24 August - 27 August 2025 - London, Athens, Piraeus, Ermioni, Tyros

Sunday 24th August - Wednesday 27th August

The autumn cruise and adventures begin. 

Travelling to Greece on Sunday was an adventure in itself, involving a taxi, airplane, underground train across Athens, ferry and a short walk. It all went very smoothly; despite leaving Heathrow a few minutes late, we arrived in Athens earlier than scheduled, which allowed us to grab a meal at the port. We left home at 6.00am and arrived in Ermioni at 10.45pm, local time. The two hour time difference meant that it didn’t feel quite so late. The lady owner of our B&B was at her taverna to let us in and it was a great place to stay, with everything we needed. Beautifully decorated too.

On Monday we picked up a hire car to make the hour drive to Nafplion to visit Customs to comply with one of the demands of the Greek authorities. It was a good thing that the guy in the boatyard office had given us a pin drop of the location, as it was an unassuming building in the suburb of Nafplion. At least it was a pleasant drive through the hills of the interior of this part of the Peloponnese, passing through pretty villages, with views over the coast from the high points. Mission was accomplished.

Ermioni is a bustling upmarket holiday town. It’s delightful and beautifully presented. The peninsula harbour is surrounded by tavernas and restaurants, where you can enjoy a meal right next to the water. Sailing boats filled the quays. As it’s high season and still in the school holidays it’s busy, but there was no problem getting a table to eat in the evening.

Lunch stop after Nafplion

Its a great view across the bay from Equinox, while still in her cradle ashore (nut it feels quite a long way above the ground) 

On the move towards the launching dock

Tuesday was a early start to be at the boatyard for boat launch. By 11.00am we were at anchor in the bay, with some time to get ourselves sorted to motor the 12 miles round to Porto Chelli, where we had to check in/out with port police. We had hoped to get onto the town quay, which we could on previous out of season visits, but today it was all blocked out for large super yachts. Fortunately Porto Chelli is in a large shelled bay, so we could anchor, along with lots of other boats of all shapes and sizes. It turned out to be a bonus because we were well away from the pumping music from the clubs, which went on until the small hours.

Still plenty of deck gear to be refitted

At rest, with the inevitable fisherman

The town looks pretty at night across the harbour

We were just a little anxious about where we were going to be able to get fresh water; not easy in these parts. With a bit of homework, we spotted a small harbour across the gulf, which looked promising with water depth for our deep draft. In it’s favour for us is the lack of electricity supply, so we guessed correctly that it wouldn’t be a popular place for the charter boats and therefore quieter. To make sure, we left early on Wednesday morning and arrived around 11.00am, the sweet spot, when boats moored overnight would have left and those out sailing during the day would not have arrived. We couldn’t have judged it better, with a guy from a local boat and a fisherman kindly taking the lines to make parking rather easier than if we had to do it unaided. There were plenty of free spots amongst the twenty or so available. More importantly there is an unlimited supply of fresh water, so we were able to flush out and fill our water tanks. A shower in the evening felt like an unexpected luxury. Only two other private boats and a small flotilla of four arrived later. It is indeed a great find.

Distance today -       14 miles

Distance this year - 732 miles 

Tricia (and Steve) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

29 & 30 September 2025 - Bar and Bari

Image
The alarm was switched off this morning, we were trying to get as much rest as possible before leaving. When we did stir, the preparations began in earnest, with some shopping and a rather disappointing trip to the marina office.  We were hoping that they would let us stay on our berth until the evening, when we planed to leave, but they were adamant that the rules said that if we stayed after 2:00, we had to pay for another night.  Of course we did not want to do this, and had hoped that there would be some flexibility or the ability to turn a blind eye, as the marina was not full. Alas no. So we went to the Harbour Master to check the boat out of Montenegro, then out for lunch, before pulling off the dock at about 1:45. Initially we went and anchored in the bay, but there was no protection from the swell and it was uncomfortable and not conducive to sleeping. After trying to rest, we concluded that we might as well get on with it, and sail through the whole of the hours of d...
Read more

22 October 2025 - Vieste - (updated)

Image
Another day of motoring, taking us to Vieste on the tip of the "spur" of Italy. First, however we had to negotiate the fishing boats.  This corner must be a prime spot for fishing as up to 15 fishing boats were visible in site. They move in unpredictable fashion, starting and stopping, presumably to deploy and recover their nets.  We kept our distance as there is nothing good that comes from getting entangled in their nets. We noticed that one of the fishing boats was called Kevin.  It's a perfectly normal name, but it seemed rather odd for an Italian fishing boat. Another sign of the abundance of fish in this area was our first sighting of dolphins since we arrived in the Med in August.  This was a pod of at least 10, and we were treated to seeing 2 spectacular leaps completely clear of the water. The scenery of this region is very beautiful and there are towns hidden in the folds of the land. The town of Perschici, from the sea.  Too shallow for us to stop the...
Read more

25 & 26 September 2025 - Bar and Podgarica

Image
After some days of being constantly on the move, we feel the need for a break, and the chance to restock the food supplies. We also need to prepare for our crossing to Italy, and be ready to leave when the boatyard are ready to receive us.  In case you need directions, this sign post points to various locations around the world, and gives their distance. Bar is offering good access to shops and markets, and we spent Thursday morning walking to a large farmers market, with a wonderful choice of locally produced fruit and vegetables. On Friday we decided to visit the capital of Montenegro, Porgarica. This entailed a one hour train ride in each direction, through the mountains and on a long bridge which spans Lake Shkodra. A fter  World War II , Podgorica was first designated as the capital of Montenegro in 1946. At that time, it was renamed Titograd in honour of  Josip Broz Tito , the leader of  Yugoslavia . It served as the capital of the  Socialist Republic of M...
Read more