This entry covers my first ten days as a charter skipper from 20th to 30th May. I decided to put some effort into this entry after reading other blogs which were of essay length, so make sure you are sitting comfortably.

Day one – Friday 20th May. Euca, company man with a car, gave me a lift to Athens. He was going to pick up another hostess from the airport and so I got a lift along the way. He was heading for the airport and would take me to the marina if we saw the signs along the way. We didn’t so went to the airport and I took a taxi to the marina. Athens itself is a sprawling, ugly city and during the taxi ride we passed no open areas and got a great view of the sprawling connurbation. The taxi driver was very good and I arrived at midday just as the first two crew were arriving –Chris and Judy. Chris and I got straight on with the boat check in. Yacht “Enigma” is a 2009 47 foot Bavaria and is a private yacht that has only been used for charter once before. Hence she was in very good condition and everything worked! Chris and Judy went to the supermarket and my last three clients arrived – Harry and Lyndsey, and Lyndsey’s mum, Yvonne, who turns 80 next month! When the shoppers returned we headed straight off to the nearest island – Agina. We arrived at 7pm and ended up alongside the very end of a pontoon with a bossy englishwoman telling my crew exactly what to do, which they didn’t like. The harbour was very busy and full of Athenites starting their weekend away from the city. Which my crew didn’t like as they wanted to get away from it all as much as possible.

And then the heads electric pump stopped working on one of the loos. Unhappy crew. We still had one working heads but I promptly called the charter company and they eventually said that it could only be fixed in a town called Poros. So change of schedule number one, we motored straight to Poros on day two (Saturday). An engineer came in the afternoon and promptly replaced the switch, which was the problem. We then left Poros and found an amazing anchorage for the night, just one mile from the town. There were no passing boats, no wind or clouds, an excellent find. Happy crew.

Day three (Sunday) and we managed to get the sails out!! We headed south and then west, once round the corner of the land. We anchored for lunch in a bay on the island of Dhokos. The island is deserted except for 500 goats, a few cats, 2 dogs, one donkey and a solitary Albanian who we met at his house on the island. His story was that his wife and kids left him, so he came here and he had only been on the island for two months. There were others on the island but they had died of heart disease. He offered us water he collected in his resevoir on the island and was very happy to talk to us. He gets his supplies from Hydra (only 4 miles away on the water). This is all thanks to Harry translating, and talking to him in the first place! It was great to be somewhere where you could only get to by boat. There were no day tripper boats going to the island. We then sailed on to Spetsai, an island further west, for the night. All the guide books say that there are no cars on the island and you are treated to the bells and clip clop of horses along the streets. While this is strictly true (there are no cars), there is an infection of scooters and mopeds, and they make much more noise than a car. Again the books recommended fish a la spetsai, fish in a tomato sauce with peppers and cheese and herbs. Spetsai is the only place where they serve this dish and for good reason – the fish was dry and the sauce wasn’t that great and the prices all over the island were more than anywhere else in Greece I’ve been to.

However, we decided to spend the majority of the next day (Monday) in Spetsai. We moved over to the fuel pontoon, not for fuel, but for water and electricity to cool the fridge. We were promptly treated to a sewage truck emptying out tanks right by our yacht. That’s enough moaning about the island. Everyone except me hired quad bikes and rode around the island, including Yvonne. I went for a walk into town and then got lost in the narrow back streets on my way back to the boat. Lovely. In the evening we sailed for our second night at anchor. The last sentence in the pilot book sold the location to us: ‘Wonderful sourroundings.’ We had a lot of fun once we entered the right bay at 7pm. There was already a very large motor cruiser right in the spot I wanted to anchor so we went a little further out and dropped the anchor. Once we were secure I noticed on the GPS that we were too close to a dangerous underwater rock and, as the wind was forecast to change, we would potentially swing onto the rock in the night. So we tried laying a kedge (secondary) anchor behind us to prevent us from swinging. But when we retightened the first anchor we pulled it up too far so had to start over again. So we went around a little corner to try somewhere else and I decided to try a long line to the shore. I rode ashore in the dinghy and tied the knot. As the yacht was anchored at this time the crew onboard tried pivoting th boat so the line would reach the boat. We managed that then I saw that the anchor was dragging again so I started again, put two crew in the dinghy, relaid the anchor and sat down to eat at 9pm just as darkness was creeping in. Oh, and I swam after the dinghy when it wasn’t tied on. But was treated to a very warming brandy and a delicious meal of freshly caught fish that Harry got from a fisherman in Spetsai that morning. It is boring if nothing goes wrong, and we have plenty more in store!

