Lipso to Arki


C. After a settled night on Lipso we had a late start. The berthing costs were 7 Euros per night, plus 3 Euros for rope handling fees. I doubt this covers the costs of employing the personnel involved. It would seem that the town quay fees are all very reasonable but occasionally you get a Marina that stings you.
Sadly, M has to return to the UK for the funeral of a family member. After some research it seems that flying from Kos is the best option so we will have to change our plans to accommodate flights. It means I will be single handed on Kos for 4 days and there is not really any alternative but to berth in the Marina. However at 42 Euros per night it is a bit steep. I am surprised the market sustains this given costs elsewhere.
Our plan for the next period is just to reconnoitre the islands and their anchorages to find nice spots to bring our visitors. Lipso is definitely on the list.
Cutter Rig Configuration
Our next stop was Patmos, a short distance to the NW. We had a light wind from the SW so sailed gently across. This was a good opportunity to try an experiment I had been thinking about. This was to try sailing the working Jib off the inner forestay and see if sailing as a cutter rig is feasible.
The inner forestay is removable and normally sits anchored to the port shrouds base plate. It has a large bottle screw type arrangement with an inbuilt handle for tightening . This works well and I think is preferable to the Highfield clamp many will be familiar with many.
The working jib is quite lightweight and sailed surprisingly well even in the light breeze we had. I was surprised to find that unfurling about 50% of our large Genoa gave what seemed to be an excellent cutter rig configuration with both sails filling nicely. We experimented with different configurations and I am convinced that sailing up wind in light airs with the cutter configuration gives more power than with the full Genoa out. I think this is because the main sail is allowed a greater role without the overlap of our 140% Genoa. However tacking with the inner forestay in place is a real palaver requiring the furling of the Genoa and unfurling on the new tack. So generally it is a bit impractical.



Patmos Monastery
Patmos is a larger town with a long town quay suitable for 40+ yachts, so there was plenty of room. The port itself is quite lively with a nice central square with several bars and Tavernas for watching the events of life unfold. There were few tourists but a lot of Greek people on holiday, or maybe locals just having a good time.
Originally a notorious pirate island, it has benefited from more apparent resource and infrastructure than it’s immediate neighbours. There is quite a large Chora on the mountain overlooking the harbour with a large imposing medieval Monastery as the centre piece. We spent a few days here and enjoyed the ambience.
A bit of a statement

Without wanting to open ourselves to comment or criticism I must confess to flying an oversized EU flag. I admit to getting the measurements wrong when I ordered it on ebay, and we now seem to have taken on the mantle of the main opposition to Nigel Farage in the Mediterranean. I had considered taking it down as it might be seen as making a bit too much of a statement but M has been insistent it should stay. It has however been a good conversation starter and in almost every location it has triggered someone to approach and comment. On both Lipso and Patmos we have been approached by Brits to congratulate us on its manly dimensions. On Patmos Bryn from Cardiff and Nick from Canada had an in depth quayside discussion with us and we all left with our preconceptions comfortably reinforced.


We were due to turn S again and a brisk SE wind was forecast so we decided to delay our departure until that had gone through. The inlet at Patmos is open to the SE and I was expecting a bit of wind and swell would come up the channel. I was therefore quite pleased when a large Gullet berthed on our windward side giving us a nice bit of shelter from the 25+ kts gusty wind. The Captain and his crew of another older bloke and young lady were obviously very accomplished but he was anxious and placed extra up wind mooring lines and paced his deck. Suddenly in the middle of his guest’s lunch he let go his lines and was off. His anchor had dragged from the side pressure and he was falling onto us. He gunned his engine as he made his exit and the stern missed us by not a lot. Now that we were fully exposed I realised how strong the side wind was, and we were leaning a bit on the Finnish boat next to us. Fortunately the Gullet returned to the same berth and our protected status was restored.
Patmos Harbour looking E
There was a Regatta of some sort going on in the channel and suddenly, late afternoon, a host of yachts entered the harbour to take up berths. With the brisk wind, chaos ensued. Little quarter was being given as the yachts all tried to claim the limited number of remaining spaces. Some boats that had extra mooring lines out were hanging fenders on them to try to prevent new arrivals, and crews were again standing on foredecks trying to shoo away the new arrivals.
I have to say I don’t get the thinking behind putting out more and more lines to prevent your boat being blown across wind. The physics is that unless your anchor is holding and the chain tight, no amount of shore lines will prevent the bow going sideways, and all that happens is the downwind stern quarter pivots shore-wards – which is exactly what you don’t want to happen. Bryn, Nick and I stood watching several crews putting on more and more shore line, pulling themselves closer and closer, until the waves were graunching the stern on the harbour wall! We sagely shook our heads and sucked our wise teeth at the folly we were witnessing. But you try giving advice – they won’t have it. Perhaps I have come to that certain age.

