An average night at anchor in Ionian (almost)

[Mistroma]

Nothing very out of the ordinary.

Anchored in the bay at Mitikas tonight, right between the power cable and the pipeline marked on the chart. There's about 600m space between them and we anchor about 150m from the swimming buoys. I'm having a quiet read when a local ferry boat stops and shouts that we are anchored over a pipeline and repeats this with the boat about 60m away before tearing off into the distance. I go below to double check latest Navionics and then my Chart plotter, both show we are sitting at least 300m from anything. I scan the shore and spot a very faded sign indicating no anchoring (only readable at 25xzoom) and similar looking object on the island 1nm away. I have a suspicion the request is more to do with the swimming area but no problem moving if it keeps the locals happy. The anchor was well dug in and it looks like sand everywhere. Charter boats start anchoring all around us before I can recover the anchor and continue to arrive after we move.

Nicely settled in a new spot but now down wind of everyone instead of up wind. We decided to remove the side shades before turning in just in case the wind gets up. Barely finished and we get gust of 15kts (Wow!). I notice that a yacht which had been about 150m ahead of us is now about 20m from our bow and closing. The wind drops and they settle with their stern well behind our mast and about 20m away. I switch from white to amber cockpit lighting to help my vision and head for the bows. I can't see anyone in the cockpit and call to ask if they are OK. A voice replies that they are fine so I return to the cockpit. Nothing happens for 5 minutes so I go back and ask if they have a problem. I'm told everything is OK and start to see many people appearing in the cockpit. Treated to about 5-10minutes of discussion in Italian, everyone joins in from about 7 years old upwards. Nothing decided and no action. I call again and ask if they have a problem starting the engine or lifting the anchor. I'm told that their anchor is broken, I ask if they mean windlass and need a hand. The reply is that the windlass is OK but the anchor on 30m of chain is broken. I assume it's a translation thing and they mean it's dragging. I tell them that they need to lift the anchor, check it and try again.

Another 5 minutes pass before they start the engine and lift the anchor. It hasn't crossed over our chain yet but doesn't sound like 30m being retrieved. I've now spent the last hour watching them repeatedly try to anchor upwind. Every attempt ends with them dragging serenely past us. It is too dark to see what they are doing. The holding seems great here, we dug our anchor in easily each time and 3/4 throttle didn't move us. They might be putting out 10m and reversing rapidly until it catches something. I have seen a lot of people doing that and I guess that they sometimes snag something by accident.

I don't think it is a charter boat but they do seem to have problems working out what to do and operate on democratic principles with everyone having a vote. I do like "one man one vote" but on a boat the captain is the one man (person).

Oh well, I hope we have a quiet night. I'm not convinced they are properly anchored and think they have just given up in the hope that there's no wind until morning.

 

[Neeves]

Lovely story.

its the reason we stopped going to the Whitsundays, ruined by its own success.

Jonathan

 

[sailaboutvic]

Ionian all over Mike , I have to say we don't regret leaving Greece for one second ,
We just touching 2.400 nm after leaving Tunisia hiting Malta , Sicily, italy , France Corsica and Sardinia
We had no anchor dramas , people seen to anchor well away from each other and in a regular basis there seen to set their anchor .
Aug has been busy , the biggest problem this year as been fast ribs roaring around , it's just a matter of time before some one gets killed .
Hopefully Mike you had a quiet night .

 

[Mistroma]

Ionian all over Mike , I have to say we don't regret leaving Greece for one second ,
We just touching 2.400 nm after leaving Tunisia hiting Malta , Sicily, italy , France Corsica and Sardinia
We had no anchor dramas , people seen to anchor well away from each other and in a regular basis there seen to set their anchor .
Aug has been busy , the biggest problem this year as been fast ribs roaring around , it's just a matter of time before some one gets killed .
Hopefully Mike you had a quiet night .

Wind switched to onshore at 15kts briefly later and then flicked back light offshore as predicted. Quiet night, no problems and going in to clean the hull shortly. The boat didn't look like a typical charter boat when they arrived. However, it's Greek flagged with Greek name and a decal on the bows saying ....sail (can't make it out) and about 6-8 people on board. All the signs of a charter. That does explain the lack of any action when dragging, lots of discussion before finally doing something and then complete inability to anchor again.

They' are now departing. Unusual to reverse away from the anchor to recover it? Perhaps it was being cleaned. Anchor fans might like to know that it is an old CQR type anchor.

I assume you got my email explaining why we had to turn around and return to Greece. Problems continue with failed start battery and deep-six'd a phone, oh well one of those seasons. Glad to hear that you aren't having problems in anchorages. All the Italians are here so it's probably not too busy. Glad to see that you have fixed the auto-pilot problem and the replacement is working well. I have exactly the same kit so fingers crossed.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Wind switched to onshore at 15kts briefly later and then flicked back light offshore as predicted. Quiet night, no problems and going in to clean the hull shortly. The boat didn't look like a typical charter boat when they arrived. However, it's Greek flagged with Greek name and a decal on the bows saying ....sail (can't make it out) and about 6-8 people on board. All the signs of a charter. That does explain the lack of any action when dragging, lots of discussion before finally doing something and then complete inability to anchor again.

