David's Diary: Wednesday, June 11, 2003

Livadi, Serifos to Lavrion, Greece

It was another long night last night. Karalee got me up around 01:00 because the wind was still blowing and Dragonsinger was swinging back and forth at the end of its anchor. I went up to the cockpit with a blanket and picked out two transits that I could use to insure that Dragonsinger was not moving. The night was clear and I could see lots of stars overhead.

Around 03:00 I saw a large sailboat enter the bay. I don't know how they managed to navigate all of the boats as many did not have their anchor lights on, but they appeared to know what they were doing. They pulled in close to the beach, then I could see from their running lights that they were moving backwards to set their anchor. The sailboat kept moving backwards, a sign that the anchor had not set, then the boat started slowly moving forward to raise their anchor and try again. I watched as again the sailboat moved quickly backwards, their running lights moving against the lights of Livadi in the background. Two more times the sequence was repeated before the anchor finally held. I doubt that we would ever have tried anchoring in a windy bay at 03:00, but I admired the seamanship of the unknown captain.

At 04:00 it was still pitch dark when a 75m (150 foot) ferry pulled into the bay. The captain swung the bow of the ferry around, lowered two anchors, then backed the ferry directly into the twenty knot wind. Just as the ferry reached the dock a mate jumped onto the quay and ran as fast as I've seen anyone run to secure the first stern line to a bollard. Soon the ferry was securely tied to the quay demonstrating another example of seamanship. Two cars drove off the ferry and disappeared into the night.

I continued to watch the bay and shoreline. A few cars drove along the beach. I wondered what they could be doing at this time of the day. Who was inside them? Were there any bars open on the beach? What would keep people out at this time of the night (other than a Canadian doing anchor watch on his sailboat)? Why were there no other people out in the cockpits of boats around us? I'll never know the answer to these questions, but it kept me entertained as the sky started to lighten in the East.

Kids Playing

Tired of swinging in the wind we left Livada at 06:30. Once again the wind gusts were stronger as we round the southern end of the island. We then head North, back towards the Greek mainland. The wind is a manageable fifteen knots, but after lunch the wind and seas build. The wind is funnelled between the Northern Cycladatic island of Kea and the Greek mainland. With the wind blowing more than Force 7 and the seas over 2m we were worried that we will not make it to Lavrion.

We panic a little and alter course to head towards Athens. This puts the wind on the beam and makes Dragonsinger manageable. After a half-hour we decide to try to head North once more. There is a small island opposite Lavrion and it provides just enough protection that we can motor sail to the North. We enter Lavrion harbour, which is very protected, and back into twenty knot winds to tie up to the quay.

We are all relieved to be safely tied to the dock. It has been a very long day fighting the Meltemi, the fierce summer wind of the Aegean. This wind has been written about since ancient times, but experiencing it first hand has tested our skills of seamanship.

Just before dinner the wind starts to slow down. We go for a walk into Lavrion and stop at a local cafe for a drink. We watch some local kids play on their father's motor bike before heading back to Dragonsinger for dinner and a good night's sleep.