Friendly Gullet lifts our chain.
As we were about to leave in the morning, I was approached by two young blokes in leather jackets and shades. They got off a moped and sauntered towards me with significant swagger. I was wondering what they were going to try to sell me when one produced an ID. card from his hip pocket and declared himself to be the Port Police. This is a very different aspect on law and order from that in Paros, where military fatigues and kicking boots were the order of the day, but still a bit sinister.
We sat on the quay side and one went through my papers very diligently, while his colleague stood off to my side just out of vision. I was anxious. Registration, Skipper’s License, Ownership, previous ports, insurance (including Greek version) and DEKPA. I was glad I had that. I proudly tried to show him my TEPAI, but he did not want it or indeed seem to know much about it. I felt a bit cheated. I get the impression these guys are probably on payment by results in terms of identifying felons that brings in fine revenue.

Marathos Tablecloth
When we left the plan had been to turn S however the predicted W wind was still well in the S so again, plan B was invoked. We redirected to Arki, the most Northerly of the Dodecanese. This is a short sail, some 10 miles from Patmos and we had a nice broad reach the whole way. Just to the SW of the main island is the smaller island of Marathos. There are a couple of Tavernas on the beach in the protected bay and the owners have laid moorings for visiting yachts. This is a lovely tranquil spot, with the accompaniment of goat bells and gentle waves. We ate ashore at the Pirate taverna, complete with service by the Pirate King. Well someone has to do it. A thoroughly recommended spot.

Fake News
On a technical note I have a product comparison to share. Our bimini and spray hood have long since lost any vestiges of waterproofing. Indeed in the rain it is best to put them away as all they do is store the water for a while in order to prolong the dribbling down the back of the helmsman’s neck. So I decided to splash out on some top of the range re-waterproofing materials. I invested in a bottle of Fabric Guard 303 which I had heard discussed on a forum. The blurb on the bottle states “Exceeding expectations since 1980”, it is said to “restore water repellency to factory new levels”. From the wordage you might guess it is not a UK product but is made in the USA and it comes “manufacturer recommended”.
Canine's Cahunas
I carefully sprayed it on the Bimini, left it to cure for 48 hours as suggested and then tested with a light spray from the hose. I have to say there was absolutely no difference in the bimini’s “water repellency” from the previous state. A message for Mr Trump, if you are going to make America great again, you are going to need better products than this, and better advertising text.
I had read somewhere that someone had used sealant used for cement and brick to waterproof canvas with success. So when we were in the "best hardware store in the world" on Paros I went looking. I came across a product called Sikagard for building purposes. Knowing Sika as a good manufacturer from it’s Sikaflex range, I bought a bottle. We removed the Bimini and painted it on by brush. It is completely invisible and completely waterproof. You could go to sea in our bimini now. Highly recommended.

Ancient  Artefacts - No - Garden Centre

Marathos

M. At first, my impression of Patmos was of a dusty road and a noisy quay but a short wander along the road brought me to the little port village. It’s central square was lovely with vine covered tavernas providing a focus for groups of smartly dressed girls, old men and cool guys in shades , all being targeted by rampaging kids thundering past the the tables on bicycles, throwing firecrackers and little girls climbing the trees. A wander out of the centre took me into the
twisty twiny backstreets overflowing with bougainvillea,oleander and jasmine.
I think this is what is happening


 On our second day, I set off for a short walk in the opposite direction and arrived at a small unspoiled beach with emerald water. The sea temperature has warmed up to a pleasant temperature and swimming was fantastic. However I had just emerged from the surf [ think Ursula Andress] when my phone rang and Colin said ‘ get back here as quickly as you can … there’s mayhem going on here’
Sunrise at Marathos
As I arrived the regatta berthing carnage was going on, but it was all sorted out in the end without calamity. We swithered about hiking up to the monastery that dominates the skyline, surrounded by the chora, but decided to leave this for a return visit. One can be over monasteried. 





Why do goats stand on walls?
Because they think they're stones?
M. really close to old goat.
The pirate bay on Marathos was a tranquil gem...or at least it would have been had the large boat of blokes not piled in carousing from 5pm until the small hours. Their laughter however was accompanied by the symphony of goat bells … quite a happy mix. A walk round the island gave breathtaking views of the Aegean and surrounding islands. I visited the tiny church at the summit, guarded by some rather fierce looking goats, a waft of incense on the breeze mixed with wild thyme and juniper. Hot sun, and the cicadas have started up their constant buzz in the background… summer is here at last.



























































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