Bath time on AC
On board "Jernica" with Aussie Captain Glenn
Lindos bathed in smoke from a raging fire
Seally, Meghan, Toby and Terry in Lindos
Rhodes, Greece – 29 July 2008
Goodness where has the last month gone!!!
Unfortunately we are not going to add Turkey to our ventures as we left Samos a little late to make a visit there worth while! We had about two weeks after getting back on AC from our shore base stay at Andy’s place, where we had numerous engineering issues – all of which Terry overcame with his sheer determination, tenacity and skill – certainly not without frustration of course and especially in the heat! Anyway Turkey will have to wait until another time!
We made our way from Samos south via Arki, Pserimos and Simi to Rhodes over 5 days!
We had two nights in Simi one of which was sleepless as we had to do ‘anchor watch’. We were experiencing 35 knot winds gusting over a ridge. This is the first time we have had to do this but the holding in this particular bay wasn’t great and it was quite an experience watching many boats having difficulty anchoring as well as dragging anchor including ourselves! This time of the year the famous ‘meltimi’ wind blows quite strongly and it is difficult to get shelter from the gusts on the leeward side of islands.
We arrived in Rhodes on Thursday 17th July and tied up Med style (without incident) in Mandraki Harbour! We opted to pay for an agent to ensure we got a berth in this harbour as there are very few options for anchoring in the vicinity and it made the process of checking in and out with the authorities seamless! But you wouldn’t believe all the extras they charge besides the mooring fees – rubbish, assistance on mooring etc etc etc – not a cheap exercise!
Rhodes town is a great place – consists of an old town which is a walled medieval city and the new town! It was most interesting for us to view the old town built by the Knights of St John before they were kicked out of here and then of course ended up in Malta. You can see the definite improvement in their building skills in Malta!
Our friends Seally and Meghan and little Toby (3mths) arrived on Saturday and were with us 5 days until Thursday! Seally has been quite a regular visitor on AC – sailed with us from Dartmouth to St Katherine’s in London, from there to Essex, and also visited us in Malta!
As it happened, our new friend, Glenn Kennedy, who we met in Samos, arrived on his boat on Saturday and parked next to us in Rhodes. Glenn is an Australian and has been living in Athens for 20 odd years – married and has a daughter. He works for a Swiss guy who owns the lovely traditional motor yacht “Jernica”, Glenn is the Captain! He has been most kind and helpful with weather and local information since we met and in fact kept track of us as we made our way down to Rhodes! We all had a fun night out with him on Sunday in Rhodes at a great Chinese restaurant.
Seally really enjoyed riding around Rhodes on one of our fold up motorbikes. He and I went on manoeuvres searching for supermarkets on the Sunday and that was fun. As it happened we rode out to the local hospital to see how Terry was getting on. Just prior to leaving Samos he got his little finger entangled in the anchor winch which crushed the last segment quite severely. Reluctantly he went to the hospital but was happy he made the effort. I also went the next day as the wound on my leg had got infected so overall we both had a good experience of the medical system here and even better it cost zero, we just paid for the prescriptions! In the five days prior, as you can imagine, Terry had a good excuse to drink numerous single malt whiskies!!
We left on Tuesday (managed to get the anchor up without fouling it – this is no mean feat in this harbour) and sailed to Lindos which is about 25 miles down the south coast! It has a natural harbour just perfect for us to anchor in. Of course we made our way ashore a few times during the 4 days we were there – it was such a gorgeous little village with quaint little alleyways and very easy to get yourself lost in! On the top of the hill is the Acropolis which dates back 2000BC and a Medieval Castle – oh the vista was spectacular, especially at night!
Whilst we were in Lindos there was a fire out of control over the ridge – we couldn’t see flames but the smoke was intense and at times covered the sun – quite a strange experience! It lasted for about 3 days fuelled by the wind! Sadly fires are a regular occurrence in Greece but to us there isn’t a lot to burn – the islands are very arid!
Seally and Meghan and little Toby said their farewell to us in Lindos, however not without a farewell dinner ashore – the time went so quickly – it was wonderful to have their company plus little Toby who was very well behaved!
We are now back in Rhodes town to have a sail fixed plus we are getting a shade cover made for the saloon windows to help keep the heat out! Boy it is very warm – most days it is between 35 – 40 degrees and whilst sometime this wind gets on your nerves without it, it would probably be unbearable! Hard to imagine Auckland experiencing wet windy and cold weather at the moment!
Yesterday we got a call from Graham King, a friend of Graham Waring from Essex, who we haven’t met before but have spoken to on the phone, to say he was en route to Marmaris Turkey and was going to come to Rhodes just to catch up with us! He invited us for dinner on his motor yacht which of course we gladly accepted! What a grand way to spend an evening, particularly in Rhodes, and what a treat it was to be wined and dined on a gorgeous 90ft motor yacht – a gracious host and complete with Captain and crew – lined up with all the other fabulous motor yachts!! It was great to finally meet Graham and his two lovely children – what a treat!
We will leave tomorrow, weather permitting, and hopefully if the wind allows us, to head for Santorini (Thira) where it is most likely we will pick up Brian McAra arriving from Hawkes Bay on Wednesday the 6th!! We are very excited about having him aboard!
Love
The Jolly Rogers
