We transit from Bademli, Turkey to Mytilini, Lesbos, Greece and like fools, we try to comply with all of the rules fro checking into a foreign country. We fly the Greek Flag, the "Q" flag underneath, and we hail the Port Captain / Port Authorities upon our arrival.
What to others do? They med moor or side-to moor to the city wall and then check-in (or not as a few of our neighbors chose not to) after.
But not us. So, because we comply with the rules, we are directed to tie up where the big inter-island ferries tie up for passport and customs. The fenders are bigger than LeeZe! The guy from the Port Authority direct us to tie up there but informs us that "It is NOT my job to handle your lines!" Huh!???? The wall there is so high, and the fenders are so wide there is no safe way to put anyone ashore. I insist he handle my lines or I will go an anchor and use the tender to check in. He reluctantly handles my lines. (I learn later he wants me to use the Port's line handlers (at a 100 euro charge per person).)
He then informs me I have 30 minutes to check in before I have to move. Under my breath, I laugh! My guess is that it will take nearly 3 hours to check in but I say OK.
Our first stop is the Customs and Transit Log office. It takes 20 minutes to find a person to handle us, and she takes 10 more just to get the blank entry and transit log papers, and CARBON PAPER.
Then she makes me fill out a form (I have all the info already printed but she says it needs to be on her form.) So, I write. She takes that form, fills it out, gets me to sign that paper (all in Greek, no English) and throws away the form I filled out. For all I know, I just could have signed up for 20 years in their military!
She then gives to me another form to fill out (nearly the same info is requested) which I do. She transcribes that info to the transit log (some English), fussing with carbon paper along the way, more transcribing, more carbon paper fussing, and then gives me the transit log to sign, which I do.
She then tracks down another person who goes to the safe and breaks out the entry stamp for the transit log, and with quite a flair, stamps the log, and asks for 30 euros.
(For the record, I have a embossed boat seal stamp that I use after I sign one of these documents. There was one document I had to sign concerning that there was no dead or infectious people on board and this document had a place for a boat seal in the corner. It seems that none of my documents that I present to these officials are questioned when they see that seal.)
More than 1 hour has passed.
I come out of that office and the Port Authority guy is in a huff because somewhere either I missed a conversation or misunderstood one because he has been looking for me to show me where his office is, more than 30 minutes has passed, and that only I am allowed off the boat, not Zehra!
So, Zehra goes back on board, I walk with him to see where his office is, and then I go back to Customs to get directions to Passport Control.
Now in Turkey, the Passport Police want to see both of us. Greece? One is enough. I present my passports to the person behind the desk but when he sees that they are not EU passports, he has to go find someone else.
I wait. 15 minutes later, a person shows up. hands to me a form to fill out with nearly the same info required as before. I fill it out. He transcribes it to another form and a ledger, throws out the form I filled in, and gets me to sign his form (again all in Greek!). He then goes and finds another person who is the keeper of the "stamp" and well, you can get the picture.
The passports and transit log are stamped and I am asked for 15 euros. I know from previous entries that I pay 45 euros to enter, but this is the first time I paid it at two different places. I believe the 30 euros is for the transit log, and the 15 euros is for LeeZe's entry. But, not 100% sure.
But before I depart, I am asked a multitude of questions. Fo you have on board any alcohol, drugs, knives, guns, food, fuel, etc etc etc? I tell the guy that the boat is our home so of course there is alcohol on board for us to drink, and not to sell; drugs, of course our medicines, we are not young any more; knives, plenty we are on a boat, need knives to cut ropes; fuel: about 4 tons, and by this time, he is just waving me out the door. ( I wonder if the guy asks these same questions to the mega-yachts? Probably not because they use agents. The only question that seemed to be relevant is the gun question. I said no, but I do have two flare guns!)
