The Saronikos

We are already in Navplion (at the North end of the Argolikos gulf, the east most gulf of the Peloponnesus), waiting for Yael’s parents to join us tomorrow.

Follows, are some of our adventures till Hydra. The rest will follow on a separate post.

Eyal

As the Ferry boat approached Aegina, we started looking for Princess Nayeli in the marina. We were anxious to see the damage that was caused by a careless skipper who caught our railing with his gangway while trying to maneuver out of his berth on our port side.

We spent the first day in preparing the boat, making a temporary fix to the railing and jell coat (with the help of Maltezos brothers), buying provisions, and just getting used to this change in mind set at the beginning of our sailing season.

Naama and I spent the next 3 days, sailing in great winds, anchoring in bays and having a great time.

The one bay that I must point out is Dhorussa bay on Agistri Island. We got there around 5pm and Naama asked if we can go somewhere else. We enjoyed the sailing so much that we didn’t want it to end so quickly. We debated while sailing along the coast of Agistri till enough time had passed that we could turn around and drop an anchor in Dhorussa bay. The bay is just amazing. It gets to 11m depth very quickly so you can run a short line to the rocks. Naama did great in tying the boat and then while swimming in the crystal clear water, we could see everything on the bottom 11m underneath. The anchor and chain were totally visible, although the anchor looked rather small from the distance.

Time passed so quickly, and then on Thursday, we anchored in Aegina again, next to the Hydrofoil quay to wait for Yael, Noga and Yasmin.

Next stop was Methana with the sulfur bubbling from the bottom of the harbor. The weather was very hot in Methana, the wind doesn’t make its way in, and the whole town smells like a rotten egg. As apposed to what people say, fouling does build up on boats here…

We spent Friday at the pier of Poros town. It really is a beautiful town. We were lucky to get there early on Friday. Later in the evening, all berths were full, mainly by Athenian boats coming down there for the weekend.

After another bay and a short stop in Ermioni for water (the Egyptian waterman is still there), we sailed to the famous Hydra. The town is a gem and it takes you centuries back. No cars, motorbikes or bicycles are allowed in Hydra. Fresh provisions arrive on small boats from the mainland, and then loaded on mules that take them to the shops and restaurants.

On the flip side, this town accommodates so many tourists, Greek and others. The harbor is packed with boats, with an endless number of taxi boats and ferry boats coming and going all the time keeping the water choppy.

We arrived early in the afternoon, and could find a berth in this small harbor next to another Israeli boat who was slowly returning from the med red journey.

It was clear that I can’t leave the boat here unattended, so I relaxed in the cockpit with a beer and some watermelon while Yael was wondering around with Naama.

Not much time passed before a 65’ sailing yacht entered the port and was planning to berth next to us. As they were motoring back into the berth on our port side, they seemed to be going far off Princess Nayeli so I went down to the quay to take a line from them.

Naama came by and asked me if I don’t want to be on board to make sure they don’t bump into us. I told her to go instead and fortunately she did. Within an instant – they started drifting left, pushing her aft straight into our starboard side. We were lucky to have Naama there. The woman on the other boat started telling her “don’t panic, don’t panic”. But Naama knew what was about to happen. I jumped on board to help her as they pushed hard on our side. We didn’t notice that our anchor started dragging, and with some help from the waves – we hit the quay!

We both jumped astern, leaving the side unattended, Naama taking care of the aft and I started the engine quickly to get us away from the quay.

Eventually they gave up and left the port, leaving us with some damage to the aft and starboard side.

The port police went out to sea, looking for them, but they quickly came back with no findings.

Eventually, the next morning the owner came to visit us with his dinghy and fortunately we were able to settle, and get to an agreement with no police or insurance involvement.

After a day in Hydra – you need at least a week to relax in some deserted bay, which is what we did the next morning.

The link below will take you to this Summer's pictures:

Princess Nayeli summer 2009