Days 399 to 402: 19th to 22nd July 2018 - Windy Thursday, Vliho Yacht Club Happy Hour and One Amazing Weekend at Varko Bay

Thursday

Having spent the previous afternoon at the pool at one hotel, we decided to spread the love (and chaos that comes with several kids in tow) and return to the Athos Hotel pool today after school. The morning went reasonably well but by the time we were ready to head off for the pool the wind had picked up. (It had been forecast to be strong winds both today and yesterday but as it hadn't arrived yesterday we were quite laid back about making plans for today.) As it increased Sacha messaged to say he wasn't too happy leaving Yves, and Patrick and I also agreed. Lachin invited us over to AraKai but in the end the wind and waves were building so we all stayed put, watching for dragging yachts, and giving the evil eye to boats that turned up and tried to anchor too close. We felt a little mean, given that these people had been out in the ever increasing winds and probably just wanted to drop anchor and relax, however by ensuring they didn't anchor too close or over our anchor, we were saving them hassle later.

It was pretty lumpy and Patrick and I took it in turns to stay on deck watching for trouble. By tea time I really didn't feel like cooking anything spectacular so we raided the bilges for good old faithful Heinz Ravioli.

We were both a little uneasy come 9pm so I let the kids have a movie in their room, and I curled up with a book in the cockpit while Patrick got an early night so that if the wind continued overnight he could take over the anchor watch. In the end though the wind died around midnight and we all got a good nights sleep.

Friday

School again, things at much calmer at the moment with regards to school, perhaps as my anxiety about it has lowered this has transferred to the kids, or perhaps we are just getting into a good groove. In any case we were soon finished so had lunch and our usual hour of electronics to keep us out of the sun in the heat of the day. We had earlier said goodbye to Lotty, Sacha, Hector and Pheobe on Yves Christian as they began their journey south, and had messaged Lachin about heading to the Athos Hotel Pool late afternoon but had no response so buzzed by AraKai on our way.

We were invited on board and had a great tour of their very interesting boat. AraKai is an aluminium Cat that they bought as a bare hull with engines in Australia when they decided they needed a bigger boat than their 40 foot monohull. Lachin, Louise, Siara and Kai live aboard full time, and long term. They plan on circumnavigating over the next 10 or 20 years as an alternative to traditional education and already have lots of stories to tell. The inside of AraKai is pretty unique as their priority was to get the correct base boat as cheap as possible and set off as soon as possible. So as soon as they had a galley, toilet, and some mattresses for beds they threw on a few bean bags for seating and set off. Most of the inside is made from skip diving finds and in fact a lot of the internal structure is from some kind of lightweight material scavenged from a commercial aircraft that was being refitted.

Despite their amazing hospitality I was absolutely in need of a swim (and groceries) so was keen to press on to the Athos Hotel (particularly as they had told us of the Vliho Yacht Club Happy Hour which started at 5pm) so we all headed into Nidri. Patrick went investigating the chandlery while I swam with the kids, bumping into a lovely family the kids had met at the watersports club. We then tag teamed with Patrick swimming while I shopped for groceries at the new My Market as recommended by our new friends.

Back to Laurin to drop of shopping then over to the Yacht club in time for a couple of drinks at happy hour prices, as well as chips to keep the kids going while we continued to socialise. It was a really pleasant evening but by 9pm we had enough to drink so headed back to the boat for hot dogs and bed.

Saturday

A nice lay in followed by a short motor up to Varko bay (otherwise known as one tree bay or fox bay depending on who you talk to!) via a fuel pontoon just north of Nidri opposite a small island that also provided free water.

There was hardly a breath of wind and I reflected that this would be perfect weather for my Sister in Law when she comes to stay next week!

Once at Varko we anchored close to AraKai and spent the afternoon chilling out in the water with various toys ranging from the paddleboard to pool noodles, inflatable dohnuts and pineapples, as well as "Captain Sharky".

By late afternoon the wind had increased and swung round so we moved to the other end of the anchorage in order to find more space so we could be happy leaving the boats at anchor while we went to have a beach BBQ. We also found another 3 kid boats and so had an amazing evening ashore. In the end there were 12 boat kids, 9 adults, 5 nationalities, 3 Ukuleles and one bottle of very dodgy Czech alcohol as well as  copious amounts of food and fun.

 

Sunday

After an extremely late night we had a very late, lazy morning followed by a lazy day swimming and relaxing on the beach before heading back to Nidri, sadly missing the watersports youth club due to exhaustion! 

