Sailing Calista6 May 2023 – 10 May 2023
We were up early and after breakfast we went ashore in the dingy to the bakery. After selecting an assortment of pastries we headed back to Calista. We up lifted the anchor at 8.30am and left the anchorage of Porto Chelli, to head in the direction of Athens up to the Petalioi Gulf and South Euboean Gulf.
We were having a pleasant sail though it was gusty as we were crossing over towards Dokos Island with the wind gusting down through the Hydra Strait.
We opted to sail on the backside of Dokos Island as it was more direct for the direction we were heading. The island also gave us some protection from the gusts.
Out in the middle of nowhere was a small island saturated with wind turbines.
We passed Athens mainland where we had anchored the previous season in an anchorage at Sounion. We had gone ashore with friends from Paloma and climbed up to the Temple of Poseidon perched high on the Cape overlooking the sea to watch the sunset.
We arrived into the anchorage of Pasalimani and it was gusting 28-30kts. It was quite a challenge to drop the anchor in the gusts. Paul held Calista into the wind with the aid of the bowthruster. Luckily the sand bottom took the anchor and we held well.
The following morning we awoke to a much calmer anchorage, though it was still blowing but the gusts had eased. After lunch we pulled up the anchor and left the anchorage to head up around into Porto Rafti where it would be more sheltered.
We zig zagged our way across the strait as the wind was on the nose for the direction we were wanting to go. It made for an interesting trip and we were in no hurry. We made sure we got out of the way of the tanker that was making a bee line for the Port.
We arrived in Port Rafti and the anchorage was mostly moorings. We managed to find a spot where we could drop the anchor out away from the mooring balls and not be a nuisance to anyone.
We noticed a cafe on the waterfront which seemed very busy so we thought we would go ashore and check it out.
The cafe was overlooking the anchorage and we were able to enjoy our coffee while keeping any eye on Calista. There wasn’t much on the menu for dinner, so we settled for a toasted sandwich which was tasty and filled a hole.
The following day we came ashore and walked along the promenade in search of the local bakery. It was a fair distance on the outskirts of the main town, but was certainly worth the walk as the bakery was amazing. Apart from the ususal sweets and bread, we also bought some minted beef meatballs/potatoes that were recommended by one of the locals standing in line with us. They were delicious.
The Church overlooking the entrance of the harbour.
We left Porto Rafti and motor sailed over to Marmari and anchored out from the town.
We went ashore and walked around the town. There wasn’t much to see, it was a sleepy town not catering for tourists.
The sun was starting to set as we were heading back to Calista so we sat and watched the sun go down.
While we were sitting and enjoying the sunset we thought how nice the anchorage was.
Low and behold, at 4.00am we were rudely awoken by the anchor alarm. The wind had got up and we were dragging! We quickly got dressed and set about starting the engine and lifting the anchor. It was so dark, the anchor came up with a huge ball of seagrass. We decided against re-anchoring and with the aid of the radar we motor sailed further north until daybreak, heading to Eretria Point which was some 6 hours away.
We anchored at Pezonisos Island and after lunch we dingied ashore to walk and explore the abandoned hotel called “The Island of Dreams”.
The last operator of the hotel and bungalows, which had been leased by the Municipality of Eretria left in 2008. Since then, the complex has fallen into a state of disrepair.
Once we had finished walking around the abandoned hotel site admiring all the artwork on the buildings, we lifted anchor and motored around into the harbour of Eretria for the evening where it would be more sheltered. It was a large bay with a great sandy bottom.
We went ashore and had a delicious pizza washed down with a white wine. The pizza made a lovely change from the usual Greek meals we have been used to.
The following morning we left the anchorage and motored in the direction of Chalkida to where our friends on Tipheret had been staying in the marina over the winter.
Along the way we were treated to a show of Greek jet fighter planes doing acrobat manouvers leaving trails of coloured smoke. There were at times, nine noisy jets flying over the land and out over the water. Quite a display, thou was hard to capture on the phone.
As we were approaching the high bridge of Chalkida, we followed the channel markers to keep within the channel to ensure we cleared the height of the bridge. The marina was just around the corner.
