Disaster averted...but only just!

It's been an interesting few days! We hadn't been into Aegina Town port before, other than to have a quick look from the boat, so felt it was high time we had a stop over there and it didn't disappoint. The town is very pretty, buzzing and very typically Greek with restaurants and bars along the waterfront, a maze of alleyways behind and a thriving fish market with a couple of nearby cafes where old men sit and while away the days together, swinging their worry beads as they sip tiny cups of lethally strong coffee. This was once, apparently, the capital of Greece but it's hard to believe that now.
After a reasonable dinner at a restaurant recommended by the marina attendant (he was probably on commission...) we were on our way back to the boat when we heard collective gasps and cries ringing out from all the bars with televisions - the Germany-Brazil game was underway, so of course I ended up alone back on Zaffina, whilst Frank nursed a couple of Metaxas as he watched the drama unfold!
The wind was stronger than forecast when we got up the morning, but not too bad and so we set off again, passing Poros and Hydra and a number of other small islands until eventually Spetses was in sight. We didn't, however, go over to Spetses, as there were a number of beautiful anchorages along the mainland coast and some amazing properties on the shoreline that we wanted to have a gander at.
We chose an anchorage in a gorgeous, pure turquoise cove, close to a tiny islet just off the coast, dropped the hook and I swam ashore with the ropes and tied us on. Around the corner from us, the Sunseeker, Extravagance, we'd been next to in Flisvos Marina was anchored, and we waved as we passed.
Towards the end of the afternoon, Frank suggested we went for a dinghy trip, to get a closer look at some of those amazing villas and within a few minutes we were on our way, heading down the coast and gawping at the most elegant properties we've seen since we left the Costa Smerelda in Sardinia - this is obviously Millionaires' Row, Greek style! One in particular, a massive mansion perched right on the beach, caught our eye, mainly due to the colour of the sand - the brightest white imaginable! We commented that it must have been imported specially, and have since had this confirmed by a local taxi driver, who also said that the rumour is that the property sold for 300m Euros!
We were so caught up in our speculations that it wasn't until we turned to go back to Zaffina that we got a nasty shock - the sea had risen beyond recognition in the short time that we had been out, and now that we were against the waves, they looked dramatically huge. Frank asked me to lean across the bow to keep it down in the water, and although I often enjoy doing this on a calm sea, it's not so much fun on a rough one. But without my weight there, we were seriously worried that the dinghy would tip backwards due to the steepness of the waves. The trip back seemed to take forever, as we couldn't hug the shelter of the coast due to the number of reefs, and the further out we were, the  most exposed to the rough conditions. We were both shocked at how quickly the wind and sea had come up, especially as there was no mention of this in the forecast, but we were eager to be safely back on board Zaffina in her calm cove. How wrong can you be? When eventually we came back into sight of our Azimut, she was straining hard on the anchor chain, with breaking waves hitting her hard on the beam. We knew we'd have to move and debated whether to go inshore and undo the ropes but realised it would be too difficult handling the dinghy close in in these conditions, so instead we lifted it back on board. I was all for swimming across, but Frank was worried that I'd be dashed against the jagged rocks by the waves and after watching for a few minutes, I realised that he was probably right. Our only choice was to drop the stern ropes altogether and hope they'd still be there when we came back for them in a day or two.
With the engines running, I released the two ropes and watched them sink through the water. No longer tethered to the shore, Zaffina sprang forward and we started to pull the anchor up, but horror of horrors, it jammed. With so much strain on the winch, it suddenly released its hold and jettisoned metre upon metre of chain into the sea, allowing us to swing back dangerously close to the rocks at our stern. I grabbed the winch spanner and tightened it, praying that this time it would hold, and sure enough, when we tried it again, it was working. But with all the wave movement, the chain managed to flip over the lid of the metal channel that guides it back into the anchor locker and again jammed. The only way to get it back in place was to manoeuvre Zaffina so her bow was pointing in the same direction of the chain, but this again took us uncomfortably close to the rocks. I took over the anchor controls from the bow, whilst Frank concentrated on our position and eventually the chain clicked back into place and the anchor came up from the seabed. What a relief!
