Just a holiday in Aegina
Unlike my previous travels with lots and lots of moving from place to place, stopping for a day or two, rarely more, seeing the sights then moving on, this time we basically stayed put.
Why the change? Simple, we’ve arrived so where’s the need to move further?
Monday 16th September – Tuesday 17thSeptember 2024
Libra has been in the Asprakis boatyard since June. She was in a lovely spot next to the water. The upside was that we could sit on deck, the sea breaking a few metres away, all the pleasures of being on the water whilst actually being on dry land.
The downside was the aft of the boat had gained a thick crusting of dried on salt. The only place I’m happy to see a salt crust is around the rim of a margarita glass.
So I started cleaning and Igor got to work on the technical stuff. We originally thought we’d need a few days to be ready to sail but there wasn’t much to do. No point delaying the launch so we asked Notis, who owns the boatyard, if he could launch us tomorrow. Probably thanks to him being good friends with my sister Val and her husband Tim he said yes.
On Tuesday we got to the boatyard bright and early and carried on with the cleaning and preparation.
The yard guys started removing the chocks supporting the wooden cradle that the boat rested on. We had to ask them to delay for an hour as we needed to flush and refill our freshwater tank before we set off, having treated it with a special chemical to sanitise it after the long break.
We’d driven to the yard so I needed to get my car back to Aeginitissa, where Val and Tim live, maybe a 20 minute drive. Charlie, who was working with Tim on their boat, offered to give me a lift so we drove there separately then I parked my car and he drove us back in his car.
When we got back to the boatyard Libra was held in the crane by slings, and as soon as we arrived the launch began. We invited Tim and Charlie to join us for the sail to Aeginitissa so once Libra was safely in the water we all boarded and set off.
How utterly fantastic it was to be back on the water. The clean blue Aegean was calm, the sun shone. The wind wasn’t right for us to raise the sails but never mind. We chugged along under motor. Tim had brought spinach and cheese pies along, and we found some cold beer in the fridge for Igor and Charlie. The voyage took less than a couple of hours and we were able to drop our anchor in Aeginitissa Bay.
We anchored a hundred metres or so from the shore. The water was so transparent that we could see the anchor chain Tim laid for his boat back in 2007, still there on the seabed about 20 metres down.
Being a hundred metres from the shore is all very well but if you need to do anything on dry land you have to get there. Our tender, the small boat that’s used to go back and forth to the shore, was at the house so Igor inflated the paddleboards and he and Charlie went to collect it while Tim and I turned on the fan in the cabin and sheltered from the sweltering heat outside.
Once they returned Igor inflated the tender then gave us all a lift back to the shore. I drove Tim to the boatyard so he could finish off the work that we’d interrupted. We treated everyone to a meal at the restaurant in the bay that evening, celebrating our return to the boating life.
The moon was pretty much full as we returned to the boat after dinner.
So great to be back.
18th September to 1st October 2024
We settled into a routine. In the mornings we’d swim. Igor would wipe the silicon antifouling on the bottom of the boat to prevent anything from growing on it. It's much easier to take preventative measures than to have to scrape off what the Beatles would call 'an octopus's garden'. He'd also check that the anchor was still set properly and hadn't dragged overnight.
We might have a simple breakfast on the boat, or maybe walk or drive to the nearby town of Perdika to buy spinach pies. Perdika is a couple of miles from Aeginitissa and has a small, new marina, a couple of supermarkets and bakeries and a waterfront crammed with (generally excellent) restaurants.
Having bought pastries and a good cup of coffee from our favourite bakery we’d sit on a bench at the small beach by the marina, usually joined by a friendly one eyed cat.
Another favourite place for breakfast was just around the corner where there’s a wonderful view to the nearby island of Moni, with the Methana peninsula, which is almost an island with a dormant volcano, further across the water.
Sometimes we'd go a bit further afield to the park (no cats) or the other side of the peninsula (lots of cats).
