Family Holiday

Lin, Becky, Andrew, Charlie and Bobby arrived at Kos marina late on the evening of Thursday 9th August. We left first thing on Friday morning to motor up to Palionisos. We passed Sue and Steve, who were anchored in Kos bay, and Simon then fell in while getting the dinghy onto the davits, to the great amusement of everybody as they cried 'man overboard!'. We motored into a Force 4 headwind, which made Andrew feel pretty sick and Charlie also felt sick in sympathy. We got to Palionisos in plenty of time for people to go to the beach cafe for burgers and for an afternoon of swimming. Kai taught Charlie to jump off the boat, overcoming his fear of the dark water, and Bobby swam off the boat in his armbands.

We had dinner at Kalidonis and next morning, Saturday, motored up to Lakki into a Force 5 headwind, which Andrew did not enjoy!

Arrived at Lakki marina

In Lakki we went in to Lakki marina, though we now had a contract at Evros, because it was much more convenient for getting in to town. We spent two nights in Lakki. We had lunch at Poppy's, Becky and Andrew took the boys by taxi to the pool at Crithoni paradise, we went by taxi to Gourna beach

and Kai took Andrew and Becky out for dinner for their promised burgers and exotic beers at Persiana, which the rest of us had spaghetti bolognese on the boat.
On Monday we motored up to Lipsi, again into a moderate headwind, where we got a good spot on the quay. We took the little boys to the beach in the afternoon, where they really got into swimming! In the evening we went to Manolis' for dinner.
We spent three days in Lipsi, where the beach is perfect for the little boys - gently shelving, warm water and a sandy beach, with some shade under the trees for us. The little boys had a great time swimming

and making sandcastles.

Bobby staked his pitch by writing B for Bobby on the sand.

We had promised the boys a pizza, but it turned out that the pizza place had closed down, so instead on Wednesday we had giros at the very good grill on the front.

On Thursday, August 16th, we again motored into a moderate headwind to get to Arki. Charlie drove beautifully all the way,

 though Bobby looked a bit apprehensive!

We tied up on the quay next to Sergio and his family with whom Simon, Lin and Kai had spent a couple of weeks sailing around four years ago. We spent four days in Arki, where Charlie and Bobby played with Nicolas's children, Alexandr and Elena, spending a lot of time on the little beach, swimming

and climbing on the rocks.

Charlie and Alexandr climbed over to the next little beach, where they had fun throwing stones into the sea.

Bobby swam through the bridge under the little landing stage

and Charlie learnt to row the dinghy

and the kayak.

On one occasion Bobby walked into the water off the little beach without his armbands. As he got further in he stretched his arms out in front of him and it was obvious he was going to try to swim. He lifted his feet off the bottom and sank. Simon grabbed him and he spluttered 'I sank to the bottom' and laughed, quite unconcerned

On Saturday we said goodbye to Sergio and his family, who were off to Patmos for shopping as they had run out of supplies.

After they had left Bobby walked up to the farm with Lin and Simon,

where we saw sheep and goats,

chickens

and two big pigs.

In the afternoon Charlie rowed round to the little beach for a swim.

On Saturday we all went round to swim at the town beach.

Becky went fishing, with no success.

After four days chilling, swimming and eating well at Nikolas

it was time to move on. On Monday we had a gentle downwind motorsail to Arkhangelos. Bobby had a good swim off the boat,

but Charlie had suddenly lost his nerve, probably because Kai had pulled him in.

We had a big lunch at Stigma.

In the afternoon we motorsailed down to Lakki. The little boys were very tired and slept.

where this time we parked in Evros and had cheese omelettes aboard for dinner, though Charlie, Kai and Andrew walked into town after dinner for a giro.
On Tuesday 21st we got a car. Lin stayed on the boat while the rest of us went up to the castle and then down to Pandeli to swim.

In the evening we went for dinner to the pizza restaurant and brought back enough pizza for breakfast and lunch the next day.

On Wednesday we drove to Merikhia because Charlie wanted to visit the war museum - last time he had been too scared of the tunnel and ran out. Kai, Becky and Simon stayed on the beach until the others had done the museum.

After lunch we went back to Pandeli for more swimming. Bobby swam miles out in his armbands and Simon and Kai raced him back - Bobby won.

