DAY 1 (Saturday)
The starting point for the Greek Flotilla organized by Vagabonde Adventures is Agios Kosmas Marina, on the west coast of Athens. The taxi from our hotel near the Acropolis took 30 minutes, and we got dropped off at what looked like a nondescript marina. We waited for awhile until folks from our flotilla started to show up. Wifey and I brought one big duffle bag, which next time we”ll definitely bring 2 smaller sacs– the huge duffel is hella cumbersome.
The boat, once we boarded, was pretty big — a Lagoon 46 catamaran. We let the two other couples choose their cabins, then took what was left– the port side forward cabin. Private shower and toilet, so not too shabby!
Our captain is 25 years old abd looks crazy young. Also our chef is a young lady. But when it was time to get under way, it was clear that with our captain we were in good hands — and our cook is also is a great first mate!
It was a bit odd to leave the marina in Athens at 5PM, but it was okay for us bcause we left with plenty of sun and wind, and the trip was under two hours. We stopped and anchored in an anchorage, where we could jump off the back of the boar and swim, both at the end of the evening and also in the morning. Sailing there was fine, mostly motor-sailing, but we did shut off the motor for 5 minutes or so to sail. But since we were in a hurry to get a good spot in the anchorage, we motor-sailed the rest of the way in. Anchoring in was cool, because as I learned it was a “Mediterranean mooring– this is where you drop anchor, then back into the anchoring spot stern-first, and then somebody runs a line or two from the stern to a secure tie-in pount such as a mooring post or heavy boulder. Our lady chef swam the line to the shore in a Stand-Up Paddleboard, it was cool to watch!
Dinner on board was great, it was a Greek spinach and rice dish called “spanakorizo”. When it was time to get to bed, the bed was roomy enoughj to fit us both comfortably– it is just perhaps a biut warm, until the cool breeze rolls in around 2-3 AM. Fine start to the flotilla!
DAY 2 (Sunday)
We woke up to a good breakfast and french-press coffee. After a quick swim we slipped the mooring lines, lifted anchor, and headed over towards Poros. We mostly motor-sailed so that we could reach the harbor before all of the cheap docking areas were taken up. There was a bit of drama at the dock: we flubbed out first stern-to docking, abnd while we were resetting for a second try, a Spanish-speaking boat tried to park adjacent and and also was un-successful. The funny thing is, though, as we backed in for our second attempt, the Spanish group got all pissed, like “Can’t you see we are parking here!!! Get out of the way!!!” As if they were here first…smh. Well anyway they were nearer the dock so we had no other choice but to let them finish before we finished our docking. Our second docking attempt was fine, and we had a nice lunch before going land-side for a stroll along the cobblestone boardwalk.
A shot of espresso for me and a smoothie for the wife gave us a jolt of enrgy for our stroll. I learned in the morning that my swim trunks no longer fit (I lost 15 pounds this year), so on the shopping list were swim trunks and a phone charging cable. I settled on a pair of hoochie-daddies for the trunks, I figured after 40 years of knee-highs, a change wouldn’t hurt. Jenn started to feel a bit under the weather, so she decided to go rest while I wandered around a bit more in town. Wile she was out I picked up a small Canadian flag, the type that you fly at the back of the boat (wife is Canadian). Back on the boat, we shared a quick aperitif with our crew, then after a wardrobe change we were off to dinner.
Dinner was fun, we met our full flotilla that evening – six boats total. Some of them I met at the dinner, and others at the after-party at the bar. I made it back to the boat at 1:30 AM, wifey had already left before the after party started. I managed to ninja my way to bed without waking her, but then of course I managed to elbow her in the eye an hour later so I screwed that one up. Doh!
Day 3 (Monday)
Since our boat prefers anchorages and swimming over dockings at the ports, we shoved off early and alone to a nearby bay, moored up and were able tto swim a bit and have breakfast before picking up anchor and starting on our way to Ermione. WOW the wind was gusting up to 30-40 knots! Sailing was exhilarating and fun, but I’m glad we were in the capable hands of our captain. We had all reefs in the mainsail for safety, and we sailed mostly downwind to just before the harbor. The harbor at Ermione was CROWDED!! There were no places to park, so our captain told me to ask the boat docked parallel to the at the marina if they could move their boat back 6 feet so we could park in front of them. Well the guy spoke French, so fortunately for us I was able to be of use– I don’t think our captain had any idea that I spoke French 🙂 After some negotiation and back and forth, the Belgian frenchie actually agreed to let us “raft”up next to him. Amazing! This docking was extremely difficult due to the 20 knots or so of wind blowing off the dock. But our captain made it, and once secured wifey and I chatted up the captain in French to make sure he was okay with us tied up to him. He was cool, so great!
One of the other captains needed to take a dinghy out to help the two bare-boaters with their anchoring, and I agreed to tag along in case she could use an extra hand. So we motored off in the dinghy to the monohull skippered by Ollie. The captain has two main questions for the crew: (1) How much anchor chain did they let out, and (2) how many RPM’s did you reverswe with to ensure that the anchor was sufficiently dug in? One or both of their answers was insufficient, so they reset , set the anchor good again, and they were all set. During this resetting, a neighbor boat (not in the flotilla party) started to complain that we were getting too close to them; but by the time the reset was complete, the boat was fine. So with this first anchoring all set, we jetted off to the next boat, skipper Jack’s boat. He had a problem with his anchor chain, but between him and the other captain they got the issue sorted. The main thing I observed there, was that there is a line securing the anchor chain to the boat, inside the locker where the anchor chain is stowed They actually tied a new line for the fix, as the old line was a bit chewed up. Before leaving the bot, we had a colorful exchange with a nearby boat who claimed that we tripped his anchor line. That wasn’t true though, so we left for the other bare-boater, a catamaran skippered by Michael. They were actually in good shape, sop we left them and eventually got back to my boat. There I met my wife and we went onshore for a wine tasting, then back to the boat. We un-rafted and left our Belgian friends, then moored the boat in a sneaky cove just acoss from the crowded harbor. We enjoyed a great dinner of roasted whole Amberjack fish accompanied with local wine we just bought, a few minutes of night swimming, then it was lights out!