We took off to a nearby cove, sheltered from the north easterly wind that was giving us so much of a problem, and arrived to see Extravagance there ahead of us. I offered to help Alex and his family get tied on, as they needed to have ropes to shore but hadn't used the procedure before. I usually swim to shore, but their son, Sean, had their dinghy on the water so I hopped in and prepared to take the ropes. But nothing was going right! The ropes were determined to tangle and with a swell coming into the anchorage, Extravagance too was being pushed around. When we were near enough to the rocks, I jumped into the water with the ropes, but my timing was out as there was now both swell and wake to contend with, and as I tried to swim forwards so Extravagance jerked back, dragging the rope to which I was still attached! I flew through the water, grimly holding on, and swallowing more than my fair share of brine! Our next attempt, was more successful and once the Sunseeker  was finally tied on, it was time to bring Zaffina in and repeat the process. But Frank had noted the swell and decided that it would give us an uncomfortable night and so, waving goodbye to Alex and his family, we made our way up the deep inlet to Porto Kheli, eventually finding a sheltered position in which to drop the anchor and spend the night.
I don't think I've ever been so relieved to be securely anchored, out of the wind and swell, and whilst Frank downed a large Metaxa, my only desire was for a good, hot, strong cup of tea! We'd just had the worst dinghy trip we'd ever encountered, followed too swiftly by anchor problems that could easily have led to disaster, and Frank commented that he'd never, in forty years of boating, known the wind to come up so hard and so fast, with so little warning.
We did manage to retrieve most of our ropes the following morning, as the wind and sea had dropped away, but one of them was trapped underneath the rock it had been tied around, so I had to cut the end off in order to release it - a small price to pay! The yacht we had been anchored alongside was still there, so we asked them what sort of a night they'd had - not good was the answer! They had taken the taxi boat over to Spetses in the afternoon, before the wind came up, and when they tried to get back they were told that the sea was too rough and the boats were no longer running! So they'd been trapped in Spetses, wondering if their yacht was securely tethered, and with images running through their heads of it being dashed on the rocks! We didn't stop in the anchorage after retrieving our ropes, but chose another, more sheltered one where we had a very lazy day wondering if the wind would come back up in the evening, but it didn't.
Yesterday morning we brought Zaffina back up to Porto Kheli and spent the day at the nearby Aman-Zoe Hotel. This is supposed to be the best hotel in Greece - 7 star! I have to admit, it was gorgeous. It felt like a living Greek temple, as the architecture was based on the style of the Acropolis, with colonnades of marble pillars, shady courtyards and cool pools, and really brought to mind what life must have been like in ancient Greece when the temple was the centre of the community. Lunch at the beach club was superb and we spent the afternoon down there, promising ourselves a few nights in the htoel at some point in the future.
As we got back to Port Kheli in the early evening, the wind started to rise again and back on Zaffina we had a noisy, windy night. Again it wasn't forecast, but it is only now, at 10.30 in the morning, that the wind has finally dropped down again and the waves stopped slapping loudly on the hull. We think it's time for us to go over to Spetses, and hopefully we'll be sheltered from the north easterly there, should another unanticipated blast come through this evening.

Hydra and Poros and some islands you've never heard of!

And what a day we had with David and Miranda, along with her brother and sister in law. Their mighty cruise ship docked on the opposite side of the quay from our little Zaffina, and they swiftly disembarked from one and embarked on the other and off we went, back to Rinia and finding - after trying a few - a lovely albeit a little breezy, anchorage. Our day together was special, precious and full of laughter but inevitably all too brief and soon after our lazy lunch it was time to head back into Mykonos, drop our passengers off to rejoin their cruise, and start our own trek back to Athens. We had been slightly worried about the sea conditions en route, but in the end the trip was fine, and we overnighted back in Kea, the first Cyclades island we'd visited three weeks earlier.