Now, I leave the Passport and Customs building and walk to the Port Authority. Here, I fill out more forms, but do not pay anything. They tell me I can go to berth 27 on the wall and can side-to moor if only for a couple of days, or med moor if staying longer. I ask if there are any line handlers that can help me and there are none. I ask about the line handling at the customs dock and am told everyone provides their own. More on this subject later. I am also told that the cost per day at the wall for me is about 6-7 euros ($8.75) per day. (The actual Euro daily rate is "length of boat in meters" times 1.16 (Greek VAT) times 0.36. This is also the same calc that will be used in other ports I am told.) Water and electricity is per a pay-as-you-go system. Buy a five euro card and that gives you an unknown quantity of electricity and water from the shore power pods. No one knows how much. Absolutely no one! And by the time we depart, I still cannot tell you how much 5 euros buys. (The cost here is about 60-70% cheaper than what we pay at city docks in Turkey!)
So, some 3 hours and 20 minutes has passed and I get back to LeeZe. Zehra must have thought I was arrested or something. (Remember the Port Authority guy said 30 minutes max? What a hoot!)
So, we depart the Customs dock and approach #27. The wind is blowing so I set the anchor into the wind and back down to verify it is holding. Seeing no one on the wall, I take a long line from LeeZe's stern to the wall using the tender and secure it. Back on board, Zehra gently backs down as I take in the line. We have a few moments of excitement getting close to another boat (no one on board) but the wind blows me away thankfully and we get close enough to secure aft lines. As this is the first time we have done this ourselves, we are slow and somewhat timid, so this maneuver takes some 2 hours.
We work, it works, and we are in. Tired, but in. We set a port bow line to the wall because our anchor is out to starboard and we have learned that if the wind shifts, this port line comes in real handy!
On 11 July, the wind does shift and starts to blow, and again, we are in danger of our stern hitting the wall. We do what we must and that keeps us off the wall. But it is precarious. We learn our neighbor to starboard is leaving the next day so we decide to take his spot after he leaves. Why? It turns out we set the anchor too much into the wind so if we slide our stern to starboard, it will be better.
So, on 12 July, our neighbors leave and using lines only, we slide left two berth spaces. MUCH better. We get closer to the shore power pod, out from behind a enclosed bus stop, and the gentle breezes are now unimpeded. We surprise ourselves as how easy this move was. I now set a starboard bow line to the wall, and reset the port one due to the move. LeeZe is now safely tied up.
It is Saturday so shops and markets close at 1430 or so and will reopen on Monday. We are told that supermarkets open at 0800 and close 2000, 6 days a week. There are at least three on the SW side of the port, and while we are not in need of anything, we take an early walk, find them, and look around. We eat out, and I just cannot resist a real pork sausage dinner.
22 July: So, it has been 12 days since check in. You can say we like it. But, thinking that time might mellow some experiences, I thought I would wait before addressing some issues.
Honest Bicycle Repair Shop 39°06.681'N, 26°33.448'E
Not so Honest Bicycle Repair Shop 39°06.688'N 26°33.406'E
(Both are on the road between the Old Port and the City Harbor but without street # and names, lat and long will have to do!)
Between then and now, we have found that the city is ABSOLUTELY dead on Sundays except for a military band that shows up at 0800 and sunset on Sundays, raises or removes a Greek flag at a small monument near to the city dock, plays the National Anthem, and then marches away.
We go to the beach on Sundays because there is nothing else to do. On weekdays, shops open at 0800 and close about 1430. Depending on the day, they may or may not reopen in the evening (1830-2100). (Huh?) The fish sellers open at dawn, and many are cleaning up and closing by 1000. (Octopus is in high demand here and if the local fishing trawler returns without, there is no fresh to buy the next day.) Shops open from 0800-1400 on Saturdays if they are going to open.. Shops will not be open on Sundays, even if there is a cruise liner in.
We cannot help but compare this experience to what we see in Turkey. Maybe the Greeks have a better work - play balance because if this city was in Turkey, the shops would be open 7 days a week 12-14 hours a day.
18-20 July We had guests this weekend (arrived Friday late, departed early Monday).
We ate at Rebetis in the Old Port on Friday +30 225 104 0740. Great Fish dinner. We walked there and back, and around the harbor. Many were out and about! The street we took to the restaurant was lined with all types of shops, none of them open. And the street was filled with walkers. Again, I cannot help but think what it would be like if this street was in Turkey.
