Cruising the Saronic Gulf

What a thrill it was to see the yellow taxi appear around the bend, and emerging from it the smiling faces of Kathy, Leonie and bag boy extraordinaire Steve, ready for ten days of respite from the southern winter sailing the Greek islands aboard Common Sense. Terry and I had spent a couple of days at Zea Marina in Piraeus getting the boat ready – and I would like to give the place a plug for its excellent services and much more reasonable rates than the marinas further to the south-east, which appear to be targeting the superyacht market (40 euros per night at Zea vs 175 at Glifadha!).  Zea has very competent docking guys who escort you into your slip with their dinghy, friendly, helpful reception staff, clean showers and a list of good recommended boat services. Robert, the electrician who finally fixed our dodgy wind generator, was outstanding.

Once everyone had settled in and started to come to terms with our limited space, non-existent privacy and the vagaries of gas systems and marine toilets, we took to the streets of Piraeus for the traditional perpata, along with a few thousand Athenians. Dinner at a small family restaurant was an introduction to such delights as the traditional Greek salad, tsatziki dip, zucchini fritters, cheese pies and excellent beer for 2.50 for a 500 ml glass. This was an experience repeated many times in tavernas, with the addition of fresh calamari, souvlaki, moussaka, beetroot salad, octopus and other fresh and delicious foods.

 

The next day was spent preparing in earnest, filling up our tanks with water and fuel and shopping for provisions in the five storey Carrefours supermarket, an experience in itself. In the afternoon we swam at the local beach – an unattractive setting and stony ground (making the Elle McPherson walk down to the sea a total impossibility: it ends up as a sort of mincing stagger), but beautiful clear cold water. Kathy noted that some of the heftier locals gave us an opportunity to observe Archimedes’ Principle at first hand, though there were plenty of Adonis and Aphrodite types as well. We followed this with further observations from a harbourside coffee lounge and a sunset perpata right around the circular harbour, checking out the luxury yachts, tiny fishing boats and ‘ouzo palaces’ nestled together in this ancient harbour that once protected the galleys of the Athenian fleet.

So finally it was time to head for the islands. We had planned to do a circuit of the Saronic Gulf in a series of comfortable day sails, anchoring out in quiet bays or docking in fishing harbours as the wind strengthened in the afternoon. The gods of sea and wind – Poseidon and Aeolus in these parts – smiled throughout most of our cruising days, offering us smooth seas and at least some wind assistance if we needed to motor. The first day took us to the nearby island of Aegina, a popular weekend retreat for Athenians who can afford to escape the heat, pollution and crowds of the capital. We anchored in Ormos Marathona, a quiet bay on the western side of the island where we had a swim then rowed the dinghy in to a tavern set over the water for a memorable sunset meal.

 

After coffee, a morning swim (Kathy is actually part mermaid and needs to be hydrated regularly) and breakfast we set off south for the island of Poros. This was a day of true Mediterranean sailing – dodging ferries and charter fleets, constantly putting up and taking in sails, turning on the motor when the wind suddenly died, then up with the sails again as 20 knots appeared from nowhere. With five of us aboard to keep watch and deal with lines and winches, this was fun instead of being stressful and exhausting. It was also beautiful, as we sailed past the various small islands rising steeply from the deep aquamarine waters of the Aegean. Steve did a fine job on his first stint at the helm – he inspired such confidence that Terry actually dozed off for a while!

 

The harbour in Poros is a busy place, with ferries and hydrofoils coming and going, the local car ferry constantly crossing between the island and the Peloponnese mainland, fishing boats both high tech and basic wooden rowboat style, and pleasure craft from superyachts to speedboats, charter yachts and cruisers, some of whom have settled in and are not going anywhere in a hurry. The busiest place is the town dock where all these boats seem to jostle for space, so we decided to stay in the anchorage on the northern side of the strait. Because so many of the islands are actually the peaks of submerged mountains, there is deep water right up to the shore and it can be difficult to set the anchor – and to be confident that it will hold in the switching winds. You need to put out more chain than we are used to - and then there is the worry that your boat has such a wide circle of potential movement that there is a risk of collision with other boats or the rocks near the shore. We stayed put, but needed to check constantly as our position changed relative to the land and our neighbouring boats.

We decided to take the dinghy over to one of the tavernas on the nearby shore, but that was before Matina, the persuasive owner of Matina’s Taverna, intercepted us from the dockside. Matina’s Taverna it was. And the food was wonderful: fresh, tasty and so generously portioned that the mermaids decided to swim back to the boat to work it off.

