We spent quite a while at anchor in the bay which was cooler and easy to drop in for a swim off the back of the boat.

It also meant we didn’t need to watch Lily as much as we do when we are alongside. That said Myrini harbour was one of the more “safer” harbours in terms of traffic, although at night it has an extremely noisy and busy couple of hours “passagiata” which brought its own “cat dangers”

She’s now taken to napping in the hanging locker and needs to investigate everything that’s brought back on board.

 

We preferred to weather out the storm at anchor before moving into the quay for a while. The storm didn’t amount to anything near the one earlier in the season.

Now on the quay I took a turn of doing the laundry. Don’t see what all the fuss is about? It was a doddle, the laundrette even had free wifi and a coffee shop next door Pffft !

 

Talking of clean clothes Louise asked me one evening before going out how she looked? ………. and ….. I said “fresh” which I thought was acceptable no? Lol.

 

Louise looking fresh

There was a small 27ft Westerly berthed next to us which it turned out belonged to Steve, a very pucker gent from England, went to boarding school in a Bentley, though a rather sad childhood it appeared. He was a nice guy he had travelled down canals through Bulgaria & Romania to emerge onto the Black Sea then through Istanbul to the Med and Lemnos was his 1^st port of call in Greece. He didn’t have charts or a pilot of Greece so we let him copy ours.

He made good Gin & Tonics that we polished off one night on Camira and in return we went out to a taverna another.

 

Steve and a fat bloke (diet starts soon !)

Lily joined in having the sardines that would regularly jump out the water onto the boat.

 

We left Samothraki on the 19^th August to head south back down 34 miles or so to Lemnos.

This time we were planning to anchor on the north coast before sailing around to Mirini.

The passage SSW to Lemnos

The Seajet ferry leaving Samothraki didn’t half kick up a wake, all the boats lurched about straining at their  mooring ropes.

   

Wash from the Seajet Ferries

On clearing the headland outside Kamariotissa we were met with a large swell from the NE on our beam. This was to be a feature of our sailing around these parts, not dangerous, but uncomfortable.

I see from the log we were underway for over 8 hours and 3 of them motor sailing.

We anchored in Ormos Hefaistia a small inlet off the larger bay Ormos Pournias.

Picture from the pilot of  1st anchorage (top middle) and 2nd anchorage (top left).

The beach on Ormos Hefaistia was a kite surfing Mecca. Some of the surfers were fantastic, if just a little too fast and too close to the boat at times.

It was a largish inlet but shallow so we had to anchor quite far out. We didn’t bother going ashore as there seemed only to be a type of “Cantina” Taverna that shut quite early in the evening presumably after the surfers had returned to their tents and campervans. The ancient site & amphitheatre of the same name was at the south of the bay.

The pilot book said reasonable shelter from the Meltemi and that was all it was, a bit of swell crept in, but not enough to prevent us staying two nights.

All in all quite stunning.

    

Sunset Ormos Hefaistia

It was now Wednesday and we were expecting strong winds at the weekend so we started to make our way back towards Mirini.

Just past the cape (Mourtzeflos) at the NW of the island there is a small sheltered bay just under the sand bar. This was our 2^nd anchorage stop on Lemnos. There was a French boat in when we arrived but he headed off in the afternoon and helpfully pointed out the better sandy bit he had been in so we moved over a wee bit.

Wolfgang & Renate had looked in earlier before we arrived but were getting conflicting depths from their chart plotters so decided to give it a miss. We also didn’t have any detail on our plotters but just felt our way in using the depth gauge. The pilot clearly showed it as an anchorage so we thought it should be OK. There was a shallow patch but we felt it was far enough away. The holding was very good & the anchor was well in . It was completely “black” dark at night – no transits whatsoever. Good stars though.

In the morning we were woken up by a fast rib circling us with what could only be described as the Greek equivalent of the SBS armed to the teeth. Having eyeballed us they took off again, presumably looking for refugees. We heard later that it costs about 5,000 Euros a head to come across to Greece so presumably they are on the lookout for boats illegally transporting migrants?

   

The anchorage late afternoon, you can see the sandbar to the right of the wee house

  

….. and in the morning  ….. and leaving. The dip in the distance is the sandbar.

Its now Thursday 22nd August and we made our way 7 miles to Mirini where we anchored off in the harbour  at 11:00 in the morning with 30m of chain. Perhaps may need a bit more later?

Samothrace in ancient times was the island home of the mystery cult of The Great Gods, whose initiation rites promised divine protection at sea. The identity and nature of the Samothracian Great Gods remain enigmatic. Ancient writers often referred to them as the Kabeiri. The power of the Kabeiri throughout the ancient world ensured Samothraki an independent existence through the Greek struggles until late into the Roman period.

As they had a soft spot for sailors it seemed only prudent to pay the site a visit.

The ruins of the ancient temple city lie on a rocky ridge amongst wild olives and maquis. I can honestly say it was the best site I have visted even better than the Acropolis for me.

I had the place to myself and you could imagine just what it must have been like, it was fantastic.

