The Argolic Gulf

Navplion

Navplion

Entering Navplion

Burning the 'Turkish man-of war'

Water taxis with the fire ship awaiting burning

Spetses

Spetses old harbour

Next door neighbour Spetses

Family outing Spetses

Spetses fire ship awaiting launching

When this comes on the market we`ll look for interest in shares!

Porto Heli

Porto Heli

Porto Heli

Koilada waterfront

Town quay, Porto Heli

Kiparissi

Ierakas

Leaving Monemvasia

Well, we have discovered a beaut sailing ground here in the Argolic Gulf. There are numerous lovely harbours and anchorages within a short distance of each other and the coast and islands are green-clad and very attractive. We have fallen in love with Porto Heli where we plan to spend quite a bit of time, making it our base for a while. It is a wonderful protected, natural harbour surrounded by beautiful small bays in which we can anchor, and has a great town quay adjacent to all the conveniences we might need. Our plan is to place Jack Tar at a boatyard in nearby Koilada, pronounced Kilada, for the winter. A new facility with a travel lift and sound storage on the hardstand and much cheaper than Turkey. Before that, we will leave JT for a short while and travel to London to overcome some potential Schengen treaty visa issues and to attend a wedding. Since last posting we have sailed via Spetses island to Navplion at the head of the gulf. It was the busiest weekend of the year at Spetses as they celebrated the anniversary of a long-ago defeat of the Turkish navy using a fire ship. We saw a recreation of the event culminating in the burning of a substantial vessel made up as a Turkish man-of -war. Boats big and small came from all parts and the small harbour was overwhelmed. chaos, as anchor chains were crossed and bigger and bigger stinkboats vied for space. Great entertainment. There we met fellow Aussies Barry and leonie in 'Bella Sogni' their 50 ft Beneteau. Then on to Navplion, a lovely small city with the standard fortress high on a rock overlooking the old town and port. And we have had rain, our first since April and the weather is definitely cooling. Slacks and jacket at night.

Peloponnese Greece

Harbour from atop Monemvasia

Monemvasia old town

Monemvasia

Elafonisos island anchorage

Sheltering at Gythio

Sheltering from the meltemi

Kythira town

Narrows Samaria gorge

Rescue team Samaria gorge

Samaria gorge

Samaria gorge trek

Souda War cemetery

Hania

Tourist transport Hania

Hania harbour

Hania harbour

Hania harbour view

Relaxing harbourside Rethymno

Rethymno

Harbourside market Rethymno

Rethymno

Well, We are now secured to the quay at Porto Kheli in Greece, not far from the island of Hydra, and a lovely spot it is. Before leaving Crete, we sailed west to Rethymno, with a maze of cobbled streets in an old town surrounding its port and on to Hania, another small city with an old harbour. While there, we visited the south coast and the Samaria Gorge national park. There we walked 18 km from the top of the gorge at around 4000 ft where the temperature was 12C to the coast where it was 40 C. It was a testing hike with very steep descents and lots of stoney river beds, but the scenery was majestic. The gorge narrowed to about five metres at one point with cliffs either side towering to 500 metres. Certainly gave the old legs a good workout. Nearby at Souda was the allied war cemetery where lie the remains of 1500 servicemen including 200 Australians who died in the battle for Crete. From Hania we quickly sailed north attempting to beat the meltemi, but not quite succeeding. By the time we arrived at Kythira island the wind was up and our rubber dinghy took on magical powers. Approaching the harbour we had it secured to a forward stanchion when it suddenly appeared flying straight and level in the wind above the top guardrail. Next day we scampered further north torwards Cape Malea, one of Greece`s windiest spots only to have that confirmed, so we scurried away across the Lakonikos gulf to sheltered anchorages and towns. Once things had calmed down we ventured east around the cape and up here via some beaut locations including Monemvasia, an old walled village clinging to the cliffs of a large rock island. We are noticing a slight change in the weather with temperatures a little down in the morning and evening. Still swimming lots and have bleached blond hair. And we certainly back in euro-land; our cost of living having risen substantially. Compensated for somewhat by the much cheaper cost of alcohol and diesel than was the case in Turkey. At this stage we are looking for a Greek boatyard where we could winter the boat rather than return to Marmaris.