We anchored in plenty of space, and then the inevitable happened and other boats squeezed into gaps that weren't really necessary, we think just to reduce the dinghy ride to the restaurant. It was somewhat both amusing and perturbing to see the name of the closest boat was "Captain Guilty III". Patrick was pretty worried that he was apparently on his 3rd boat!

In any case we had an early tea and an early night after such a manic weekend!

Days 397 & 398: 17th and 18th July 2019 - Watersports club and chilling out in Nidri.

Tuesday

A late morning meant a late breakfast and a late start to school. Not a problem when you home educate! This in turn led to a late lunch and very soon we were working out what time we would need to set off to Horizon Watersports Club where we had booked AJ, Esmé and Hector into a youth club at 4pm. Finally at about 3pm we started our journey, first 20 minutes by dingy to the IBA pontoon in Nidri, then a half hour walk to the watersports club at the other end of town.

There we filled in forms, paid 15 Euros per child and signed them in. The kids went scuttling off with James their instructor and a bunch of other kids and suddenly Patrick and I were FREE!!! The kids headed off on kayaks with a safety boat following carrying snorkel gear and didn't return until 2 hours later with very happy and somewhat tired kids. Meanwhile Patrick and I got a beer from the hotel next door and relaxed on the beanbags on the watersports beach. We were so impressed we booked a whole day here for when the cousins come to visit as their birthday presents from us.

Final fun and games on their return

Wednesday

School went well again, perhaps we are finally getting into some kind of groove, or perhaps it's that I'm a little more relaxed about it given that we're likely to be returning to the UK early and so kids will be missing far less of a bricks and mortar school. When we first started talking about coming home at Christmas and shipping Laurin back rather than wintering in Spain and sailing up the Atlantic coast next year a big part of the decision was feeling a little insecure about their schooling on board.

Not that I don't think we are providing them with a "full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude", this was one of the reasons for coming away, to provide the kids with a broader, more free range educational experience than they could possibly have at school. The kids do some intensive one to one formal work every day and then are learning in all sorts of other amazing ways for the rest of the time. We try to loosely follow the national curriculum for Maths and English (even though by law we are not required to,) but there just isn't time for the rest in between sailing, visiting museums, caves and temples. The kids read like crazy and watch documentaries while we are on passage and are constantly learning from the amazing conversations we have with the wonderful people we meet on our way. However I think most people who home school question if they're doing enough at some point during their journey, although those that have chosen this path as one they will follow for the indefinite future don't have the added stress of worrying about their children's' reintegration into traditional schooling. Despite assurances from everybody we meet that the kids will be fine, there is always a niggling doubt at the back of my mind which comes from being solely responsible for your kids education and not sharing this with the state education sector. I have to say though, that this doubt has been dwindling in size in recent days and I'm starting to feel less concerned. I love the fact that Esmé is turning into a truly independent learner, and that AJ is becoming more confident and has the most amazing ideas for inventions that he either draws, models in Lego, or just describes to us in minute detail.

After a late lunch we had our usual downtime where we all retreat to books or electronic devices in the heat of the day. On a small boat this allows for a bit of quiet "alone" time as we can all "zone out" despite the still close physical proximity. Esmé often gets bored of this first but now just requests that we put the swing up and spends the rest of the relaxation time swinging the length of the boat. As Patrick was helping her to put it up they spotted a dinghy heading towards us with kids on board. It was Lachin, Louise, Siara and Kai of AraKai, an aluminium cat they had sailed from Australia. They had heard on the grapevine that Yves was a kid boat and headed over to say hello, having got no response (Yves has a thick wooden hull meaning that if they are down below they won't hear anybody hailing them from outside,) they saw Esmé swinging and headed over. It was lovely to chat and they're hanging around for a few days to oversee a boat survey for a company they were hoping to work for so it will be nice for the kids to have fun.

Then a quick tidy up of the boat as the crew of Yves Christian were coming over for dinner then AJ and I headed over to the pool at a local hotel along with the crew of AraKai and Yves. Hotels often let us use their pools in return for buying drinks but I think we need to rotate a little as a group of 5 or 6 kids can disrupt the feel of a mainly adult hotel if we are there every day. 

Back to the boat for dinner where Lotty, Sacha, Hector and Pheobe joined us for pork, potatoes and salad. They brought an amazing cake chosen by Pheobe and we all had a lovely evening.

