Setting Course North

The crew was reunited again in what was quickly becoming a favorite port of ours, Kardamena on the south side of Kos, albeit only for its proximity to the airport and facilities.  This convenient access to the airport brought Charlotte back to the boat.  We also said a sad goodbye to Franci there but happily welcomed Sue onboard.  A full boat again, we set off the following day and had excellent wind to bring us around to the north of Kos and beyond to the port of Kalymnos.

Gusts behind Kos made for some fun sailing anticipating the next burst of wind.  At the southeast corner of the island, the wind quickly stabilized around 5 Beaufort.  Being sheltered from the waves that would typically accompany wind of this strength we had fun tacking around the island and reaching speeds above 8 kts.

Entering the bay at the entrance to Kalymnos we raced two other sailboats who were also on their way into the large city harbour.  After an evening exploring the city and learning about its famous sponge divers, we said a sad goodbye to our first mate, Regina, as she left on the morning ferry.  After a few more hours of visiting the town and picking up a few more groceries, we took up the lines and sailed to the Northwest of Kalymnos.  In the evening, we sailed behind the tall neighboring island, Telendos, that blocked most of our wind but made for an interesting passage as we arrived in a bay in which we appeared to be surrounded by mountains due to the small islands off of Kalymnos and natural bay formed by the main island at Emporios.

Until the afternoon, only light wind was forecast so we spent the morning relaxing at Apitiki beach and sampling some local products.  Freeing ourselves from the mooring buoys in the bay, we sailed out of the bay and turned close to the wind on our way to Leros.  With only 15 nm to the north of the next island we planned to head to a bay between the small island, Archangelos and Leros, but the wind did not stay strong, and the waves, left from the previous days, made for an uncomfortably rolling journey. Therefore, as we approached the bay at Leros’ main city at nightfall we decided to stop early.

Although the bay is very long and seemingly well protected some waves rolled in that were not aligned with the wind and frequently passing ferries made for a less calm night at anchor.  Having heard of a large parabolic mirror at the top of the ridge that was used to detect approaching aircraft during the war, we hiked up the hillside to see this interesting structure and the beautiful views of the island.

Setting off at lunchtime, we continued on our way to Lipsi.  Moderate wind at a broad reach made for a comfortable sail over to the island that became a favorite of ours last year, especially due to the delicious Dilaila Taverna on the beach.  With this in mind, we returned to Papandria cove in the south and had time for a swim before getting ready to go to the restaurant in the Dinghy.

We were met with a bittersweet surprise finding the restaurant was closed that evening but that they were hosting a party that night instead.  A fig-filled walk to the town brought us to an alternative family-run taverna in the center and on our return we enjoyed dancing on the beach at Dilaila.

The next day Vivi and Sonja had to catch the afternoon ferry back to Kos so we planned to sail them around to the port.  However, when we went to start the engine the diesel pump was not working leaving us unable to start the engine.  We brought them to shore in the Dinghy instead to say goodbye and Hauke got to work fixing the motor.