Mooring in Astakos is not easy its harbour is deep yacht smaller than 35ft struggle to anchor safely to the quay. There are lazy lines but the ropes are much to thick for an average yachts cleats as they’re used for the short stubby fishing boats. Taking a shorter thinner line from our yacht we wrapped a slipknot around the thick lazy-line and were able to moor bows to the quay.

There are a lot of farm fisheries floating around the Dragonary Islands and its Astakos that servers this industry. The tourism that Astakos does receive is for Greeks that come on short holidays together.

Looking at the facilities, visiting yachts are simply tolerated but not encouraged. Its as if the fish farms don’t want this kind of tourism here. I suspect they fear it will drive up prices if the town chooses to cater for visiting yachts. So it’s not unknown for the occasional fisheries boat choosing to be bloody minded.

On our arrival within minutes tied to the quay opposite the tavernas. A local waving his arms shouts at me because he can’t turn his small motorboat sideways so he can load his ice. I ease our boat away using our line (Staying attached) so he could comfortable twist sideways. Watching from the bow I saw him load his 3 bin bags of ice and try to start the engine. He was so worked up he flooded his outboard as the ice began to melt. He then re-loads his ice back into his small Ice van cursing me under his breath as he leaves.

Olympic Pegasus Restaurant is opposite the quay. Yannis who runs the taverna provided free water to our yachts as long as we ate at his taverna. Vassily his assistant takes the drinks orders only while Yannis takes the food orders. Looking at Yannis from a side profile I’d say he looks exactly like ‘Clark Gable’ slick black hair combed backwards in a similar style the only difference is his Roman nose. There is a friendly charm and no rush attitude that you’d expect in most tavernas but in this case Yannis habit of fiddling with his crotch with the back of his hand whilst taking orders can be quite disturbing. Something we chose to ignore, as we were too hungry to care.

In the late afternoon Astakos is shaded from the sun by the high hills behind. This gives visitors relief from the worst of the afternoon heat and also provides a regular cool breeze that descends from the high hills behind.

Astakos can grow on you. Its much cheaper to buy food there than any of the islands. It’s a bare bones sort of place for the tourist. Very much a ‘take it or leave it’ typical Greek town that has yet to wake up to tourism from the sea.

This morning we walked over to the north of the island and could see the ferries and ocean going yachts with their reefed sails ambling along comfortably. A newfound confidence aids our desire to leave.

We left for Astakos at around Noon. Astakos is only 10 miles to the south and at 4 knots should only take 2.5 hours. Astakos is an agricultural town with a thriving fishing community whose floating farms can be seen dotted around the islands of the Dragonaries. It’s the most likely place to see dolphins as quite often you see them in pairs on patrol.

Heading out of Kastos harbour we unfurl our foresail (A Genoa) by only half it’s size and leaving our mainsail tied. The wind soon catches our small sail and we’re tugged south at a brisk but steady pace. Adjusting the size of our sail we’re able to sit in-between the peeks of each wave only occasionally speeding up and slowing down as a wave passes under us. In the distance towards Ithaca a yacht with red sails rocks backwards and forward as it tries to sail into the weather.

Looking back towards Kastos we see other yachts at anchor in secluded bays sheltering from the wind dancing around their anchors. We’re heading for a spur of mainland that juts out in front of Astakos. We must round this point before turning left and head East to Astakos 2 mile away.

Rounding the point were becalmed, the spur of land now shelters us from the effects of the wind. To our left sheer cliffs rise up from the sea with cloud formations racing over the top leaving us dizzy. Echoes of the weather reflect off the cliffs providing a spooky double sound effect as we furl in our sail and motor into our new harbour.

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