Kos - The final chapter for 2014

At 8:30 we cast off in Symi for the final run to Kos.

It was a 42 Nautical Mile run in deteriorating conditions but the wind appeared to be blowing our way so for the first time for both Mark and Al, we got the Spinnaker out until we turned north for Kos island.

Unfortunately the wind had kicked up a very uncomfortable sea in the extended fetch from the back of Yedi Adelari.




Basically all that water you see to the right of waypoint 7 above so we had to take the lot down and wallow in it all until the final turn SW at waypoint 8 into Kos Marina itself.


That was fun as we got to surf the swell reaching 11.7 knots at one stage. Even got the screen shot....




We radioed Kos Marina on the way in, were met by a guy in a dingy who escorted us to the place where the Summer Amy will spend the next 4 months before they take her out of the water for work that can only be done on the Hard.

Kos is now devoid of tourists and charter boats. Only locals who actually asked what we were doing here at this time of year.

We got to see the lighting of the Christmas tree in the town square. The kids had a ball collecting sweets getting tossed about by a guy on stilts, filled their faces with candy floss and played tag among the crowd while Mum and Dad found a nice cosy spot with a full view of the crowd and an attentive waitress catering to our needs.

The predicted winter storms have hit. The wind howled from the SE reaching gale force, sheeting rain keeping everything damp while we tried to ready the boat for the winter, get all the laundry done and packed away, but somehow we managed it.

This is the fuel dock and haul out slip. Good thing we didn't need fuel or to be pulled out and onto the hard!







We discovered a fantastic restaurant where they serve the meals on a sheet of paper, really great value and we were treated like locals. We asked if they could get the fire going for Al's farewell dinner and their special grilled lamb dish.


It was all set when we arrived. Cosy, warm and super friendly. We are very happy we chose Kos to winter the boat and are already looking forward to getting back here.


This being the final blog for the season, I thought I'd provide some statistics:

It has been 256 days.
We have eaten in well over 300 restaurants
Consumed over 700 liters of wine
The kids have had over 500 ice creams
They were schooled and completed all their assignments
We have covered a little over 2000 nautical miles
There have been three close calls
We've had the pleasure of entertaining 17 guests evenly spread throughout the journey
We remain married and happy
This blog has enjoyed just over 6300 page views for which we humbly thank you all.

Till May 2015 then.... bye from the permanent crew of The Summer Amy!

Detour to Symi...

Directly opposite Datca lies Symi. It is a Greek Island and you'll find if you scroll back to the blog on Symi that it is a great place to visit even though it was the venue for the first attempted mutiny on the Summer Amy!

We had dropped it in the plans as a possible stop on the way to Kos, but only if time and weather permitted. We wanted to get Mark back to Kos by the 2nd as he flies out of there on the 4th.... a day for washing, packing etc.

Well, we did have a day up our sleeves, the weather was going to deteriorate but the wind direction would be in our favour and neither Al nor Mark had been to Symi.

There was one other minor issue to be addressed.....

When we left Kos headed for Bodrum in Turkey with the Frasers 3 months ago, we neglected to officially check out of Greece...

You may remember we had sustained some damage in Kos Harbour which had necessitated the hauling of the boat out of the water at Kos Marina. When the repairs were complete, the boat was put back in the water but there was nowhere to park it as the marina was full. The only option was to head straight for Bodrum in Turkey and worry about the Greek admin when we returned..

Symi is a sleepy little port, the authorities would not be overly fastidious, particularly at this time of the year, so we figured it would be a better place to check back into Greece than the larger port of Kos.

The first order of subterfuge was to lower the Turkish and raise the Greek flags so we'd be entering Symi as if from another Greek port.

One of the entrances into Symi bay takes you through this narrow gap where the depth rises from over 100 meters to just 5 at the gap. The water is crystal clear making it appear even shallower.... Once through it, hang a right and motor into the most quaint of ports.

Now also in winter mode, it was hard to find a spot in this uncrowded harbour. Large boats had moored themselves with long lines going in all directions such that they could handle any wind or weather without contacting anything solid for the entire winter. Each one taking up the space that would normally accommodate six boats.

We did find a spot and with all necessary paperwork under my arm I headed for the Port Police to check into Greece. It all went very smoothly although the Police were at the far end of the harbour where I was sent to first, then to customs who were closed for siesta to reopen at 5:30 but turned up at 6:15, then back to the port police for the final stamping of this that and the next thing. The washup being that we were all now legally in Greece, so when we leave there should not be any hassles.



Time to sit and enjoy the peace of a quiet harbour and our first Greek meal in three months. It was a cracker!

Datca and a nostalgic farewell to our newly adopted home.

We really love Turkey. It was nearly three months, three months being the max you can stay in any six. We were pleased to see that Datca was an 'entry port' which means customs and immigration facilities for checking in and out of Turkey.

It was conveniently on our way, it was open and it is a charming, friendly town with everything you'd need. Last time we were in Datca we drank a bottle of 2008 Henscke's Hill of Grace having survived the Meltimi incident at Knidos and big Al joined us bringing a constant source of fun and hilarity to the boat.

Datcha three months ago..... I remember saying how much we liked festival atmosphere.

Datca was looking very winterised. Most of the water/power facilities were covered, the timber decking had been removed and packed away and we were the only non Turkish boat in the harbour.

Datcha now. We like it like this too.

Whilst Datca was void of tourists, the town sustains itself in the off season. After a good dinner at a water front restaurant the on the other side of town, we headed for the boat and bed. O the way we heard some great sounding live music and decided to take a look...

Packed and happening, a very nice club literally overlooking the boat and a novel way of serving drinks.... order Bourbon and Coke and you get a half size bottle of Jack Danial's in an ice bucket and a can of coke per person. Easy for you, easy for the waiter and easy for the bill.... not so easy in the morning. We were joined by the owner and the waiter from the restaurant and it turned into a big night. It was cool when asked where we were staying to simply point at the boat from the window.

We did bring 2 great bottles of wine with us from Aus,

The other was a 2008 Penfolds Grange, to be enjoyed after an epic voyage or the celebratory equivalent.

Well, we were back in Datca, we were checking out of Turkey and we were on the final leg of this year's great adventure. Our winter destination, Kos Marina is not quite as salubrious as Datca harbour and just the thought of it was burning a hole in the back of our minds... So from Sally's favourite butcher we purchased some great looking steaks, unpacked the electric BBQ and cooked a meal to suit the occasion.

A slow start in the morning even though we had a 40 mile run to Kos. We left Datca at 12:00 on the nose and headed out into overcast skies, pewter seas, windless and uncannily warm for this time of year.