  

The entrance & dining hall

 

The Stoa

     

The rotunda of Arsinoe & the Hall of Choral dancers and an impression of what it would have been like in the last picture

  

The site of the Sacred Stone

The afternoon I visited Profit Illios, a village high up in the hills with a view to going back there that night to a taverna that got a good write up. However there were road works and & a diversion that going back through in the dark might have proved a wee bit risky, even for the “Barry Sheene” in me. I’m now no longer in my 20’s with a Kawasaki 900.

So unfortunately Louise had to make do with pictures I took at it when I stopped for a coffee.

                

Profit Illios

I decided to hire a scooter for a couple of days to see the island.

Louise was keen to see the Chora, the little village nestling in the rocks under the fortress, 6 km up the hill from the port. We planned to have dinner there but she’s not too keen on long distances because her knees get very stiff after a while.

So it was a day & a bit of boy’s toys.

I had planned just travelling around the island  before picking Louise up at lunchtime and the following morning visiting the Sanctuary of the Great Gods.

The roads were remarkably good which was excellent as it allowed reasonable speeds I was normally not allowed to go at!

1^st was up to the fortress. You can only get so far by transport then it’s on foot through the old cobbled alleyways.

                  

The fortress & village

Next was up the coast to Scala Therma where allegedly you could take your boat in, but only after you checked with the coastguard back in Kamariatissa if it was safe to do so. I didn’t bother! The entrance was about 1 foot deep at best. Very nice though.

Scala Therma & harbour

The village of Therma itself with its hot springs and new age hippy community lies 700m south of the harbour. I’m sure I saw Swampy, the tree hugger from the 80’s there.

     

Therma & the New Age Hippies

Then it was off to the end of the island on my very own route 66 before returning to the boat to pick Louise up for a wee trip to the south of the island then dinner

  

End of the road it just runs out at the beach, Turkey in the distance

   

Pre dinner explore

    

Dinner up the Chora

Then back to the boat in the dark where Lily was rewarded for her time alone with a plastic bag & a bit of bungy, lol

 

Until recently Samothraki has not had a secure harbour and has remained a solitary island shrouded in mystery. It’s a forbidding looking place, a gigantic lump of marble rising up to 5,200 ft at the summit of Mount Fengari.

Ak (Cape) Akrotiri forms a shallow bay in which the harbour of Kamariotissa nestles. It is essentially a small fishing hamlet and the ferry port for Samothraki.

It has the usual smattering of tavernas, mini markets and scooter hire places. It’s a nice wee village from which to explore the rest of the island, which we plan to do later.

    

Harbour views and Camira’s washing oot to dry !

 

The main street & church

 

“Ach” he’s still not open !

“Ah well , just wake me when he opens then”

14th August

Next passage was 23 miles back northwards to Port Lagos. We wanted to visit here because it looked interesting for the canal like entrance and the surrounding wetlands that we planned to visit for see the wild birdlife. Louise will no doubt be ecstatic.

It would also be a better kick off point back southwards to Samothraki Island.

    

The canal entrance approach and lagoon

   

The quayside and surrounds

We arrived just after 16:00 and tied up near the boatyard. The boatyard owner let us use his electricity saying we could settle up when we left (as planned!) in 3 to 4 days time.

As it turns out we left the very next day which was such a pity as the place seemed so quiet & inviting and the people so friendly.

Unfortunately however Lily had returned to the boat without her tracker collar that evening which we traced to a wire fence she had obviously scampered under.

Later that night we think we knew the reason. There were packs of wild dogs roaming nearby. We didn’t think it would be a safe place to let her run free.

So after a brief stay we left the next day.

Both the boat yard owner and the port police took no money for the night’s stay or electricity.

Renate & Wolfgang however had a difficult time with the port police as they wanted to leave but the port police couldn’t take the money until the next day and they were banning them from leaving! It got sorted in the end but just shows it just depends who you get.

It was a shame we couldn’t stay longer but Samothraki here we come.

It is 36 miles south to Samothraki  we left at 10:45 and arrived at 19:30 we had to motor sail 5 hours. It was a horrible passage

On one of our sailing spells a bigger faster Austrian boat was passing us and their little dog must have heard us shouting across to one another and rushed up from the cabin and dived off the back of the boat !

One of the Austrian crew dived in the water as his boat kept going. We hove too but he shouted all was OK and his boat was now turning back to him. The little dog was now on his shoulders . We waited anyhow until we saw them picked up. They understandably headed back north presumably to let the wee thing recuperate .

We made our mind up then we would need to get a float for Lily in the same situation she wouldn’t sit on my shoulders

Approaching Kamariotissa , Samothraki

We arrived to find the small quay side bunged and everyone averting their eyes in case you asked to raft alongside them , lol.

I picked a largish chartered yacht with no one aboard and we tied up to that.

Couldn’t have chosen better – the young skipper on his return was charm itself. His name was Amon ( His mum was hippyish and named him after the Egyptian sun god) . We invited him on board Camira for a drink.

