After a false start whereby Alex missed his original flight he arrived in Rhodes only 12 hours late for the start of his holiday. Caryn went to the airport on the bus to meet him. Interesting trip to the airport on the bus (packed like sardines as it is not a dedicated airport bus but serves all the hotels on the west coast). Svein met us at the bus station on our return and we had a quick meal in town before getting back to the boat so that he could settle in. It is still windy. Whilst we were waiting the Alex to arrive we visited the Turkish consulate regarding resident permits if we decide to stay the winter there.

Next morning we all swam despite it still being very windy and then went into town for lunch with Sybaris. After lunch we wandered through the old town out of the tourist area and saw the main door to the house that Per and Elly have bought. We will have to wait until October to see inside when they have the keys. On our return to the anchorage we saw that Laerke had arrived.

Still windy in Rhodes so we spent time on land window shopping with Alex. Svein spent time on Laerke fixing things and then we all went for lunch on land. We had drinks on board Sybaris before returning to boat to eat and then into town to test Blue Lagoon night life. Stayed for one drink and then back to boat as it was not quite our scene.

After 3 days in Rhodes it was time to move on and show Alex something of Greece. We left the anchorage and made our way to Alimnia under engine as we had strong head winds. We were anchored with a line ashore after 6 hours at sea in a calm bay. Only one catamaran, a gulet and local fisherman in the bay with us. Alex tried his hand at fishing and also collected some sea urchins that, unfortunately, were not edible. He had no luck with the fish except for one small one that was thrown back.

The next morning, before leaving the bay, Alex and Svein spent some time trying to fish but with no success. They saw the fish but they did not bite. Late morning we left the bay for Chalki. Still head winds but only one other boat on the quay when we arrived and we managed a perfect mooring first time. We had lunch on land and then a major internet session so that Alex could catch up on the different sporting events taking place over the weekend. Probably here for a few days as very strong winds forecast and we want to move North so would only be battling head winds and probably swell. Watched France/Spain basket ball final where France lost.

We walked round Chalki in the heat and managed to get internet to talk to the families. Late evening we decided to move back to Alimnia in order to avoid the squeaking of the ropes on the quay. We managed to sail a little although played cat and mouse with the wind and the engine. Alex had bought bait so was keen to try to catch something.

Peace and quiet in Alimnia bay. Alex and Svein organised themselves and we managed to have lunch from their catch. Alex managed to prick himself with one the the spikes on the dorsal fin. This proved very painful and as we were not sure what the fish was Svein took them over to a local fisherman who reassured us that they were good to eat and although the sting was painful it was not dangerous and just needed to be rubbed with lemon.

They both took a long snorkelling session the bay whilst Caryn swam. Evening was dinner on board and then reading with a early night as we shall leave early in the morning to catch the South wind.

Everything was tidied and stored on board so that by 08h00 we were weighing anchor and leaving the bay. The south wind was there and we sailed to Tilos using only the genoa and mizzen. We made very good time although encountered heavy seas. We moored in Tilos harbour half an hour before our scheduled arrival time and then treated ourselves to a good lunch. Mooring was quite difficult because of the cross wind and Alex managed to fall although he did not harm himself. Anyway that is the 3^rd mishap so all should go well from now on. Big storm during the night with thunder and lightening over the harbour. As it rained the deck got washed at last.

Early start as there was no wind and we wanted to take advantage before the head winds blew up. We left the harbour at 08h15 and motored all the way with calm seas until the passage between the islands of Tilos and Nisyros. We reached Pali harbour at 11h30 and were met by Nikos. Unsettled weather is forecast with thunder and rain seen in the distance so hope it is not coming our way. Fun and games with a charter Oceanis 50 that managed to cut the anchor line of a Danish boat losing a Fortress anchor and weight together with the line. McGuyer to the rescue.

Early the next morning Svein tested the diving gear by recuperating the lost anchor and weight. Otherwise the day was quiet day and we spent a good deal of time on the beach and swimming. Kostas kindly gave us some lamb.