 

Over on the other side of the strait, the Peloponnese side, we saw Hephaistos at anchor and had a chance to catch up with our old friends Lauren and Olivier. It was good to share stories and to hear about their adventures over the past couple of months, since we were in Malta together.

In order to explore this rather wild and rugged island properly, we decided to hire scooters for the day. Steve, Terry and Kathy had had enough riding experience to convince the proprietor that they could be trusted in charge of a scooter, but Leonie was required to demonstrate her competence – a test she passed with flying colours. As for me, my lack of experience and famous lack of coordination saw me relegated to the back of Terry’s scooter – much better than ending up splattered and broken on a mountain road somewhere. It was a fantastic day. We climbed ever higher, taking in awesome views over the Aegean islands, stopping to pay homage to Poseidon at the ruins of his temple and stopping for a dip and a drink at the beautiful but unfortunately named Vagionia Beach.  Terry located a couple of geocaches to add to his tally, one of them taking us up to an ancient windmill high on a hill overlooking the old town. Drinks with Olivier and Lauren, a barbecue aboard Common Sense and a general exhausted collapse into our bunks, rocked gently by the swell. I only had to get up once to check if we’d dragged anchor.

 

 

After our requisite morning swim, the intended destination was the island of Hydra. We enjoyed pretty good conditions with the usual motor – sail – motor that we’ve come to expect, and pretty soon the high, barren slopes of Hydra appeared, with its one small harbour town nestled between huge craggy hills. It was suddenly clear why there is no motorised transport of the island, just the sure-footed donkeys and their carts. A couple of boats were anchored and tied with long lines to the rocks on shore, but a buoyed-off beach took up all the water that was shallow enough for us to anchor. We made a couple of attempts, but the strong winds and depths made it impossible, so we motored around to Mandraki where the depth problem turned out to be similar. The island of Dhokos didn’t look promising either. The Captain was heard to mutter that “Hydra can get stuffed!” So, change of plans, over we went to the mainland side to the harbour town of Ermione, where an enthusiastic tavern owner helped us to back in to the dock in front of his establishment. Ermione is a pleasant village built on a small peninsula. It has an ‘inside’ which is the fishing harbour and town dock, with a frontage of small family hotels, tavernas and interesting little shops. The ‘outside’, where we berthed, was lined with restaurants. The end of the peninsula is covered in light pine forest and there is a nice track to walk right around it, checking out the remnants of a couple of temples, up-market apartments, some lovely eateries, and spectacular views of the sea and surrounding islands.

 

 

 

Our guy on the dock served good coffee and cheap beer, so we were quite comfortable despite the wind kicking up a bit of chop from time to time. We stocked up on excellent fruit and veges, including those huge tomatoes, ripened on the vine, that smell and taste like the essence of summer. Swimming in Ermione involved a steep climb down a rocky path and a stagger over the stones, but the crew were undaunted and the perfect water was its own reward.

 

So where to next? We had five days left, and it looked as though the final day, Thursday, was due for strong Melteme winds – a good time to be back in the marina and maybe do a day trip to see the sights of Athens. So, working backwards, we wanted to spend Wednesday sailing back; Monday and Tuesday we decided to spend in the town of  Ancient Epidhavros (not to be confused with New Epidhavros in a nearby bay) which would enable us to see the amphitheatre there and perhaps get to the ancient city of Mycenae quite close by. So, Sunday was a pleasant enough sail - surrounded by hundreds of craft out for the weekend - back up to the Straits of Poros where we found a quiet anchorage near Ormos Vidhi at the far western end of the channel and enjoyed another on-board barbecue accompanied by Steve’s G&Ts, ouzo, and supermarket wine that comes in big plastic cordial bottles.

After the obligatory morning dip, we were able to sail most of the way to Epidhavros , heading north and then west around Methana (named for its smelly sulphurous volcanic fumes) aided by a moderate north-easterly wind. We managed to find a good spot to anchor, on a shallow bank (4 metres) that kept us just clear of the swimming beach in Palaia Epidhavros. We had dinner that night in a hotel restaurant that happened to have the ruins of a temple to Artemis in the garden (ho hum, another 5^th century BC ruin!) so we offered a libation to the goddess. Virgin sister of Apollo and protector of young women, Artemis is known to be particularly vengeful and creative in her punishments, so it pays to stay on her good side. The restaurant owner was quite a character. He had travelled extensively, lectured on Greek culture and had strong opinions on most things, his native land included. This is a joke he told us that he said captured the Greek national character:

Jesus Christ returned to earth and granted a miracle to three men. To a German he said, what do you want and the German said, my neighbour has a beautiful house, I would like a house like my neighbour’s. And it was granted. To the Englishman Jesus said, what do you want and the man said, my neighbour has a fantastic car, I would like a car like my neighbour’s. This also was granted. Then Jesus turned to the Greek and asked, Spiros, what do you want? Spiros thought carefully and said, my neighbour has an excellent goat that provides milk, cheese and kids for meat. Do you want a goat like your neighbour’s? asked Jesus. No, I want my neighbour’s goat to die, said Spiros.

