Cruising progress 2019 (Click to enlarge)
30th September 2019
There's not really too much to write about this month as we've been covering the same ground with some really great sails and meeting up with friends unexpectedly. This area is in black hole for AIS coverage, so we will sometimes see our friends on MarineTraffic or Vesselfinder for a short while then they disappear again. We have found quiet villages such as Astakos and deserted anchorages where we can walk or swim.
When anchored in the bay at Mytikas, we had a little 15kt gust of wind and noticed that a yacht which had been anchored about 150m ahead of us was about 20m from our bow and getting closer. The wind dropped and they settled with their stern well behind our mast. Mike went up to the bows but couldn't see anyone in the cockpit and called across to ask if they were OK. A voice replied that they were fine so he returned to the cockpit. Nothing happened for five minutes so he went back and asked if they had a problem. He was told everything was OK and then people start appearing in the cockpit. We were treated to about 5-10 minutes of discussion in Italian, with everyone joining in, from about 7 years old upwards. Nothing appeared to be decided and no action taken. Mike called again and asked if they had a problem starting their engine or lifting the anchor. He was told that their anchor was broken and he asked if they meant the windlass, and did they need a hand. They replied that the windlass was OK but the anchor on 30m of chain was broken. We assumed it was a translation thing and they meant they were dragging. I told them that they needed to lift the anchor, check it and try again.
Another five minutes passed before they started the engine and lifted the anchor. We then spent another hour watching them repeatedly try to anchor upwind. Every attempt ended with them dragging serenely past us, but by this time it was too dark to see what they were doing. The holding has always seemed great here but we weren't convinced they were properly anchored and thought they had just given up in the hope that there would be no further wind until morning. They were lucky as they wind died completely for the rest of the night.
The next day we went ashore for lunch and kept hearing comments from a Romanian man and his two teenage daughters at the next table. They were asking the waiter to point out where they were. We heard gasps and comments about "an hour's journey" when he pointed to the corner of the map on the tablecloth. Their own map did not even show anywhere within 10-15 miles of their location. They were obviously lost and Mike asked if they wanted to look at TomTom on his phone. He entered a route home for then but they were very puzzled until he asked where they had driven from. It all became clear when they said they were on a very small hire boat and had motored 15nm across open water. Mike gave them directions and the waiter gave them a new folded tablecloth with map and hopefully they made it back in one piece.
We're now back in Vlycho for the next few days and have made a start on the usual never ending maintenance list. Temperatures are now back up to the high twenties which is a bit too hot for working without any shade, so hopefully it will cool down a bit soon.