Every day we would head up the hill to Val and Tim. Their house is only a couple of hundred metres from the boat as the crow flies. Trouble is we aren’t crows. Visiting them involves taking a paddleboard or the tender to shore then walking 300 metres uphill with an ascent of 37 metres, a more than 1:10 gradient.
Now if you’re reading this over a meal you may want to look away as this concerns boat plumbing. Most leisure boats ultimately discharge their waste directly into the water. This isn’t something you're allowed to do unless you are a long way from land so modern boats have a holding tank. In order to minimise the need to empty it it’s best to make use of land based facilities for anything that would cause a mess. Walking up a steep hill first thing in the morning after a vigorous paddle on a paddleboard to get to land is a great way to stay fit!
If you don’t happen to be moored right by your lovely relatives any restaurant or café will let you use their facilities, a system that works very well when you're moored in town.
On Friday 28th September Igor saw a forecast of strong winds for the next few days, with the worst being on Sunday. He considered the various possibilities of a safe place to moor. We went into Aegina town but weren’t impressed at the shelter offered by the town marina so decided to move the boat to the marina in Perdika.
We set off to Perdika the next morning, arriving around 11am. There was a lot of space so we could choose where we hooked up. Much of the time the marina is really crowded but on a Saturday morning you have a pretty good chance of not having too much company.
The marina was only built a couple of years ago. It used to be a very quiet fishing harbour with an anchorage for cruising yachts. Now, a couple of concrete pontoons offer protection and it’s very popular particularly for people who charter.
Most people who charter a yacht collect their boat in Athens on a Friday evening and set off Saturday morning. Aegina is one of the closest destinations but even so it takes a few hours to reach Perdika. Our timing was perfect, in the period between arriving and securing the boat two more yachts had arrived. Over the course of the afternoon more and more came and filled every available place.
Over the last couple of years as the marina was expanded and developed the bottom was dredged and this has adversely affected its ability to hold an anchor. That, in combination with the overcrowding and a general lack of experience among the people using the marina leads to a situation that would be entertaining if your boat wasn't at risk. Anchors and chains are dropped with the precision of someone dishing out a pile of spaghetti. One morning we saw two boats arrive while one left. All three had various degrees of anchor chain incidents. Great fun to watch if it's not your chain!
By late afternoon we were packed like sardines. A massive motor yacht arrived and dropped its anchor over the anchor of a sailboat. When the skipper asked the power boat owner to re-anchor she was met with a barrage of abuse. I told him not to be so rude. He was equally abusive to me.
A policeman happened to be on the pontoon, watching, with a couple of other officials. The sailboat skipper asked him to intervene but he just stood there, looking like he didn’t know quite what to do. My guess is that the power boat owner was some sort of local bigwig who knew the police wouldn’t take any action and took it as carte blanche to act like an obnoxious, entitled windbag.
I'd have stayed and watched for longer but Val, Tim and Charlie arrived. We were having dinner at Remetzos, an excellent restaurant with a wonderful view of the sunset over the mountains and sea. It was a great meal, fantastic food, amazing views and the best company.
That night in Perdika marina the noisiest thing was the traditional music playing at a restaurant until the wee hours. I slept through most of it.
Sunday was the day that the winds really hit. The marina was well sheltered but by evening we were rocking and bouncing. Igor tied extra ropes from the pontoon to the winches under the spray hood and this provided extra stability.
The next day we went to Agia Marina, a touristy little town on the other side of the island. We visited about a year ago in the off season, and we counted 28 cats aorund our table alone in the restaurant, begging from us as we ate. This time there were only a few.
When we were here last year a new marina was being built. It’s now pretty much complete, apart from the power and water not being connected to the pontoons.
We’d considered sheltering in Agia Marina rather than Perdika but when we arrived we could see the boats were bobbing around, unlike our quiet night. We had a chat with a British skipper who told us he hadn’t had a comfortable time at all.
Over the next day or two the wind subsided and the sea followed suit.
We amused ourselves by watching all the boats leave, thankful that none of the incompetent crews had moored next to us.
Standing on dry land seeing the boats struggling with the heavy seas made us thankful we weren’t in a rush to get anywhere.
