Of Meltemi and shrines, dentists and archipelagos - and being defect free

Sunday, 10th July 2016

The Meltemi is upon us, meaning there are continuous, strong north-westerly winds. These can last from a few days to a fortnight at a time. We did well to work our way north and west first, some good if a bit gung-ho sailing to get us to Patmos island via a lovely spot on the south side of Lipsi island.

Here we anchored in the bay around the point from the main port. It was sheltered and pretty, with great swimming and snorkelling, yet only a short dusty walk over the saddle of a hill to the port and civilization. The port or Skala gets cruise ships and leisure yachts, many from Turkey and has lovely shady squares and back streets full of cafes and smart little shops. Up the hill lies its Chora or main town, more Cycladic (very white, against rocky backdrop) than Dodecanese. On a clear day, Patmos is very obvious - you can see the Chora glistening from up to about 30nm away. St John allegedly wrote his Apocalypse (in Revelations) here in a cave, now turned into a shrine. The large monastery on top of the Chora used to house one of the largest libraries of ancient texts outside Mt Athos and was the second spiritual centre of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Patmos also has great dentists. This time it was Richard's turn to dislodge a filling and break off part of a tooth - we found Giovanna, a lady with a practice overlooking the harbour and stunning views. She had modern equipment that put our poor dentist to shame, and spoke four languages. She not only sorted himself out temporarily, but gave her card and recommended he come back to Patmos to complete more extensive treatment that would be equal to if not better than he would get at home, and cheaper!

We have not been very far; the winds have dictated our movements. We stayed in lovely Ormos Meloi on Patmos for a few days, and then headed over to the North Dodecanese Wildlife Refuge, that encompasses the tiny islands of Arki and Lipsi. The only wildlife of note to be seen was one very tame cormorant on Arki. He was on one side of the harbour watching a fishing boat come in. He waddled awkwardly all the way across the quay to where it moored up. He inspected the catch and hopped on board, first on the side, then on the stern, waiting expectantly. He was not disappointed; he was fed the tiddlers in the nets by the fisherman. They both behaved like this was a most regular occurrence.

From here it was downhill all the way - meaning we were as far north as we intended to go and would be sailing downwind (for the non-sailors, this is easier and calmer in strong conditions) back to Leros to be lifted for our break to come home. In the course of making our way from Arki to Lipso we had steady F7 gusting F8 winds. We got into Lipsi port and anchored off for a bit, for a bite and a swim, but it got too boisterous. We headed round in towards the marina, along with 2 much larger Turkish boats. Our dinghy decided to up-end itself, fly in the air and snapped one of its lines. With Richard trying to handle the boat in the severe gusts, Wendy managed to get the dinghy under control and hauled it up and secured it on to the transom. Meanwhile, we could see the Turkish boats struggling to get themselves on the quay, even with more powerful engines and bow-thrusters, so we decided to head back down the south cove (Lera Lipso) we had started this little circuit in. We surfed down on heavily reefed genoa alone, getting gusts in excess of 50knots. Again!

We thought we would have the place to ourselves, but to our surprise the two bays had quite a few boats in them - great minds obviously thinking alike. Although very windy here, it was not too gusty and the sea state was pretty calm. A good move and we had a good night.

Our last day, and we made our way down to the top of Leros to be ready by 8am on Saturday for our lift-out. It blew old boots, we had trouble getting onto the buoy, managed it eventually. After all the winds and difficulties and getting bashed about, we checked with each other that there were no injuries or problems (apart from minor scrapes & bruises). Richard came out with the immortal phrase "I am free of defects, thank you"! Being "defect free" I fear will become a household expression. But perfection can be awfully difficult to live with!

We had to wait a long time to be lifted. The yard was behind, the previous day had been too windy to put boats in or take out. One boat was launched; another on a buoy was then lifted out. Silence reigned. It was obviously coffee time. Then another boat was launched, and Myrica was called over. We entered the lifting bay, the strops were positioned and we got off. Silence again. Something was jammed. Man sent for bosun's chair; he got craned up to top of hoist, stood up there and fiddled about for a bit. Then the bread van came roaring down to the quay. All four chaps stopped. I bought some bread, the chaps crowded round to get their cheese pies, pasty-like things and bread sticks. And sat on the quay, legs dangling over the edge to eat said cheese pies and pasties. One does have to keep one's priorities straight. Meanwhile Myrica is wallowing about in a sling. Finally, whatever jammed on the hoist was cleared and we were up and out.

We're in a perfect position, doing a de-salting and spruce up, and a temporary 6 week put to bed. Tuesday, we catch a ferry to Kos and flight home; and interesting things to come.

Back 1st Sept. Until then, thanks to Greek dentists, professional boatyard staff (despite the cheese pies) and glorious scenery. θα σε δω σύντομα