Next day we headed up to Porto Heli. Unfortunately, there was no useful wind most of the way although we did get a couple of hours sail at the end. We had our usual excellent anchorage and were able to relax and have a good nights sleep.
We planned to go to Hydra the next day and - being so small and crowded, wanted to get there early so we had a crack of dawn start. We were there by 11.00, all tied up and looking forward to a day there culminating in a good dinner at a taverna. Hydra is a charming little town on a steep and sparsely populated island - with no motorised land transport - just donkeys and hand carts. The harbour is very small and crowded and unfortunately was too difficult for Meandrer who, after a valiant attempt, bailed out and headed for Poros. We we untied and headed there too. We ended up having an excellent meal at the Posidonia taverna so all was well. We stayed Sunday too as Alex and Emma had to get back home via Athens - I took the opportunity to draw and paint the Taverna.
The next day was Monday and off we went to the excellent chandler - the best I know in the Aegean. He managed to get an open cell domestic battery for David and new mooring warps for us from Athens that evening. We spent the day and night in Russian bay - just taking Rosa in to the quay in Poros for a few minutes to pick up the goods. We were moored next to a lovely little wooden yacht and I took another opportunity to paint - which came out surprisingly well.
On Tuesday May 1st, we motored round to Palaia Epidavros (not a breath of wind). We initially went on the quay and were met by the port police who asked us to report to them after 1700. We then found that the amphitheater wasn't open (a May 1st strike apparently) and since it was hot and a bit sticky, we joined Meanderer in the anchorage - a very good move as it was cooler and we could swim.
After lunch we were joined by a small charter yacht who laid their anchor to the bitter end which then plopped into the sea and disappeared! It seems that the charter company hadn't bothered to tie it on. They needed a hands so we tied their boat onto Rosa then all spent a happy two hours dredging his chain up with dinghy anchors - a surprisingly difficult task when the chain is too deep to see. In the evening we went off to the port police and to my great surprise were charged for swinging at our own anchor. Only €3.81 but stuck in the craw a bit.
Early next morning, we left for the short run to Korfos - yet again no wind. We swung at anchor with the idea of getting off early next day to go through the canal. After a peaceful night, we weighed anchor at 0700 only to find that it was heavily encased in a fisherman's net. It took an hour to cut it free all the time alternately drifting close to shore and motoring backwards (dragging the net) to get into deep water - with heart in mouth in case we got the damned thing round the prop. With hind-sight, I should have dropped the kedge after the first motoring session.
The canal passage was smooth and efficient although expensive. We were lucky that huge floating crane completed its passage and came out just as we got there or else we would have been waiting for hours.
That evening, together with Gilly and David, we had been invited to dinner with some very posh friends of theirs so we pulled into Corinth. We rafted up on the only hammerhead and hired a car for only €30 from a nice greek car hire company.
We had dinner with Nicolas Egon who is a famous artist (This is one of his pictures) and his wife Matty who owns a major Greek shipping company. Both were delightful company and we had a really memorable evening. Nicholas uses a technique of water color overlaid with pastel to give detail and brightness. I'm definitely going to give it a go.
We planned to go to Hydra the next day and - being so small and crowded, wanted to get there early so we had a crack of dawn start. We were there by 11.00, all tied up and looking forward to a day there culminating in a good dinner at a taverna. Hydra is a charming little town on a steep and sparsely populated island - with no motorised land transport - just donkeys and hand carts. The harbour is very small and crowded and unfortunately was too difficult for Meandrer who, after a valiant attempt, bailed out and headed for Poros. We we untied and headed there too. We ended up having an excellent meal at the Posidonia taverna so all was well. We stayed Sunday too as Alex and Emma had to get back home via Athens - I took the opportunity to draw and paint the Taverna.
The next day was Monday and off we went to the excellent chandler - the best I know in the Aegean. He managed to get an open cell domestic battery for David and new mooring warps for us from Athens that evening. We spent the day and night in Russian bay - just taking Rosa in to the quay in Poros for a few minutes to pick up the goods. We were moored next to a lovely little wooden yacht and I took another opportunity to paint - which came out surprisingly well.
After lunch we were joined by a small charter yacht who laid their anchor to the bitter end which then plopped into the sea and disappeared! It seems that the charter company hadn't bothered to tie it on. They needed a hands so we tied their boat onto Rosa then all spent a happy two hours dredging his chain up with dinghy anchors - a surprisingly difficult task when the chain is too deep to see. In the evening we went off to the port police and to my great surprise were charged for swinging at our own anchor. Only €3.81 but stuck in the craw a bit.Early next morning, we left for the short run to Korfos - yet again no wind. We swung at anchor with the idea of getting off early next day to go through the canal. After a peaceful night, we weighed anchor at 0700 only to find that it was heavily encased in a fisherman's net. It took an hour to cut it free all the time alternately drifting close to shore and motoring backwards (dragging the net) to get into deep water - with heart in mouth in case we got the damned thing round the prop. With hind-sight, I should have dropped the kedge after the first motoring session.
The canal passage was smooth and efficient although expensive. We were lucky that huge floating crane completed its passage and came out just as we got there or else we would have been waiting for hours.
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