Unspoilt coastline, countless wind turbines and just two sheltered harbours – that’s Euboea on the eastern side, which is exposed to the Meltemi. But as we’re already familiar with the sheltered Inside Passage on the western side, we now want to continue southwards along the eastern coast. A long stretch from the beautiful and hospitable island of Skyros to the south-west brings us, in wind and rain, to the fishing harbour of Agioi Apostoloi. Here you can moor well sheltered, if you manage to tie up. A fisherman showed us to a berth and wanted to take our lines. But with strong gusts of wind, you have to tighten the lines quickly. Our fisherman, however, remains completely calm and, despite our shouts, first ties a knot in the bow line. By then we’re already at a right angle with the bow to the pier. Next attempt, same result. It works on the third try. Just as well, because now it’s really starting to rain. We take a breather below deck and later spend quite some time marvelling at a full rainbow from the cockpit. All’s well again. We enjoy a cosy evening on board.
Next day, next leg, to the Cycladic island of Andros. We haven’t been there yet; we want to take a day’s break there and have a look around the island. Once again, things turn out differently: there’s still space for us in our chosen harbour, Batsi, but with a strong crosswind we can’t manage to back up to the pier using the bow anchor. What a pity! But there’s no point in complaining. We motor the three nautical miles to Gavrion ferry port. A man from the port authority tells us the harbour is full. It doesn’t look very nice here either. Next option: drop anchor. And that’s often not the worst option at all. We drop anchor off a beach; we’re all alone here. Little light from the mainland, lots of stars in the sky, a bit of swell, then a quiet night.
In the morning, strong gusts of wind wake us. A little less than a steady 32 knots would have been enough for the next leg to the island of Kea. Sailing with just the mizzen and a strong swell from behind, we cover the 25 nautical miles at speeds of up to 6.4 knots. Steering is exhausting, but with a change at the helm every half hour, we arrive safely in Korissia on Kea. Mooring goes well here despite a bit of a crosswind. Never before have we had to put so many things back in their places below deck after sailing. Lots of things had slid and flown about, but nothing was broken.
We’ve been to the island of Kea four years ago. Here we’re moored nicely at the pier. And we treat ourselves to another day ashore, visit the Chora, and say to the stone, sleeping lion, “Hello, it’s lovely to see you again!” We reckon the lion isn’t sleeping, but smiling. We follow this up with a lovely hike up in the hills with views of Andros, Euboea, and south towards Poros. That’s where we’re heading tomorrow.
