Sail Crete

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Thursday, October 21
We planned for an early start today, but didn’t get going until eleven. When I woke up this morning much of the cabin had little puddles of water everywhere, including the computer/navigator desk, so all of our maps are soggy and my computer is feeling under the weather. We’ll see if it starts. The wind is coming from a bit off due south, and we are headed nearly due south, so we have the motor on, as well as the two sails up, in order to be able to head a bit too far into the wind without lofting. This is what they tell me, I really have no idea what it all means, but I smile and nod. I’m starting to figure it out. I spent all day up on deck, sizzling in the sun (in retrospect this was not a good idea), and wandering around aimlessly in my head, which is always in interesting proposition. I pondered everything from sea nymphs and the moon spinners to the importance of a pen nib. Now if only I could remember which world problems I solved and how… much of sailing, I now remember, is learning how to stay sane without doing anything for hours and hours. I’m remembering quite well. On the side note of remembering/recovering sailing skills, I still have no signs of seasickness, but solid ground now moves quite alarmingly if I stand still on the shore! Sometime before we dropped anchor I took the helm, as yes, we all survived. This big boat is a lot less flighty than my dad’s little bird, which will swoop around at the merest touch of the tiller or shift in wind. Our anchorage is a pebble beach cove tucked into a channel between two islands, Karpathos and Saria. The entrance was very narrow, and shallow, so the guys did that, and our battery is still kaput, so we dropped anchor manually, and will pull I up manually. Or Chris will☺. The cove is lined with cliffs, and there is a gorgeous trail built into the side, so we flipped the dinghy off right away and paddled in to explore. Just off the steeply sloped beach is a little chapel (they are literally EVERYWHERE) and a park building describing the national park we were anchored in. There are three monk seal habitats on the coastline of Saria, several bird nesting places, and some rare flowers growing out of the rocks. Finally, wildlife of some sort! I heard birdsong! I took off down the trail, headed for the seal sanctuary, leaving dropouts scattered along the trail. It was probably pretty irresponsible of me not to hike at the pace of the group, but man, I need to MOVE sometimes. However, I was waylaid by a troop of burros blocking the path to whom I fed my cache of cashew nuts and then distracted by an abandoned village of stone buildings and terraces, so I never made it to the seals. I did get some great pictures of the sunset, and turned around to hike back before dark fell, so I was marginally responsible. It’s a good thing I was too, because Mike was sitting by the trailside waiting for me, and Chris and Karleen were still on the beach, fending off the donkeys who were now anxious for more treats. Karleen couldn’t believe it when I hopped up on one of the older ones and wandered around sidesaddle, sort of. They were dead tame. Our little dinghy is so small that we have to make multiple trips. Our energy level is a little lower today. Kar really likes to be in town at night. I think it makes her feel safer. Less isolated. I, personally, MUCH prefer these little coves. I guess that makes me anti-social 😉

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