Finally got out of Kos!

I arrived in Kos on the 27th May. The boat had been in Kos since the 2nd December. That is very nearly 6 months... During that time she was in the care of Christos Mylonas and Mikola Sudzum of Istion because back in September last year we sustained some damage in Kos Harbour and they repaired it so efficiently that we decided after negotiations and checking the Turkish options to winter the boat in Kos.

They took the boat into their fleet and she became part of their annual winter maintenance program. This means servicing the sails, the toilets, the engines, the windlass, the hatches, all the through hull fittings, getting her out of the water, getting the bum cleaned and anti fouled and servicing the sail drives (propellers).

This is what they look like after only 3 months in the water...

We also decided we wanted to have solar power fitted so that when at anchor we wouldn't need to use the generator for power.

So, after 6 months you would have thought that all this would have been done and dusted and that we would have been out of Kos in a couple of days? Well, it was the very expensive batteries that had to come all the way from Holland you see.....! No matter,

Briggy having just had his arm chopped off
by the wind generator!
or was that a glitch with the 'panorama' option?

Thanks to Briggy, our  wintering Englishman we were escorted to all his favourite  haunts where we were treated like locals which became another good reason to get out of Kos!

This was not a cheap winter with all that was needed, but it did come in under budget and the work is all first class. If you happen to need a place to repair or winter your boat, Kos is the place and the guys from Istion are the people.

And so with the new solar system/bike rack installed, it was time to test it all and slowly meander through some Greek islands before reaching Kusadasi on the Turkish coast where we plan to meet Sally and the two munchkins.

First (planned) stop was Lakke Bay on Leros but it meant punching into the prevailing northerly which built up to the point that we were driven into Xerokambos Bay on Leros just around the corner from Lakke to avoid going out into the teeth of the wind to get to Lakke.

Xerokambos is a lovely spot dotted with swing moorings all labelled with the name of the Taverna that owns it and therefore where you are duty bound to eat. Nicely protected from the winds we'd endured all day, we were happy to pick up a mooring close to shore, and dingy in for the usual.

We did meet a couple of Coffs Harbour boys who have been doing this every year for 15 years!


We weighed anchor at 9:00 the following morning and popped around the corner to Lakke before the wind got up. We were followed in by the navel vessel in the background... funny how I always think it's me they're after for some indiscretion I'm bound to have committed.
We were Med Moored on the wall in town by 10:00. We whiled away the day, Al getting all the technology on the boat to talk to each other and we now have state of the art music and video systems and I did rock all! Pity really because it was too late when we discovered that this was where Mussolini spent the 2nd World War and there were some interesting artifacts like tunnels and manuscripts we missed out on because they were closed by the time we cottoned on....

Kambos Bay on Patmos was the recommendation of our Coffs Harbour mates, still into the wind but not too uncomfortable, we left Lakke at 10:10 on the 11th June and were anchored in Kambos Bay by 13;30.

So, of all the places we have been, and there has been over 100 of them since we started this caper, Patmos would be my recommendation to anybody wanting a 10 day holiday in a really nice apartment near the water. Got that Bay Travel!



This is a beautiful island. Skala is the harbour town. This shot taken from the an amazing town on the peak of this mountain. At the very top is a large castle structure which is actually a monastery but to reach it there is a maze of beautifully paved, narrow Byzantine walkways just under 1000 years old We had hired scooters and we probably should not have done this, and it is probably why I always think the authorities want a little word with us. This video will give you a really good idea of what I'm on about. Click Here.