Yachting Monthly – March 2018

Isabel Joce and husband Bob

witness Europe’s migrant crisis

fi rsthand while cruising in Greece

YOURCRUISING

STORIES

 I

n late June 201 7 , our plan was to sail

to Rhodes from Crete, island hopping as

we went. From the tiny island of Kasos,

we sailed the 18 miles to the long thin

island of Karpathos, renowned for being

very windy. Initially we had a smooth Force 4

reach across to its southern tip; like many

mountainous islands, the leeward coast

of Karpathos is prone to severe gusting as

the wind is channelled down ravines – so

we reefed in anticipation for more wind as we

approached. The wind duly increased to Force

6 and eventually we just had a tiny genoa, but

were still making 5 knots in the right direction!

We had moored in harbours for a week

now and thought an anchorage would be

nice. We rejected the first possible anchorage

on Karpathos as it looked as if a hurricane was

blowing through it, and the wrecked ship just

outside was rather off-putting.

The wind dropped as we approached the

next anchorage, Ormos Amorfos, a large, very

open bay where we set the anchor in crystal-

clear water then had a well-deserved swim

and rest. We were alone. When we went to

bed, the offshore wind had increased to around

15 knots but we were content, as we knew our

anchor was well dug in and there was no swell.

The wind increased though the night and

I was having trouble sleeping due to the noise

of the wind in the rigging. At 01 3 0 I heard some

voices, so got up and, although it was dark,

saw a boat behaving erratically upwind and

quite close to us. Perhaps it was some local

lads on a late-night fishing trip? I was concerned

as they were so close, and woke Bob. He was

not impressed at being woken, as initially he

thought they were fishing due to lots of torches

flashing. Then he looked through the binoculars

and said, ‘Oh my god, it’s a migrant boat!’

The vessel was a 50ft wooden gullet-type

boat with about 50 people on deck. Then,

An eventful

visit to

Karpathos

CRUISING LOG

We decided to give this

anchorage a miss but hadn’t

bargained on the experience we

would have at Ormos Amorfos

The village of

Olympos is home to

around 400 people

The crystal-clear

waters of the

Greek islands

The remains of

windmills can be

found along the top

of the mountain

BOB AND ISABEL JOCE

Six years ago, Bob and Isabel

set sail on their 40ft Beneteau

Oceanis Capella from Gosport,

and have gradually made their

way to Leros, Greece