Nisiros to Leros

Today was going to be a long day.

We planned to get right back up to the far side of Leros before some threatened weather from the south set in. So we couldn’t afford to meander back up.

The plan was Plakouti bay again which would offer good protection from southerly winds. There was also Partheni, a big bay (3) at the very north of Leros before Plakouti (Chk Flag), if needs be.

I am laughing at just under 50 miles being considered a big day, given our previous two & three days / nights at sea passages in previous years.

We are getting soft.

Never the less it was a trial to get Lily back in for our planned 08:00 start, but luckily we did and we were off.

Almost 10 hours and most of it motor sailing! We did however manage to pole out the genoa for a wee while so not all bad news.

Nicolas was well ahead of us and at 16:00 had already arrived in Plakouti. It was apparently very busy. He had also caught a fish , as yet we had not and it was to remain that way.

At first I couldn’t understand why so busy, surely the cruising should be winding down by now for most ?

I think the reason was the proximity of the two Leros marinas plus the two yards that offered lifting out for the winter. This was probably a last stop for a lot of people just enjoying the tail end of the season.

We decided to try Partheni rather than risk not getting in to Plakouti and having to double back in the dark. We were still estimating about 2 hours away at that time.

In the end we risked it and headed to Plakouti. It was indeed busy, 15 boats but we managed to squeeze in, and anchored just off the beach.

Heading towards Kos in the morning, flat sea