Wednesday, 11th September 2019
A Small Circumnavigation and other Practical Matters

Myrica is back in the water and her element. We haven't gone very far! A combination of reasons: (1) fraying upholstery; (2) Greek documents; (3) weather. So we have had a contemplative circumnavigation of the island. To explain….

(1) The upholstery (mainly) on the port side has deteriorated significantly - it's as if all the horizontal (warp / weft?) threads have decided enough is enough, and shredded themselves. We already have a good quote from our "local" man who made our new sprayhood. It is choosing material that is the sticking point. We've brought samples out from the UK, and pored over the local fabric books here. Cannot choose! Nothing screams out "perfect" to us. And logistics come into play too: if a UK fabric, we need to get it delivered to our man here - at a price! Did sailing around in circles help? Not yet.

(2) Greek documents. It came to our attention that we could apply for Greek residency, or at least registration, without doing anything permanent or getting mired in the tax system if we keep stays under 6 months. In the light of the chaos that is the dreaded "B" word, it has been suggested that this "residency" would solve our 3 month restriction post "B", and our time in Greece would not impinge on our Schengen "90 days in a rolling 180" restriction elsewhere in the EU. Whether true or not is anyone's guess. But we filled in our forms, photocopied passports, EHICs, provided 4 photos, did a Google translate of a bank statement showing adequate funds, gave the boatyard as our "address" and went to talk to the nice (English speaking) lady at the Police in Agia Marina. I think they have had a lot of similar requests. The formalities were done and dusted in about 10 minutes, and she promised to ring us when our cards were ready - about a week. So again, a little diversionary circumnavigation whilst we wait.

(3) Weather. The forecasts have been for strong winds, particularly in the areas we originally wanted to head for. Given the need to wait for (2) above, another good reason to hole up in lovely anchorages here and see what future forecasts bring.

We've shaken the sails out to go clockwise around the island, getting the barbecue dirty again, testing out the clear blue water, rebuilding the outboard (R, again) so that it finally starts properly and runs smoothly, and walking the goat trails on the hills above. Why do you think I would come across a bus shelter overlooking the water with a chair facing the other way on an otherwise deserted islet - by a goat track? We are now anchored off the beach at Panteli with its view of the windmills and the castle, a lit-up spectacle at night. From here we completed no. (2) - a call this morning from the police to say our cards await collection. From here we could walk up and over the saddle of the hill, past the castle high on our right, all of 1.6km to the police station. A charming young policeman handed them over and said he hoped the dreaded "B" would be sorted soon. I asked him if he wanted to see our passports to confirm identity. He said "no, I can see your face and it matches the card - enough". Sometimes Greek bureaucracy can be mind-boggling; sometimes, like now, a friendly non-event.

Tomorrow we complete the circumnavigation and head back to Lakki, the main port. We'll monitor the weather (due to have gales at the weekend) to see when we can head out. We'll meet up with friend Colin (Silent Wings) who arrives back on the island today, to exchange news, happenings and mis-happenings. We'll avoid getting sucked into an annual international Leros regatta this weekend (they'll have a tough time in the gales) and hope to be able to make tracks soon.