Obwohl wir am Ende ziemlich viel Zeit dort verbracht haben, ist Kythnos von allen Inseln, die wir besucht haben, diejenige, von der wir das Gefühl haben, am wenigsten gesehen zu haben und der wir vielleicht am zwiespältigsten gegenüberstehen. Aber ich greife mir selbst vor.
Friends from Landshut were due to join us somewhere and we were pretty pleased with ourselves when we hit on the plan to meet up in Kythnos: we could get there by boat and they could reach us from Lavrion (south of Athens) in less than 2 hours by ferry. In retrospect our smugness should have alerted us to potential imminent spanners in the works, as everyone knows that pride comes before a fall. However we remained blissfully ignorant of future flies in the ointment, and other metaphors that might befall us. Admittedly we would have to make our way over to the island a good ten days before our friends were due to arrive, to avoid a forecasted very long period of strong northerly winds. But we thought we could take advantage of the extra time to tour the island and check out all the good bays, beaches and sights worthy of seeing, in preparation for a roaringly successful time with our friends.
It's always nice to set off to a new place so we waved a fond au revoir to Syros and off we went to Kolona beach on Kythnos, a journey of about 34 nautical miles. Any brochures or articles about Kythnos are always illustrated with a picture of scenic Kolona which has become emblematic of this island of 98 beaches. It is a pretty, sandy beach linking Kythnos to a small islet, thus forming two bays, each with its own water temperature and waves. In addition to spectacular sunsets, more importantly it promised us good protection from the expected gales, and a good holding for the anchor.
This was to be our home for quite a while, so we invested a lot of time and energy in the first few days trying different anchorages and different mooring solutions, including tying up the stern of the boat to the rocks on the shore. We were inspired to try this out by our new neighbours on day 3 who arrived in a huge posh motor yacht and proceeded to anchor and then attach lines from the stern, Mrs Sporty swimming out to attach the lines to the rocks in what looked like a well practiced manoeuvre. Very impressed, Ralph asked them for advice on how we might do the same. In the end a) they managed the whole operation for us, telling us where to anchor, and fixing the ropes to the rocks b) it transpired that our loops for this purpose were too small c) in the end with the prevailing wind we were actually in danger of banging into them if ever one of our loops became detached d) after having helped us so extensively they decided to leave – presumably because of the risk of being bashed into – which meant that e) we felt pretty bad. After that Ralph spent several hours replacing the loops – which were not only too small, but also likely to chafe – with chains from the anchors, the last 6m of which were sacrificed to this end, cut off by Ralph with an anglegrinder. In the end, a day or so later, the lines to shore turned out to be unsuitable for the prevailing conditions so we had to remove them and re-anchor. Phew and double phew.
The anchor proved to be holding really well despite the often very strong winds while we were in Kolona. However, leaving the boat was often not an option since many boats were coming in or leaving (OK to leave if you were sailing southwards) and our anchor could get pulled up. So we sat and waited. Just the two of us. Sometimes it was too rough even to go swimming. Sometimes the wind drove sheets of sand up on the lovely beach. Several days the taxi boat did not come to bring people from town to the beach. Sometimes we got bored and frustrated as other boats came and went. In the evenings we watched the marvelous sunsets with the daytime beachgoers and their dogs silhouetted against the sky along the thin strip of sand. And we looked forward to our friends arriving; thirsty for a change of scene and an injection of new company!
Ein paar kurze Ausflüge haben wir aber zwischen den starken Winden unternommen. Am ersten Tag spazierten wir zur kleinen Kirche auf der Insel und genossen die herrliche Aussicht über beide Buchten. An einem anderen Tag setzte mich Ralph mit unserem Beiboot (Dinghy) am Ufer ab, und ich ging zu Fuß zur nächsten Bucht, einen sehr steilen Weg auf und ab. Die Straße war nicht asphaltiert und daher sehr staubig, mit Schlaglöchern, in denen man eine Kugel versenken konnte, und so steil, dass einige Autos rückwärts rollten. An einem Tag nahmen wir das Taxiboot zum Hafenort Merichas, der zwei Buchten weiter oben liegt, und hatten dort das beste Fischessen, das wir je in Griechenland hatten - in einem Restaurant, das von derselben Familie wie das Taxiboot betrieben wird. Ab und zu genossen wir einen morgentlichen frischgepressten Orangensäfte an der Strandbar, die uns von einem netten Barkeeper aus Mexiko-Stadt serviert wurden. Und eines Abends trafen wir ein griechisches Paar in unserem Alter, das von unserem neuen Lebensabenteuer sehr beeindruckt war. (Menschen in unserem Alter sind oft von unserer Geschichte beeindruckt - man sieht, wie sie sich fragen, ob sie etwas Ähnliches tun könnten. Es ist ihnen wohl nicht bewusst, dass dieses Leben nicht immer all so romantisch und abenteuerlich ist, wie man es sich gerne vorstellt.
