Kapsali to Gramvousa on Crete (approx 44 nm)
 
Gramvousa info
 
6.30 am we got the call. Time to get up, to say the crew on Stella Maris were raring to go would be a slight understatement. It was dark and cold. I broke out the wet weather gear and Captain Miles broke out the ‘Neil Diamond’ CD to help us along. Have we been at sea too long? Out of the bay we motored, the sun rose slowly, absolutely fantastic, what a wonderful life we are living. Several cups of coffee and a couple Neil Diamond tracks later, life is looking good. We can see Crete we are so excited, we can actually see it, our goal is in sight. Turns out it wasn’t Crete but a small island called Anti Kithera. Yes we have got charts and GPS!! Having said that Stella Maris still didn’t have any charts for Crete. Captain Miles assured us it wasn’t a problem as he would get them once we got there. Didn’t quite see how that would help us on this leg of the journey, but hey ho off we go!!! In the afternoon the wind got up a bit and we were having a really good sail. Crewman Marcus was going for his ‘trimming the sails badge’ and he earned it. Miles was on the helm (I know I couldn’t believe it either). Moli was in front leading the way. Well I don’t know what got into old Stella but she was off, we were cooking with gas!!! Not only did she catch up with Moli, she steamed on by and left her behind, eat my spray Moli (remember it’s not a race). Approaching Gramvousa we slowed down as entering the harbour was a bit tricky, we needed to follow Moli in (no charts). Gramvousa was a stunning bay, nothing there!! but stunning. We anchored up, jumped into the water which was a tad fresh. We are on Crete, emotions are mixed our adventure will soon be over. That night the wind gusted down the mountains, which we found a bit unsettling till we found out it was the old katabatic ( I love that word) wind doing what katabatic winds do. Race Team Stella Maris signing out XXX
Friday, 20 October 2006