It’s a Small World

This morning the great idea of leaving Chalki port at 4:30am maybe wasn’t such a great idea. Zach and Andrew were gonna ease us out of there while the rest of us slumbered till a reasonable hour like 6am or so. The engines rumbled to life right on time, but when it came time to raise the anchor things went south. I heard the steady noise of the chain clunking its way into the anchor locker and then suddenly there was a grinding, angry noise, an anchor winch alarm and the sound of the electric winch powering out. I know that Heath and my eyes all flew wide open and he popped his head out of the hatch to find out what on earth was going on. By all appearances the anchor was fouled on something and it wasn’t shaking loose. Andrew ran it down and tried again and again to raise it, but no go. Zach kept the boat treading water, which wasn’t that difficult as it was a calm morning. By shining lights at the anchor, we could see that there was a heavy chain looped over the anchor. The ends of the chain were attached to a concrete pier on the bottom. We were very, very stuck and there was only one thing to do. Dive down and try to remove the chain. It sounds easy enough, but this particular port is about 35’ deep. The anchor could raise about 10’, but that still leaves a long way to dive! By this time Darwin had joined the four of us on deck, so Heath had a nice support group as he donned swim trunks and goggles and plunged in. It was dark as pitch out, but the lights that Darwin and Andrew held illuminated the whole area right down to the ocean floor. Have I mentioned the clear water?

Apparently the chain was huge, heavy and impossible to budge. Heath tried two or three times before giving up and deciding we should run a rope down, loop it around the chain, bring it back up the the boat and see if we could hold the chain in place while we lowered the anchor out from under the loop. Down the diver went again and the rope was affixed. Hopes were high, but nothing doing. We would have to run another rope on the other side, bring it to the opposite side of the boat and hopefully spread the chain loop apart and free the anchor that way. Heath got the rope down, but about that time said he absolutely didn’t have the breath left to drag it through and back up. He was rather done it. So, Bonnie to the rescue. I dragged her out of her cozy bed with the promise of an uncomfortable adventure and she willingly came, donned her swimming togs and shot down to take a look. After a couple tries she was able to get the rope led back to the boat and we lowered the anchor again, all holding our breath. It worked! We were free at last and only running about an hour late. It was very exhilarating for some of us and very exhausting for others. Kim had got up sometime during the fight and made hot tea for the shivering swimmers. It gets down to the mid 60’s at night, so a nighttime swim is not exactly toasty. For sure if you’re exhausted and feel like salt water has filled every crevice of your head. Heath’s face leaked salt water for hours! Altogether an interesting start to the day.

The journey back to Kos was 9 hours, so we decided to break it up with a stop at Tilos. What do you know, I fell in love with this Island too! How will I ever decide where I will eventually live? It truly is stunning. Off the regular tourist route, Tilos is pretty much an untouched gem. We took a 4.5 mile hike along the coast to a secluded beach. Honestly, probably one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. The trail wound up over cliff tops and hills and always the Sea was spread out below. Goats jumped on the rocks, little purple flowers were beginning to burst into bloom and shrubs with small white flowers scented the air with a delightful smell. The first part of the trail was on a small road that was lined with blooming trees, bougainvillea, lantana’s and palms. They sometimes made an arch overhead and you felt you were walking in paradise. It really can’t be described. You can come visit me there and see it with your own eyes. The town even had a bakery that produced delicious bugatsa, a Greek pastry that I would almost sell my birthright for.

The sail, or rather motor back was entirely uneventful. We slept, snacked and watched ferries. Some packing happened and a bit of cleaning. A spirit of melancholy hung over us and we tried and failed to overcome. Trip endings are just so sad.

Kos Harbor was a hectic place. It’s the base for several yacht charter companies, and all the boats have to be in by 6:00pm on Friday evening. Why all the companies do it the same beats me, but that’s the way it is. Charter from Saturday-Saturday, with all boats leaving and returning at the same time. Makes for an absolute whirlwind of activity, but then I guess they can lounge around the rest of the week. Andrew counted 166 boats in the harbor that evening, so that gives you a bit of an idea of the queues at the fuel docks and harbor entrance. You have to wait on a small pilot boat to lead you to your berth and we got our jollies watching them tear around, turning on a dime, sending up large walls of water just like a bunch of slalom skiers. Mike welcomed us back, was happy we’d fixed the leak and sorry about Dalen’s busted head. He couldn’t have cared less about the broken seat “just a piece of wood”.

We, along with half the other crews in the harbor, headed straight for the big beautiful marina showers. Man it felt good to luxuriate under the hot water and not worry about wasting water. There’s a strange phenomena among sailors. Almost 100% or the time, if you do fine on the boat with the motion, you go nearly nuts on land as the ground sways and shifts under you, tables tilt and if you’re stuck in front of a computer screen it for sure will sway back and forth. I end up taking more motion sick medicine on land after the sail than during. Hence, Bonnie and I felt fairly unsteady as we scrubbed and swished and later at supper it only continued.

Supper was a laugh in itself. We went to a little family run joint near port that had a good looking menu. What we didn’t know is that they were having their last day of the season Nov 1, so the pantry was bare. Almost everything we tried to order we were smilingly told it “wasn’t there”. The greek salad was seriously heavy on the tomatoes, so apparently they had lots of those left that they needed to get rid of. Regardless, we all got something and enjoyed ourselves to boot.

And then we had the final night on the boat. Bonnie, Sharon, Andrew and Zach left at 6:15am to catch their flight to Athens. Heath and I drove around a little and then flew off in a teeny little prop plane for our next adventure in Israel. Darwin’s family leaves in the evening.

And that’s it. Greece is done for another year, but here’s to hoping we’ll be back.