We rented a car (last one available in town, or so it seemed!) on Saturday to tour the northern part of the island. Our guests have been here before many times so they showed us the best spots. The first stop was Skala Sikamineas where we ate under a giant Mulberry tree at Scamnia Restaurant +30 225 305 5318 / 5419 www.Skamnia.net.gr or www.underthetree.gr. Our guests wanted lobster but compared to vsits in the past, it was way too $$$. The restaurants hang octopus outside on lines to show people they have it.
Then on to Petra,
a cute town where we walked and enjoyed a village somewhat untouched by time. Then, our last stop was Molyvos where we climbed to the castle, walked down to the fishing port, sat and had some drinks, and then dinner at Triaina Restaurant and Hotel (5 rooms all taken!) Tel +30 225 307 1350/51. Our guests were here last year and sang a little bit (both are opera singers) so with their voices and guitar, then regaled the crowd at dinner for about 45 minutes.
It was a long day but we had a blast!
Some additional comments: On Monday, 14 July, in the afternoon, we were the ONLY boat at the city wall.
We were alone until Thursday, when one boat showed up. For the last two weekends, there may be 4-6 boats at the wall. We were thinking that the city wall would be packed in July but we were mistaken.
No boat, not even the huge 30 meter sailboat from the UK did what we did and first tie up at the customs dock and check-in. All come to the wall, tie up, and then check-in.
Some use an agent. We tried to find one before arriving but could not. It turns out we saved 105 euros (over $140) by doing it ourselves.
A couple of boats came up to the dock, load fuel (walk to the gas station as the city does not allow fuel trucks at the city wall), water and groceries, and departed the next day. They neither checked in nor paid for the berth.
There is a SETUR marina to the South of the city wall. It is in a quiet area of town and somewhat of a walk to get to where the "action" is. They have a fuel dock and I could not help but wonder why my sail boat neighbors were trekking to the gas station and lugging back fuel. Finally, I asked!. The marina will sell you the fuel you need but they also will charge you for one night's stay. That same company has marinas in Turkey and they do not have that policy there!
We found fruit and veggies to be $$$, but most meat (less ground beef) and pork is cheaper than Turkey. Chicken is about the same. At night the ice cream venders and stores sell an upscale ice cream at about 3 times the cost in Turkey. Normal dinners are about 20-30% higher, but fish dinners are about 50% cheaper. Restaurants sell table wine by the kilogram and Ouzo, the national drink is sold in small 200 ml bottles. (Unlike Turkey, larger bottles are just not listed on the menu.)
Octopus, fried, cooked in wine sauce, and sautéed in olive oil and garlic is the rage here, and is quite tasty. Squid / calamari is also the rage but large shrimps, not so much. Based on the prices in the restaurants, Octopus, squid and smallish shrimps are the most plentiful. We also found a great butcher, a decent bread shop and a great hardware shop on Archipelagous Street, a two minute walk across the main road and down an alley from where we were docked. There are also plenty of fruits and vegetables stands in the same area. This same streets and streets attached to it are the main shopping streets so when the cruse liners are in, these streets are packed!
What else do we do? Usually in the morning we are out and about. Afternoons, we take a respite from the sun and the heat. We eat dinner either in or out at after sunset, take a walk about the harbor,
and then people watch, lately from two great chairs high up on the boat deck.
Our plans? As of this day, stay awhile and then leave. For sure we will be here until Ramazan is over in Turkey, and the Sugar Holiday (Seker Bayrami) after Ramazan is also finished. At a restaurant Sunday night, the owners were cooking lots of extra food as they expect the Turks will be over here in droves for Seker Bayrami (28-30 July). We were told that there are few hotel rooms left for that period, ferry boat tickets are also hard to come by and that the dock could be crowded. So, we plan to stay and see what all the fuss is about.
30 July. I did not see what the fuss was all about. This is the end of the holiday. The city wall was not full (there was room for at least 6-8 sail boats), and while the city was crowded, it was no more or less crowded than other weekend periods. I also did not see droves of people streaming out from the ferries. Maybe I missed it all.
2014-08-04 We depart Mytilini, make a "brief" pit stop (more later in ANOTHER blog) and arrive in Molyvos (Northern tip of Lesbos) on 15 Aug. Our intentions are to stay a few days and them depart for Limnos. But… the weather and our intentions just do not mix.