We then went back to Crithoni for the boys to swim in the pool. We went to Poppy's for our last dinner. The boys loved her swinging chairs.

On Thursday 23rd August we drove over to Agia Marina for Becky and the boys to get the catamaran to go back to Kos to catch their flight home. As we drove down the road past the ferry quay to the car park we were confronted by a huge track that had only inches to spare coming down the road towards us. 

A policeman got all the cars to back up out of the way before the truck could pass. We then had gyros for lunch at the excellent grill on the quay.

Lin went to check the ferry and, when she came back, fell flat on her face on the quay. Two men jumped up to help her to her feet, then Kai and Andrew rushed forward to bring her back to the table. She was battered and bruised, having sprained her wrist and got nasty grazes on her elbow and knees. A kind couple at the next table gave us water to wash Lin's wounds, while Becky went off to find a pharmacy to get some dressings, and disappeared. Lin was panicking that Becky would miss the ferry, but she reappeared in time and in any case the ferry was almost half an hour late, so everyone got off OK.

We met Jad and Julie in the cafe by the ferry terminal and drove over to lunch at Dimitri's (To Steki) in Alinda before driving back to Lakki and collapsing, exhausted, before having a very good dinner at Skipper's, the marina restaurant.

We had a really enjoyable two weeks family holiday, though it was a bit of a squash with seven of us on the boat, especially at night when it was very hot. Kai and Andrew usually slept in the cockpit and Charlie and Bobby with Becky in the forepeak. 

The boys were brilliant in the water. Bobby was completely confident in his armbands, swimming off the boat in deep water, swimming a long way from the beach, quite fast. Charlie swam really well without armbands, but was not too confident swimming a long way out in the deep water.

Every morning about six we would hear the patter of little feet and Bobby would arrive 'gran, I want to do a wee". He would go and do a wee, soon learnt to flush the loo himself, of which he was very proud, and then would want gran to read him Peter Rabbit.

Sailing with Kai

Photos to come when I have a better internet connection!
Simon flew out to Kos on Monday July 30th with our 17 year-old grandson, Kai, for ten days sailing before Lin came out with Becky, Andrew, Charlie and Bobby. We had booked a little hotel in Merikhia, Ilios and Irene, originally with the idea of going to get the ferry from Pothia next morning, only we then found that there is no ferry from Pothia to Leros on a Tuesday. We were greeted as we arrived, our bags carried in and we were immediately offered a free drink before we went to our room - there was a double bedroom, bathroom and a sitting room with two more beds and a little kitchen.
Next morning we had a very good and cheap breakfast before we went to get the bus to Kos town, ready to get the Blue Star to Leros in the evening, leaving our bags at the cafe on the ferry quay. I wanted to get to the Wind shop to buy a data pack, so we walked all the way to the old Wind shop, my having forgotten that it had moved, so we had to walk all the way back into town to the new shop, where I got my data pack and Kai bought some fancy earphones. We had lunch at the women's cooperative restaurant, and Kai did a bit more shopping for a bluetooth speaker and some sunglasses, but it was so hot that we walked out to the marina to sit in the wonderfully cool air-conditioned library. I read, while Kai listened to music and read on his iphone.
We walked back into town, had some dinner at a grill and went to get the Blue Star at 8.30, arriving in Leros at 10.30 and taking a taxi to the marina, where I went straight to bed. Next morning we unpacked, did some shopping and had lunch at Poppy's before motoring up to Arkhangelos.

The bay was quite busy, but I decided that there was room close inshore by the little chapel because the wind was forecast to be a steady Force 4 northerly, which would keep us off the shore. We had dinner at Stigma and I went to bed. About midnight Kai called me - 'grandpa, we are getting very close to the shore', as indeed we were - the local wind had swung to the west. I took the kedge out in the dinghy and went back to bed - it was enough to keep us off the shore.
Next morning, Thursday August 2nd, we had a good force 4 north-northwesterly wind for a fast fetch to Agathonisi, which we reached about midday.

There was not room on the town quay and Kai did not want to take a line shore, so we went alongside the ferry quay. Soon after we had tied up the Anna Express came in and Lucio and his family came ashore. They were just arriving for their regular summer holiday in Maria's rooms in Agathonisi, but this year they had come by a roundabout route, flying to Armenia, then through Georgia and Turkey to Izmir, from where they had got a couple of ferries to Agathonisi. Soon after Kai had gone off to see them a policeman approached and told me I had to leave because a naval ship was arriving in twenty minutes. I phone Kai, he came back, and we left the quay to free anchor off the beach.

