Helen returned to LEROS from the UK at 0435 hrs
on Saturday 13 April on a Blue Star ferry from Athens. They are so punctual you can almost set your
watch by them. The numerous ferries one
sees in the Aegean are the lifeblood of the islands. Generally they are now modern and
comfortable; very different from the ghastly old British Rail ferries we used
to travel on – deck class – when backpacking in Greece in the eighties.
Since Helen, who had boarded at 1800 hrs the
previous evening, had slept well in a cabin, we both set to preparing for our 50-mile
passage next day to the island of AMORGOS, south-east of Naxos – supposedly the start of our cruise proper of
the Cyclades Islands.
IT WAS NOT TO BE! We discovered late on Saturday evening that two of our four boat batteries had died on us. On reflection, the signs of a potential problem were there on our Sea Trial (Blog 1/2019), in that the batteries did not appear to be holding their charge for as long as they had previously. We ignored the signs since the batteries had cost us a small fortune and were only two years old. Even our supplier, Sopromar in Portugal, agreed that they should have lasted for a good five years.
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| Blue Star Ferry docking at Lakki, LEROS |
Cyclades Islands
IT WAS NOT TO BE! We discovered late on Saturday evening that two of our four boat batteries had died on us. On reflection, the signs of a potential problem were there on our Sea Trial (Blog 1/2019), in that the batteries did not appear to be holding their charge for as long as they had previously. We ignored the signs since the batteries had cost us a small fortune and were only two years old. Even our supplier, Sopromar in Portugal, agreed that they should have lasted for a good five years.
Fortunately the local garage had four of our
normal sealed marine batteries of the right size in stock, so we were able to
replace them next day and, even better, at 25% of the ludicrous cost of the
batteries we’d been persuaded to buy in Portugal. In this respect we were lucky in that Greek
islands usually have to order such items from Athens.
Two of the
replacement batteries stored under the companionway steps forward of the engine
compartment – a memorable shot, for us at least
Not the best of starts! Little did we know, however, that worse was
to come! Next day we set sail due west at dawn for AMORGOS – a largish
inhabited island in the Cyclades which has not yet been completely taken over
by holidaymakers. After we had initially
made good progress in a southerly Force 5, the wind increased and veered to the
west thereby making it impossible to lay a direct course as planned and reach
AMORGOS in daylight hours or even by midnight.
We therefore pulled into the southern anchorage of the island of LEVITHA
which we’d visited earlier in March on our Sea Trial. It really is an
excellent, well-protected anchorage and a delightful location – so much so that
we didn’t, on arrival, feel too hard done by.
Chart plotter showing
Island Drifter (ID) in Levitha anchorage
Levitha anchorage
While making a celebratory cup of tea soon
after arrival, Helen, who has the nose of a bloodhound, noted the smell of
diesel fumes that were being intensified by the flame from the gas ring. On investigation we soon discovered that the
fuel return (outlet) pipe on the injector pump had come off, the pump had
sprayed almost everything in the engine compartment with diesel and the engine
bilge was full of it. In total we’d lost
all but the five litres of diesel left in the header tank.
Helen’s
finger pointing at the offending outlet pipe from the injector pump
Fortunately (for us, if not for marine life)
most of the 70 litres we’d lost had been pumped out overboard in transit by the
automatic bilge pump without us realising it since we were both out in the
cockpit at the time. It took two hours
to clear up the mess; it would have taken a lot longer had we’d been flooded
with 70 litres of diesel.
Helen sponging out
diesel from the engine bilge
On reflection we were lucky. Had we run out of
fuel (and we were on the verge of doing so) in the narrow anchorage at LEVITHA
we would almost certainly have ended up on the rocks in the cove within
minutes. We’re not superstitious but
we’d like to think that our liberal libations of Metaxa (local brandy) to the
Greek god Poseidon (a.k.a. Neptune) at the start of each passage might have
helped.
Helen making a libation of Metaxa to Poseidon before
leaving port
Next morning, the wind had shifted to the north. We therefore left the buoy in LEVITHA at
first light, put up reefed sails and continued, on a beam reach, west towards
AMORGOS in a Force 5–6. After half an
hour, with lightning flashing and a menacing thunder cloud approaching, we
began to drop our sail in order to put in a second reef only for two large rips
to suddenly appear in the mainsail.
Mainsail being taken
down after it ripped (most of the rip by this stage had been reefed in)
As it was no longer of use, we packed it away
on the boom, raised the mizzen sail at the boat’s aft end and sailed back on
one tack to LEROS since, unlike AMORGOS where we’d never been, we knew Lakki
harbour and also that there are two good sail repairers in the town. Fortunately, our ketch sails well on just a
reefed genoa and mizzen.