On 1st October we decided it was time to return to Aeginitissa Bay. In the morning we bought our spinach pies and walked to the other side of the peninsula to eat them. Steps led down to the water.
Friendly cats tried to scrounge food until they remembered that cats don’t eat spinach pies.
Walking up to the marina afterwards we realised we hadn’t noticed how steep the road to the sea was when we were going downhill. Hard work in the heat.
Back at the boat an old guy had made himself comfortable on the quayside by our boat. He sat on a chair with his radio on, smoking and fishing, the smoke drifting into the cabin. Definitely time to leave.
Once we’d anchored back in the bay Tim gave me a lift to Perdika to collect the car. The storms had covered it in salt, it felt fuzzy to the touch. I hadn’t realised the spray would reach it, it was a good 50 feet from the water. I bought ice creams which we ate once I got back to the boat. It was really hot.
2nd to 6th October 2024
In the middle of our stay in Greece I headed off to Paris with Val as we had a family wedding to attend. I’d expected Paris to be cold but the weather was brilliant sunshine, must have packed it with my carry on luggage.
In the lead up to the wedding we met up with other family members (there were a lot! These are just some.)
I even did a little bit of sightseeing
We flew home on Sunday night, arriving in Piraeus after midnight and spending the night in a hotel before catching the ferry next day.
Paris was lovely and it was so wonderful to catch up with the family. I haven't seen many of them since before the Pandemic, it's been far too long.
While we were away there was another spell of windy weather. Igor had to seek shelter in the middle of the night as the anchorage just wasn’t safe. What a man, having to raise anchor and relocate on his own, in the pitch dark, no moonlight, with strong winds blowing. He found a small, sheltered cove and was able to hide there safely until the wind subsided. A couple of hours after I got back from Paris I saw his sail heading back through the bay, great timing.
I walked down the hill to meet him and got back to life on board. Back to reality, it's tough but someone's gotta do it!
6th to 19th October 2024
I soon settled back. On the boat there was lots of swimming and paddling, endless tins of curry, lots of Greek salads, getting stuff done in the morning and trying not to overheat in the afternoon.
Some evenings we'd drive to Aegina to buy giros (Greek kebabs) for dinner. The sunsets over the harbour were splendid.
About a week after I got back from Paris, on 11th October, there was another forecast of strong winds. We thought we might be OK, that the bay might shelter us but the fact that there was only one other boat in the bay the night the winds were due told its own story. We had a very uncomfortable night.
Igor got up at 3.00 am to watch the anchor to make sure we didn’t drag in the strong wind. I took over around 7.30 am.
By 11am he was up again and we decided to head to the bolthole he'd made use of while I was away. An hour or so later we anchored in calm, still water, a very pleasant change. The place was deserted and beautiful.
We swam and had lunch. A motorboat anchored and some kids with motor propelled boards started dashing through the water, shrieking with delight. They didn’t come near us, wrapped up in the fun they were having. After a while they put their gadgets away and made ready to leave.
We paddled over to the beach on our paddleboards. There was no road access, no buildings, just a couple of stone rings that had been used for fireplaces.
Very little litter too, I think it’s only accessible by water so people take care of it.
By 5pm the wind had changed direction so we headed back to Aeginitissa Bay. It was blessedly calm again, thank goodness.
When we were launching the boat back in September Notis asked us when we would be lifting Libra for storage through the winter. He said that by the end of October strong winds would be getting more and more frequent so it was advisable to lift before this.
As he always does, Igor was checking the weather forecasts regularly and on Sunday, 13th they showed that most of the coming week would be very windy. We had to make a decision – do we tough it out, seeking shelter, competing for space with all the other boats with the same idea or do we call it a day and put the boat to bed for the winter. It wasn’t a difficult decision. With the forecast deteriorating and the temperatures starting to drop it was unlikely to get much better. There was a window of opportunity to lift the boat on Monday or Tuesday so we emailed Notis and asked if he could fit us in tomorrow.
The final post for this year is imminent.
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