Tilos personality test

Arrived in beautiful Tilos today. The harbour in not large but there is room for about 10 yachts.

Sailing comments reveal personality unfortunately:

Skipper: (looking through binoculars) There are yachts anchored outside, it doesn't look as if there will be room in the harbour.
Crew: Maybe they just prefer to anchor outside, there may well be room.

Skipper: Those clouds look like rain.
Crew: It won't last long.

Skipper: ( on finding the forecast made it unwise to move on). Dammit, we're stuck here for a few days.
Crew: We're on holiday and we like it here, so no problem.

Further comment unnecessary.

At last - sailing winds

Most delightful sail from Kos South to Knidos. The wind cooperated at last and allowed us a close-hauled leg for a few hours down to this spectacular anchorage.

The water is clear with the bottom detailed in 4m. The scenery with the old town and theatre is very special. The location was specially chosen by the ancient inhabitants, who built a causeway to the off-lying island, to create a harbour on either side, thus providing s haven whatever the wind direction.

KJ crew have just dined and watched a giant orange full moon rise in the East. Quite spectacular.

‘Kos of those forecasts again

Uncooperative forecasts required another holiday night in Kos. Dinner in a little taverna hidden away from the main tourist traps provided a delightful dinner.

Sad to see yet more of the earthquake damage to the old buildings. This one is right beside Hippocrates' tree and features in some of our ancient family photographs.

The big square with the modern agora is still in full swing and provides a perfect people watching spot in the evening.

If forecasts cooperate we should be at sea tomorrow.

Earthquake damage

Eventually dragged ourselves to Kos where we found that last year's earthquake damage was still very evident. The old mosque in the centre is a sad sight. There are before and after photos of the mosque, the beautiful bougainvillea gate, and an old wall by the ancient agora. Plus the scene at the harbour, where the disruption is clearly visible. All this EU health and safety is such a bind!

Farewell Symi, hello forecasts

A favourite taverna in Symi is the Meraklis, where the patron remembers us from year to year. However it was time to go and enjoy the sport of tangled anchor chains. The yacht in the second photo was wrestling with a crossed anchor in the middle of the harbour. We had to wait for two others to sort themselves before we could cast off.

The plan was to head west to ancient Knidos, to anchor for the night to break the journey to Kos. However the wind and waves were more troublesome than forecast, so we diverted into the sleepy little port of Palamut, where the shelter is good and the pace is slow.

Deceptive peace and troubled history

Another peaceful day in Symi, with visits to the bakery and to the beach.

The idyllic setting however has reminders of troubled times. The more distant one is the commemoration of the surrender of the islands to the Allies in 1945.

The more current one is the rather battered 40 ft yacht in the harbour. I asked about its history and learned that it washed up here with 73 refugees on board. The probable sequence was that it was chartered for a week from some gullible owner in Turkey, and sailed up the coast to somewhere across from Symi, loaded with refugees, each paying thousands of dollars, and sent across the ten miles or so towards Symi with no skipper or sailor to bring her safely into harbour. It is now abandoned. The owner has probably no recompense as it was probably an unofficial 'charter', and it sits here awaiting its fate. Happily the refugees are long gone, the locals here having been very helpful, (there was a volunteer group who fed, watered and housed them) and the authorities would have brought them to Athens.

Flags

The first photo is the view from the back of KJ to the cafe which provides morning Greek coffees and important toilet facilities. Ianni at the door chats to us each day.

The second photo is of the beach where we had to go following a morning's provisioning and other busy, hot tasks.

Finally the flags: from KJ's Irish flag there is a sequence of Swedish, Greek, German, Italian, French, British, and Turkish. Mixed company, united in puzzlement at Brexit.

Our Irish flag is generally thought to be a faded Italian one. Twice today we had greetings of Buongiorno from passers by.

Symi life

Fishermen come into the harbour early in the morning and sell their catch on the dockside. Very picturesque.

A peaceful day with a morning walk to the beach and some serious sun therapy and swimming.

The afternoon was part siesta and part heart-in-mouth watching other yachts docking. With the brisk side-wind in the harbour it isn't easy, but several showed how you really don't do it. There is little excuse for ultra-manoeuvrable catamarans, but they showed the folly of coming to a standstill on the water to drop anchor. The wind just loves to blow you sideways and you end up dropping anchor some way off the intended spot. We counted three that gave up in the end and went elsewhere.

As a result the evening ouzo expedition was delayed while we guarded KJ and our anchor.

Europe

KJ safely exited Turkey and was welcomed into Europe in Symi.

The first photo is the skipper taking down the yellow quarantine flag to signify we were cleared in to Europe. We have about 20 rubber stamps in our documents to prove it.

The highlight of the skipper's day was being tested by the harbour police for my command of Greek. They asked what was my view if the Macedonian issue. Thankfully the right answer emerged in comprehensible Greek. (That Macedonia is Greek, and that other Balkan country needs a different name other than 'Northern Macedonia'.). They almost gave us the freedom of the harbour.

