27^th August 2010

What a day. We waited for the wind to drop and late morning hoisted the anchor and started on our way to Samos. The sea was extremely bumpy and the wind very unpredictable. It was supposed to drop but we had gusts of 25 to 30 knots regularly and although we had hoisted the sails it was necessary to motor sail. The distance to Samos was 37 nM until the tip but what we had not realised was that to reach our destination of Pythagorion there was another 33Nm so all in all we were at sea for 10 and a half hours and travelled 60nm. After 3 hours into the journey the auto pilot refused to answer so for the rest of the journey it was good old fashioned hand steering which we took it in turns to do. To crown it all, on our approach to Pythagorion we suddenly saw winds of 25 knots and we had to anchor in the dark as we arrived at 22h30! This we achieved and it was two very tired souls that went to bed after a quick snack.

28thAugust 2010

We awoke bright and rested and were able to take in our surroundings. A large bay protected by a huge breakwater. The water was crystal clear and we sere surrounded by sailing yachts. After a little while the boats started leaving and we were able to move to a better anchorage before taking the dinghy into town to explore. We shopped buying things that we needed (including a Turkish courtesy flag and a new Greek one as our current is now falling to bits). After a quick lunch we returned to the boat and had a well deserved swim. Svein checked out the auto pilot and luckily all it needed was a new fuse. We then decided that the next island was not too far away and we had time to reach it before nightfall. We therefore lifted the anchor and left the island of Samos for Agathonisi. We are now leaving the Sporades islands and heading for the Dodancese islands. We were lucky with the wind and were able to sail for the better part of the journey. We reached the island in the early evening (before sundown) and were able to anchor in a bay not too far from the town. A quick swim and after taking a line ashore we took the dinghy into the village in order to find a taverna for dinner. We chose “Georg Tavern” and had the best and cheapest meal that we have eaten since our arrival in Greece a little over a year ago. Back to the boat and a night’s rest before moving on tomorrow.

29^th August 2010

After a gently morning swim we decided to move on and so hoisted the anchor late morning to head over to the island of Lipso. We had gently SW winds (head on) so motored all the way but on a sea that was like a millpond. We reached the bay of Sokoro in the early afternoon and once again anchored outside the harbour. An intriguing village that counts no less that 16 churches in and around the bay! Whilst we were in Komi we were told that anyone can build a church in their home town providing that no other church with the name already exists there. They are usually built by wealthy people in gratitude for their good fortune.

We will not be staying here long but will be moving further south tomorrow as we want to ensure that we are in a safe place before the meltemi, forecast for the middle of next week, blows up.

30^th August 2010

Last night we took the dinghy into the island and were very pleasantly surprised. We found a bakery open 24 hours a day and as we wandered up the small streets we found little shops tucked away and tavernas. We even found one where people were speaking French and to top it all it had a book swop.

This morning we went back into town and took in all the books that we had read to replace them by new ones. We had a quick lunch in the taverna and then headed back to the boat as we wanted to get under way and head for Leros.

We hoisted the anchor and set out around 14h30. It was a short hop to our destination of Xerkambos on the South tip of Leros but it was a case of motor sailing/sailing as the wind sent gusts off the land. We reached the anchorage at 17h30 so not too long a day. Tomorrow we shall head for the town of Kos as we want to be in the harbour there for a couple of days.