Molyvos. It is a very nice town, with a castle / fort on a hill that rises probably some 600+ meters above the water.
We were here with our guests last month but now we have time to "smell the roses."
The town itself nestles on the side of the hill that the castle / fort tops
so for the most part, you are either walking up or down to get to wherever you want to go.
In the port, there are about 8+ restaurants and bars that seem constantly busy at night, and hardly an empty table is to be had come 2100 or so.
A walk up the hill from the port
leads you to the the road cut into the side of the hill that connects Molyvos with the rest of the island. In the middle is another rode that rises UP toward the castle where many of the shops are. The only butcher we found is on the first level of this road, and above him are two grocery stores. There is also a grocery store at the edge of town.
So, if one needs supplies, one climbs and walks.
There is a "village train"
that runs between Molyvos and Petra. We took it one day and walked around.
Petra is more touristy than Molyvos, with beaches and tourist shops, but it looks like a town that come October, one rolls up the sidewalks and puts them away, to come out the following April. The beaches face the Northern Aegean so when there are storms and winds, they get pounded.
We found a hotel that use to be a olive oil factory in Molyvos that also has a beach, We went there a few times for the day (2.50 euros each for a chaise lounge, free wi-fi) and spent the day. To walk there, one goes up and down a hill. So, we cheated and took the tender. Nice!
The port is made up of an inner and outer harbor.
Visiting yachts tie up along the west wall, stern too. A couple of sail boats tried mooring side too, but the Port Authorities made them change. It all appears that one can tie up at the east wall (saw two Greek power cruisers there) but as the two charter boats, and the Greek Coast Guard boat use that area for "touch and goes" landings, I think one would need to pre-arrange with the Port Authority. We saw a sailboat anchor just outside the outer harbor but about an hour later, an outgoing fisherman gave them a note and they moved closer to the old olive oil factory. We saw two "Cats" come in, both after 1800. One anchored off the harbor for most of the day, and then came in. We come to learn that "Cats" can come in after 1800 and cannot stay more than one night. There was a 70' that came in and stayed a few days, and ran his generator from 07-2400. so if one visits, leave the end empty and moor closer in to stay as far away from those guys as possible. The dock was only full one night while we were there. The price per day was calculated the same way as Mytilini and for this port, electricity and water were included.
Fuel. Like Mytilini, sailor boaters lugged fuel from the gas station that is on the edge of town. But I come to learn that if one talks with the two charter boat operators, they get a Shell fuel truck to top them off once per week and the truck can also top off boats. There is a catch: One has to move to the "touch and go" place to load fuel, and then move back. (One can also get a fuel truck to come to you if you are at the huge concrete dock in Petra, some 4 nm away.)
But there is only so much one can do in Molyvos so we keep an eye on the weather. The next run is 60 nm and so we need a good weather window of at least 12 hours, but prefer 18+. There was one in the third week of August but for personal reasons, we do not go. So the next window is seems to be 28 Aug based on the weather forecast. However, late on the 27, "they" change their minds and the window narrows to < 12 hours. Zehra is disappointed because I promised we would go on this day, so I have learned my lesson. Make no promises when it comes to the weather. So, we settle in and the next window appears to be Tuesday.
2014-09-02. It is Tuesday! The day starts at 0445 when I get up. The weather window is good thru 2100 so I was hoping to depart around 0500 and get to Moudros or Myrina on Limnos before it closes. But, it is so dark that I determine that I need some sunlight to safely depart. (I had watched 2 boats depart that had their anchors fouled by harbor debris so even though mine looked clear based on my last swim, I did not want to be clearing a fouled anchor in darkness.)
Sunlight comes and we leave at 0645 w/o a problem. There is a following sea and wind which gives us a slight boost in speed. But this is really a two wave-point hop, separated by 51 nm.
Then on to Petra,
a cute town where we walked and enjoyed a village somewhat untouched by time. Then, our last stop was Molyvos where we climbed to the castle, walked down to the fishing port, sat and had some drinks, and then dinner at Triaina Restaurant and Hotel (5 rooms all taken!) Tel +30 225 307 1350/51. Our guests were here last year and sang a little bit (both are opera singers) so with their voices and guitar, then regaled the crowd at dinner for about 45 minutes.