Crete to the Peloponnese

It has been some time since we had an adequate wifi signal and since then Jack Tar has sailed on via western Crete then north to the south eastern area of the Peloponnese peninsula, and lots of adventures. When we are able we will update the blog.

Crete - Mk11

Downtown Iraklion excavation

Knossos

Knossos

Fresco knossos

Jack Tar at Iraklion

Venetion fountain Iraklion

Fishermen adjacent to our berth

Venetian arsenal Iraklion

Lounda on Spinalonga Lagoon

Spinalonga Island

First Mate at Aghios Nikolaos

Aghios Nikolaos

Street scene Aghios nikolaos

It is high season for tourists in Crete, with thousands of them, mainly Greek, flocking to all the sights. We enjoyed Aghios Nikolaos despite them. A very pretty town centered around an old fishing port in an old volcano crater lined with tavernas and souvenir shops. We had a comfortable berth at the marina, but decided to sail as the forecast was once again for inceasing winds and we wanted to make ground to the west. First stop was Spinalonga Lagoon, a shallow almost enclosed waterway below Spinalonga Island, the subject of the currently popular novel, The Island; soon to be made a movie. The island houses the remains of a Venetian fortress and a leper colony, the subject of the book. On entering the passage past the island, we were reminded of the aerodynamic effect of accelerating strong winds blowing over the steep cliffs in this part of the world. A 50 kt gust took away the solar anchor light [a $6 Bunnings garden light] and almost shredded the bimini which remains a bit stretched. Fortunately we had taken in all sail. Next day we motor sailed into a 25 kt headwind to Ireklion, the capital of Crete and the fifth largest city in Greece. Here we remain sheltering again from the meltemi, but what a great place to do it. It is a vibrant city with a fascinating cafe society and many wonderful examples of past civilisations. Nearby at Knossos is a partially restored Minoan palace, while the the neo-classical buildings of the city reflect the venetian influence. It is probable that the whole city is built over the remains of many of those ancient societies. When the next opportunity presents we will press on westward.

Crete

Arriving at Aghios Nikolaos


Sitia

Sitia

Amorfos

Amorfos

Amorfos

Pighardia

Khalki castle view

First Mate at Khalki castle

Khalki town from on high

Looking to the hora and castle

Jack Tar has arrived in Crete, but not without a bit of fun enroute! But to first step back. Before leaving Khalki we managed a walk to the ruins of the old high town or "hora"and then climbed up to an ancient castle above where the views were spectacular. Next day we sailed for Karpathos, the island halfway across to Crete described in the pilot as sea-swept. The forecast was for mild winds but they quickly changed to 35 kts on the beam and became very lumpy. So, we really scooted across and the First Mate retained her composure and was well all the way. Must finally be getting her sea legs. We arrived in the harbour at the capital, Pighardia, to find the harbour too exposed for what was now a gale warning, so shifted to a sheltered anchorage in Amorfos Bay, a beautiful seaside resort area. There we rode out the gale and then set out for Sitia in eastern Crete. Again the winds increased beyond the forecast, this time to 30 kts on the nose. We were forced to sail below the course required to clear Cape Sidheros, the eastern tip of Crete, and its associated reefs and with a southerly set of up to two kts, had to tack a few times to make it round. Sitia looked pretty good when we finally arrived and was an attractive holiday town. Today we motored for want of wind to the marina in Aghios Nikolaos which we will report on later. So far the Cretan scenery has been wonderful, with much more vegetation on the slopes than most islands we have recently seen. And Crete seems to be one giant wind farm with literally hundreds if generators whirling on all the hilltops; which tells you something about the place!