Sailing out of Kos

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TeeRev

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Through Latesail I've just chartered a nice looking 40' Bav for a week from Istrion Yachting in Kos, boarding next Saturday, just myself and wife on board but it has a roller reefing main so should be fairly easy to handle and reef.

The general plan is to head for Kalymnos then Leros and Patmos before turning for home, I know the strength of the Meltemi will have a lot to do with the final plan but was wondering whether there are any must see places, things to do or not do and anything to be aware of.
 
I did a charter of a Bav 40 from Istion in Kos about five weeks ago. I wonder if it was the same boat? Ours was called Babushka. If so, check the in-mast reefing carefully, and make sure you are comfortable with how it works, and the best way of reefing and unfurling it. We had some difficulty with the mainsail jamming going in and out, reinforcing my prejudice against in-mast systems. We also had some difficulty with the dinghy inflator, which did not fit the valves on the dinghy. (We reported these problems to Istion, so hopefully they have been sorted.)

They seemed a good company, and very helpful. The guy who met us at the base was German. At the end of the charter our flight home was quite late, and they allowed us the use of the boat for the day to relax.

Our route was from Kos to Vathys on Kalymnos, then to Lakka on Leros. From there we went to Nisyros (Palion) where we spent two days and hired a car to explore the island and visit the volcano. Then a sail to Tilos (Livadia) and then back to Kos. Vathys is a small village with limited berthing, but friendly people and a nice welcoming taverna beside the quay. Lakka has a large all services marina, quite expensive for berthing by Greek standards, and probably best avoided unless you need water, electricity, and a longish walk into the Art Deco style town, which has a generally run down look to it.

If you have not been there before, Nisyros is a must-see. It is a volcanic island with a large caldera producing steam and sulphurous emissions. As I said, we hired a car and spent a day exploring the island. The car hire guy (Eagles Nest Car Hire) was very helpful, and gave us a suggested itinerary which worked very well.

Most of the small ports seemed to have a guy with a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Harbour Master", and he would direct you to a berth, assist you in tying up, and relieve you of a small sum of money for berthing charges.

Winds at the beginning of June were light, but a sail was possible most days. I hope you enjoy your charter. Jim Baerselman of this parish has a lot more on his excellent website - http://www.jimbsail.info/mediterranean/greece/dodecanese

Iain
 
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Thanks very much for the info Iain, a small world, the boat we are chartering is indeed Babushka. From previous experience I'm also not a big fan of in-mast furling but it was the only thing I didn't like about the boat and considering we are only two up it sounded like a reasonably good idea, I shall definitely get a full rundown on how to work it and check the dinghy inflator as well.

We're going to make Pothia, (Kalymnos Town) our first port of call as it was where we went for our first holiday together over 40 years ago, I was a commercial diver in those days and the sponge divers were something I wanted to see. My plan is to then to head upwind to Lakka on Leros or Skala on Patmos, from there we will take it as it comes on a daily basis so I will bear Nisyros in mind.

We're flying out on Thursday and spending a couple of nights in a hotel so the base helpfulness could come in handy, I'm going to give them a call on Friday to see if the yacht might be available to board early on Saturday as we could then get straight off to Kalymnos.
 
To whet your appetite, here's a couple of photos I took last month of Babushka in Vathi, Kalymnos

P1000243.jpgP1000245.jpg

(Edit) looking at these photos reminds me that one of the chambers in the dinghy was a little soft, and seemed to have a small leak, which is why we were trying to inflate it. We never used the dinghy, but check that it has been repaired or replaced.

(Second Edit) As I said, I was not desperately keen on Lakka, but if you are going there, and if you enjoy beer, I would suggest Persiana bar and grill. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...rill-Lakki_Leros_Dodecanese_South_Aegean.html

The food is good by Greek standards, and he is a beer buff with an amazing selection of bottled beers, and some unusual ones on tap. It's just off the main waterfront road.
 
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For what it is worth, my advice on the in-mast reefing is to try to not let the sail out completely, but keep a turn or two in the mast. Our last effort in a similar rig had the bolt rope jamming in the slot, and hammer marks on the mast near the goose neck showed we were not the first to have to use brute force to get it back in. No what you want in a blow.
 
Going North, then returning, is a good strategy in the Meltemi season. One week will have to be a bit of a whistle-stop tour. The most attractive area to spend time is the archipelago formed by Patmos, Fourni, Arki and Lipsi. Each island is completely different from the others, and they're all just a short day sail apart. There's a wide choice between well sheltered azure blue anchorages, quiet village quays, and busy Patmos quay with the picturesque old hora/monastery above: Including tourists!

The full descriptions of all the local options can be seen by googling "JimB dodecanese" - a page originally written as a brief for charter boats to help them choose destinations!

JimB
 
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Thanks very much for all the good info gents, it will all help to make things go smoothly.

Iain and Jim are not sounding too keen on Leros but I've just been reading Rod Heikell and he says it's one of his favourite islands, I have no choice but to find out for myself as my wife loves Art Deco and has made Lakki a required stop.

