself on board, we felt immediately at home with him. For the next two nights Maritea, Alexina and Thierry wined and dined together while he sang and played the guitar or told stories of a life on the sea. Without us knowing, Eric and Celine commissioned him to paint our boat and then presented it to us. It will hang in pride of place.
Just in case you think it's all fun, picture us on that first morning at Panormou; 4
.30am to be precise, when a strong north westerly wind came up. Standard procedure, take down tarpaulins and make boat ship shape. Non standard extra, wash up from last night's party and apply paracetomal to sick child. At 8am our anchor dragged. As we were moored stern to with long lines ashore there was a danger of running aground so we make a hasty exit to our back up anchorage, which turns out to have 30 knot winds and swell. Plan B, go back to Panormou and anchor at the head of the bay till the wind passes. Anchor sets second attempt, just in time for sick child to throw up over everything.
It was decided to skip Skiathos, the southern most island of the Sporades chain, as it was just too full of tourists and charter boats this time of year. Again the wind was kind and we sailed the 35 odd miles to the Gulf of Volos in good time, finishing off goose-winged doing a good 7.5 knots. Maritea, having left a little later, were struggling to catch up with us (not that we were racing!)
If you could describe your quintessential Mediterranean anchorage, our next anchorage had it all. Pithos on the wonderfully named Palaio Trikeri was lined with robust olive trees to tie our lines to, the water was crystal clear and aquamarine blue and, or course, the meltemi streamed past just out in the channel. Full Flight, Peter's old guitar practice friends from Yacht Marine, were tied up already. We'd not seen them since the Black Sea so caught up over a few Gin and Tonics. Full Flight will join our little flotilla down the Evia Channel.
No monthly update could be complete without a bit of equipment failure. Our next trip was an unchallenging 5 miles. However, ever vigilant Midshipman Tiger noticed a burning smell coming from under our chart table. One of Alexina's Split Diodes had started to leak oil and was overheating – thus the smell. The nearest replacement unit would have to come from Athens, some 200 miles away. My clever mechanic, Peter, managed to by-pass the unit temporarily. However now we must remember to twist a dial every time the engine starts or risk cooking our starter battery.
Our final resting place for the month is the friendly harbour of Orei on the island of Evia where the weather has broken and it's pouring with rain. The waterproof canopy has gone back on the cockpit. This means Autumn has officially started.
So a bit more about this month.
The first 10 days of August were spent catching our breath at Neas Marmaris. The boat was cleaned from head to toe (not that you would know it now), the engine serviced, the lockers were filled with delicious food, Peter the wonder wizard mended our radar and I created clip on sun shades for our sunroof. For two days I deserted my family and popped back to the UK as Pippa, my best friend from school, was getting married in Bath.
By the 11th we were well rested and with itchy feet. Maritea met us at the harbour entrance and we had a good first day's sail in light winds. Why so good? We beat Maritea into port for the first time ever (not that we were racing!)
With the solar panels broken, we have to watch our energy consumption closely. This means no energy gobbling autopilot whilst under sail. The next day we had to motor the thirty odd miles to the Sporades. I was freed from steering duties as the engine provided lots of power and Tiger and I could settle down with a good book. Peter entertained himself by muttering darkly about the price of fuel.
We motored from a bumpy sea into Planitis, an enclosed bay at the top of the Pelagos.
At only 80 meters wide, the entrance to Planitis bay is spectacular and easy with little wind around. By 2pm we were anchored in serene surroundings with Maritea only a child's leap and swim away. Alexina was now in the Alonnisos National Park, created to protect the habitat of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monarchus Monarchus) who breed in the caves around the islands.
The entrance to Planitis just cried out to be explored, so we packed biscuits, masks and snorkles and set off in Tommy Thumb (our dinghy). Suddenly a dark furry shape appeared about 50 metres ahead and splashed about in the water. To our delight we had spotted a rare Monk Seal. In fact it made so much splashing that we thought that there was more than one seal. Later we discussed our sighting with a Park Warden who revealed that the seals were creatures of solitary habits and thus the name '”Monk” Seal. We also learned that breeding starts in September so we were glad to have visited them without disturbing their breeding time.
Two days later we moved on, planning to take in the site of a lonely monastery on the way. However, once out of the anchorage the wind was up and it was pretty bouncy at the narrow entrance. Any viewing of the monastery would have to been done through binoculars, sails went up and off we went at a cracking pace. As we rounded the bottom of the island the Alexina managed 8 knots under reefed foresail alone. Maritea steamed past us at 10 knots with full sail up! (Not that we were racing.)
For a week we toured around the other islands in the Alonnisos National Park enjoying wonderful anchorages everywhere. Tiger, Damian and Juliette made many friends from two English charter boats and whisked them off to the beach to show them exactly how to handle sea urchins and catch jellyfish. Eventually lack of provisions drove us into Patitiri on the Island of Alonnisos but in the three hours we saw so many crossed anchors and arguments that we pulled out and went back to paradise, having stocked up on beer and sausages of course.
