can accomodate more boats on the quay
We set the alarm, and made an early start. We had been unable to update our forecast from Vathi as there was no phone signal. As we motored out we picked up US Grib and the Poseidon forecasts, which now agreed about the direction of the wind, south easterly, but differed on strength and timing. US Grib seemed to be closer to our actual experience, so we chose to ignore Poseidon's imminent F7. We were not even set on a particular destination, since so much depended on how the weather developed. We had a good sail, sometimes lively, and fetched up off Ak Dhafini, on the northern end of Kos's west facing southerly coast. Rather than bear away to Kos harbour, some 30 nm distant, we decided to make for Nisiros where there should be shelter from the impending strong winds. This meant beating up around Ak Krikellos, the southern cape of Kos. It proved to be hard work. There was a 2 knot current running against us. Life was made more interesting by 'racing' two other boats: we think both cheated because we lost out badly in the end. We eventually made it to Palon, finding the geometry quite different from that shown in our pilot guide and chart. It had been dredged, the breakwaters re-arranged, and electricity and water points installed. We anchored and went stern-to, next to some German charterers on the boat next door, one of the boats we had been up against.
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| The harbour at Palon, with its extended breakwater can accomodate more boats on the quay | Nisis Yiali, opposite, is being quarried away |
Overnight the wind piped up strongly from the south east, and we were out of bed after midnight adjusting our lines. In the morning we decided to get the kedge out in addition to the bower, and put on a breast rope. All the boats upwind of us had left the harbour, leaving us to be honorary floating breakwater opposite the harbour entrance. The wind continued to blow throughout the day, and we set about some jobs, such as washing and defrosting the freezer, to take advantage of the electricity and water available. In the evening we went 'ashore' to find the mini-market, where we bought some fruit and essentially wine, at rather inflated prices.
It continued to blow and spat briefly through the night. On Saturday morning we set out to find the bakers, on the way to the hydrotherapy centre east of the village, and walked on beyond the centre. The well-built stone buildings, with what appeared to be sound tiled roofs, appeared never to have been completed and occupied: there was no evidence of plaster on any walls, and there seemed to be no way of getting up to the main entrance. Our timing getting back was poor, as a pleasant guy arrived at that moment and began to check the electricity and water posts. Surmising he was the man in charge, we volunteered payment which he apologetically accepted. 5 euros a day for power, and 5 euros for the water. Back on the boat, we set about changing the oil in the generator, a job that was well overdue. It had been difficult to start, so I checked the glow plug. The first reason amongst many given in the manual for failure to start was 'too thick oil'! After that we filled the (plastic) water tanks, and located a slight weep from the site of the repair which might account for the water in the bilges during the summer. We will have to get another tank repair kit.
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| Captain Bike provided this machine |
The following morning, Sunday, the wind had at last vanished, and it looked set fine for the day. We hired a scooter from Captain Bike. This was a much nicer machine than the one we had on Skyros. There were foot rests for Mo, and a reasonable seat and room for the pillion behind the driver. Our encounter with the harbour attendant had left us short of cash, so we just had enough to pay for the bike and for some petrol. The garage was on the way to Mandraki, so we continued to the port where we had been told there was a cash machine. It did not work! We explored the village at Mandraki, then had to return to the boat as we could not afford lunch out!
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After lunch we rode up to the vulcano, parked by the closed taverna, and walked down into the caldera. It was spooky to be the only people there, listening to the hubble and bubble beneath us, amongst sulphurous fumes with steam seeping out of holes at our feet. Absolutely no 'health and safety' here! Afterwards, we continued on to the village of Nikia. The road skirts the edge of the crater, and there were magnificent views down into the bowl from the village. On our way back we stopped at Eborios, also on the rim of the crater overlooking the caldera. In Nikia there was a new-looking Vulcanology museum, and the village had benefited from some work. At Eborios, there were some EEC projects on the go, but the majority of the village, it seemed, was in ruins, and there were no obvious attractions.
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| The caldera, seen from Nikia | The way down was a rough path | to the floor of the crater, all alone! |
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| Sulphurous fumes and steam rose out of the holes.. | ...which were unguarded.. | Some more of the landscape |
There was no wind. The chap arrived and we volunteered another 5€, the last of our cash, for our electricity supply. It had been expensive, but it was pleasant for a change not to have to generate and to have our ailing batteries topped right up. We set off, and set sail, drifting with a F1 behind us and a favourable current. We decided to make for Tilos, as we could go there legitimately, rather than the Turkish coast. Simi was too far with no wind and we would have had to motor unnecessarily. In the end we did motor for a while, until the breeze perked up a bit towards the end. There was a very pleasant lady attendant welcoming us into the little port, where they had laid mooring lines tailed to the quay. Once we had tied up, and had a cup of tea, I visited the ATM and was able to pay her the 7.50€for the berth. Electricity 4€ extra we declined. The attendant was kept quite busy with yachts arriving, including a mega yacht that came alongside, occupying most of the outer quay.
We were quite relaxed in the morning, so were the last of all the visitors to leave our berth at 1130. There was a lively north westerly breeze that combined with the gusts coming out of the bay to make setting sail interesting. It was some time before we concluded we needed to drop a reef in and were able to settle down, with Fuga making around 7 knots in the right direction. We were glad of the AIS function on Navmon when a large container ship showed up 6 or so miles behind us, and we were able to keep sailing while tracking the CPA showing us that we would in fact miss by over quarter of a mile. We took the short cut inside Nimos, finding depths of 4.5 metres. Coming into Pethi was not so easy, being upsun and with considerable charting errors relative to the GPS.
