Berthing bother and a prehistoric cave

One of our favourite tavernas in Ermioni

29^th May 2015. After a week in the Gulf of Epidaurus it was time to start making our way towards Kilada, where Sandpiper would be stored in the yard for the winter. We spent our first night anchored off the island of Poros and our next in the bay at Ermioni, one of our favourite spots. Then it was on to Porto Heli and finally, on 3^rd June we dropped anchor in the bay at Kilada.

We weren’t due to be hauled out until the following week, but Sandpiper had developed an oil leak that Cliff had tried and failed to fix, so we had allowed extra time for Dimitris, the local marine engineer, to take a look at the engine.

The bay of Kilada

The main harbour was already full, which left us the challenge of finding somewhere suitable to berth. The only option was the (very shallow) small boat quay, so we sounded our way in, and eventually found a berth squeezed between two fishing boats. Soon after Dimitris arrived and found the cause of the leak, a poorly fitted oil seal gasket.

That night we were glad to be tucked in a sheltered spot as the winds blew hard. But by the next morning we were regretting our decision as the winds were gusting to Force 7 and our anchor had dragged, pushing our stern dangerously near the wall. We needed to leave the quay,  but we were surrounded by a cat’s cradle of mooring lines and buoys, making it very difficult to move without getting a line wrapped around out propeller. Eventually there was a lull in the wind and we decided to go for it - I began hauling in the anchor while Cliff gently eased us out.

All was going well until suddenly the anchor chain jammed. At the same time the wind gusted and put Sandpiper’s stern on a collision course with a concrete pier. Luckily, the quick actions of a local man helped us avoid potential disaster. From his dinghy he could see that our anchor was wedged firmly under an abandoned fisherman’s anchor, and he helped raise it until we could get ours free. Lesson learned: avoid small boat harbours in high winds!

The impressive Franchti cave

With the boat safely back at anchor  we took off in the dinghy to explore a famous local cave on the far side of the bay. The prehistoric cave of Franchti achieved international fame when archaeologists found a skeleton there that dates back to 23,000 years BC. This makes it one of the oldest sites of human habitation in Europe. We had assumed it would be one of the small caves we could see hollowed into the hillside, but in fact it’s a huge, cathedral-like structure big enough to house a small community and their animals. There was no one looking after the site, but there were information boards in English that highlighted where the skeleton had been found and how the cave had been used over the years.

Sandpiper being hauled out at the Basimakopouloi yard

On the 8^thJune Sandpiper was hauled out of the water and lifted into the steel cradle that would be her home for the winter. Then on 10^th June we flew back to the UK to begin a different adventure: putting our house up for sale and looking for a new home for our retirement.