Good winds blew us back to Cesme where we had decided to check out of Turkey; this was a bit of a nightmare; luckily Dave thought to get the bicycle out so he could get from place to place; first the Harbour Master’s Office, then Bank to pay an 8 euro tax then back to HM to get the paper stamped then to the Port Police and Customs 2kms away on the end of the pier another 2 stamps then back to the HM to get the final clearance; the whole process took 2 hours!
To recover and recuperate we had a great afternoon sail to Emborio a tiny fishing village on the south coast of Chios where we were privileged to be the only yacht anchored in the bay with crystal clear water. The beach just around the point consisted of pitch black shiny, perfectly round and oval pebbles
We hitched to the village of Pygri 12 kms inland; it was the centre of the mastic industry and all the houses including the cathedral were decorated in geometric patterns reminiscent of Arabic art.
We then began our journey south via Tinos and Kea to the Peloponnesus. It was great to visit Hydra again; this time we anchored in a lovely little cove in Mandraki Bay 2kms along the coast from the chora.
Hydra was buzzing with tourists enjoying a weekend away from Athens. I was thrilled to find the little shop where 5 years ago I bought some embroidered cloth shoes made in Thessalonica; so I indulged and bought 2 more pairs as they are so stylish and comfortable.
We spent a couple of days at Porto Kheli provisioning and doing some DIY on Makoko. A short sail across the bay took us to Spetsai where we enjoyed a long lunch before heading off to Kiprosis, a pretty little fishing village with crystal clear water and lovely white washed and stone houses built right on the shore beside the pebble beach and tiny harbour.
A long motor/sail across the bottom of the Peloponnese to Methoni where we anchored near the ruins of the 14th century venetian fort on the headland of a large sandy bay; a spectacular setting with the island of Sapientza in the background.
It was here that we met Stew and Steph on Matador an English couple who have been cruising in the Med for the last 5 years. They were a great fount of knowledge and helped Dave with SSB radio and sailmail and also a new computer based chart system that links into a GPS, so he was a very happy bunny as these things had been bugging him. Some friends of theirs Phil and Monika arrived on a catamaran, Miss Molly.
We decided to accompany them to Navarinou Bay we anchored near a long sandy beach with a lagoon behind the beach. It was here in 1827 the British fleet sailed into the maw of a much larger Turkish fleet with bands playing and gun hatches part opened. The ensuing battle was like a hand to hand battle with ships at point blank ranges. Carnage ensured but it was a win for the Brits which said more about the training of their gun crews than the tactics of their Admirals. This was the final nail in the coffin of Turkish domination of Greece and the beginnings of the new Greek state. After 2 days of relaxing, socializing and catching up on boat maintenance near a long sandy beach with a lagoon behind the beach. An old Venetian fortress on top of the headland beckoned us to an early morning climb. We then sailed across the bay to Pylos where we provisioned up for our passage across to Sicily 230 nautical miles away.
We were lucky with the wind; we had a beam reach the whole way across and except for 5 hours when there was no wind, sailed all the way. Makoko performed well helped by Dave’s persistence in getting the sails right; we arrived at Syracuse on the SE coast of Sicily 10 hours before our friends on Matador and Miss Molly.
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