Koroni and on to Katakalo

Koroni, Greece

  We left Port Kagio mid morning.  I let Michael sleep a little later than usual as he wasn't feeling the greatest.  When he woke up we took off.  It was pretty windy and the seas were choppy as we set off across the bay.  We arrived at the anchorage in Koroni, Greece in the afternoon.  The bay was large with plenty of places to anchor and it wasn't too deep.  

Koroni, Greece

All in all we felt pretty good about the anchorage.  The anchor set quickly and all was right with the world.  Once we were settled Michael laid down to rest as he still wasn't feeling top notch.  A couple hours later a few more boats came in including the Swedish couple (Sven and Lisa) that were on the same path as us.  One boat anchored kind of close but at the time I thought it would be okay due to the direction of the wind.  Boats at anchor will all swing the same direction as their boats head up into the wind.  Therefore, sometimes even if a boat is a bit close it may not be too much of a problem.

Sunrise on the way to Katakalo

 However, one thing we have noticed here is that folks tend to not put out much scope when they anchor.  We put out 5:1 (so for 20 feet of water depth we would put out 100 feet of anchor chain) but they often put out 3:1 or less.  That means that they don't have as good of a grip and they don't swing on the anchor as much as we do. Everything was good and then about 0400 it got very bouncy.  The wind had changed directions 180 degrees and now the boat that was in front of us was behind us.  There was a lot a swell coming into the anchorage and we were stretched out on our chain which put us closer than we wanted to be to the other boat.  Because they had less chain out their boat did not move back as much as ours.  So... at 0400 we decided to just be on our way.  We pulled the anchor and started out for the next anchorage (Pylos).  

Katakolo

 Before long we looked at our AIS (automated information system) which tells us what other boats are near us and we saw Randivag (the Swedish boat) had left the anchorage as well.  Guess we weren't the only ones not happy about all the swell coming in to the anchorage!  By the time we reached Pylos we had changed our minds and decided to carry on to Katakalo.  There we would just stop for a few days and do some sightseeing.  Olympia is nearby - the site of the original Olympic games. And we were done with anchoring for a bit!

Greek fishing boat

It was a 75 nm day which is a long day for us but we were still in by early afternoon.  Katakalo has the most amazing harbor master making it a perfect stop.  And the town is just very nice with the only downside being the cruise ships that come into that harbor.  I am sure y'all have figured out by now I am not fond of cruise ships!  

Greek fishing boat

 

There is a train that goes to Olympia from the marina.  You actually just walk across the parking lot and get on the train.  So we will take the train to Olympia and see the archeological site which will be a fun day.  Next up -Olympia.