Our day in Athens was spent getting our Azimut ship shape and bringing more provisions on board, and in the early evening, we met up with Em (Frank's daughter) and four friends of hers on holiday from Australia. Never have so few people travelled with so much luggage, but somehow we managed to get it all on board and still have room for them to get into their cabins - just (although at least one of our guests may well have been sleeping in a suitcase!)
With one nervous passenger on board, it was a relief to see a still sea when we came out of Flisvos Marina under the bright morning sun. Poros, not to be mistaken for Paros or Paxos, is just a chip off mainland Greece, with a narrow channel separating the two. The curve of the land and the island together create what is almost an inland sea, and here we anchored for a while, in Russian Bay. It was the perfect site in which to relax and enjoy our surroundings and to dip in and out of the refreshing water to cool off, before heading into the pretty port of Poros for the evening. The harbourmaster recommended that we ate at Poseidon and it proved to be an excellent choice, with good fresh food, healthy sized portions and copious amounts of wine. The evening rang with laughter and at the end of it, Frank and I were applauded by all the yachts along the quay for our drunken walk/dance back to Zaffina!
Leaving Poros behind, the following morning we set a course towards Angistri, another island I'd never heard of! The anchorage we selected was between there and a tiny islet a stone's throw away called Dhrosa, beautifully sheltered and with clear turquoise waters over a sandy bottom. On shore, there was just one small restaurant and a cove busy with tourists who were brought across the island by bus from the ferry stop - it is clearly a popular destination for day trippers from Athens or Aegina. Our idyll was spoilt only by the volume of wasps sharing the anchorage with us, so after a morning of swimming and swatting, a lunch of fish and swatting and then more swatting in the afternoon, we decided to move on and try to find a less wasp infested site. We ventured into a lovely anchorage just off Aegina but before we'd even dropped the anchor we knew the wasps would defeat us, so we moved to the south of the island and back to a cove we'd previously visited, and here at last was a relatively wasp-free environment.
Em and our Aussie guests were only with us for three nights, but managed to pack in as much as possible during their brief stay, and after a night at anchor, all swam ashore to patronise the beach bar before lunch on their last day with us. We could hear their voices and laughter ringing out and when they came back on board, to our surprise it was Becks, the quietest member of the group who had found her voice with a vengeance! After a few more glasses of wine, she spent a long while explaining in detail to Frank that her son had a blue budgie, also called Frank, which wolf-whistled whenever she walked into the room. I think she maybe had a headache by the evening!
After returning to Flisvos in the late afternoon, we bid goodbye to our guests, packed our own bags and flew back to Jersey for a few days.
Almost before we had got used to sleeping in a room that didn't sway gently throughout the night, we were on our way back down to Greece, this time with Jenna and Chris accompanying us. We seldom return to Zaffina to find that all the work we have requested has been completed, and as usual, we had half a day in port as various tasks were finished off before we could put to sea. Jen, Chris and I went up into town to grab some fresh fruit and veg, and I introduced them to my favourite cafe, where the freshly squeezed orange juice is served in what look like the milk bottles I remember from my childhood, with a straw sticking out of the neck; somehow, it tastes better that way! It was already hot as we walked back through the park to the marina, and the butterflies were out in force, a cloud of colourful confetti fluttering over the pink and white oleander bushes lining the path.
We finally put to sea a little after midday and this time went straight past Aegina and Poros, eventually arriving at Dhokos as the afternoon wind was rising and the calm waters whipping into a muddle of waves. The anchorage we chose was both sheltered and unspoilt and within a few minutes, the anchor was down and we were tied to the shore with two ropes from the stern quarters. Just two or three other yachts shared the cove and on the nearby land there were a couple of ruined buildings alongside a tiny quay. It was the perfect place for us to spend the night, and for Jenna and Chris, who just wanted to relax and unwind and maybe swim a little, the fulfilment of their ideal.