It was a long day but we had a blast!
Some additional comments: On Monday, 14 July, in the afternoon, we were the ONLY boat at the city wall.
We were alone until Thursday, when one boat showed up. For the last two weekends, there may be 4-6 boats at the wall. We were thinking that the city wall would be packed in July but we were mistaken.
No boat, not even the huge 30 meter sailboat from the UK did what we did and first tie up at the customs dock and check-in. All come to the wall, tie up, and then check-in.
Some use an agent. We tried to find one before arriving but could not. It turns out we saved 105 euros (over $140) by doing it ourselves.
A couple of boats came up to the dock, load fuel (walk to the gas station as the city does not allow fuel trucks at the city wall), water and groceries, and departed the next day. They neither checked in nor paid for the berth.
There is a SETUR marina to the South of the city wall. It is in a quiet area of town and somewhat of a walk to get to where the "action" is. They have a fuel dock and I could not help but wonder why my sail boat neighbors were trekking to the gas station and lugging back fuel. Finally, I asked!. The marina will sell you the fuel you need but they also will charge you for one night's stay. That same company has marinas in Turkey and they do not have that policy there!
We found fruit and veggies to be $$$, but most meat (less ground beef) and pork is cheaper than Turkey. Chicken is about the same. At night the ice cream venders and stores sell an upscale ice cream at about 3 times the cost in Turkey. Normal dinners are about 20-30% higher, but fish dinners are about 50% cheaper. Restaurants sell table wine by the kilogram and Ouzo, the national drink is sold in small 200 ml bottles. (Unlike Turkey, larger bottles are just not listed on the menu.)
Octopus, fried, cooked in wine sauce, and sautéed in olive oil and garlic is the rage here, and is quite tasty. Squid / calamari is also the rage but large shrimps, not so much. Based on the prices in the restaurants, Octopus, squid and smallish shrimps are the most plentiful. We also found a great butcher, a decent bread shop and a great hardware shop on Archipelagous Street, a two minute walk across the main road and down an alley from where we were docked. There are also plenty of fruits and vegetables stands in the same area. This same streets and streets attached to it are the main shopping streets so when the cruse liners are in, these streets are packed!
What else do we do? Usually in the morning we are out and about. Afternoons, we take a respite from the sun and the heat. We eat dinner either in or out at after sunset, take a walk about the harbor,
and then people watch, lately from two great chairs high up on the boat deck.
Our plans? As of this day, stay awhile and then leave. For sure we will be here until Ramazan is over in Turkey, and the Sugar Holiday (Seker Bayrami) after Ramazan is also finished. At a restaurant Sunday night, the owners were cooking lots of extra food as they expect the Turks will be over here in droves for Seker Bayrami (28-30 July). We were told that there are few hotel rooms left for that period, ferry boat tickets are also hard to come by and that the dock could be crowded. So, we plan to stay and see what all the fuss is about.
30 July. I did not see what the fuss was all about. This is the end of the holiday. The city wall was not full (there was room for at least 6-8 sail boats), and while the city was crowded, it was no more or less crowded than other weekend periods. I also did not see droves of people streaming out from the ferries. Maybe I missed it all.
2014-08-04 We depart Mytilini, make a "brief" pit stop (more later in ANOTHER blog) and arrive in Molyvos (Northern tip of Lesbos) on 15 Aug. Our intentions are to stay a few days and them depart for Limnos. But… the weather and our intentions just do not mix.
Molyvos. It is a very nice town, with a castle / fort on a hill that rises probably some 600+ meters above the water.
We were here with our guests last month but now we have time to "smell the roses."
The town itself nestles on the side of the hill that the castle / fort tops
so for the most part, you are either walking up or down to get to wherever you want to go.
In the port, there are about 8+ restaurants and bars that seem constantly busy at night, and hardly an empty table is to be had come 2100 or so.
A walk up the hill from the port
leads you to the the road cut into the side of the hill that connects Molyvos with the rest of the island. In the middle is another rode that rises UP toward the castle where many of the shops are. The only butcher we found is on the first level of this road, and above him are two grocery stores. There is also a grocery store at the edge of town.