Nachdem wir den Hafen von Merichas gesehen hatten, in dem die Boote durch den starken Wellengang stark in Mitleidenschaft gezogen wurden, beschlossen wir, unsere Freunde im Yachthafen von Loutra willkommen zu heißen, einem schönen, geschützten Ort für unsere Besucher, um sich an das Leben auf dem Boot zu gewöhnen. Am Donnerstag, froh, endlich weiterfahren zu können, wenn auch von diesem landschaftlich reizvollsten Ort aus, kamen wir rechtzeitig in Loutra an, um uns einen Platz im Hafen zu sichern.
Unfortunately here is where things got tricky. One of the engines stopped revving properly and eventually stopped altogether. To steer a catamaran (eg into a harbour) you need 2 engines. So this was not ideal. At this point I have a confession. I admit it – it was me! I tempted fate. I am a very persuasive temptress it seems. A mermaid. I jinxed it. I jinxed it by having dared to say, over the weeks, that we were lucky that x or y had not happened; I jinxed it by expressing my relief that the [insert difficulty] must soon be over. Sometimes over the last few days, if we have said "ah, now it looks calmer out there" it has felt inevitable that soon afterwards the Meltemi would rise up from his nap and begin to blow again vigourously. And in my last entry I mentioned that the Belgian guys in Syros had had engine failure and that would have been much worse than the anchor winch failing temporarily. So you see, it was me!
One step at a time though, jinxed or not. Stavros the Loutra harbourmaster balanced the steering of the starboard engine, by pushing us with his dinghy. We got moored safely and then turned our attention to troubleshooting the engine problem. It turned out that Stavros is not only The Loutra Harbourmaster and generally A Nice Guy but also The Boat Mechanic on Loutra, Here was the silver lining to this particular cloud. He said he would come and look at the engine later. In the meantime Ralph spoke to our trusted mechanic in Kos who advised him on what to look at (check the filters and so on), as it could be a blockage in the pipes. Ralph did what he could. At about 6pm Stavros turned up as promised and he and Ralph did some further troubleshooting and cleaning together. It seemed the tank had some gunk in it that had been shaken up by the bumpy ride over from Kolona. After 2 hours the pipes were all clean again and the engine ran happily for the 20 minutes we tested it. Phew! Our guests were due to arrive the next day and we still had to finish getting the boat ready for them. A minor inconvenience was that the pump to flush the port side toilet with seawater, gave up the ghost. Ralph spent most of the following morning trying to get it to work but in the end we had to change back to freshwater flushing. This does have a significant impact on water consumption, although since we were in a harbour and could refill with water any time, it was not an immediate concern. So we were nearly ready for our guests! There was just time to wash the boat down and sluice ourselves at the pier. In fact we and the boat were still a bit damp when they arrived, laden with groceries according to a big list I had sent them.
On that first afternoon in the cute wee town of Loutra with its cute wee marina, a little beach and some thermal springs, we switched into holiday mode again. We had some drinks, some dinner, we played cards, and enjoyed the company. Overnight everyone managed to get some sleep although the mooring lines were sometimes squeaky, and it was quite hot. (I realise that I have largely got used to some level of discomfort occasionally but I feel bad about visitors having to experience it. On the other hand you could say this is part of the authentic experience. This was a line I was to use to myself on several occasions in the following days).