Soon after arriving back in Lakki that
afternoon, each of the sail repairers independently confirmed that the sailcloth
on the mainsail had perished and was beyond repair, albeit that we had sailed,
admittedly in lighter winds, with it on our Sea Trial in March and on this aborted
passage to AMORGOS. Annoying to say the
least, since we’d only replaced the sail in 2013 while in Norway and the
previous one had covered four times the distance in the 19 years we’d had it.
Sail being taken off once
we were berthed on the quayside in Lakki
– one of the rips is very evident
We phoned Crusader Sails, the manufacturer of
the sail in the UK, from whom we have purchased all our sails and whom we have
known for over 25 years, and explained
the situation. Clearly, in terms of
replacement – our primary concern –
there was an incremental problem in that at the required time of
manufacture Crusader’s sail loft was about to close for Easter and at the
anticipated time of delivery at the end of the following week ‘Greece would be
shut’ to celebrate the Greek Orthodox Easter.
Paul Lees, the owner and MD of Crusader Sails, promised to get a
‘volunteer’ to work overtime during Easter, cutting and sewing the sail, and to
dispatch it first thing on Tuesday with DHL.
The latter were said to have confirmed to Crusader that they would air
freight it to Greece and would be able to deliver it to us by the weekend. We didn’t hold our breath… The last time we’d
had a DHL ‘airfreight’ delivery from the UK to Greece, it had been flown to
Germany and then transported by truck down Europe via Italy to Athens before
being loaded on a ferry to Skiathos. It
took two weeks!
Clearly the sparrows had no confidence that our
sail would arrive on time since one couple started to build their nest under
the cover of our mizzen sail during the week we were in Lakki!
The beginnings of a sparrow’s nest inside the cover of our mizzen
sail
Needless to say, we will be ‘communicating’
with Sopromar in Portugal about our ‘old’ batteries and Crusader in England
about our ‘old’ sailcloth. Both companies agree that their products should have
lasted longer, but whether we get any appropriate restitution is a different
matter, since the guarantees on both had expired.
Helen holding a parcel
with samples of the old sailcloth from Crusader Sails
which she was about to post
back to the UK for testing
A local fisherman,
however, was delighted to take ownership of the balance
of our torn sail in
order to protect his pile of nets from the elements
Unfortunately, unexpected problems arise when
blue water cruising – it is not a pastime for the fainthearted! One learns to make the best of any
situation, there being no other choice.
During our enforced delay in Lakki we set about
routine tasks that every boat accumulates – ‘until tomorrow’; Mike was also able to increase his exercise
routine to strengthen his gammy knee (not always possible when cruising or at
anchor) and needless to say we increased our social activity with fellow
cruisers.
Helen sealing damaged
gel coat following an ‘argument’ with a very rough Greek quay
Enjoying a drink with Simon and Lin Clarke (SY Mia Hara) and Margaret O’Neill (SY Aqua Magic) at Popi’s bar, a popular
meeting place for sailors on Lakki’s seafront boulevard overlooking the
anchorage
Having been requested to do so by Anne Hammick, the then Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC), we also found time to review the 586 pages
of Rod & Lucinda Heikell’s 13th edition of the Greek Waters Pilot, referred to by many
as ‘the bible’ for sailing in Greece.
We actually submitted our Review to Anne, also the editor of Flying Fish, the bi-annual magazine of the OCC, a week earlier than her deadline!
The Greek Waters Pilot
As a consequence of our Review, we were
introduced electronically to Rod and Lucinda Heikell and in future will provide
them with proposed updates where appropriate on locations we visit. While they can and do themselves spend a
large part of the year visiting places throughout the Mediterranean, on which
they have written some 18 pilot books, they obviously can’t remain totally up
to date with their pilots or website supplements without feedback from contacts
and cruisers.
Rod and Lucinda Heikell [© Andreas Fritsch]
Given our forced stay in Lakki we also had time
to investigate and write a brief on the boatyards, marinas and anchorages in
LEROS. The island is becoming a useful
and popular location for cruisers to leave their boats for extended
periods. Each of the three companies
providing boatyard/marina services has good facilities and workshops, together
with access to specialist engineers as and when required.
