The last sailing legs of the season started early Saturday morning at 04:20 on 30th September with the longest leg to Samos. Originally we planned to head for Ormos Marina at the west end of Samos about 55 miles give or take but due to a wind shift we changed our mind at 06:30 and altered course to head round the east end of Samos and anchor in Posidonio bay.
Original planned & final actual passage to Samos
We had wind and a good sail until 14:40 after which quite an uncomfortable motor sail for an hour until the wind picked up again and we could use the genoa. We arrived in Posidonio at 17:30 tired after a long 13 hour passage. It was surprisingly busy in the anchorage for the time of year.
Posidonio 1st October 2023.
Still unsure of our winter storage plans for the boat, on 5th October after 4 days in Posidonio we headed for Ormos marina to get prices from Aris who has a boatyard in Karlovassi. I had cleared the fouled log – but note to self – it still seems to be reading a bit off. It was a nice downwind sail with the wind blowing out of Turkey behind us. We arrived and tied up alongside at just after 15:00 in the afternoon. We did get a very attractive price from Antonio (Aris’s son) but on balance although Samos marina would be a good bit more expensive the cost of driving to Karlovassi regularly for maintenance would off set that difference somewhat (see later posts on the driving, lol!) but the real clincher was just the ease of access from the house in Mytilini to the marina.
Decision made, after a BBQ with Mark, Sonia, Nicolas, Stefan and others, a few days later we set off on our final passages that year around the northern Dodecanese.
Originally straight south to Patmos in a lovely downwind sail but after 40 minutes the wind died & then came back from a totally different direction. We were rocking & rolling all over the place so we altered course to Agathonisi. When we arrived it was really starting to blow outside but in the anchorage only 9 or 10 knots. We stayed there until the 9th October in lovely end of season weather.
Agathonisi scenes
Hugh & Cherry arrived near the end of our stay and we managed to fit in a drink on their boat & a meal with them in George’s
Hugh & Cherry in Agathonisi
On 9th October with it blowing a bit we reefed down and headed out towards & through the Arki channel on our way to Patmos and good old Gerimou anchorage.
24 miles covered and a cracking sail today with only just under 20 minutes of engine used lifting & setting the anchor.
We had the usual trips to the taverna & into Patmos town & bumped into Albert who happened to be blindly swimming past the boat having come from his house in Skala Patmos on his bike for a day out at the beach.
Albert on Camira in Gerimou
A deserted Gerimou anchorage
Skala Patmos with Nicolas & Albert
It’s the 12th October now and the penultimate passage & island of the season, Lipsi was just 12 miles away and a couple of hours sailing found us anchored in lovely Kouloura Bay.
Yet again we had the usual visits:
To my favourite ouzeri in the harbour, Manaolis Taste’s restaurant up the hill and a new wine bar also on the harbour side. Louise not having been drinking for a long time was the worse for wear after a few gin & tonics one boozy afternoon in the wine bar Casa di Vino.
Kouloura Bay & the walk in to town
Morning coffee stop by the harbour
A night in the ouzeri
Rounded off with an expensive & boozy meze afternoon in the wine bar
We were able to move into the house on the 15th of October this year and we had both had enough sailing by now, so on Saturday the 14th we headed back to Agathonisi just to split the journey up, but to a different anchorage called Ormos Palon this time. There was another German yacht there & I don’t think they were too happy about us joining them, however it was only for one night as we were planning completing the final 15 miles of the season to Samos marina early in the morning and getting settled in the house by that evening.
Fotis & Yianis had arranged for a car to be left that morning at the marina and at 09:50 the sailing for that year was ended as we berthed in our usual spot on pontoon C just along from Marcos.
