Camilla Ransom
Monday
We decided last night to leave for Symi this morning. According to the forecast the first half of the sail would be windy (20/25 knots) but it’d die down as we passed south of the Turkish coastline. Our alternative was to wait until Tuesday when the wind was supposed to drop off but neither of us fancied another restless day sitting it out at anchor.
The alarm went off at 0530 but we were both awake already having had a restless nights sleep due to an annoying beam-on swell. After coffee and a quick breakfast we set off towards Symi, with both sails up and two reefs tucked in. We had an energetic first 23 miles, sailing at 6-7 knots in a 25 knot breeze. As we approached the Turkish coastline we saw yachts coming towards us, either with full sails up, or none at all. This told us we’d soon lose the wind and within a few hundred meters it dropped off so on came the engine. With the autopilot on steering duty we watched the yachts go by, looking at our small sail plan probably wondering what conditions they were heading into. A few merrily continued beyond the headland with full sails up and through the binoculars we watched as their boats heeled right over having been overpowered by a big gust of wind. Time for a reef chaps 🙂
We motored the rest of the 30 miles to Symi which was actually quite nice for a change. Time does however seem to slow right down when you’re under engine as it felt like hours before we were heading through the narrow and shallow channel between Nimos and Symi island. As we came through the gap we saw Symi town from a distance which looked beautiful with its colourful houses which made it look more Italian than Greek. We were originally planning on anchoring in the south of the island but with news that a friend would also be on Symi tomorrow we agreed to meet in Pedi anchorage just to the south of the main town.
We were incredibly pleased we did as Pedi was stunning. The entrance was a mile long with high cliffs either side and at the end was a smattering of colourful houses, a couple of waterfront tavernas and a fantastic view of the town. We’d heard from many people that the holding wasn’t great and as we were coming in a few boats who’d tried but failed to get their anchors to set were heading out. Not great for them but it worked out pretty well for us as we were able to find a decent spot tucked away to one side. Our anchor set first time and having given it a few thousand revs on the engine we were as confident as we could be that it would hold.
In the evening we went ashore for dinner overlooking the bay where we were entertained by a family of adorable ginger kittens play fighting around our ankles.
Tuesday
On Tuesday we got up early to fly the drone, the amazing sunrise was too pretty to not try to capture! After breakfast we walked into town which was roasting hot. The route took us along the “main” road (not all that pretty) then up into the town and down the other side through the winding lanes and into the port. On our way we were accosted by an old lady selling herbs and being the sucker I am I got talked into buying a huge bag (which we’ll probably never use) for the princely sum of 10 Euros. Oh well, they smell amazing!
The town itself was gorgeous but absolutely seething with people! I remembered the chat I’d had with my Dad the night before about his last visit to Symi in the early 80’s. Back then he said he and my Mum were lucky if they saw one other boat! Today, there was zero room on any of the quays and a few yachts were circling around hopefully in case a space became available. The traffic too was ridiculous and when the ferry came in it was total gridlock.
By now we were hungry so walked around to the slightly quieter side of the bay and had a nice breakfast before continuing our wander where away from the port it was a lot quieter. After about an hour (armed with a fredo cappuccino and some fresh bread) walked back to the boat where the peacefulness and tranquility of the bay were a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the town. We had a little afternoon nap then met up with our friend for a lovely dinner.