Days 395 to 396: 15th to 16th July 2018 - Kioni disappointment and catching up with old friends in Nidri

Sunday

View back looking at the lighthouses we walked to a couple of evenings ago.

We had decided to leave Fiskardo a day earlier than planned to allow us to spend a couple of nights in (highly recommended) Kioni, then call in at Sivota for a night before heading up to Nydri to hide from strong winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Well, that was the plan! In an attempt to get there in time to find a good spot we motored all the 10 miles to Kioni, but on our arrival there was no space on the town quay and anchoring and taking long lines to the rocks like others we could see proved problematic. In the spots remaining the depth where we would need to drop the anchor was more than 20m. Given we only carry 80 metres of chain and there was a strong onshore breeze we were reluctant to stay with a scope of just 4 times the depth. It was baking hot and we were all gutted not to be anchored and jumping in for a swim but we have a rule on board that if anybody isn't sure, we take the safest course of action. After a quick review of the pilot and the Cruising Association app Captains Mate, we decided the only place we were comfortable with was Vathy... yes, Vathy where we had been stuck for 4 days with Tiffany! I really wasn't feeling the love for returning but accepted it was the only sensible option. As a compromise we decided to head into the bay just before Vathy for lunch and a swim on our way.

It took a few goes to finally find somewhere to anchor, even for a lunch stop as all the shallow spots further in had been taken. Luckily Patrick had spotted a small inlet on the way in and we took advantage of the offshore breeze and shallow waters to drop the hook, we even had the place entirely to ourselves for a while. By this time it was quite late and we were all starving so despite the heat, lunch took priority over a swim.

Once lunch was over and we had tidied up we all went for a swim. Our kids are now starting to resemble fishes, much preferring to swim under the water than on top! They then practiced their jumping in, Esmé managing to jump in from the side of the boat for the first time and AJ rising to the challenge of jumping in from standing on the pulpit! All too soon it was time to motor round to Vathy. 

 

Esme's character means she is always pushing boundaries, very rarely accepting no for an answer without a very good explanation. On the way into Vathy she really wanted to play on the swing, launching herself down the outside of the boat. After about 10 minutes of heated discussion, with Patrick explaining to her that if she fell off while we were motoring the propeller could chop her legs off they came to a compromise that she could swing as long as she didn't go outside the lifelines. So she spent the next 20 minutes or so twirling around the rigging much to the amazement and amusement of many boats that we passed coming into the anchorage.

We didn't bother getting off the boat that night, opting for an early dinner and a movie for the kids while Parents had a nice peaceful evening sat in the cockpit considering our options for the next few days. I decided to look at noforeignland.com to see if any of our friends were near. I was a bit despondent and felt the need to connect with people we had some history with rather than the constant having to make new friends, which, although is interesting and something I love about this travelling life, can be a little tiring at times. Anyway, noforeignland brought up the good news that our friends Sacha and Lotty on Yves Christian were in Nidri. I checked how long they were staying and we quickly decided to head up there the next day so we could catch up.

Monday

Locals fishing off the quay next to the old church coming out of Vathy.

Yesterday the kids had been so bored at one point that they both decided to do some maths. That, and with the fact that we had a long passage to make meant that I decided to take a break from school today, although electronics were banned unless used for educational apps or to watch a documentary/magic school bus episode. This was met with a little consternation from the kids however they very quickly got used to the idea, with AJ asking me to download a new book for him from borrowbox and Esmé deciding to spend some time on deck. After a while I saw a sailing boat speeding towards us... after taking a few seconds to compute what my eyes were seeing I figured out that it must be a Macgregor 26 speeding past. These are a strange hybrid of sailing boat and motorboat which I remembered prompted a lot of discussion in the yachting forums when they were introduced. This was the first time I had seen one at speed!

Not long after the wind filled in, Esmé helped Patrick put the main up and we enjoyed a lovely sail until we were approaching Nidri. Then, motoring in, Esmé turned lookout, searching for Yves Christian while Patrick got the anchor ready. 

As there was no sign of life on Yves we hid down below out of the sun until we spotted Lotty on deck and I rowed over. 2 beers later they suggested a swim at a local hotel which we gladly agreed to. It was lovely to catch up and all of us enjoyed our time at the pool.

We then gladly accepted their dinner invitation and headed back to the boats before catching up and having a lovely time as the wind dropped with the sun. 

