Now that it was once again safe to run the engine, we pulled out first thing yesterday morning to go to the anchorage in Bali, Crete. In the bay at Agios Nickolaos, we were protected from the wind and big seas. As soon as we rounded the corner to leave the bay, we were smacked with 30 knots of wind on the nose and big waves that smashed into the bow relentlessly. This lasted about 2 hours before things started to calm down. The wind dropped to the low 20’s and the wave force reduced enough that we could open up the pilot house doors. It became an overall OK ride since the waves are not as steep and rapid as the last few trips we have made.

After 10 3/4 hours of paralleling the north shore, we pulled into the anchorage. We have long dreamed of the day we would pull up to Costa’s and Maria’s hotel and drop anchor outside their door. It was an exciting moment for us. And for them, too. Maria said was thrilled when she glanced out the window and saw Kosmos in the bay. She said she frantically waved to us, but we didn’t see it.

The wind was coming at just the right angle to make the anchorage rolly. To make matters worse, there were two speed boats doing circles around us. One pulling people on inflatable tubes, the other pulling parasailers. Argh. Paravanes were definitely a must in here. We put out the paravanes and brought down the dinghy. Getting the dinghy down in the rocking bay was not easy. We can’t remember if we have mentioned this or not, but we think that the paravanes make Kosmos look like she has a force field around her, like if you get too close you will be zapped with a tremendous electrical shock. We always laugh about it when they are down.

We puttered over to the small port. Maria told us Continue reading →