Needless to say Maire had her traditional whitebait and retsina for lunch. Some traditions are fun to maintain.

Mobile phones and lobsters

Whoever first thought it would be useful to include the torch function in mobile phones may not have envisaged that the waiters in a remote Turkish taverna could not survive without it. We watched live lobsters being fished out of their holding cage in the sea by the light of a pair of mobile phones.

Up early for 06:00 departure from Kapi Creek for the long leg west to Bozuk Buku. A lumpier trip than expected , but thankfully the forecast thunderstorms stayed over the mainland and over Rhodes. Bozuk is a glorious setting with an old citadel guarding the bay. Crystal clear water, quite a few degrees colder than usual.

Local traders politely offered various wares from dried figs to shirts and rugs.

The great escape (another close shave)

Finally cast off from Gocek en route to the west. First stop Kapi Creek.

The second photo is the view from the barber's chair, where the skipper had the usual close shave and haircut. No need for a comb for a few weeks.

The forecast is reasonably gentle for the next few days, picking up to F4-5 at the end of tomorrow's trip, but unfortunately thunderstorms seem to be everywhere.

Yesterday afternoon's cleanup had a wonderful Buster Keaton moment. I coiled the hose on the pontoon, and picked up the hose and the deck brush to stow them on board. As I was about to step on board I noticed that only one of my sandals was still on the pontoon. I guessed I had swept it into the water while dragging the hose, so looked carefully in the gap between boat and dock. No sign. I looked all round the immediate pontoon behind KJ. Still just one sandal. I thought it had gone, then as I moved to the boat, realised it was dangling from the shaft of the brush behind my back. Glad nobody filmed it.

Endless complications

Yet another night in Gocek! This was partly caused by the skipper's indisposition (the misbehaving head) and partly by the failure to get all the tidy-up work on KJ finished before everyone in Turkey downed tools to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Somewhat quieter on KJ without the temporary younger crew, now safely home.

Nigel had to finish adjustments to the new solar panel mounting and arrange for his bimini man to adjust the bimini.

All done. Tanks full, decks scrubbed, charts consulted, provisioning complete, paperwork sorted, so we should be off properly in the morning. The only thing that might mess this up is the weather. Two big thunderstorms in the last four days, with floods and problems not far away. Maybe more books will be read before we really get away.

A wedding nearby last night provided some entertainment, particularly with the Heath Robinson apparatus for shooting the glittery stuff into the air.

Pirate Treasure

Friday was the final day's sailing for Young Youngs. It involved a sail to the well-known but hard-to-find pirate lair on Tersane Island. The cunningly disguised entrance to the bay was no problem for the sharp lookouts, and KJ was soon anchored in the bay, and securely tied to the shore thanks to First Mate Eoin.

The children found Captain Flint's hidden treasure map, which showed the treasure was buried 4 paces North from the old olive tree that stood to the west of the third ruin on the shore. First Mate Eoin took the ship's short-boat along with his desperate companions Catfight Chloe, Fearless Francesca , and Blackheart Barney. They landed near the third ruin, found the tree, and with the ship's compass found the buried treasure. Meanwhile Sleepy Sebastian was held hostage on KJ in case they made off with the treasure.

After a quick swim, they prepared to make their escape, only to find an ally of Captain Flint had crossed their anchor and had them trapped. First Mate Eoin cowed the miscreants with a few sharp words and the good ship KJ sailed out of the cove to head for home. Just in time! Captain Flint's pirate ship, complete with skull & crossbones flag, appeared from Fethiye with a raucous crowd of rampaging pirates, intent on recovering the treasure to fund a night of debauchery and ice-cream. KJ made it safely back to Gocek, where the treasure was exchanged with local traders for jewellery and a magnet. Phew!

Starting Young

Sailing to Tomb Bay proved to be a success. Not sure that Seb is ready to be left alone at the helm yet, but Francesca looking like the able-seaman (non-gender-specific term).

The lunchtime fish looked very fine, and only the determined veggie failed to scoff them.

Fabricating a stainless steel frame, engaging multiple men to fit it, and working overtime to get the new solar panel fitted before the end of Ramadan and the ensuing celebrations, is probably enough to make the bank manager swoon.

No-sailing day

Seb celebrated enthusiastically the idea of a shore-based day, while Barney was content to decorate his face with chocolate ice-cream in a more restrained declaration of approval.

A bit of quiet reading and negotiating maintenance activities kept the older generation busy - or at least out of mischief.

Dinner in Ozcan took several phases, with industrial sized spaghetti to defeat the children, very fine sea bream for Chloe, and a later selection of mezes for the ancients.

Beaten dockets

After a delayed flight and late arrival the younger generation were still able to face a sail and a swim. We didn't lose any, and found our way to Round Bay and back without mishap. A bit of knot practice, a lot of looking around, and a couple of heroic parents. Chloe managed to look quite relaxed on the wheel.