Leaving Turkey for Greece

Monday 09

Finally we left Marmaris Yacht Marina, our contract expiring today, and we headed for Sogut where we had been previously with both Greta & Rob and the family only last week. The trip took approximately five hours and who should be there on the pontoon but Sandpiper with Nicky and Andy, so first tea, then drinks, then dinner. But before all that a little drama with a sailing boat eager to come onto the pontoon immediately after us and before we had properly sorted out the lazy line and in their excitement scraped their anchor along the edge of the boat underneath the handrail - aargh! A little patience on their part and it would not have happened.  

Tuesday 10

After coffee on Sandpiper a fairly short trip to Datca to check out of Turkey. Very hot by now and decided we didn't like Datca very much.  It is necessary to use an 'agent' to do the checking out process and the whole thing was completed in under an hour.  We stayed the night on the town quay as it was too late to get anywhere else.

Wednesday 11

Out of Turkish waters and back into Greece.  We headed for Symi (Simi) where we had been almost two years ago now.  It is such a pretty town but massive ferries arrive each day and many other visiting yachts, large and small arrive during the course of the day, but usually in the afternoon after the last ferry has gone at about 4.30 p.m.  Despite the narrow road which goes round the harbour there is an alarming amount of traffic and many very noisy bikes.  Not painting a great picture here as it is still, amazingly, a great place. 

Up until now this blog has been very mundane and really not much drama over the last five weeks and just when you are thinking its time to relax and enjoy the last week: although it was a lovely sunny day there was quite a strong breeze blowing down the gap in the hillside surrounding the town.  There is a harbour master who uses a very shrill whistle at the boats coming in and then directs the boats to a place on either side of the harbour.  After we had tied up in a good spot on the right side of the harbour,  the harbour master's parting words to the Captain were to check the anchor as it didnt look as if it was holding, and we werent entirely sure that it was either.  Initially the Captain was more concerned about checking back into Greece and had to visit the Police (to show passports), Customs and the Port Police (to check in the boat) all in three different places from one end of the harbour to the other (a horseshoe effectively).  We then had lunch and finally at about four when the wind was really blowing more strongly than before and the dinghy was perilously close to crashing continusouly into the harbour wall we decided we would have to go out and reset the anchor. As luck would have it a Turkish skipper had just come in beside us on our port side and offered to help - OMG - so with me at the back of the boat and TS taking up the anchor and Sequel's Captain on the helm we made our first attempt to do so. First the TS had no idea how our windlass/anchor/who cares/remote control worked and in an attempt to come back to ask a question managed first to pull up the anchor so fast it wedged sideways in its roller and he couldnt get it out.  I looked forward to see him trying to climb over the front of the boat to dislodge it with his foot.  Eventually he managed to get a rope around it and pull it straight again.  Meanwhile we were in the middle of the harbour drifting all over the place.  We tried again but unsuccessfully to reverse into our slot but the wind was too strong and then TS asked if he could take the helm. It took TS two attempts but Sequel and her engines have never been used, and probably never will be again, like the TS did. 'Gunning the engines' springs to mind.  Sequel's Captain is very cautious. We zoomed back into our slot ............... but not quite close enough to tie off and get the pasarelle in place so SC (now on anchor duty) had to let out some more chain and then we were too close and the dinghy got completely scrunched up on the harbour wall. But at last it was done and amazingly no damage to dingy although one of the webbing straps which held it in place had completely snapped in two making an alarming noise when it did so and I thought it was the dinghy breaking in two. There was another Dutch steel boat on our starboard side whose skipper had also been very helpful - I was throwing the lines to him - and he joined SC and TS on board to sort out the anchor chain which had now stuck firmly as it had twisted. Hardly surprising as the boat must have swung round a few times before TS actually reversed - the Dutch skipper's wife was very disparaging about how many men it took etc. 

Sequel in Symi town

We stayed two nights. Thursday was very hot in the harbour and we cowered underneath our bimini all day hardly venturing out until the afternoon when we discovered if we had just walked to the headland we would have found more of a breeze. That evening the Captain received an email from Breakaway anchored in a bay on the other side of the island inviting us for drinks on Friday night, possibly with Sandpiper, who we had seen briefly come in and out of the town earlier in the day. Beginning to feel like we are being followed.

Friday 13

We left Symi town and headed round the island to Panormitis, aka Monastry Bay as, not surprisingly, it has a huge monastry. Had a lovely peaceful afternoon relaxing in the sunshine and even the Captain had a swim. We had drinks on Breakway, not with Sandpiper who we had passed earlier in the day heading back to Symi town, but with Petronella, a lovely green French classic ketch which/who (I get confused) had left Turkey also and were heading eventually to cross the Atlantic in January 2015 - they are very, very welcome.

Monastry Bay

Saturday 14

A quick trip in the dinghy to buy bread from a bakery at the Monastry and we set off again for Nisiros where we are now.  We have been told what a lovely island this is - it is an extinct volcanic crater which pokes out of the sea.  We will return to view the volcano properly later on in the year but heading for Kos tomorrow and our last few days.

Palon, Nisiros