Not long after we had settled down again Nisos Kalymnos arrived on its return trip and dropped its anchor a few metres off our stern.

It was getting a bit crowded in the anchorage, so we decided to go round to Spilia, a little bay just round the corner. A catamaran had free anchored off the beach and a French boat had a line ashore near the entrance to the bay, but we dropped our anchor just behind the catamaran and had room to swing free, though again rather close to the shore.
Kai did not want to take a line ashore so we decided that he would drive and I would take the line, but just as we got lined up a couple of people started snorkeling just where we wanted to back down, so we gave up and laid the kedge instead.
Kai kept changing his mind about whether he wanted to stay in Agathonisi and see his friends or whether he wanted to go straight off to Arki. In the end we stayed two days because Kai met a Greek girl, Athena, who stays on Agathonisi for her holidays every year and who used to tease Kai. Kai was very put out that she remembered Charlie but not him, but he spent Thursday evening with Athena and his Italian friend, Alexandr, and Friday evening with Athena.
The catamaran left on Friday morning so we decided to anchor further in to Spilia with a line ashore. All went well, with Kai on the wheel, and I got our webbing line over a rock, but there was quite a strong wind blowing down the bay and by the time I had got the line ashore Kai did not have any slack to get it on the cleat. Suddenly the reel to which the line was attached exploded, showering Kai with broken plastic, and the line flew off. I retrieved the line, gathered up the bits of broken plastic and we decided to let the boat swing free.
We left Agathonisi on Saturday morning to sail to Arki in a Force5 northeasterly wind. When I gybed round the headland all hell broke loose - the port lazy jack line broke (I had just tied the shackle on with a bit of thin rope when putting it back after our adventures in Limnos), so we had bits of rope hanging over the side, and the rope holding the preventer on the boom also broke with a loud bang. We tidied it all up and had a brilliant fast sail to Arki, where we tied up to the quay. To add insult to injury the aft heads (the wee loo) outlet had got blocked with scale - Agathonisi always piles on the disasters for us - so I had to get the pipe off and clear it out as soon as we got to Arki, as well as fixing the preventer and the lazy line.
To fix the lazy line Kai had to hoist me in the bosun's chair to fit a new shackle. All went well until it was time for him to let me down, when the halyard with which Kai had hoisted me slipped. I grabbed the lazy line to arrest my fall and got horrible rope burns on three of my fingers. Fortunately Kai got the halyard under control and lowered me safely to the deck. He thought the whole thing was hilarious!
It has been remarkable how few boats we have seen - there were only half a dozen in Arkhangelos, the same in Agathonisi and only six or seven boats on the quay in  Arki, with a few in Marathi and none at all in the Arki anchorages.
On Monday 6th August we motorsailed down the 25 miles directly to Lakki in a very light northerly wind and stayed in the marina for two days. We went for dinner one night to Persiana, where Kai had a burger, which he thought was wonderful, and decided there and then that he would treat Becky and Andrew to dinner there when we came with them. Kai read his walking dead books, while Simon cleaned and tidied the boat ready for Lin's arrival
We had booked in to Kos marina for the night of Thursday 9th August to pick up Lin, Becky and the boys, who were flying in to Kos that evening, so on Wednesday we sailed down to Palionisos with  a Force 4 following wind and picked up a buoy. There we did a lot of swimming, with Kai doing a lot of jumping off the boat.

Sue and Steve arrived a bit later and anchored further out, but did not leave their boat.
On Thursday morning we had another fast sail under genoa in a following Force 4 wind, arriving at Kos marina in time for lunch. After lunch Kai went off to the library, where he managed to get Netflix on the Smart TV, while I finished cleaning the boat. In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant with Sue and Steve . Lin, Becky and the boys, meanwhile, were sitting in their plane on the runway at Birmingham for two hours, because the flight had to be rerouted to avoid storms over Germany. The little boys were very good and we were all pleased to see each other when they arrived in their taxi about 11 pm. They were starving so we went to the marina cafe for them to have burgers and chips before going to bed.