They' are now departing. Unusual to reverse away from the anchor to recover it? Perhaps it was being cleaned. Anchor fans might like to know that it is an old CQR type anchor.

I assume you got my email explaining why we had to turn around and return to Greece. Problems continue with failed start battery and deep-six'd a phone, oh well one of those seasons. Glad to hear that you aren't having problems in anchorages. All the Italians are here so it's probably not too busy. Glad to see that you have fixed the auto-pilot problem and the replacement is working well. I have exactly the same kit so fingers crossed.

Yes got email Mike I tho I replyed ,
Course compute now replace , lucky we got a second hand S3G other wise it was going to cost both arms and legs and even one of Christine arm too a good 2.8k . So 500£ was much better .
This is funny but truth , the only place we had problem with Italian sailors is in Greece , for some reason in Italy or come to that in the south France we had very little problem .
Maybe west cost sailor are much more experience or just that the once that shot over to Greece for their summer cruise just get frustrated with the crowded anchorages and quay and behave like morons with no respect for any one else ,
but then that could be said about us Brits too .
I wrote here in the past , Greece seen to bring out the worst of sailors .

 

[RupertW]

Ionian all over Mike , I have to say we don't regret leaving Greece for one second ,
We just touching 2.400 nm after leaving Tunisia hiting Malta , Sicily, italy , France Corsica and Sardinia
We had no anchor dramas , people seen to anchor well away from each other and in a regular basis there seen to set their anchor .
Aug has been busy , the biggest problem this year as been fast ribs roaring around , it's just a matter of time before some one gets killed .
Hopefully Mike you had a quiet night .

I miss Greece - and Croatia even more - but enjoying the anchoring habits in the Canaries. Anchored now off a mile long white beach with just 3 other boats in glassy calm. It will get busy later with day cats and little mobos. Overnight yachts do cluster a bit but well apart and I see lots of anchor bouys which would be unreasonable if crowded but fine here.

 

[cherod]

really nice reading about how you are all dealing with the day to day issues in far flung foreign sunny lands ,, i could do a short narration of what it is like on a blustry ( 24 hours away from autumn ) day in Peterhead ,, but i shant bore you all ,,, enjoy , R

 

[RupertW]

Just turn your boat around and head South - you’ll enjoy the trip and the destinations.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I miss Greece - and Croatia even more - but enjoying the anchoring habits in the Canaries. Anchored now off a mile long white beach with just 3 other boats in glassy calm. It will get busy later with day cats and little mobos. Overnight yachts do cluster a bit but well apart and I see lots of anchor bouys which would be unreasonable if crowded but fine here.

It be interesting to hear more how you getting on in the Canaries , once you been there longer , we keep on talking about spending a winter there but what's put us off is hearing there not many places you can anchor with the swell .
And asyou know , anchoring is our life , marinas ok for the odd month over winter .

 

[cherod]

ha ha,,, being given long , serious and careful consideration,, believe me !!

 

[Mistroma]

Aaarghh.

We had a nice lunch in Mitikas and kept hearing comments from a man and two teenage girls at the next table. They were asking the waiter to point out where they were on the table cover map. I heard gasps and comment about an hour or so when he pointed to the corner of the table. The map showed Lefkada and Meganisi but didn't cover the Mitikas side of the coast. They were obviously lost and I asked if they wanted to look at TomTom on my phone. I entered a route for then but they were very puzzled until I asked where they had driven from. It all became clear when they said they were on a boat.

I pulled up Navionics and told them to turn right on leaving and head straight for the island of Meganisi in the distance. Avoid the offshore underwater rocks by going straight across the North of Meganisi. Just head for the land in front after passing the last part of Meganisi. Desimo cove should be in sight slightly to their right. The waiter gave them a new folded tablecloth with map and I pointed out where to aim for.

I was surprised that they did not have a plotter or charts but said to keep heading West. Unfortunately they didn't have a compass either. I asked where they had anchored and they pointed out a small hire boat with an outboard. I asked their father if they needed any petrol but he just smiled and reversed out. I hope that they get back to Desimo cove, it's about 13nm.

 

[Mistroma]

really nice reading about how you are all dealing with the day to day issues in far flung foreign sunny lands ,, i could do a short narration of what it is like on a blustry ( 24 hours away from autumn ) day in Peterhead ,, but i shant bore you all ,,, enjoy , R

I remember meeting a disappointed English sailor in Peterhead many years ago. The harbourmaster had asked him to move his boat along a bit because there was a "Fashion boat" coming in. He thought that it must be a photo-shoot for a magazine and was looking forward to seeing leggy models. Very disappointed when a rusty old trawler turned up. It took him a little while to work it out.