Day 4 (Tuesday)
Hmm…apparently our crew woke uo to a biug surprise: the boat was almost in the rocks! The wind and waves cicked up early morning, quite possibly exacerbated by the wake of the morning ferry, and the disturbance was big enough to dislodge the mooring line from the rock it was tied to. Whoops! But by the time I had brushed my teeth and got dressed, the line was reset and we could get on with breakfast. after picking up anchor, we headed out towards Dokos.
We did a bit of sailing, and also some motor sailing to get us to the cove where the full 6-boat flotilla was to “raft up”. With two catamarans settled in, our captain got us a sweet spot nearest to the beach…great spot, but we would learn lated that we were also rafted up next to the “party boat” of thge flotilla. But no worries, we were all having a great time. With ther three captained catamarans secured, the first bare-boater showed up. The rafting up business is not trivial, so the captains were a welcome help to get ‘our’ bare-boat catamaran settled in. Next in, the only monohull with an experienced captain. Once she was parked, the last bare-boat monohull was left. The wind had been gradually getting stronger and stronger, and by the time this last flotilla boat was ready to raft up it was quite the challenging environment for a new skipper to handle. As she was on her 2nd or 3rd parking attempt, a new boat rolled up and asked if they could raft up alongside us. We said “no”, then proceeded to park our last flotilla boat.
As this final boat rafted up and secured their lines, here comes the previous boat, who will now try to do a mediterranean mooring about 50 meters or so from us, but with this now crazy 20 knot wind blowing parallel to the shore, from the sea towards our rafted up setup. This means that the wind would be pushing this new boat into our boats as they attempted to park. And sure enough, we could see them starting to drift our way. Fortunately, we had a captain in a motored dinghy waiting, and now he is the only thing keeping this boat away from us– by keeping his bow pressed against the side of the other boat and pushing with full throttle. Wile all of this disaster was in progress, the girlfriend/wife/daughter of the skipper tells us “stop yelling at us, everything is under control!!!” Of course nothing was in control, and by now our dinghy had to get out of way– the boat is now only 20 feet away and drifting towards us, and also now the stern of his boat is sitting on the flotilla boat’s mooring line. This is now getting scary because the propeller is under the boat at the stern, and if the line got stuck in this boat’s propeller, we would be looking at a broken boat. I was closest so I released the mooring line. As the skipper finally heeded our screaming and yelling and started to motor away, his stern came to collision distance to our stern– and in fact the only thing that prevented permanent damage to one or both boats was a fortuitously placed fender– it wedged between both boats, and thus saved the day. Of course as the boat finally motored away, the skipper looked hurt and left us with a passionate “but I am trying to leave!” Poor guy. Oh– as they were leaving, we noticed that their mate was still stranded on the rocks, the guy who swam their mooring line out to the shore. Whoops! But they did reverse to pick the guy up, then finally left for good.
Man with all of that excitement it was definitely Miller time. Well now that all the excitement is subsided, I look around to see one or two ladies walking around on the boat topless. Of course just as I turned around to say my good-byes, here I see my wife is in front of me!! LOL 🙂 Well needless to say we left together, and back to our non-nudist vessel to chill. At this point we have a full six-boat flotilla raft-up, and igt looks pretty cool. The “raft” is when all the boats are lined up parallel to each other, and in our case with all sterns facing the same direction. So everybody dives in the water from the back, and we have a great time out.
Plans for the evening are to take private water taxi’s into the town of Hydra. Damn those things go WAY to fast! 25 knots! We had a pleasant stroll around Hydra, then a glass of Ouzo, dinner, then a terrifying night ride in the taxi back to our flotilla in Dokos. Lights out!
Day 5 (Wednesday)
As we all broke up the rafting and headed our different ways, our boat’s plan was to fill up our water tanks back in Ermione, then start making our way towards Spetses. This parking at Ermione was much less dramatic because there was now plenty of space at the sailing yacht docking area. So after filling up the water and hosing down the decks, we were ready to shove off. There was a bit of a scare when one of the bare-boat skippers slipped off the plank while de-boarding and fell into the water, but only pride was hurt and he was okay with just a few band-aids (plasters).
After a bit of motoring, our captain stopped the boat in the middle of the sea so that we could go for a quick swim! I’ve never seen that, where you just stop the the boat in waters so deep that you can’t anchor, and for that setup to be stable enough to hop out and swim! I’m pretty sure that if you heave-to you’ll still have the boat slowly drift and spin around? Maybe not? I asked the captain why it was safe to stop like that, and he said that it was mainly because the wind and current were so light. So we all jumped in and had a great time! I even managed to get a high dive off the upper deck! Our crew member from Australia was stupefied becuase she said that never in a million years would you jump in the middle of the ocean like that in Australia– too many sharks. We didn’t linger for too long, though, before picking up and continuing on to Spetses. It was calm motor-sailing to an anchoring point around the corner from the Harbour, and we swam there for a bit before heading to our spot in the harbour — another Mediterranean mooring. With the boat tied up, we were ushered into town for ice cream and a stroll– we ended up having our lunch so late that nobody was super-hungry. The skippers all went out after us for their evening out.
Next post in series: 2023 Greece Flotilla Part 2 >>
( Part 1 of 2 in series: Vagabonde 2023 Greece Flotilla )