A Shot across the Bows - Aghios Nikolaos 23rd April

If you're looking for a gentle cruising ground, you don't come to Crete. It is pretty windy here much of the time and there are not many secure harbours and anchorages along the north coast, and almost none on the south coast. But the marina here in Aghios is a good place to overwinter - the price is reasonable; showers and laundry facilities are excellent; the town is on the doorstep; and there's a good liveaboard community. But book ahead - don't turn up on spec and expect to get a winter berth.

View from the marina of snow on the mountains

This winter we've had two big storms bringing gales and icy rain, and snow fell on the tops of the mountains. In the marina here at Aghios some boats broke mooring lines, others sustained minor damage, and the sea-scout hut got blown down.

The damaged scout hut

Hail lying on our decks

When we drove up to Kritsa to see the snow for ourselves, we copied Greek drivers and made a snowman against the windscreen of our car - it seemed to be common practice but made seeing out tricky! 

Sheep looking for shelter from the snow in December

We've stayed safe in our berth, but the pontoons are laid out so that the prevailing winds (NW or S) blow beam on either one side of the boat or the other. It makes for exciting berthing. When we get strong southerlies the wind howls in everyone's rigging making sleep elusive. In northwesterlies a tiresome surge gets up in the marina, making the pontoons and boats lurch uncomfortably backwards and forwards. Apart from being annoying, it makes getting on and off the boat a bit of a balancing act - and try woodworking when what you're cutting is moving about!

Sailors say that Crete is easy to get to but very hard to leave. You might think it has something to do with the island's undoubted attractions, but what they actually mean is the prevailing NNW wind, the dreaded meltemi, makes it an easy downwind sail to get here but a bash upwind to sail off again - especially when it blows strongly in the summer. So yachts tend to leave here by May or they run the risk of getting stuck. At the other end of the scale there are some sailors who decide to stay here for good because they fall in love with the place. They buy a house or an olive grove and put their boat up for sale. After enjoying a day's hospitality from Roger and Birgitta sitting beside their infinity pool, we can understand why they've settled here, but it isn't for us, however tempting. 

The view from Roger & Birgitta's house

We planned to leave Aghios before Easter. But we've just had the sort of wake-up call that everyone with elderly parents will understand. We learned Cathy's mother has suffered a minor stroke. She is now back from hospital and is undergoing physiotherapy at home.  She is making good progress towards recovery. We think it's better to stay where we are for a while because we can leave the boat safely here in case Cathy has to fly home to help look after for her. We'll take each day as it comes in the meantime. Let's hope we can get going before the meltemi makes getting to the Dodecanese a long slog to windward.