I was planning on starting each day reefed until the weather became clear so I like the idea of keeping a roll or two of the main in the mast.
 
Leros is great. There are several spots that we find nicer than Lakka. Archangelos for one and Panteli for another. But that's our thing, we would rather be at anchor in clear water with a nice view and then dinghy ashore to find a great taverna than be stern tied alongside a road where the young hoons of the island have to thrash the hell out of their unmuffled scooters all day and night (or be stuck in a Marina). If time allows from Patmos, jump over to Lera on the bottom of Lipsoi (or even try and get to Arki).

Enjoy.
 
Pothia on Kalymnos, Lakka and Patmos are pretty definite on the way out, probably won't bother with Arki but Lipsoi, Pandeli and Vathi on Kalymnos are my provisional plan on the way back to Kos, hopefully that should provide a reasonable mix of town quays, marinas and anchorages.
I'm lucky about the scooter noise though, when I take my hearing aids out they don't bother me at all and I've just bought my wife some new earplugs so with any luck she will get a reasonable nights sleep on the quays as well.
 
Shopping is done and is being put aboard soon, Istion Yachting are an organised and helpful bunch, it's 12.30 and we're just about to board our yacht for the briefing and handover, we should be on our way to Kalymnos in about an hour, result. It's pretty windy so probably motorsailing to start with to make sure we get there as quick as possible.
 
we did this at the end of October/Start of November

We had a couple of days of fairly heavy wind (F8/9) but even then it was shorts and TShirt weather


Our Itinerary was:

Kos
Pserimos for lunch
Vathi Kalimnos overnight
Pandeli Leros (lovely)
Lipso
Patmos
Lakki
Kalimnos Town
Kos
 
Got away from Kos Marina just after 3.00pm in the end and motored all the way to Kalymnos, headwind all the way so just not worth putting the sails up, got there and tied up by 6.15 pm so a day gained.
Plans changed a bit as on Saturday evening we met a very nice liveaboard couple and chatted and drank a fair bit. We had to look at their Trader 54 on Sunday morning, that meant a late start so we sailed up to the Telendos channel then motored to Xerocambos on Leros and spent a lovely night at anchor.
Yesterday we looked at Lakka and then sailed upwind all the way to Paxos, parked on the quay and had a romantic dinner in a little back street restaurant. The Turkish boat next door has highly recommended Marathi so that's our plan for tonight, on a mooring ball and dinner in Michael the Pirate's Taverna.
 
Just posting now to finish off the trip report.
Dinner was delicious at the Pirate's Taverna, roast goat and potatoes in a parcel, he looked like someone out of Pirates of the Caribbean but was a really nice guy and even collected and returned us to the boat. The next day we had a nice easy broad reach sail to uninhabited Nisos Macronisi for a lunch stop with a swim through a cave into a hidden pool then we motored up to Lipso for a night on the quay with a romantic dinner at Manoli's Tastes.
Thursday was a slow rolly downwind sailing day to Ormos Palonisou on Kalymnos for our last night out on one of the fjord's two taverna's mooring balls with another good dinner and a lift in and out from the taverna owner.
Our last day started with no wind so we motored down to Ormos Vathi on Pserimos and anchored for a quiet lunch. The wind then started picking up so we motored out of the bay downwind for a mile or so to get a good angle for sailing on a lovely beam reach all the way back to Kos, best sail of the week and saw 7.5 knots on the gps.
We did 150nm and the boat sailed pretty well and was mechanically fine, it only had a few minor problems, things like the heads door not latching, (fixed with duct tape), the dinghy inflator was still the wrong fitting even after Iain had mentioned it but we borrowed one from another Istion yacht in Lipso then didn't use it anyway, we did make sure it was changed for the correct one when we got back though.
Felt very sorry for the Istion guys when we got back as they had to sort out the main heads holding tank outlet seacock which had blocked and had not been releasing the waste. It opened and closed easily every day but we just didn't notice that nothing was coming out until the heads backed up as the tank was full, we do like leccy heads though and it was a good job we had the forward one to use for the last couple of days.
We stayed in the same hotel for a few days after sailing and hired electric bikes for one day and a car for another, my wife dragged me round a few ruins in Kos Town and up on a hill as it makes her happy to look at old rocks and stonework.
We were going to stay until Thursday but I'm glad now that we flew out on Tuesday as we could have been caught up in the nasty earthquake which has damaged quite a few buildings that we recognise and the town quay that we were walking on only a few days ago.
 
Glad you enjoyed yourselves, though it is annoying that the dinghy inflator wasn't changed after we mentioned it to them in June. Clearly you were much more couth than we were, as we had the daily ceremonial emptying the contents of the holding tanks overboard with an appropriate salute and cheer to the resultant (and obvious) slick.
It is quite upsetting when you see on TV the rubble from an earthquake in a spot where you have been walking just a few weeks before. Thankfully not a problem that we often have in UK.
 
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