 

Days 393 & 394: 13th & 14th July - Walks in Fiskardo

Friday

After a lovely morning swing to burn of some energy Esmé set about teaching Cephalonia the Turtle some maths. In fact it was another good school day all round as AJ blasted through about 3 days worth of maths too!

Around lunchtime Patrick became nervous that the anchor wasn't holding and as we started to get organised to re-anchor the kind Sailing Holidays guys offered help in the building wind which was gratefully received. They later squeezed one of their boats in between us and the Austrians next to us much to the Austrians dismay, however we were happy to help as really Fiskardo in July isn't somewhere you come for solitude and privacy, we're quite enjoying the social interaction.

We then had a lazy afternoon swimming and lounging around until we went up to Nicolas Taverna again for a beer and to watch the charter boat ballet. AJ wanted to spend some of his pocket money so headed round to the shops first and then met us there, where as Esmé opted to spend more time playing on the lovely playground at the Taverna, pausing for a while to investigate an interesting bug and begging my phone from me to photograph it so she could ask Lynita what it was. Esmé really enjoyed the playground but despite joining us late, AJ was soon bored and so headed back to the boat while the rest of us stayed put, desperately trying to download Bugsy Malone using the Taverna's wifi. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be as we ran out of charge before the very slow download finished.

Back to the boat for an early dinner and then out for a walk to the old and new lighthouses. It was only a short trek but nice to stretch our legs doing something different for a change. It was really well signposted and the kids had fun despite their initial reservations, with Esmé finding more bugs to photograph.

Esmé also found some fleece on the floor from a goat and astounded by how soft it was, deciding to bring it home to save.

Would have had more pictures of AJ if I could have caught him!


Saturday

We ditched our usual Saturday morning blitz of the boat for an early start on another walk, fuelled by sweet treats from the bakery necessary to motivate young legs. This time the walk was to Foki Beach, part of the Cypress Trail which at 4.7km long we decided against in the heat. 

It was a short but interesting walk up a small hill on a rocky path, then descending via some stone steps cut into the rock to the road leading to Foki beach.

 

AJ and Esmé then went for a swim while Patrick and I sat and chatted. It was a lovely cove and one we had considered anchoring in if Fiskardo had looked too busy.

On the way back we walked via the road to see some different views, admiring the holiday lets with their own access to the sea.

We also spotted the "Sailing Holidays" Flotilla rafted 3 deep at the other side of the harbour to Laurin. It was kind of crazy... no wonder they were so grateful for the space next to us!

On returning to the Laurin, the Cruising Association boat next to us was having fun trying to relay their anchor using their dinghy as another boat had lifted it when they left. We politely suggested it might be better to go out and re-anchor, offering to take their long lines for them and hand them back on their return. By the time we had finished making them safe Esmé had been digging around under the forepeak and found the climbing harness. I had promised her yesterday that I would let her climb the mast so given her enthusiasm we helped her on with the harness and tied two halyards to it, telling her we wouldn't pull her up, she needed to climb... which she did much to our neighbours' amazement, although it did get a little interesting when the ferry came in and produced a fair bit of wash!

Lunch was next followed by a trip up to Nicolas Taverna for me and Esmé as she wanted to take "Cephalonia" to the playground and I was happy to have a last successful attempt at downloading Bugsy Malone for AJ.

Watching the boats come in was again fantastic entertainment, with superyachts literally queuing up to get in.

We were considering splashing out and going to the only Thai Restaurant we have seen on our trip so far outside capital cities, however Esmé doesn't really like Thai food and it was buffet night which I was reluctant to pay for given Esmé was unlikely to eat anything other than plain rice. On chatting with her however she was strangely optimistic about the idea of a buffet so she could see what she was choosing so we headed back to the boat for a swim before getting showered and changed for dinner.

The Lord Falcon Thai Restaurant was lovely and very accommodating, saying they would charge Esmé according to what she ate. In the end she ate more than I have ever seen in an evening, (she usually sticks to the old adage "Breakfast like a King, lunch like a Queen, dinner like a pauper,) loving the spring rolls and thai battered fish as well as the rice and fruit. AJ also ate loads, particularly enjoying the Masaman curry and yet still the restaurant only charged us for one child! It was a lovely meal that we all enjoyed.

Then back to Laurin via the supermarket to top up supplies. Currently sat watching Bugsy Malone while writing the blog. Another lovely day!