Am nächsten Tag war das Wetter nicht geeignet, um mit unseren Freunden das erste Mal zu segeln. Stattdessen stiegen wir alle in das Mietauto unserer Freunde und machten eine Inselrundfahrt, bei der wir den Hauptort Kythnos Stadt (auch Chora genannt) besichtigten und nach dem Zufallsprinzip Köstlichkeiten probierten, darunter herrlich matschige griechische Köstlichkeiten und Gebäck. Wir besuchten auch die faszinierenden Höhlen von Katafiki, die im täglichen Leben der Dorfbewohner von Driopida eine wichtige Rolle gespielt hatten. In Driopida selbst hatten wir ein fabelhaftes Mittagessen und machten uns dann auf den Weg über ziemlich haarige Straßen zum Strand von Agios Stefanos, um ihn mit unseren Freunden als möglichen Ankerplatz für die Nacht zu erkunden, und dann zurück nach Hause zum Abendessen und Kartenspielen. (Das Spiel „Arschloch“ wurde jetzt zu unserem Repertoir hinzugefügt.)
We had hoped to leave on Sunday after lunch and prepared the boat accordingly but suddenly the harbour started to fill up with boat after boat, the captains wiping their troubled brows and the crews stepping out of their lifejackets and oilskins. OK that is an exaggeration but when Ralph went to help some of them with their mooring he found out it was quite rough out there... so we decided not to leave that evening. We re-opened all the windows and re-inserted the mosquito screens, and went out for a meal!
Am Montag hatten wir schließlich das Gefühl, dass es in Ordnung war, abzureisen. Wegen eines Wetterumschwungs würden wir nicht die Bucht ansteuern, die wir an der Ostküste erkundet hatten: Stattdessen würden wir die Ostküste entlang nach Süden segeln und dann an der Westküste zurück in die Nähe von Kolona unter Motor fahren. Das wäre eine viel längere Route als ursprünglich geplant, aber wir hofften, dass unsere Gäste damit zurechtkommen würden. Der zweite Motor sprang an, so dass Ralph die Opua aus dem Hafen manövrieren konnte, und dann ging es los! Die Bedingungen waren recht günstig, so dass wir in der ersten Zeit gut segeln konnten. Aber es war eine ziemlich lange Reise für unsere Gäste, und einer nach dem anderen schlief ein, was manchmal die einzig vernünftige Reaktion auf einer langen Überfahrt ist, wenn man nicht als Crew gebraucht wird. Schließlich kamen wir nach 5 oder 6 Stunden in der schönen Bucht von Apokrisi an (welche ich zufälligerweise bereits einige Tage zuvor zu Fuss über die steile Straße von Kolona besucht hatte) und warfen den Anker. Ralph startete den zweiten Motor, um das Boot aufzurichten und den Anker einzufahren. Leider ist der Motor wieder nicht mehr angesprungen.
We tried to stay unperturbed by this new event although without the second engine we could not drive in the anchor properly. For that night it might be ok as the forecast was for no wind. Later in the week it could become a real problem. We were happy that our friends could experience boat life anchored in a bay. They took the dinghy and toured the bay; went on some trips with the stand-up paddle, and enjoyed some time on the beach. Eventually we all went on land to have dinner overlooking the bay, which is also somehow on the Genuine Cruising Experience checklist.
Obwohl wir so verlockend nahe am Strand von Kolona waren, den wir unseren Freunden zeigen wollten, und obwohl wir Merichas mit dem Boot nicht besuchen wollten, blieb uns aufgrund des Motorproblems keine andere Wahl, als im Hafen von Merichas anzulegen. Wir baten den Hafenmeister um Hilfe bei der Einfahrt in den Hafen, und als wir ankamen, wies ervuns an, längsseits anzulegen. Und siehe da, noch ein paar andere Freunde haben uns auch herzlich Wilkommen geheissen - die Hafenpolizei! Sie begrüßten uns sehr freundlich und konfiszierten netterweise unsere Bootspapiere und die Ausweise der gesamten Besatzung. Sie teilten uns sehr freundlich mit, dass wir unsere Bootspapiere zurückbekommen würden, sobald das Boot wieder voll seetüchtig sei. Ralphs Kontakte auf Kos sagten uns, dass möglicherweise sogar die deutsche Botschaft und ein Gutachter eingeschaltet werden müssten, was ein langwieriger und kostspieliger Prozess wäre. Trotz unserer kollektiven positiven Einstellung hatte es den Anschein, als würde das Unglück anhalten und die Dinge würden sich immer weiter verschlechtern.