After the excitement and adventure of yesterday we had a much quieter day and in the morning we sailed slowly back the way we came to the town of Ermioni on the mainland. We anchored off the town for lunch and decided to have a look at the town and if it was too noisy we would head off to another secluded anchorage for the night. Once we were in it turned out to be a very quiet town, we moored right outside a taverna with a helpful owner and stayed the night there.

Wednesday 25th May After spending the night in Ermioni we planned in the morning to head to an anchorage on the south west corner of Hydra. This was only 9 miles away and at the time it was raining with regular rumbles of thunder. So we spent the morning in Ermioni. The more active crew went for a run and a swim off the beautiful, wooded headland. Yes, in the rain. The less active crew, including myself, walked straight across the road to the Millennium Bar, drank coffee and played Backgammon with 2 local kids who had an exam on Helen of Troy the next day! I was in no hurry, as there was heavy rain and no wind, but mainly because Matt, Mike and Nicky were coming to Ermioni with their flotilla. Sure enough, they turned up at 2.30 and by then the weather had turned cloudless with hot sun and a good breeze. We still didn’t set off till 4pm. The anchorage on the south side was very scenic. The only building was a small chapel and there was evidence of some old stone walls. The only other residents of the bay that evening were four fishing boats who headed out to fetch their catch at 4am (apparently)!

Thursday 26th May.
Today was a good day. We set off from the bay at 7.30 and two hours later expertly squeezed into a space in Idhra. We went for a very short walk to get a new gas cannister for the boat and instantly fell for the town. There really are no cars and no mopeds on the Idhra – they are all banned. The only motorised vehicles are a rubbish truck and one small van. All the rest of the goods are transported by donkey and mule, which is a fantastic sight. We saw a picture of the harbour which we reckon was taken in the 1960s and it looks 99% the same today. I spent the morning chilling and went for a walk around town in the afternoon. It is even more tranquil than Spetsai with cobbled streets and locals who have been on the island for many years. All the guide books were right about this island. The island is managed perfectly and still maintains its charm even when hordes of day trippers arrive. In the evening we had a few coctails while overlooking the water. The Restaurant there claims to have been awarded the second best restaurant with a view. I met Arianna and Claudia, two gorgous Italians who were spending two days on the island after a conference in Athens. I ended up eating some delicious fish with them and was introduced to a sambuca-tasting drink and another belly-warming liqueur.

The end of this trip started to feel close on Friday, after all there was only three more full days left and we were heading back north to places we had not been since the last Saturday. The plan was to sail 28 miles to Poros for lunch and Vathi for the night. Vathi is a very small, quiet fishing harbour on the Methanon peninsula. I had already been there on the delivery with Anna and Jim and highly recommended the harbour. I had breakfast in a taverna and had moussada – an apple-y, cinnamon-y pie with Arianna and Claudia and they came to the boat to say bye as we were casting off. The weather was the worst we had – north easterly force five (17-21 mph) of wind and threatening thunder and lightning. Fortunately the storms missed us all and we were not rained upon. I had briefed everyone on what to expect – real sailing – and they all enjoyed it except for Harry, who felt sick. We were managing an average speed in excess of 7 knots (mph) which was impressive for a run-of-the-mill mass production yacht. It is 10 miles from Hydra to Poros in a straight line, in other words if we motored straight upwind. Once we reached Poros our mileage for the day read 24 fantastic miles sailing. We stuck ‘Zorba the Greek’ on the cockpit speakers and some American Anthems and had the crew dancing (while sitting down) while sailing!

More soon. I have been far too busy but will grab any spare moment I can to update you all.