Fortunately we have only encountered the generous side of the Greek character so far. Despite economic hardship, people seem to know how to enjoy life. As one man told us, “We have the sun, the sky and the sea. Even the Germans can’t take that away from us!”

So, back to the journey. We arranged to hire a car – a Volvo – to be delivered the next morning so we could visit Mycenae and the amphitheatre. Steve was the driver, giving the Captain a break from the helm for the day, and he did a sterling job, especially on the second leg of the trip where we managed to choose the ‘scenic route’ that wound through the mountains and offered some very exciting switchbacks and unexpected potholes.

Mycenae was once the centre of the Greek world, home to Agamemnon who commanded the united Greek forces in the siege of Troy and was then murdered by his wife and her lover on his return home. His son Orestes avenged the murder. The palace site occupies a high, barren peak with a commanding view of the surrounding farmland all the way to the sea: it would have been almost impossible to attack, but also quite a march to get to anywhere else. I could just imagine a messenger struggling to the top then being told, OK, now here’s my message back to him. Tucked away behind the car park is a huge stone vault, long ago robbed of its treasure, that is purported to be Agamemnon’s tomb.

The exciting drive mentioned earlier took us back to Epidhavros to the sanctuary of Asclepius the healer and the amphitheatre, one of the largest and best preserved in Greece. The acoustics in the theatre are remarkable. Sounds made at the ‘sweet spot’ at centre stage can be easily heard in all 1400 seats, including the cheap seats way up the back. We tested this successfully despite quite a lot of ambient noise, then Leonie, Steve and I treated the scattering of tourists to a rousing chorus of Advance Australia Fair. At least the Chinese girls applauded politely. Apparently the theatre design filters out low frequency sound (crowd mutterings) and amplifies high frequencies like music and the voices of actors. Once again, some ancient technologies were quite astounding.

 

Next in a packed itinerary was a snorkel over the ‘sunken city’ at Kalymnios Beach, just around from our anchorage. Well it was more of a sunken villa than a whole city, but still very interesting and a great way to relax and cool off after a day in the car. The walls, a paved road and the remains of large terracotta storage vessels were still clearly visible in the shallow water. Back to town for a few cold beers, dinner and a slightly bumpy unsettled night at anchor.

 

We must have scrimped on prayers and sacrifices somewhere along the way, because the wind next day was blowing strongly from the north west, right on the nose. As we headed out of the bay, a moderate swell was also evident. So, it was a long beat back with the winds gusting up to 45 knots as we threaded our way through the big ships at anchor outside Piraeus harbour. Back at Zea, there was far too much wind to back into a tight slip so Terry skilfully manoeuvred us in bows-to. Phew! The crew looked surprisingly chipper, and after a shower and a bit of a clean up we were all up for a night on the town.

The Monastiraki district is the place to be in Athens in the evening, with hundreds of shops, restaurants and bars. The illuminated Acropolis and Parthenon shine like a beacon above the lively scene. Kathy exercised her advanced shopping skills while Leonie seemed to win the heart of every shopkeeper and restaurateur we met. Another great dinner accompanied by traditional music and an opportunity to watch hundreds of people pass by on their evening perpata.

Our final day was to be a tour of Athens on a hop on hop off city bus. The trip up to see the Acropolis was fine; though predictably hot and crowded it is still an awesome place. Phase 2 was not a success, with a demonstration in the city centre meaning that the bus was diverted through the grimy dilapidated residential quarters of Athens, missing many of the highlights and prolonging a hot, uncomfortable ride to the point where we started to get anxious about being back on time. It meant that we couldn’t enjoy a relaxed farewell meal together – just a final shower, pack and a quick coffee – but maybe that was just as well, as I for one was feeling pretty emotional at having to say goodbye. Thanks Kathy, Leonie and Steve for making the LONG trek from Bunbury, Western Australia all the way to Piraeus and back, and for being such an awesome crew. We hope you have some happy memories of life aboard Common Sense, and remember that those T shirts entitle you to join us any time, anywhere!