It was time to play tourist so we hired a car and toured the island with Alex. We shopped in the morning and then visited the volcano, Nikia, Emporio and drove out to the end of the road after Pali. Manana came into the harbour. We bought a water colour from the youngsters camping outside Pali.

It was the day for the celebration and we went to the party organised in the small monastery behind Nikia perched on the edge of the volcano. There was a good turnout with plenty of food and music. Met some French whose family had bought house in Emporio. We eventually got back to the boat round 1am and then Svein and Alex went to Manana for a drink.

Time to leave Nisyros so late afternoon we motored over to Yiali. Had a swim. Alex fished but with no success.

The next morning we left Yaili and motored over to Kardamena. We moored on the quay and had lunch at Teo. We went over to Orchid and saw Jim and Jane. As we had not seen them since Messolonghi we spent a few hours with them catching up and then they came to us for drinks in the evening. Svein and Alex vanished afterwards to watch European foot on the big screens.

Orchid left and Svein and Alex slept late after the late session the night before. Laerke arrived and we had lunch together. Svein and Alex went off to see football matches in the evening. Caryn sent off emails requesting harbour prices to Kos, Kas, Finike for the winter.

We hired a car so that we could visit the island and also do some shopping. Our first port of call the harbour in Kos where we got confirmation of a place for the winter. Other that the trip into Kos we did not see much of the island as the time spent waiting round to see the harbour master and then looking for various items for the boat and doing the shopping ate into the programme. Instead Alex and Caryn went swimming and then collected the filled diving bottle.

We are still in Kardamena as there are very strong winds today. Alex and Caryn went to the beach but although it was possible to swim it was impossible to sit on the beach with all the sand blowing. We had very good dinner at Teo after having eaten lunch on Laerke. Svein helped Niels install the new ladder they had bought the day before.

After watching the England/Scotland match in the Rugby World Cup we had lunch and then left the harbour. We hoisted sails outside the harbour and headed along the coast. We encountered very strong gusts (30+) off the head of Khelona. We managed to sail a little but quickly lowered the main and genoa. We anchored off Kamares bay with strong gusts. The meltemi has not died down here so we will wait it out before rounding the island to head North.

Virtually no wind this morning when we woke up so we weighed anchor and left the bay heading North. We managed to hoist the sails and then motor sailed up to the island of Kalymnos and the bay of Emporio where we picked up a mooring buoy (first of the season). Lovely bay with clear water although we are starting to notice a drop in the temperature. The nights getting definitely a little cooler so need now need a blanket.

We decided to stay in Emporio for the day as the winds were very difficult and we did not want head winds heading to Leros, our next stop. Alex fished and managed to catch enough for a fresh fish dinner with salad. Alex and Svein took the dinghy and tried their luck further out but without success so had to go out to dinner that was good and cheap. We hope to be able to move on tomorrow.

Late morning we left the bay and headed North under engine as we only had head winds. We arrived early afternoon at Lakki bay on Leros island and moored in Lakki marina. We took full advantage of the shower facilities and then visited the town. It is a strange place with no soul.

After spending the morning in Lakki sorting out emails, booking flights to UK and ringing on Skype we left to go South before the strong winds at the weekend. We managed to sail after leaving the bay of Lakki and headed south along the east coast of Kalymnos. We finally reached the fjord of Vathi where we anchored. We met Manolis on the quay who was interested in the PC navigation system in exchange for taking Alex fishing. He is a professional fisherman so should be interesting. The plan is to take Alex into Kalymos to get the right bait and then take the dinghy and try and catch something. So we shall be in Vathi for an extra day whilst Alex enjoys himself and then we shall head for Kos to wait out the storm and finalise the contract for the winter.

Manolis was a no show so no fishing. Instead we wandered round the village that was very charming. We left late morning and managed to sail with all sails, spinnaker and then did a fancy manoeuvre in Kos harbour to anchor. We had decided to stay in the harbour for the night before finalising the winter contract and leaving for Nisyros to sit out the strong southerly due at the weekend. We again met Jim from Orchid. We visited the town and found internet so Caryn was able to alter her UK return to the right date.

