By Scott Shephard
Loutra Harbor - Kythnos Island, Greece
I am listening to Jimmy Buffet this morning and so I borrowed one of his song titles for today’s post. But this isn’t Jimmy’s Margaritaville. Sailing in the Caribbean is very different than sailing the Greek Islands. In the British Virgin Islands, sailors attach their boats to mooring balls, which are firmly anchored to the sea floor. They are spaced so that even if the wind changes, the swinging boats won’t bump in to each other. I like the ease, space and privacy of this system. The disadvantage is that to get to shore, you need a dinghy, which can be a real challenge to get in to for folks with mobility issues. Also, after an evening of food and fun at the local beach bar, a trip back to the mother ship in a little boat without running lights and in pitch darkness may require a leap of faith.
As I've said elsewhere, in the Greek islands Mediterranean mooring is used. Most of the sailboats in this photo are docked this way - stern first. The clear disadvantage - especially is a busy harbor like this - is that boats are shoulder to shoulder with each other, though it’s not as bad as it looks. And the clear advantage is that because land is 3 or 4 steps away, the shore, including beaches, walking paths, shops, restaurants, small “super”markets and even ancient ruins, becomes a much bigger factor in sailing. The clear advantage to the harbor master of this type of mooring is that a harbor can accommodate an amazing number of boats.
This was clearly the busiest harbor we’ve seen this week. Most charters leave Athens on Saturdays and return on Friday night and spend the night at the home harbor and this harbor is about a 6 hour run from there. That’s what we will do today, though we will make one more stop on the way home. Don’t ask me where - I’ve left that decision to son Jon and Costas. I set this trip in motion months ago. But on this cruise I’m just a happy passenger.
DJI Minie 3 Pro 5 Frame HDR
