The pod of large dolphins took their leave and the long coastline of Lesbos slowly faded into the dusk. We slid south between the brightly lit towns on Greek Kythos island and the Turkish mainland with flat seas and a steady NW breeze. I put too many mushrooms in my beef casserole but my crew made appreciative noises in Cyrillic as they wolfed it down. Amazing what an appetite will do.
At 1 am we nosed in towards a high and featureless coast, into Kirkdilim Limani, anchoring in 8 m of smooth water. The waters of this lovely bay are crystal clear and the high wooded shores pristine. There is no sign of humankind, although that is obviously illusory.
Over coffee this morning in warm sun I imagined triremes gathered here. Tainui’s anchor chain is clearly visible along the sandy bottom, as we swim. Pasha and Tania are in seventh heaven.
Pasha inspected our keel for damage during that rough grounding in the Solovetskiy Islands all those years ago, but found none. What a tough old girl this boat is.
It is about 180 miles around Samos to Marmaris and the end of this long and ridiculously eventful summer. 3 or 4 days, perhaps. Time Tainui had a rest and I went home.