Boatyard and marina locations and the better anchorages
around LEROS
To date we have chosen to have Island Drifter (ID) pulled out and kept at Moor & Dock’s (M&D) boatyard in
Partheni at the north end of LEROS where we pay 2.1k€ p.a. The yard can accommodate 350 boats. The 30-year-old company, which previously
operated under the name of Agmar Marine, has a 70-ton travel lift, security
fencing and CCTV, albeit they do not provide – unlike the other two companies –
24/7 on-site security personnel. To be
fair the yard, like that of Artemis, is remotely located at the north of the
island and to the best of our knowledge security has not been a problem to
date. The boatyard entrance is only 400 metres from Leros airstrip which has
regular internal flights to Athens; the island bus passes the gate 4 or 5 times
a day in season, which is quite adequate to get to the nearest supermarket or
into Lakki, where we prefer to shop. As
part of our annual contract we get two ‘free’ lifts out and in each year, which
suits us for our two 3-month annual visits.
In our view, M&D’s support service costs are high and their work
scheduling can be inflexible, although their workmanship is generally
good. We in particular get a real
bonus – 30 ‘free’ days in the company’s quayside ‘marina’, ten miles south in
Lakki harbour itself, which can accommodate up to 32 boats moored
Med-style. Unlike Evros Marina (see below),
M&D’s quayside marina in Lakki is untenable in a strong southerly gale,
although one has to add that this is not the prevailing wind direction in the
sailing season. Unlike Evros, the
marina does officially close during the winter.
Aerial view looking north of M&D’s boatyard in
Partheni
Aerial view of Lakki harbour looking north with M&D’s
quayside marina to the left behind the ferry dock. Pandeli Bay (see below) can clearly be seen
on the east coast.
[Photographs courtesy
of Markos Spanos]
The family-owned Artemis boatyard, also in
Partheni but on the west side of the airstrip, was only founded in 2014. It currently accommodates 200 boats and
advises that it has the ground on which to double that capacity. Its Roodberg 38-ton Dutch-built hydraulic
trailer is used for launching and recovery on the yard’s slipway. It can, however, accommodate large
catamarans, unlike M&D’s travel lift, but only in reasonable weather. Friends who have stayed there argue that it
is friendlier and has a more helpful attitude than other yards. Although, like M&D, Artemis have waiting
buoys on which one can hoist and lower sails and service one’s engine before
lift-out, they do not have marina facilities like M&D’s, although their
charges equate.
Artemis boatyard at Partheni, looking north
Artemis’s Roodberg 38-ton launch and recovery trailer
towed by a large tractor unit
[photos courtesy of management]
Evros, also called Leros Marina, is a combined
boatyard and marina at the head of Lakki Bay. It has a 70-ton travel lift and
berths for 220 boats afloat. It claims
to be able to accommodate a further 500 boats on the hard but this is not
obvious to the casual eye. Its fenced
facilities have 24/7 manned security. The company aims to operate at
‘international’ standards and charges accordingly. For us it would have been 60% more per annum
than we pay at M&D, plus there is an incremental daily charge for using a
marina berth in the summer. Their
management point out that their marina is an all-weather location – which
indeed it is – for those who prefer to leave their boats in the water. Its boatyard and chandlery appears no better
or worse than its two competitors.
Aerial view of Evros Marina and Boatyard looking north [courtesy
of management]
Evros boatyard has the benefit of being located
on the edge of Lakki town, the island’s principal ferry port, where shopping,
restaurants and other facilities are excellent and are mostly open all year
round. The large buildings surrounding the head of Lakki Bay date back to the
Italian occupation in the thirties when it was built to accommodate the
families and support services for the Italian naval fleet which was based
there. The large Art Deco buildings, arranged along wide boulevards in the town,
are now in excellent condition thanks to EU-funded renovation grants.
An example of Lakki’s Italianate architecture and boulevards
The island’s visitors, who generally arrive by
ferry at night, rarely stop to see the town since they are whisked away to
their accommodation in the resorts, the principal ones of which are located
around the large bays at Alinda and Pandeli on the east coast. Both, incidentally, are scenic anchorages
with good holding, although they can be untenable in a strong south-easterly
wind. Pandeli Bay is a particularly attractive location.
Pandeli anchorage viewed from the south
These two large bays are overlooked by a vast castle perched on the rocky summit of Kastello headland which
separates the bays. The castle was originally built by the Byzantines in the 11th century and subsequently occupied by Genoans and then Venetians before being taken over in 1309 by the Knights of St John who restored and reinforced it. The Knights defended two assaults by the Ottoman Empire before handing it over to them in 1522 as part of the agreement for the Knights to leave the Dodecanese.