Having said that, I had trouble near Rosehearty range when asking if it would be clear to cut across. I could not understand a word the VHF operator said. It became embarrassing when asking him several times to repeat slowly and clearly because "his transmission was broken up". I even asked for a simply yes or no and finally called to say that I would detour around the range. I later heard that people from Aberdeen struggled with the Peterhead accent and they in turn had problems with Rosehearty. No idea if it was true or not.

 

[RupertW]

It be interesting to hear more how you getting on in the Canaries , once you been there longer , we keep on talking about spending a winter there but what's put us off is hearing there not many places you can anchor with the swell .
And asyou know , anchoring is our life , marinas ok for the odd month over winter .

Well Capnsensible is your man - he’s been here for years and we met up a few weeks ago with his wife and mine for a lovely few drinks and food. Not missing the Ionian in high season at all as the Sun is still warm and we are completely alone at an anchorage off Fuertaventura well sheltered from swell (so far) and a four knot wind.

Plenty of room to anchor in 7m and more but we arrived as the last 3 tourist cats were leaving and one said just take our bouy - we will need it back at 10:15 - I dived down anyway and it all looks good.

But as Med sailors we made a beginners error yesterday as we anchored off a beach with a few other yachts in turquoise as 4 meters. After a post lunch nap I saw a rocky plateau dividing the beach was much more visible. We had anchored at high tide with a 2.5m drop. I’d forgotten about water going up and down like that.

 

[alexsailor]

Croatia is even worse regarding "situations" on anchor.
Many charter boats with "sailors" without any knowledge (manly Slovakia and Poland; do not want to be judgy).

 

[RupertW]

I found Ionian very similar to Croatia in a few popular anchorages but with Croatia you have dozens of less popular anchorages too. I found the worst anchorers were professional Croatian captains as they all seem to think that the only way to anchor is to reverse at high speed through the anchorage as the anchor drops then come to a massive halt if the anchor catches. So they end up at a random place. I’ve seen this technique hundreds of times in Croatia but never anywhere else.

But my favourite was an Italian boat and a French boat in high winds one evening off Vis. The moorings were full so a few of us had to go to a steeply sloping beach where it went from 3 metres to 10 metres to 40 very quickly. Really just room on the 8 metre line. So the Italian boat decided as we were all alongside each other facing the wind he would park at right angles so dropped his anchor ahead of the pack at the left hand end of our line of boats and motored backwards at right angles to all of us then stopped the motor when the anchor dug in. He caught at least 3 of us.

The French boat was very special. They anchored behind all of us so in 20 to 40 metres at least. Then put lights and wine in the table and served up dinner. They were at least half a mile out to sea when it got dark and still seemed to be eating and drinking.

 

[Bellacruiser]

We witnessed an interesting Italian technique in a fairly busy spot in the Maddalenas in Sardinia. forget what it's called but three islands meet and it's a popular, sandy bottomed and fairly sheltered spot. Busy in the day with trippers but calms down later.

An Italian flagged monohull, c45ft, seemingly chartered based on its livery, comes in between a lot of anchored boats at quite some speed for the crowding and space. A lot of people on deck. Estimate it's doing a good 3 or 4 knots on motor. Then, skipper signals to someone at the bow to start paying out chain and sticks the engine in neutral whilst the chain goes out, but still with a lot of forward momentum; chain going out with windlass as full speed. Skippers elsewhere looking on nervously. Anchor eventually bites and they snag and lurch, semi-spin and come to somewhat of a halt.

People start whooping and jumping in the water, more coming up from the saloon. We lost count at 14. FOURTEEN! All aged approx 8+. Never did fathom what they were all doing on there!

Next thing 7 of them cram into your average charter boat's tender with 2.5hp outboard and disappear. They return an hour later on tow by a guy with a RIB, with a seemingly flooded outboard. Mystifying!

ETA we later had this beast anchor off our stern, quite the sight! https://yachtharbour.com/news/world-s-largest-trimaran-spotted-in-gibraltar-953

 

[cherod]

that is an amazing tri

 

[maggie2]

interested about the anchoring in Greece and Italian bots we spent a couple of years on both sides of Italy and found the best seaman were those from the west coast but I think most of the east coast boats are charter and they lack a lot of seamanship seen many just juck the anchor over the side with some rope on the end and just sit there

 

[Old Bumbulum]

I remember meeting a disappointed English sailor in Peterhead many years ago. The harbourmaster had asked him to move his boat along a bit because there was a "Fashion boat" coming in. He thought that it must be a photo-shoot for a magazine and was looking forward to seeing leggy models. Very disappointed when a rusty old trawler turned up. It took him a little while to work it out.

Having said that, I had trouble near Rosehearty range ...

I recall a minor RTA in Aberdeen shortly after I arrived there and before I had my ear 'in' to the lingo - the guy who'd trashed my car thought me an utter idiot because I didn't recognise "Hollyfocks" as an insurance company!

And listening to the fishing boats/rig support vessels on Ch16 where 50% of the traffic was incomprehensible scribble and the rest was "fokkenfokkenfokkenfokkenfokken".