Chilling with John

On Thursday 14th June we motor-sailed up from Lakki to Arkhangelos, with only a light SW wind, where we picked up the red buoy.

Lin's brother John arrived on the overnight flight on Friday 15th June. Dimitra picked him up at the airport and she and Tassos brought him across to Arkhangelos in their motor boat, unloading him with his luggage directly onto our boat. Simon and Christiana arrived during the morning and we all had lunch and dinner at Stigma.

On Saturday 16th we motorsailed up to Arki, still with a light southwesterly wind, where we found a space on the quay. We had lunch and dinner at Nikolas and in the afternoon swam from the town beach.

On Sunday 17th we walked over to Tiganakia, where we spent the morning, before coming back for a beer at Nikolas and lunch aboard. In the afternoon we went back to the town beach to swim before dinner at Nikolas.

On Monday 18th we walked up to the church in the hill above the village, 

then followed a rough path down the other side to the beach at Limnari, 

where we swam. We walked back past the farm and beautiful bougainvillea 

to Nikolas for a beer before sardines on toast on the boat and back to the town beach to swim in the afternoon.

On Tuesday 19th we walked up to the Kastro - a few ancient stones, probably once a watchtour/beacon 

- then down to the lighthouse on the headland 

before scrambling down to the town beach.

On Wednesday we motored down to the Katsadia bay on the southwest of Lipsi, against a light southerly wind, and anchored on the west side of the island. We walked into town to do some shopping, then got a taxi back before having lunch at Delilah and an omelette for dinner aboard.

On Thursday we motorsailed in a light westerly wind down to Arkhangelos, where we again picked up the red buoy. We went for a lunchtime beer and dinner at Stigma.

On Friday we had a rough walk over the headland, past some ruined buildings

and up to the saddle between the two peaks of Arkhangelos, above an attractive deserted bay on the north side. 

We instinctively ducked as the plane from Athens came over our heads to land at Partheni.

It was very hot, so we decided not to go on to the higher peak, but instead walked back to the peak above Stigma, with the remains of the Italian gun emplacement and perhaps of the ancient monastery, before scrambling back down.

On Saturday we motorsailed with a light southwesterly wind down to Lakki to do some shopping. We ordered bon filet at To Petrino, but had some trouble explaining how we wanted the steak cooked. In the end all our steaks were overdone - Simon and John asked for their steaks bleu and got them rare, while Lin's rare steak was definitely medium. 

On Sunday June 24th we motorsailed down to Palionisos with a moderate northwesterly following wind, where Pothitos had reserved us a buoy. Simon and John went to watch the football at Pothitos's before we had dinner there. 

On Monday June 25th we had a brisk sail under genoa down to the anchorage in Vathi Bay on Pserimos. There were already a few boats there, so we had to anchor quite a long way out from the beach. 

Next morning, Tuesday, we left Vathi in a light easterly wind and motored back to Palionisos. The wind blew up from the south and the night saw a little rain, torrential early next morning. Once the rain had cleared we walked along the rocky path to the little beach at Syki for a swim. This time there was a gullet and a motor boat anchored off so we did not have the beach to ourselves. We had ordered a lobster spaghetti from Pothitos for dinner.

On Thursday 28th we motor sailed back to Lakki in a strong southwest wind, which had huge gusts all over the place as we approached Xerokampos, so we got the genoa in and motored into big waves round the corner. We went to dinner at Costa's with Sue and Steve, who had been anchored in Lakki Bay since May, Steve working on the boat. On Friday 29th Lin and John walked round to Merikhia for a swim and in the evening we picked up our hire car and met Al and Kitty for dinner at El Greco. On Saturday we drove round to Alinda for a swim and lunch at To Steki before taking John to the airport for his flight home. In the evening we met Kitty and Lida to go to the bag workshop at Pikpa, where Lin bought two bags made by the refugees. Lida is a local woman who sews and set up the bag workshop, where the refugees make beautiful bags for sale.

We spent Sunday, July 1st cleaning the boat before taking it round to Evros marina early on Monday morning to leave it for July, while we went home. We caught the 12.30 catamaran to Pothia, then the ferry over to Merikhia, where we had dinner before taking a taxi to the airport and our flight home.

Map of our voyage with John