After 3 bottles of wine and a couple of whisky’s we said our good nights – they were leaving at 06:00 so an early start for us all !!. He was studying for his Yactmaster and was over the moon when we gave hime a copy of the RYA handbook. Wish him well a really nice guy, but he owes me a charger dongle ….  bugger forgot to give it back ! lol.

  

Drinks on Camira

On Thursday 8^th August we decided to head back to Thassos and the main port Thassos town at the north of the island.

We motor sailed from the anchorage to the exit of the bay at “Sardine Beach”, (the most crammed in beach we have ever seen) to get a better wind angle for crossing back to the island.

It was a nice gentle sail but a bit more wind would have been perfect, but Siga Siga. In the end we changed our destination as we got more & more headed by the wind and went back to anchor in Ormos Prinos. A good wee sail 5 hours. Lily, as expected, finaly discovered the boom during her mad hour at dusk.

   

Sunset Ormos Prinos, Thassos

On the Saturday we completed the final distance to Thassos town. Renate & Wolfgang were there and we also met new sailors Fergus & Ali from Aviemore.

    

The ancient harbour and surrounds

I liked Thassos town but I think Louise found it a bit too touristy. She had had in her mind that Thassos Island would be deserted. The closeness to the mainland and the numerous ferries make it an easy and busy destination.

I climbed all the way up to a promised spectacular view from the ancient amphitheatre only to find it closed for renovation! Need to treat myself to a beer when I get back down!

 

The climb

The view from the beer

View from the back ofthe boat, lol

  

Thassos town by night & Renate

After 4 enjoyable days we again decided to head north to the mainland, this time further east to Port Lagos. We are getting closer to Turkey all the time so Istanbul may yet be an option?

It came close tonot being an option for Lily though. She decided to stowaway under the dingy of a departing Italian Yacht. Only Louise’s eagle eyes averted the illegal passenger. maybe she wants to be like the cartoon cat “Garfield” who eats lasagne?

After a couple of days on the 2nd August we decided to head to the mainland 15 miles or so NW.

The water is not very deep up here and has shoaling water all the way east to the Greek border with Turkey, perhaps the reason for the gas platforms, and the many flat bottomed ferries that ply their trade in the strait between Thassos and the mainland that you need to dodge.

Elevtheron Bay itself is quite large and has an impressive Castle at its western end, the tourist resort town of Nea Perama on the long beach in the middle and a fishing wharf and boat yard at the eastern end. This affords the best shelter from the prevailing winds so it was here we anchored.

   

Anchorage Elevtheron Bay

A lot of the northern resorts are now frequented by Bulgarians & Romanians. Some of the Greeks we got talking too were not so enamoured with this change. They do seem a bit blunt and ill mannered but perhaps that is just a hangover from coming out of a communist regime. In discussion with Paul later he reckoned it was because no one used to talk to each other in those parts in the old days. However Louise learned to say “Good Morning “in Romanian on Google and surprised the people on another boat the next day. They were delighted and really friendly, so I guess just like everywhere you’ve got good uns and bad uns.

It wasn’t too far a walk into Perama past the boatyard.

         

Nea Perama

We had lunch in Perama and got talking to an Italian at the next table who was married to a Romanian. Both his wife and mother in law were with him. All he ordered was fish and vegetables, Mussels, Calamari, Fish & loads of it! He was giggling his way through it all while explaining to us how the mother in law hated fish & vegetables and only liked meat, it was hilarious the look on her face as each dish was brought out, lol.

The engine water pump had developed a leak and needed to be rebuilt with new seals. The nearest big town was Kavala only 8 miles further along were I was likely to get the bits I needed.

 

Approach & view of Kavala from Pontoon

It’s a strange set up in Kavala – the “Yacht Club” is private and in the centre of town. However one outer pontoon is supposedly for visitors, but you don’t pay the yacht club rather the Port Police in a building some distance away in the centre. I tried unsuccessfully to pay on three separate occasions but eventually gave up.

We bumped into Renate & Wolfgang who had somehow managed to secure a prized inside berth, but only for one night until they too were turfed out onto the poor man’s pontoon. “Sorry it’s difficult – the marina is private” but no one ever took up these “private” berths.

The chandlers in Kavala was marvelous. He had the parts ordered up and delivered in 3 hours! Fantastic service

We really liked Kavala and it was such a pity we would have stayed a whole lot longer had it not been for the berth which was untenable when the high speed ferry arrived and departed. We felt sorry for the owners of a lovely Halberg Rassy from Troon that had been left while they had presumably gone home. I wouldn’t have been happy leaving it there.

Heading out to explore Kavala in the early evening and  find somewhere to eat.

     

We happened on a restaurant by accident we liked the look of and got the last street side table. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in Greece and later had people queuing for a place. Lucky find – it turned out the No. 1 on trip advisor.

     

Night out in Kavala

On Wednesday 7^th having rebuilt the pump and changed the oil we headed back to Elevtheron with the hope of anchoring under the castle this time. However the wind direction wasn’t suitable so after a trip around the bay we fetched back up in “Fish Corner”