We were luck enough to bump into Ray and Hilary from Koala, last seen in Rome 2004. (When we say 'bumped into', we mean literally when our mooring went a little wrong!) They have been cruising for 25 years, raising kids on board who have long since gone onto grown up lives. Hilary was a great inspiration to me when Tiger was 4 and I was in panic mode about how to tackle the subject of school. I copied her sensible approach to educating kids on board.
Skopolos was the next stop in the itinerary and we were happy to see one of the English charter boats full of children moored right next door to us. There was a romantic story behind their trip. Some 18 years ago, Gary and Nicky had chartered a boat in the Sporades for their honeymoon and here they were back again for the second time with their two children. Gary recreated a photograph of Nicky perched on the bow of their boat in the same dress as18 years before. Ahhhhhh.
Dedicated followers of fashion that we are, at Skopolos we just had to do the 'in' thing and watch “Mamma Mia”. This was shown in the open air cinema on the island where it had been filmed. In my enthusiasm I managed to drag Tiger, all the crew of Maritea and Gary and Nicky, their children Christian and Elouise a long to it. Here is my happy band of dancing queens!
Sometime in the night Tiger's ABBA fever turned into real fever and by 4am I was sponging her down and administering paracetamol. Nicky, from next door, turned out to be a paedriatric nurse so was great to talk to for advise. Once leaving harbour you have to be pretty self sufficient so I bought half the chemist shop before setting off next day. Tiger would choose the hottest day of the year to be ill and there was absolutely no wind to cool her. I spent the trip navigating one minute and fanning my daughter the next.
Ever read Gates of the Wind by Michael Carroll? Well to me the book was abo
ut a sailor in search of the perfect anchorage. He discovered Panormous in the south west of Skopolos, put down a mooring buoy, built a beautiful house and perhaps never left (see right). That was some 50 years ago and I knew times had changed, but we had to go see for ourself. Our first turn into the approach revealed a beach swarming with hotels and gaily coloured beach umbrellas. Never a good sign. The final turn was into a narrow channel and we were there, just as he described. It was heaven on earth, clear water and green trees running down to the water's edge. Kingfisher's swooped from tree to tree. Poor fever riddled Tiger was able to sit in the shallows under a shady tree to cool down.A couple of boats up from us was Thierry on his Bernard Moitissier Ketch, “Tamata Moa”, who supplemented his income by painting water colours of other people's boats. Having brought up 2 children himself on board, we felt immediately at home with him. For the next two nights Maritea, Alexina and Thierry wined and dined together while he sang and played the guitar or told stories of a life on the sea. Without us knowing, Eric and Celine commissioned him to paint our boat and then presented it to us. It will hang in pride of place.
Just in case you think it's all fun, picture us on that first morning at Panormou; 4
.30am to be precise, when a strong north westerly wind came up. Standard procedure, take down tarpaulins and make boat ship shape. Non standard extra, wash up from last night's party and apply paracetomal to sick child. At 8am our anchor dragged. As we were moored stern to with long lines ashore there was a danger of running aground so we make a hasty exit to our back up anchorage, which turns out to have 30 knot winds and swell. Plan B, go back to Panormou and anchor at the head of the bay till the wind passes. Anchor sets second attempt, just in time for sick child to throw up over everything.It was decided to skip Skiathos, the southern most island of the Sporades chain, as it was just too full of tourists and charter boats this time of year. Again the wind was kind and we sailed the 35 odd miles to the Gulf of Volos in good time, finishing off goose-winged doing a good 7.5 knots. Maritea, having left a little later, were struggling to catch up with us (not that we were racing!)
If you could describe your quintessential Mediterranean anchorage, our next anchorage had it all. Pithos on the wonderfully named Palaio Trikeri was lined with robust olive trees to tie our lines to, the water was crystal clear and aquamarine blue and, or course, the meltemi streamed past just out in the channel. Full Flight, Peter's old guitar practice friends from Yacht Marine, were tied up already. We'd not seen them since the Black Sea so caught up over a few Gin and Tonics. Full Flight will join our little flotilla down the Evia Channel.
No monthly update could be complete without a bit of equipment failure. Our next trip was an unchallenging 5 miles. However, ever vigilant Midshipman Tiger noticed a burning smell coming from under our chart table. One of Alexina's Split Diodes had started to leak oil and was overheating – thus the smell. The nearest replacement unit would have to come from Athens, some 200 miles away. My clever mechanic, Peter, managed to by-pass the unit temporarily. However now we must remember to twist a dial every time the engine starts or risk cooking our starter battery.
Our final resting place for the month is the friendly harbour of Orei on the island of Evia where the weather has broken and it's pouring with rain. The waterproof canopy has gone back on the cockpit. This means Autumn has officially started.
1 comment:
Hi I'm Sharon from Hawaii, friend of Maritea from Porto Karras. I'm try trying to bet onto Maritea's website to show Celine and Eric's adventures but have it at home in Hawaii while I'm here in Conneticut. Say hello to Tiger, met her on the Maritea. Give my love to Celine, Damian, and Juliette.
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