Saronic update

Despite my blog-holiday, there are a couple of things worth recounting from our pottering around in the Saronic.

Salamis
This is an island that most people seem to miss out on - probably mainly because Rod Heikell is pretty down on it. That's a pity because it actually has quite a lot to offer. It would make a great first or last stop-over for people chartering from Athens.

Kanakia

There are several small bays and harbours on the southern coast which are sheltered from various winds. Unfortunately the wind direction seems to be pretty variable - in particular northerlies from Athens and Westerlies from Corinth seem to alternate which makes most of the bays a bit risky. We had a lovely quiet day but a very uncomfortable night in Ormos Kanakia because of an unexpected turn to the west.

The anchorage from the shore.

Rosa in Paradise

The real gems are on the South East corner with the best of all - Nisos Peristeria - not mentioned at all in Heikell. Behind the two islands there is a gorgeous quiet lagoon sheltered from almost all winds. The bottom is mostly sand and held our anchor very well. It is quite shallow in places (2M) so deep-draft yachts will be more restricted but there is still space in the middle and in the northern entrance. The southern and Eastern entrances are less that 2M. The Navionics charting seems pretty accurate.

Driftwood tower

Ashore is amazing. There are virtually no facilities - probably a couple of Tavernas in high season but closed when we were there in the first week of September. There is obviously an eccentric local architect or artist at work because there are many fantastic structures seemingly built out of driftwood. This includes his house, a huge sea gateway/slide and the gallery for the local tennis court. It has to be seen to be believed!




Aegina
There's nothing new about going to Aegina harbour. It's a good place for shopping, for exchanging crew etc. But I've always maintained that it isn't a safe place to leave a boat. The holding is not particularly good and anchors are frequently dredged up by other boats.

The space we just left - fire in left corner of tent (now closed)

While we were there, a Pistachio festival sprung up in tents all along the quay. Apparently Aegina specialises in growing them and in making all sorts of products from them. At 08.30 on Thursday, I was sitting in the cockpit, drinking a coffee and minding my own business when suddenly there was a spitting noise from the corner of the tent right next to us and the compressor for the refrigerated display inside caught fire! I yelled and scrambled off to get some water. The stall holder heard, came over from the taverna and panicked. I got back in 30 seconds with a jug of water and by now the flames were starting to get a hold. I had the presence of mind to pull out the electric cable and threw the water. Luckily it all went out. If I hadn't been there, it would have caught the tent and we would have had a conflagration right next to the boat!
Yet another reason not to leave her unattended!