We walked to the marina and confirmed our booking for the winter. Jespan was in the harbour so we went to see them as again we had last seen them in Messolonghi. After a little shopping we left the harbour for Nisyros as we wanted to be tucked up there safely during the coming strong winds. The trip took nearly 4 hours under engine but we got a spot on the South quay next to Laerke who had arrived from Kalymnos.

It was a quiet day with plenty of rain overnight and in the morning. Svein worked on flush deck hatches to make them waterproof so hope it works. The test will be tomorrow.

It rained during the night and we had thunderstorm overhead but the hatches no longer leak!!! The harbour is full of people waiting for the bad weather to pass and there is not much happening on the island. We have spent a great deal of time watching the Rugby World Cup and Svein fixed the cable for the antenna so we have good reception on board again.

A very wet day so we stayed on the boat and relaxed. The departure date for Alex is approaching so we must move on. The holiday has already nearly drawn to a close.

We left Nisyros and motored to Symi harbour after an uneventful trip although there was a good deal of swell during the crossing. There are still some scattered showers but as we had not seen rain since May it is appreciated. The locals are all saying that this bout of rain has come much earlier in the season than in previous years. Even in Symi one can feel the season drawing to a close with far fewer tripper boats although there seems to be a never ending stream of yachts.

We are still in Symi harbour. Svein has found a very good chandler so has bought new manual pump for cockpit bilges and also some fishing gear. We had some fun and games when a charter boat tried to leave the harbour. He had placed his anchor chain at right angles and half way up the harbour so inevitably we were over it and had to go out to release him and then reanchor.

It is time to leave Symi and return to Rhodes so that Alex can catch his flight. We motor sailed across and Alex caught a yellow fin tuna (that we lost) and then a 1.5kg tuna that we managed to land. We anchored outside the harbour and were invited to dinner in Per and Elly’s new house in the old town along with Captain Jacques, his guests and Per’s brother and his wife. The tuna was cooked on BBQ and everyone (10) managed to get a slice. It is a lovely house and our housewarming present went down well. We had made a cord mat using the Napoleon knot.

Alex had an early flight today so Caryn went to the airport with him whilst Svein helped Per take Sybaris on land for the winter. We all met up at the house for lunch together with Keith (Castor and Pollux) who was over from Marmaris renewing his visa. In the afternoon we moved into the superyacht quay for at least one night. The good weather is back with lots of sun and we are now getting used to being just the two of us on board again. We now have two weeks to wait before we take up our winter mooring in Kos marina.

Despite the weather forecast there were fairly strong winds when we left Rhodes and that enabled us to test the new main sail and at one point we were sailing with mizzen, main, stay sails and genoa. We had a good sail down to Lindos although there were a great deal of gusts. We anchored in the bay with a line ashore and can now look forward to a week’s relaxation after all the hard work. The boat looks great now and she moved very smoothly through the water today.

After a quiet night on board we relaxed on the boat and took advantage of the crystal clear water and swam a great deal. We took the dinghy into shore and found an internet cafe on the waterfront and caught up on our emails.

Whilst relaxing on deck we noticed that the bilge pump in the engine room seemed to be working overtime. Svein checked axle and saw that it was time to change the stern gland which he did. Unfortunately it also has a problem so that will be the first thing we order when we get back to Rhodes. Despite the tripper boats it is a quiet and calm anchorage with none of the winds encountered in Rhodes.

A new day and time to go sightseeing day. We started with a dinghy run round the bay and into the next ones and found some interesting places. Once back in Lindos bay we climbed up to the town and found the bar from last year. Caryn treated herself to a fish pedicure which was very interesting and very good. Whilst checking on the internet we had the sad news that our friends on Tribal Kat had run into difficulty off the Yemen coast and that the boat had been found drifting with blood and bullet holes and no people. We can only wait for news from either mutual friends or the newspapers.