Castle on the rocky promontory overlooking Platanos
and the two bays
At the saddle of the headland, a 15-minute walk
from either bay, sits Platanos, the island’s capital. Platanos, Ay Marina in Alinda Bay and Pandeli
village and harbour in the bay of the same name are attractive settings. Bougainvillea, clematis, oleander and
tamarisk grow in profusion. Pandeli
harbour with its active fishing fleet and nets strung out to dry is
particularly colourful. Yachts, however,
are not allowed to stay in the harbour.
Not a problem since the surrounding anchorage has good holding and is an
attractive location in itself. The many
tavernas in the area are, however, very much aimed at the tourist trade with
prices to match.
Pandeli fishing harbour from above
During our extended stay, we paid our respects
at the War Cemetery at Alinda on the east coast of LEROS. Mike who is
interested in military history has now had time to look more closely than
previously into the Leros Campaign. After the Italian Armistice on 8 September
1943, British and Commonwealth forces were assembled and deployed in the larger
Aegean islands that had not already (such as RHODES and CRETE) been taken over
by the Axis powers. LEROS, which was defended by a Commonwealth brigade, was,
after a bombing campaign, attacked on 12 November 1943 by a superior German
force, whose landing was supported by parachute troops and overwhelming air
power. After severe fighting the
garrison surrendered on 16 November 1943.
By the time the Germans themselves surrendered to the Allies in Greece in
May 1945, most Greek islands had already been liberated. LEROS was one of the exceptions, since it was
considered that any attempt to do so would have resulted in unjustifiably heavy
military and civilian casualties.
The Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Alinda, LEROS
We had time, while waiting for our new sail, to
concentrate on Greek food and cooking.
Helen has now mastered Greek meatballs, meat cooked slowly in lemon
juice, both butter and green beans (separately) in tomato sauce, aubergine
‘slippers’, stuffed peppers and courgettes, moussaka, goat kleftiko and a range
of mezedhes. In addition, we’ve
developed a particular liking for the excellent traditional sausages made by
one of Lakki butchers, a returnee Greek-Australian. It must also be said that
the principal vegetable shop is second to none, as is Bakaliko Me Tsipouro, the
delicatessen/café combined, run by Takis and Marieta Filippidis.
Traditional spiced mutton sausages on our griddle pan
This is just the tomato section in Lakki’s main fruit
and vegetable shop!
Throughout our week in Lakki, local youth set off increasingly loud firecrackers and raced noisily through town on scooters or in cars, their antics seemingly totally ignored by the police. This is a traditional build-up during Holy Week towards Easter Saturday, when we warned that 'things will get VERY noisy' – as indeed they did! On Good Friday evening there was a procession through town led by clergy carrying a shrine representing the tomb of Jesus Christ. On Easter Saturday the day's activities built up to the 'highlight' of the evening – the arrival by boat of the 'Holy Flame' from Patmos (having come from Jerusalem via Athens, we were told). The faithful lit their candles from the flame in the church before familites returned home. LEROS also has its own tradition of burning an effigy of Judas at midnight in the square outside the church.
Good Friday procession along Lakki’s boulevards, followed
by hundreds of people
The lighting of the candles from the Holy Flame
Celebrations by ‘local youth’ continued into
the early hours of Easter Sunday. We took advice from Greeks whom we have got
to know to ‘let them get on with it and keep off the streets yourselves after
midnight’! Families assemble at home on
Sunday to enjoy spit-roast lamb, the traditional Easter fare, which formally
breaks the Lenten fast (for those who observe it).
Midnight mayhem outside the church! The effigy of Judas
and the silhouettes of local youth can just be seen through the smoke of the thunder flashes and
firecrackers
Meanwhile, to our surprise, our sail was flown
from the UK via Germany to Athens where it arrived within 24 hours of being dispatched in the UK. Thereafter DHL
passed it on to Speedex, local couriers, who had it sent to their office in LEROS
on the first available ferry. We
were therefore able to collect it on Saturday from the couriers' office in Lakki and bend
it on that morning. (We had been
advised by DHL that we would not get the sail until the following Friday.)
Collecting our new mainsail from Speedex Couriers' local
office in Lakki
Bending on the new sail (Julien Caers on SY Taurus from Belgium looks on)
We’ve always found when sailing that HAVING to
stop in a location because of either bad weather or boat problems has
invariably enabled us to enjoy it and get to know the place and people better than
on short stop-overs. This we have done in LEROS. Even so, it is clear that in future, if we
are to get more sea time, significantly larger libations to the sea gods won’t
do any harm and might do some good.
We now propose to head off into the Cyclades –
third time lucky!
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