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A Turning Point

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We departed Amorgos once the winds had settled down a bit in company with all the other boats who had been stuck there with us, and set off in different directions. Except for the cross captain next door who had dropped an inordinate amount of anchor chain [ against local advice] and now had it well stuck under the ferry’s chain. And of course being Sunday, wasn’t going anywhere ...Zut alors! We were headed due W towards Ios, an island we had a long association with since we visited as a new couple some 43 years ago. Aaaah It was a good sail on a broad reach most of the way, with the wind falling off in the mid portion as we passed S of the great hulk of an island that is Naxos. It was a bright day but the N wind is still much fresher in temperature than normal and though the shorts came out, we still had fleeces and woolly hats. Amorgos to iOS, Wind N 8_ 16 kts We moored at Ios uneventfully but there was not a lot of room and the season has barely started. They must really struggle i

Trouble at Blogspot.

Dear All, I seem to be having trouble again posting on blogspot. It previously sorted itself out eventually but not now. I will continue posting on summertimeyacht.wordpress.com  as well.

Broaching the subject

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I was somewhat relieved to be leaving Kalymnos, nice though it is. I had not planned ending my days in a dynamite accident, and some of the explosions had been mighty close. The winds were predicted to be 15 to 20 knots from the NW but somewhat lighter to the E of the island. So we set off in that direction to beat our way Northwards to the island of Leros. Strangely as we set off the wind was from the SW, but this was just it curling around the bottom end of Kalymnos as as soon as we were round the corner a brisk breeze on the nose came in. We were sailing reasonably well but definitely slower than I was used to. We really must get the bottom cleaned. Slowest tanker in the world. We tacked up the channel dodging tankers. There seemed to be a huge discrepancy is their pace. Some whizzed past and you had to keep your wits about you to stay out their way. There was another coming from the S that went incredibly slowly. I was tempted to cross in front of it as all the metrics from the han

Onwards and upwards

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Skip to content Yacht Summertime Voyages Onwards and upwards We had intended to sail with Livianda to the Greek island of Tilos, epicentre of Dodecanese sustainable energy and recycling. Indeed M had been collecting all our beer tins for the last 4 weeks to deposit here and the niff in the aft cabin was becoming a bit overpowering. However on reviewing the weather, there was some significant clouds and rain, forecast to arrive in 24 hours or so. We therefore took the decision to part company at that point. We would head for the fleshpots of Kos, and Livianda, having achieved their statutory mission of entering Greece from Turkey, returned to the simple splendours of Symi town. It was great to have sailing company,and fun evenings together, but we were now off on a longer adventure. Monastery Panormitis A brisk SE wind was forecast as we set off on the 35nm trip. We were sailing down wind pretty much on a dead run most of the way and were Goose winged [with one sail on either side of th