A quiet day on the boat and Svein serviced the gearbox. We again swam a great deal and went into the beach for internet to follow up on Tribal Kat.

After one week it is time to return to Rhodes to prepare for our visitor. We managed to sail under spinnaker most of way and only hit the strong winds outside Faliraki. We had dinner on board Sybaris (who had also arrived) and learned the final outcome for Tribal Kat.

The next day was a girl’s day out so Elly and Caryn spent the day in town checking out the shops. with Elly. Caryn managed to buy some items for Svein and also herself and then returned to the boat to prepare the dinner for Sybaris who were coming to eat on board.

Alex (Caryn ‘s son) was due to leave France today but we received a call to say that he had missed his flight. Fortunately he has managed to get a flight for tomorrow so will arrive only 12 hours late. Alex was due to leave France today but missed his flight. Caryn managed to cancel his ferry bookings and get a partial refund and find a direct flight to Rhodes for the next day. Took the washing in and did some last minute shopping. It was an exhausting as walked everywhere and some distances were long and uphill. We had dinner on Sybaris.

Whilst waiting for Alex to arrive in the evening we visited the Turkish Consulate to enquire about visas if we decide to stay in Turkey this winter. Caryn then took an interesting trip to the airport on the bus as it was packed like sardines. It is not a dedicated airport bus but serves all the hotels on the west coast. We had a quick meal in town before getting back to the boat. Now the adventure can begin.

We were lifted out early and then unfortunately had to wait several hours for the water and electricity to be connected. One this was achieved Caryn scrubbed down the undersides that were only covered with slime and a few barnacles so the antifouling from last year had held up well. Svein started working on the topsides and found that the bolts holding the backstays of the main mast were rusted so had to be changed. He managed to find a very good stainless steel shop and bought new ones so already by the evening the starboard ones were changed. We decided we deserved a meal out (particularly as it is no fun trying to cook on land) so we explored the local back streets and found a superb Greek restaurant. By the end of the day we were satisfied with what we had achieved. Although it is hot and windy there is a nice beach within the boatyard so it is easy to cool off.

Caryn managed to paint the first coat of paint on the port side before the heat got too bad and Svein sanded the topsides and changed the bolts on the port side for the backstay. Found a small restaurant where we had gone for a pita gyros and where we were plied with drinks by one of the locals. We also discovered that the owners of the taverna come from Nisyros

Another day and the starboard undersides got its first coat and Svein painted port topsides first coat. He had found new green paint at €6 a litre and it is the same colour.

On the third day Caryn managed to apply the second coat of anti-fouling to both sides. Svein applied the first coat of paint to starboard and the second coat on port. Sybaris arrived and we all had dinner at Drachma restaurant.

As the undersides were finished Caryn could now turn her attention to her duties and this involved a big shop at Lidl. Elly and Caryn shared a taxi both ways and managed to get everything that was needed. Meanwhile Svein finished the port topside painting and placed the aluminium strip at the waterline. He also put on the new fancy name tape on the starboard side of the boat.

The next day Caryn had promised a cheesecake so that Sybaris could welcome their family with it so whilst Svein was busy installing the rest of the name tapes she made the cheesecake. Svein also prepared the dinghy ready for antifouling and did some minor repairs that it needed. The antifouling was also completed and name tapes were also put on the dinghy. Once the work on the boat was completed we delivered the cheesecake to Sybaris, who had got a place in the harbour, and then we went into town to find internet and have a meal. On our return to the boat we cleaned up and prepared for the launch the next morning. We also took advantage of the water supply and did some hand washing. The major wash will have to be done next week in the laundry we return to Rhodes to pick up Caryn’s son.

We were ready early to launch but eventually we went in the water at 13h00 just as the wind picked up. We filled with water and washed the boat down before leaving to go to anchor in the bay. There were strong winds all afternoon and we will head to Lindos tomorrow to relax.