Unsere Freunde fuhren mit dem Taxi nach Loutra, von wo aus wir erst am Vortag losgefahren waren, um ihr Mietauto abzuholen. Ich blieb bei Ralph, während er sich den Tank noch einmal ansah und mit mehreren Leuten über mögliche nächste Schritte sprach. Eine Lösung bestand darin, beide Motoren mit einem einzigen Tank zu versorgen, aber dafür würden wir einige zusätzliche Teile benötigen. Wir überlegten, ob wir mit der Fähre nach Athen fahren sollten, um die benötigten Teile zu besorgen, aber Stavros, der Mechaniker in Loutra, sagte, er könne sie per Kurier bestellen, und sie sollten am nächsten Tag oder so eintreffen. Irgendwann waren unsere Nachforschungen erschöpft und wir tranken ein Bier und aßen dann im Café gegenüber dem Boot zu Mittag. Und fühlten uns viel besser.
At least the longside berth was quite quiet inspite of the unforecasted south winds causing an unfortunate swell in the rest of the harbour. In the morning Werner and I, the early risers of the crew, we were shocked to see the other boats, moored stern-to, bobbing, jigging and rocking quite violently. I even videoed them and felt quite smug. Fatal mistake! Reminder to self: please avoid smugness at all costs. At 8am the harbour master arrived to tell us to move the boat as the ferry was due to moor there. All hands on deck! It was so windy! And one engine not working! We all jumped to and took position while Ralph used the wind, and engaged the help of the very competent skipper on the big Lithuanian catamaran, to guide us in to the stern-to position next to all the other boats.
Es schien, als würde die Behebung des Motorproblems eine Weile dauern, also buchten unsere Freunde ihre Überfahrt zurück nach Athen für den nächsten Tag. Das war eine gute Entscheidung, denn am Donnerstag hatte sich der Wellengang verschlimmert und das Boot schaukelte so heftig, dass es schwierig wurde, auf dem Boot zu bleiben, ohne krank zu werden. Wir winkten unseren Freunden widerwillig zum Abschied, als sie auf die Fähre stiegen und zurück nach Athen fuhren. Wir saßen hier immer noch fest, möglicherweise für eine ganze Weile.
It transpired that by chance we were also in the Broken Boats Corner of the harbour. Here we were one of three limping boats. One poor boat had an engine that would only go in reverse. Another had a broken anchor winch. Both of these boats experienced various problems during their stay in the harbour, providing chaotic scenes which we watched with fascination and horror as we waited for a resolution to our own problem.
On Friday the parts had still not arrived with the courier and who knew when they might ever turn up. Stavros, the single boat engine mechanic on the whole island was pushed for time and unenthusiastic about our tank issues. Ralph decided to cut the crap and take matters entirely into his on hands. After consultation with our trusted mechanic in Kos, at the garage we bought 2 canisters and had them filled with diesel. One was spare and Ralph fitted the other in the engine bay directly next to the engine, and changed all the pipes in and out, to enable the engine to be fed from the canister, bypassing the full infected tank. And so it was! By 4pm or so Ralph was able to test the engine and it ran like a charm. What an achievement! Stavros talked to the Port Police and we tootled off to collect our papers. Visions of being stuck for weeks in Kythnos on a violently rocking boat, unable to leave the boat unsupervised, and unable to leave the island, receded. We were finally free to leave. We were euphoric. On Saturday at first light we left Merichas harbour and motor-sailed away from Kythnos as fast as our little boat-legs could carry us, heading in the general direction of Kos to resolve the tank issues.
We very much appreciated having friends to visit. I enjoyed having crew to share my duties with - the raising and lowering of the main sail; unfurling and furling of the sails, the flurry with fenders and the lines on entering a harbour or marina. Our friends had remained unfailingly good tempered and uncomplaining about the challenges. We really wished we could have offered them a less eventful, and smoother time on board. But then, how authentic would that have been? Their visit highlighted for me some of the aspects of a sailing life that we have already come to expect or take for granted. Including the power of inadvertent jinxing. On the boat tt is unlikely you will be able to pull off your perfect plan.
Übersetzt mit www.DeepL.com/Translator (kostenlose Version) mit einigen Änderungen.
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