So, if one needs supplies, one climbs and walks.
There is a "village train"
that runs between Molyvos and Petra. We took it one day and walked around.
Petra is more touristy than Molyvos, with beaches and tourist shops, but it looks like a town that come October, one rolls up the sidewalks and puts them away, to come out the following April. The beaches face the Northern Aegean so when there are storms and winds, they get pounded.
We found a hotel that use to be a olive oil factory in Molyvos that also has a beach, We went there a few times for the day (2.50 euros each for a chaise lounge, free wi-fi) and spent the day. To walk there, one goes up and down a hill. So, we cheated and took the tender. Nice!
The port is made up of an inner and outer harbor.
Visiting yachts tie up along the west wall, stern too. A couple of sail boats tried mooring side too, but the Port Authorities made them change. It all appears that one can tie up at the east wall (saw two Greek power cruisers there) but as the two charter boats, and the Greek Coast Guard boat use that area for "touch and goes" landings, I think one would need to pre-arrange with the Port Authority. We saw a sailboat anchor just outside the outer harbor but about an hour later, an outgoing fisherman gave them a note and they moved closer to the old olive oil factory. We saw two "Cats" come in, both after 1800. One anchored off the harbor for most of the day, and then came in. We come to learn that "Cats" can come in after 1800 and cannot stay more than one night. There was a 70' that came in and stayed a few days, and ran his generator from 07-2400. so if one visits, leave the end empty and moor closer in to stay as far away from those guys as possible. The dock was only full one night while we were there. The price per day was calculated the same way as Mytilini and for this port, electricity and water were included.
Fuel. Like Mytilini, sailor boaters lugged fuel from the gas station that is on the edge of town. But I come to learn that if one talks with the two charter boat operators, they get a Shell fuel truck to top them off once per week and the truck can also top off boats. There is a catch: One has to move to the "touch and go" place to load fuel, and then move back. (One can also get a fuel truck to come to you if you are at the huge concrete dock in Petra, some 4 nm away.)
But there is only so much one can do in Molyvos so we keep an eye on the weather. The next run is 60 nm and so we need a good weather window of at least 12 hours, but prefer 18+. There was one in the third week of August but for personal reasons, we do not go. So the next window is seems to be 28 Aug based on the weather forecast. However, late on the 27, "they" change their minds and the window narrows to < 12 hours. Zehra is disappointed because I promised we would go on this day, so I have learned my lesson. Make no promises when it comes to the weather. So, we settle in and the next window appears to be Tuesday.
2014-09-02. It is Tuesday! The day starts at 0445 when I get up. The weather window is good thru 2100 so I was hoping to depart around 0500 and get to Moudros or Myrina on Limnos before it closes. But, it is so dark that I determine that I need some sunlight to safely depart. (I had watched 2 boats depart that had their anchors fouled by harbor debris so even though mine looked clear based on my last swim, I did not want to be clearing a fouled anchor in darkness.)
Sunlight comes and we leave at 0645 w/o a problem. There is a following sea and wind which gives us a slight boost in speed. But this is really a two wave-point hop, separated by 51 nm.
So, after departure, Zehra goes back to sleep and I pilot LeeZe toward that second point.
We arrive at Limnos Island's SE corner at about 1500 give or take and about an hour earlier, we decided NOT to go on to Myrina (Limnos' main port) as that is another 3+ hours and while the weather is nice, we can see storm clouds coming toward us from the west. So, we enter a large bay and make our way toward Moudros.
In Mytilini, I bought a chart pack for the Northern Aegean (90 euros!) and now I am glad I did. The port guide we have tells us that there is one pier to tie up at Moudros but the chart pack shows three. It also shows that there is a narrow channel to them, but our electronic navigation chart is somewhat "vague" on the details. There are some channel markers shown on the chart pack and for sure, they are there in real life. Whew!
So, per the chart pack, we hail the harbormaster on Channel 12 ( we come to learn that that does NOT happen very often) and after a brief exchange, we are offered a place at the end of the first pier on the left as we enter. (Turns out there was only ONE place empty!) Her English is somewhat limited so she cannot answer our question if we are to moor side, or stern too.