The strong wind led to some fun and games in the evening at the anchorage as one of the regulars (who lives on the island and leaves his boat in the bay for the summer) dragged. No-one on land seemed to care other than to tell Svein to move the boat as a ferry was coming in. We roped in a neighbouring French boat to help out and we hoisted our anchor and then using the dinghy took a rope to the distressed boat and pulled him out again so that it could be re-anchored. We dropped our anchor again and then the Frenchman on board “Mabel” fixed her anchor and brought our dinghy back to us. All in all a fairly stressful 30 minutes but all is well that ends well. The ferry duly arrived and the boat would have been in the way of his manoeuvre. Svein went to the yard to try and find someone but the office was closed although the people on their boats had watched the rescue and promised to let the owner know what had happened. As usual in the heat of the moment we could not take any pictures so only have a picture of the boat after the event. To end the story the night watchman at the yard telephoned us to hear what had happened and shortly afterwards the owner arrived to spend the night on board. Once the disco on the cruise ship closed we had a quiet night and were up early to leave the anchorage. Just before leaving Svein went over to Mabel and spoke to the owner just to ensure that there were no problems.

Pictures

We left Alimnia bright and early heading for Symi. We tried to sail but it was impossible as the wind was not strong enough. We anchored safely in the harbour and settled in for a relaxing break starting with a dinner on shore and plenty of swimming. There are plenty of boats at anchorage so there is plenty of entertainment.

After two days in Pedi we decided to go to Symi town to stock up as drinks were particularly low. We took the hair raising ride into the town and wandered round. We ordered our stocks and arranged for them to be delivered to the bus in time for our return journey. This gave us time to have a light lunch before heading back. We also found a new hat for Svein and a bikini for Caryn.

Spent another quiet day on the boat with plenty of swimming and noticed that the number of boats had decreased dramatically.

Finally came the time to leave and we headed out of the bay. After 2 hours we were able to hoist the sails and continue under sail to Rhodes. We initially anchored outside the harbour with a line ashore but local tripper boat complained so we went into the bay outside Nereus boatyard.

Svein visited the boatyard and arranged for a lift out. We then went into town and bought the paint for both the top and under sides. Lift out tomorrow morning and then the hard work starts.

Pictures

On leaving Chalki we decided to explore the uninhabited island of Alimnia that lies between Chalki and Rhodes. We were afraid that the anchorage would be crowded but were very pleasantly surprised to find only 2 other boats there.

For once a bit of history. The island is an extraordinary place with its own wells so therefore very green but has been completely deserted since 1960. There are many abandoned houses (said to be owned by Chalki fishermen) together with 2 churches that are complete with their icons, altars and bells. There are some goats that wander round but that is the only life we saw whilst we were there.

Apparently during World War II the bays were used by the Germans to hide submarines and we think that we found some anti submarine netting that could be strung across the entrance on the beach. It was the only explanation we could come up with for the metal circles that were strung together. There were also signs of barracks to house the troops at that time complete with bullet holes and crude drawings on the walls. Initially in 1944 the inhabitants were deported for the first time as a punishment for aiding 7 British commandos who were caught trying to sabotage the submarines. The commandos were taken to Thessalonika where they were executed.

We anchored in the South bay in clear water and on the first day took full advantage of it to cool down. Svein did a little snorkelling but it was good to relax and enjoy the scenery.

After a good night’s rest with no tugging ropes or squeaking pontoons we watched the other boats leave and a few others arrive but there was really not much traffic and plenty of space for everyone. In the afternoon we lowered the dinghy and went off to explore. We started by investigating the crane that we could see in the water and found that it was part of a sunken barge (which Svein later explored and filmed with the underwater camera). We then took the dinghy around to the North bay and explored the first church and the deserted barracks walking amongst the pine trees and along the beach. There was even one house still equipped with bedding and crockery although also full of goat’s droppings. Another short ride in the dinghy as we reached the little hamlet settlement that was complete with paved walkways and houses that were cabled for electricity but all was abandoned. There was also a 2^nd church here and even a bread oven.

It really was an idyllic spot that we have found and hopefully we will be able to return in the near future but after a second night here it was time to move on.