The island of Symi is closer to Turkey than any part of Greece. For years when we were sailing the coast of Turkey, Jacques would say ‘that’s Symi, its four miles away, it’s Greece and we can’t go there!

Thus began the legend of Symi.

In 2016, after 10 years of longing, we made it to Symi but it was a whistle stop into the main harbour, repairs for Chris’s boat, dinner and off first thing the next morning. Sailing away we could see the beautiful coves and beaches and promised we would be back! And now we are!

First stop was to the bay of Panormitis with the extraordinary structure which at first glance appears to be some kind of elaborate Government building. Surprised to find out that it is actually The Holy Monastery of Archangel Michael!

After a quiet night at anchor, the following morning brought the excitement of heading to Symi Marina in the bay of Pedi, perfectly placed away from the frenzy of the main port but just a short walk to the main town. However, we woke to see strange sights in the sky…..black clouds and in the distance, sheets of rain!!!!!

We decided to wait it out in the dry of a bay just south of the marina. The rain was heading away from the marina but was coming in short bursts which made it hard to judge when the optimum time to approach it would be. We took a chance and set off, it was only ten minutes away, and we were confident that we would get to safety before we got soaked.

As an aside, getting rained on whilst at sea is not necessarily dangerous but it is pretty uncomfortable when you are not fully dressed up in wet weather gear. What is more dangerous is that bursts of rain are usually accompanied by gusts of wind. I have only sailed a couple of times in a downpour and it is something to be avoided if possible!

Just as we turned into Pedi bay I remarked to Jacques that if I had the choice I would rather get rained on when under way than when trying to tie up and secure the boat and didn’t it look lucky for us that it was not a choice we would have to make that morning and in fact I was now hot as the sun was shining so best take off my rain jacket and Oh Wow Look there was another Neel 51 in the marina!!

An then just as we lined up and threw the first rope to the Harbour Master this happened………

We were absolutely drenched through – Jacques had kept his jacket at hand and put it on over this already soaking clothes whereas I just decided to carry on in my now second skin of shorts and T-shirt! You cannot stop half way through mooring up and wait for the rain and wind to stop – you just have to get on with it.

Once secure, and of course this took much longer than normal with wet slippy hands and my rope having a knot in it (my fault!) so that the whole process on port side had to start again, we rejoiced in a hot shower and a well deserved drink!

The rain disappeared as swiftly as it had arrived and we took a walk around the bay and to the small beach on the other side.

This is the view of the path down from the beach! I promise you we did it for real! No fake photoshopping here – just some very tired legs and creaky knees!

And then as usual, Mother Nature gave us a sunset as if the earlier wind and rain torture had never happened!

The following evening we took a walk into the main town of Symi, a 20 minute walk as the crow flies but with the many ups and downs and back streets our journey was slightly longer!

The walk was definitely worth it! Like Khlaki, Symi came under Italian rule for the first half of the last Century and the evidence is clear in the architecture.

We stayed in town for dinner and a stroll around the backstreets. This led to the highlight of the trip, a visit to a ‘supermarket’, not the biggest one in town but one full of odd things you wouldn’t expect to find, a bit like an old fashioned chemist! And there, on a very dusty shelf, squeezed between the Martini and the Pernod was………..Ricard! Two bottles!! Hooray!

We did consider hiring Securicor to take us home but we plumped for the local bus coupled with Jacques’ ‘don’t touch my Ricard or you’re dead’ look!

All in all a very successful shopping trip!

The following day we hoped to meet the owners of our twin, Extancy, the Neel 51 moored next to us. It had been in Symi for two weeks, locked up whilst the owners were away and today was the day that the covers would be taken off and life would return!

As it turned out, the owners were still in England but their skipper, Dmitry, had arrived to prepare the boat for the following week’s trip in Turkey. We of course, as sailors do, had a drink together and discussed the merits of this anchoring method and this brand of winch!

We headed for dinner together, to a small place we had passed on our walk to town. The Secret Garden had some great reviews on the Navily app and it did not disappoint! I had been concerned from reading the small poster outside the entrance to the restaurant advertising ‘Live Music from Clare and George’ that both the food and the music might a) not be authentically Greek and b) might be terrible! Both fears were unwarranted! The menu was limited but all the dishes we had were superb! Coupled with George on guitar and Clare singing jazz and blues versions of classics such as Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Summertime and Valerie! They were talented and entertaining musicians, sat in a small courtyard with four or five tables of patrons sitting around them.

Fabulous food, relaxing ambience and overall great evening!

During dinner, Dmitry explained that the owners had bought the boat new in March and he, with two other crew, had sailed the boat from La Rochelle to Barcelona to meet with the owners. He went on tell us of an horrific event! On their way around Spain, as they headed past Gibraltar they were attacked by six Orcas who completely demolished the rudder meaning they were stranded and had no means of steering.

I cannot imagine the terror that this event must have caused. The Coastguard arrived after an hour and towed the boat to harbour!

Dmitry took a short video, after the Orcas had finished their work and were then just ‘playing’!!! The first picture is the Orca under the hull checking that there was no more rudder to bash against! The second photo is his mates waiting for him!

I had heard plenty of stories about this happening but never before met anyone who had actually experienced it. According to the Gibraltar Coastguard, this is now a daily event, mostly no one has been hurt but a few boats have sank because of the way their rudders are constructed i.e in the process of breaking the rudder, the force of movement on the rod keeping it in place means that a hole in the hull develops. Luckily for Dmitry and his crew, the Neel rudder is fairly flimsy so it shattered quickly before the Orcas could inflict further damage. Truly Terrifying!

https://www.livescience.com/animals/orcas/orcas-have-sunk-3-boats-in-europe-and-appear-to-be-teaching-others-to-do-the-same-but-why

A slightly less scary animal encounter was had the following day!

Marina the cat had decided that she would enjoy a walk around the boat, and happy though we were to see her, the worry was that she would hide away and end up in Rhodes with us!

Dmitry took photos as we left as proof that she was not our latest stowaway!

We waved Goodbye to Dmitry and Symi, setting direct course for Rhodes when five minutes out I realised we were being chased by the Harbour Master in his dinghy, shouting at us and threatening us with the Coastguard!!

There had been a ‘misunderstanding’ shall we say! We headed back to Symi Harbour, sorted out the admin that had not been dealt with in the way that suited the very grumpy Harbour Master and then set off……again!!!

Despite the not exactly auspicious events of both our arrival and departure, we really love Symi and hope to return next year.

Our last trip to Rhodes in 2016 had resulted in Jacques and Chris being arrested and interrogated for five hours so we were hoping for a more sedate experience this time!!

We made it to Rhodes Marina without further incident and thankfully, no undue intervention from any Greek Officials! Hooray!

More about Rhodes and beyond next time….

Thank you for reading.

Stay safe, be kind.

Love, Tracey xx