Frank and I were up early for a swim and then sat in the cockpit, savouring the warmth and marvelling at the glassy stillness of the sea as we watched entire shoals of fish jump from the water. As peaceful anchorages go, it was one of the best we've experienced this year, and we could happily have stayed for a few nights, but we wanted to show our guests some of the beauty the Saronic Islands have to offer. We'd heard that Hydra was especially worth a visit, and arranged a berth in the little port. When we got there, however, we were first told that no berth was available after all, but after intervention from our friends in Flisvos, we were allowed to tie up alongside a rusty old merchant ship in the port.
Hydra port is simply gorgeous. No cars are allowed, so the local transport is either by donkey, pony, boat or wooden cart, giving it a sense of timelessness. With little or no breeze in the port, as soon as we were tied up we headed straight for a nearby swimming area where youngsters were jumping, diving and pushing one another off rocks and into the water. Although the sea was calm, dozens of boats were going in and out of the harbour so the wake was almost constant, and in the water we bobbed up and down along with all the other swimmers. We ate that evening at a restaurant rated with the 2nd best restaurant view in the world according to some survey or other! It was certainly a beautiful place to watch the sun melt into the violet evening haze of the mainland hills, and the food was pretty good too!
We had been told that we had to move at 9 the following morning, as the merchant ship would be leaving port, but when we got back from dinner, replete and happy, our bubble of complacency was burst when we were told that they'd changed their schedule and would instead be leaving at 6am! By now we had four yachts rafted alongside us, so we all had to be up and ready to leave by 6...although when we did emerge, bleary eyed and yawning, there was no sign of life from the merchant vessel! They eventually appeared about 20 minutes later and so, by 6.45am, we were back out to sea, watching the deep shadows of early morning make the undulating hills of the opposite coast appear as a massive sand-dune.
Breakfast time saw us easing through a narrow channel between Poros and the mainland, approaching Poros Town from the opposite direction to previously. We knew the wind was due up the following day, but being back in Russian Bay so early in the morning meant we had the pick of places in which to tie up, and we reversed close to a small beach, tying ropes on either side of the bay and ensuring we were well placed to weather a northerly blow.
In the end, we stayed there for four glorious nights, and loved just about every moment of it! The first day was still and peaceful, and when we swam in the evening, we were delighted to discover that the water was full of phosphorescence, a phenomenon we'd only encountered once before - when we were in Meganissi last year. The four of us spent an age in the water, creating trails of stars around us, and then Jen and Chris went and sat on the bow until they saw a couple of shooting stars to round off their evening. The following day the wind rose, but it wasn't until around 3am that it really blasted, up to a force 7 or 8, with frequent stronger gusts trying to push us around. Fortunately we were securely tied on and although it was noisy, we felt safe throughout (especially as Frank sat on watch in the saloon through the windiest part of the night.)
Although we debated whether to move nearer to Poros Town, our guests were very happy with the anchorage, so we remained in place and used the dinghy to go across to the port a few times. Frank and I spent quite a lot of time at the Vodafone store, trying and failing to top up our account which had run out of credit. After multiple phone calls and much discussion with their staff, we finally gave up, annoyed that what should be a simple operation was turning out to be so complicated. I gave it one more try when we were back on Zaffina, and with minimal effort, managed very easily to do what the Vodafone people had failed at so miserably! It was a relief to be back on line.
The anchorage filled up over the weekend, and where we'd started in isolation, by Saturday evening we were surrounded by big motorboats, presumably owned by Athenians wanting to get away from the city for a night or two. Before we went back to Poseidon for anther excellent meal, I was showering on the bathing platform when a determined wasp flew up and, without provocation, stung me on my thigh. The warm air turned slightly blue.

On Sunday morning we finally untied from our anchorage and turned back towards Athens, stopping en route back at Angistri, although this time we dropped the hook away from the main wasp thoroughfare and spent the afternoon swimming and topping up tans. Then it was back into port, and for Jenna and Chris, the long trek back to Jersey.

And that brings us to yesterday, another housekeeping day - I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say, Zaffina is now sparkling both inside and out. Engineers came on board to check out the generator which had been spitting a few spots of oil, and we discovered it was a miracle that it hadn't blown up on us! That too is now sorted, and we're getting ready to embark on our next trip, hopefully down to Aegina, Spetses and Hydra.