I realise that I have got terribly behind so this is going to be a quick catchup.
We sailed to Naoussa on the North side of Paros to catch up with Anne & Tony on Argosea. A heavy sail with heavy swell and a cat throwing up all over the place. Lovely! The anchorage is great but in a Northerly the harbour has a nasty swell and we bailed out. Pity because the harbour master (who has a 10 year lease) is nice, the facilities are good and reasonable. Apparently they will extend the breakwater even further this autumn and solve the problem for next year.
After Paros we went up to Delos - one of the main religious centres of the ancient world. Well worth a visit although the museum is poor and the signage is dreadful. We anchored at the South of Rinia - a lovely spot -and took a dinghy but we could easily have anchored much nearer the site (don't be put off by Rod Heikel).
Next stop Siros where we anchored in Finikas. A good safe anchorage with a nice little town. L and the others went off to Ermopoli (the capital of the island and of the whole Cyclades archipelago) but were very disappointed. I'm glad I stayed put on the boat.
The crossing to Kythnos was "stimulating". Winds on the beam up to force 6 and a heavy swell. We made it in 8 hours and moored in the "sand-bar bay" on the West side. Sadly Tony and Anne didn't make it and spent a night on the East side before joining us the next day. We had a nice quiet couple of days at anchor waiting for a better wind - including wallowing in the hot spring - and then crossed over to Spathi at the South Eastern tip of the Saronic. We stayed overnight in this tiny isolated anchorage then set of for Hydra. Argosea chickened out and anchored in Mandraki. We waited to give them a lift into the port but after 3 tries their windlass overheated so we went in alone and they caught a water bus later.
We were dead lucky to get the only quay berth under the breakwater. We love Hydra so it was a pleasure to wait until Anne & Tony turned up in the afternoon. We had a good & very reasonable meal up in the square and would definitely go there again. A & T finally took a taxi back at 23.30. Next morning, we waited until the boats in front of us left and then let go to pull up the anchor. Disaster struck! It was hooked under a huge mooring chain that runs across the harbour in 10M of water. It was so heavy that we could only lift it about a Meter off the bottom. At that depth, the anchor was barely visible and the hook with which I was fishing for the chain couldn't be seen at all. It took over an hour to get it so we could free the anchor!
Next stop Poros where Spiros in the Chandlery was his usual helpful self. He supplied several hard-to-get items and found us a mooring buoy for when we leave the boat in August for the wedding.
Argosea intended to head for Korfos ready to go through the Corinth Canal and we were set to go along and have a last meal and say our goodbyes. In the event, the wind wasn't playing and we both ended up in Aegina. There are worse places! We had a really nice meal together in the taverna on the quay by the Marina. Good menu, good prices good service - thoroughly recommended.
And so Goodbye. They sailed off for the Caribbean at 0700 as we waved from the quay - wet hankies all round.
We decided to head back to the Poros Bays as the wind was forecast a bit heavy for the next few days. Just as well we did as the jib refused to come down which would have been very difficult in a port. We met Ian and Sue on Pulsar 2 who we know from Malta and shared a couple of days meals and sun downers before heading off for the Argolic gulf.
We sailed to Naoussa on the North side of Paros to catch up with Anne & Tony on Argosea. A heavy sail with heavy swell and a cat throwing up all over the place. Lovely! The anchorage is great but in a Northerly the harbour has a nasty swell and we bailed out. Pity because the harbour master (who has a 10 year lease) is nice, the facilities are good and reasonable. Apparently they will extend the breakwater even further this autumn and solve the problem for next year.
After Paros we went up to Delos - one of the main religious centres of the ancient world. Well worth a visit although the museum is poor and the signage is dreadful. We anchored at the South of Rinia - a lovely spot -and took a dinghy but we could easily have anchored much nearer the site (don't be put off by Rod Heikel).
Next stop Siros where we anchored in Finikas. A good safe anchorage with a nice little town. L and the others went off to Ermopoli (the capital of the island and of the whole Cyclades archipelago) but were very disappointed. I'm glad I stayed put on the boat.
The crossing to Kythnos was "stimulating". Winds on the beam up to force 6 and a heavy swell. We made it in 8 hours and moored in the "sand-bar bay" on the West side. Sadly Tony and Anne didn't make it and spent a night on the East side before joining us the next day. We had a nice quiet couple of days at anchor waiting for a better wind - including wallowing in the hot spring - and then crossed over to Spathi at the South Eastern tip of the Saronic. We stayed overnight in this tiny isolated anchorage then set of for Hydra. Argosea chickened out and anchored in Mandraki. We waited to give them a lift into the port but after 3 tries their windlass overheated so we went in alone and they caught a water bus later.
We were dead lucky to get the only quay berth under the breakwater. We love Hydra so it was a pleasure to wait until Anne & Tony turned up in the afternoon. We had a good & very reasonable meal up in the square and would definitely go there again. A & T finally took a taxi back at 23.30. Next morning, we waited until the boats in front of us left and then let go to pull up the anchor. Disaster struck! It was hooked under a huge mooring chain that runs across the harbour in 10M of water. It was so heavy that we could only lift it about a Meter off the bottom. At that depth, the anchor was barely visible and the hook with which I was fishing for the chain couldn't be seen at all. It took over an hour to get it so we could free the anchor!
Next stop Poros where Spiros in the Chandlery was his usual helpful self. He supplied several hard-to-get items and found us a mooring buoy for when we leave the boat in August for the wedding.
Argosea intended to head for Korfos ready to go through the Corinth Canal and we were set to go along and have a last meal and say our goodbyes. In the event, the wind wasn't playing and we both ended up in Aegina. There are worse places! We had a really nice meal together in the taverna on the quay by the Marina. Good menu, good prices good service - thoroughly recommended.
And so Goodbye. They sailed off for the Caribbean at 0700 as we waved from the quay - wet hankies all round.
We decided to head back to the Poros Bays as the wind was forecast a bit heavy for the next few days. Just as well we did as the jib refused to come down which would have been very difficult in a port. We met Ian and Sue on Pulsar 2 who we know from Malta and shared a couple of days meals and sun downers before heading off for the Argolic gulf.
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