After stowing away the bicycles and filling with water we left the mooring in Monemvasia with the intention of sailing along the coast to Kiparissi. However after a short time motoring the wind blew up from the South South East and we had the perfect wind to take us further North towards Hydra. It blew between 12 and 14 knots steadily all day and on reaching the island of Dhokos it started to gust so we reefed and started the engine to round the island; We sailed at a steady 6 knots all day and late evening we reached the anchorage of Ormus Skindos on the island of Dhokos. We anchored in deep water and on the third attempt the anchor took but not before we had raised a plastic doormat that had hooked itself onto our anchor, After a light meal (cooked by Svein) we sat on deck and enjoyed the tranquility of the evening whilst watching the full moon rise over the bay.

As very strong head winds are forecast for today we are staying in Monemvasia for the day. This will also enable us to see the rest of the celebrations in the evening. We spent the morning cycling to the old restored town of Monemvasia and wandering through the narrow streets appreciating the scenery and the view from the terraces. It was hard work getting there battling against a head wind (as always) and cycling uphill but the reward was worth the effort.

We are planning to leave tomorrow (weather permitting) to proceed North so more to come later.

As the winds to round the last tip were forecast for later in the day on waking up Svein again dived to check the keel and found the water cooling intake for the engine nearly blocked. This he cleared and he also finished cleaning the keel.

We raised the anchor around 10h00 and headed for the dreaded tip of Maleas. We had light winds and round the head with no problems at noon and headed into the Aegean and up to Monemvasia. We arrived early afternoon and were fortunate to find a mooring in front of the coastguard boat.

We had arrived in time to see the celebrations for the independence of the town. On 23^rd July 1821 the town was the first to be freed from the Turks at the start of the war that ended in 1827.

After a lazy morning (for me) and a busy one for Svein who checked the outboard again and a quick wander round the small hamlet we raised anchor and headed out. After just half an hour the wind picked up (from the right direction) and we were able to sail all day reaching Ormus Frangos (Elafonisos island) early in the afternoon. We anchored in crystal clear blue water and immediately went for a swim.

We left Pilos early and headed further South rounding the end of the first tip when we passed Methoni. We did not stop but carried on under engine. As we passed the bay to Kalamata the wind picked up and we were able to motor sail the rest of the way to Porto Kayio until 20 minutes before our arrival when the engine developed a problem. As the wind was then in a good direction we proceeded into Porto Kayio and anchored under sail. The first attempt the anchor did not take but did so on the second. Svein examined the engine and found that a draining screw in the raw water system had come loose. Fortunately he was able to fix it and everything was back to normal, After the keel scrape we had gained 1 knot in speed which was very appreciable.