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.
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