So, we enter the harbor, where at one point, Zehra reports that the depth under the keel is 0.8 meters but as we venture further in, it settles in at 1 meter. We see the spot, and determine it is a side mooring.
We drop the anchor so we can prepare for a port side too mooring (for the record, LeeZe handles like s__t when mooring port side too) because to make it a starboard side too mooring, I would have to swing around in a small basin that the chart pack shows has a depth of 1-2 meters.
We moor with the help of other boaters (did scrape the rub rail so we will need some blue paint!) and we are in and settled by 1730. Shore power and water are at the pier but for now, we need neither.
I am bone tired but after getting the lay of the land from other boaters, Zehra takes a walk into town while I "decompress." Dinner in left overs and bedtime comes early. The weather as predicted turns quite windy at about 2100 and gusts up to 30+ blow most of the night. But we are in, the wind is blowing us on to the pier, and that is OK. Zeghra reports that her initial view is that the town is small and quiet, and has few if any tourists. Throughout the evening, we have people come by and look at LeeZe. Our boat neighbors tell us that many will come to check out the new boat at the pier, so one can surmise the level of entertainment this town has to offer to its locals.
Our plans: Stay until the next good weather window to Myrina but that could be next week.
That concludes this blog entry. Of course, comments and questions are warmly welcomed. If you receive the link to this blog via a personal email, and no longer wish to, just me me know and I will remove you from the list. No hard feelings, OK?
Thanks for taking the time
Lee and Zehra Aboard MV LeeZe
Moudros Limnos Gr
PS Why the extended period without a report? I cannot now say, but do promise I will.
We arrive at Limnos Island's SE corner at about 1500 give or take and about an hour earlier, we decided NOT to go on to Myrina (Limnos' main port) as that is another 3+ hours and while the weather is nice, we can see storm clouds coming toward us from the west. So, we enter a large bay and make our way toward Moudros.
In Mytilini, I bought a chart pack for the Northern Aegean (90 euros!) and now I am glad I did. The port guide we have tells us that there is one pier to tie up at Moudros but the chart pack shows three. It also shows that there is a narrow channel to them, but our electronic navigation chart is somewhat "vague" on the details. There are some channel markers shown on the chart pack and for sure, they are there in real life. Whew!
So, per the chart pack, we hail the harbormaster on Channel 12 ( we come to learn that that does NOT happen very often) and after a brief exchange, we are offered a place at the end of the first pier on the left as we enter. (Turns out there was only ONE place empty!) Her English is somewhat limited so she cannot answer our question if we are to moor side, or stern too.
So, we enter the harbor, where at one point, Zehra reports that the depth under the keel is 0.8 meters but as we venture further in, it settles in at 1 meter. We see the spot, and determine it is a side mooring.
We drop the anchor so we can prepare for a port side too mooring (for the record, LeeZe handles like s__t when mooring port side too) because to make it a starboard side too mooring, I would have to swing around in a small basin that the chart pack shows has a depth of 1-2 meters.
We moor with the help of other boaters (did scrape the rub rail so we will need some blue paint!) and we are in and settled by 1730. Shore power and water are at the pier but for now, we need neither.
I am bone tired but after getting the lay of the land from other boaters, Zehra takes a walk into town while I "decompress." Dinner in left overs and bedtime comes early. The weather as predicted turns quite windy at about 2100 and gusts up to 30+ blow most of the night. But we are in, the wind is blowing us on to the pier, and that is OK. Zeghra reports that her initial view is that the town is small and quiet, and has few if any tourists. Throughout the evening, we have people come by and look at LeeZe. Our boat neighbors tell us that many will come to check out the new boat at the pier, so one can surmise the level of entertainment this town has to offer to its locals.
Our plans: Stay until the next good weather window to Myrina but that could be next week.
That concludes this blog entry. Of course, comments and questions are warmly welcomed. If you receive the link to this blog via a personal email, and no longer wish to, just me me know and I will remove you from the list. No hard feelings, OK?
Thanks for taking the time
Lee and Zehra Aboard MV LeeZe
Moudros Limnos Gr
PS Why the extended period without a report? I cannot now say, but do promise I will.
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