Camilla Ransom
After another peaceful nights sleep we left Vlicho bay, turned the corner and headed south towards Vathy which is about half way down the east side of the island of Ithaca. We’re planning on going through the Corinth Canal in a few weeks so we wanted to start heading south, so Ithaca looked like a nice stop about 20 miles away. Clear of the bay we hoisted the main sail which flapped casually in the apparent wind as we motored along the east side Lefkas island into open water. About 6 or 7 boats were trying their best to sail despite the light winds but weren’t getting anywhere fast. We started to get hungry as we cleared the island and with still no wind I made lunch. As we were eating our sandwiches the wind seemed to build a little so we parked food and unfurled the foresail. We’d been too optimistic. There was bugger all wind so we furled it in again and continued motoring.
Sitting on deck staring aimlessly out to sea we noticed the beginnings of a breeze about half a mile away. With not much else to do we started beckoning it over, literally with our arms. Well it worked and within 5 minutes we had the genoa out again and were sailing, on our slow tack and away from where we actually needed to go, but hey at least we were sailing – we could tack later. For reasons still unbeknown to us we’re frustratingly slower on one tack than the other. By now we had 15 knots of westerly wind but were doing a measly 4 knots of boat speed. Looking south it looked like we should clear the small island so we tacked and started to head towards our destination.
Much better – now we were going somewhere! Trouble was we were going a bit too fast, doing well over 7 knots with Bini properly heeled over. The helm was starting to feel heavy and we were “rounding up” into the wind. This basically is when the wind overpowers the ability of the rudder to keep a straight course and happens when you’ve too much sail up. We had a consistent 20/25 knots now so we put in one reef and continued on our way. To say we were flying along is an understatement. It was literally the fastest sail we’ve ever had on Bini. I was having a blast at the helm but we were right on the edge of being in control so although it was fun it was also rather nerve-racking.
We flew past Arkoudi (despite the screenshot showing us going right over it!) and into what we thought would be the lee of Ithaki island. Instead of dropping off the wind continued to blow as it came rolling off the hills. With about an hour to go before reaching Vathy we realised we’d failed to do our homework in order to understand the bay. Frankly we’d completely failed to do our homework at all for this passage as we’d definitely not expected these strong W / NW winds and the anchorage we’d picked wasn’t going to be very protected. This is so unlike us as we usually plan each trip with military precision! Lesson learnt.
Tom left the cockpit to go into the cabin in search of the pilot book but just as he did a huge 30 knot gust pulled the boat right into the wind, so much so that we completely stalled. With the helm right over trying to steer us back on course the wind filled our sails and we were back thundering along. This happened a few more times and we quickly needed to do something to get us back under control. What though? Putting in a second reef felt a bit too perilous, as did dropping the main so we opted (rightly or wrongly) to furl away the headsail and sail under main alone. For months now our genoa has been refusing to behave when being furled in and out but today Tom was having none of it and brute forced it around the forestay.
We turned down the mile long passage between the two parts of the island hoping that surely the wind would drop, It didn’t. Big gusts again rolled off the hills but with just the main up we were in much better shape. We dropped the main before heading into the bay which was pretty painless, and motored in. The wind was blowing right in behind us but we didn’t fancy trying to find another anchorage so dropped anchor in the big spacious bay. Tom bravely dived in to see whether he could see it, but it was too muddy but we did seem to be holding. With Tom showered we slumped in the cockpit, exhausted but exhilarated. What a day!
The wind blew relentlessly all evening which was making the poor boats moored against the quay very uncomfortable so one by one we were joined in the anchorage. There wasn’t any let up by the time we went to bed so we thought we were in for a sleepless night. Somehow we both dropped off, waking up every few hours to check on the anchor alarm. We weren’t going anywhere.
Having showers on our boat takes some getting used to. If we’ve run the engine for a few hours our little heater heats up 18 litres of water which is just about enough for us both to have a warm shower. Thing is the water only stays hot for about 10 hours so by morning it’s cold. Last year we were merrily having mini showers after our swims but this year it’s still mostly trouser and jumper weather so cold showers are not at all appealing (especially to me!). In Greece we’re finding that many towns offer showering facilities, and in Vathy we found some lovely ones in the laundrette (obviously). Feeling refreshed we went for lunch then came back to the boat for a nap, dinner, and to write our very overdue Captain’s Log.
Klingt ganz schön gefährlich?