Sunday, September 03, 2017

Pera Pigadia to Vathy, Ithaka

Safe in Vathi "marina" 
The bbq on Pera Pigadia with the music, singing and shouting lasted until midnight but then around two in the morning, south wind came up and one of the boats dragged anchor. Once again there was shouting and motoring around. And before dawn, the fishermen headed out to sea.
So, I didn't sleep well. It happens. some nights are very peaceful and others disturbed by noise, wind, bright lights. Just like living in a house except for the rocking and rolling on the sea.
Most of the time, I love living on the water, but in September, every front or thunder cloud on the horizon could mean a nasty storm, so I worry. And so, this morning, even though I was tired and the wind shifted to the north which is where I wanted to go, I decided to head to sheltered waters of Vathi Bay.
I did try to sail, but once again, the wind died and only picked up when I was almost there. I had my workout as usual of raising sails, reefing, taking out reefs and furling sails again. Good aerobic, and weight lifting exercises.
About two hours later, I finally arrived and found a spot on the quay in the northeast corner of the bay, next to Dimitri's Taverna. 
The eastern, sheltered part of the quay has seen some improvements recently and more of it is taken up by fishing and tour boats as well as a few sailboats that seem to be without owners on board. The more exposed, western part is too deep for my stern anchor and is often occupied by flotilla boats.
I found a place that was empty and dropped my stern anchor about four boat-lengths away, then motored slowly towards the quay. A man on a Belgian boat nearby took my bow lines, put them around two bollards and then passed them back, so that I could release them from the boat for when I wanted to leave. I was very tired but safe.
He then told me that the space I was in and the one next to it were reserved for a tour boat and a power boat but I was too tired to move again. I desperately needed a nap. I hope I can stay here for a few days to re-provision and re-couperate.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Keep writing about it. It's fascinating.

Barbara Molin said...

Thank you.