The Wind Doth Blow

A very short video of what happens when the fierce north winds blow across the harbour.   Hope the video plays.  I am taking a new step, from photos to videos.  

 In high winds most yachts will pull anchor and run for shelter in the curve of the bay where they will rock in choppy seas out of danger of collision with other boats and the concrete wharf.

This video was not shot during the medi-cane (as in hurri-cane) in September but a few years ago when sudden gale force winds whipped the seas, damaged half a dozen anchored boats and sunk two others.  The winds came out of nowhere, at dinner time, when most yachties were happily esconced in tavernas drinking a few kilos (not litres here) of wine.  There was not time to react, tighten ropes or splice whatever you splice on a boat.  

The following day was fine and sunny and divers went down to rescue papers and belongings from the yachts which sank.  The municipality gave them food and shelter.  Just hope they were insured.





The picturesque island of poros in Greece is perfect for cruising, says this magazine about their cover photo.

So it seems here. This photo is of our friend's little fishing boat anchored in  tranquil waters at the end of the harbour.  A perfect summer picture.




Poros harbour on a perfect winter's day.  Blue sky, deep blue sea

Medic-ame and went

So we experienced some bad weather.  None of our roof tiles got blown off.  The lemon trees got a long deep drink.  A drip started dropping in one room but it was contained in a bucket.  The only nuisance, the sound of that drip all night long.

Greece got battered.  Small boats got sunk. Rivers overflowed, waves blew yachts onto the beach, houses were flooded but not around here.   K's little boat got buffeted and many buckets of rain water had to be pumped out of the bilges but it survived to sail another day.  

We watched fascinated as the storm passed over the Ionian sea, across the Peloponese, through the Cyclades, up into the Sporades and finally over to Turkey.

Not so fascinating was the force of the wind thumping the olive trees outside our window.  The worst damage on the island was a fallen tree near the beach which fell on power lines and blacked us out for a few hours.  80 year old Vaso came down during the power outage to make sure it wasn't just her power that was out.  A fragile figure wearing her husband's old threadbare  dressing gown and a pair of plastic beach shoes.  Her hair was standing on end after the bout with the wind as she battled to our gate.  After a glass of raki and the present of a bottle of our homemade vinegar she struggled back through the gale, up the slope  to her house.  I watched with bated breath to make sure she wasn't blown away like Shirley Temple in the Wizard of Oz.  Not even a cyclone can stop Vaso.

A waterspout photo-ed out in the bay of Poros

  

Our front garden

Maybe the peppers will produce more fruit now after this plentiful watering.  They were the only plants left 

The weeds are sure to appear like magic in a few days

Our friend, David Kaikas, returned safely to Athens on the bus and then strode out in the eye of the storm.  He took another bus and wrestled through the wind and rain to see the site of the battle of Marathon.  Here the Athenians defeated the Persians and a runner brought the good news to the people of Athens.  That's how the idea of the modern marathon started.

Mad dogs and englishmen

Tramp out in the eye of a storm!

He got happily drenched and later spent a few hours in a hotel room drying his clothes with a hair dryer 

And lived to fly home the next day

Now I know what it's like when a mediterranean hurricane (medicane) blows through Poros.  I hope they don't become a regular occurence in these times of climate change

Xenophondas and Zorbas

The 'new' to us, phenomena of the mediterranean cyclone

Suddenly we went from scorching heat and beaches full of tanning bods  

To this

A drop of 10o, gale force winds and rain

Rain we need.  It's great to see the lemon trees drinking up all this nourishment

Wind.  Well, we should ask the hundreds of yachties stranded here for the last 48 hours about the wind.  Their boats will be cold, damp and sleep can't be easy when you're continually bob-bob-bobbing about.

The streets, roads, paths and alleyways are full of the sailors, on foot, on quad bikes and scooters.  There is nothing else to do but explore, eat and drink.  Tavernas, cafeterias and bike hire shops are rubbing their hands with glee at all this unexpected, last of the summer, income.

They were all given fair warning.  A storm alert came out days ago.  We knew of it at the end of last week and were already prepearing to desert our summer resort.  Why weren't the yachts skuttling for their home port before all this began?  Many of the yachts come in flotillas, groups of yachts who follow the leader from one Saronic (the gulf of Athens) island to another.  A weeks cruising and then probably back to the airport and home.  If they can return to Athens, and if their flights leave in this weather, they'll be lucky.

There are two storms, one on the tail of the other.  The first called 'Xenophondas'*  is a tropical storm, the second, named Zorbas is a medicane.  First time I've heard of this phenomena.  The word medi-cane comes from a combo of hurricane and mediterranean.   We are now in the grips of the 2nd storm, the medicane, with more torrential rain and more gale force winds.

We somehow missed out on autumn this year and dived straight into winter.

* Xenophon

ancient greek philosopher, student of Socrates

Thank goodness we did return home a day early.  There were already gale force winds along our holiday coast.  The area north of Athens where we were holidaying ended up in the eye of the storm.  By the time we arrived back on Poros the winds had started here too.  Our car ferry came across quite smoothly but as it was unloading we got hit by a sudden squall.  Hands went up in a dramatic greek fashion and the 'drawbridge' went up again just as we prepared to disembark. Half the cars got off but not us.  We did a short trip around the harbour and came back for another go,   Second time lucky, we got the car off and ran for home.

A friend of ours had arrived from NZ and didn't consider the winds at all unfriendly.  He comes from Wellington, the windy city.  I remember my mother telling me that the winds there had her doubled over and clinging to a lampost.  Next morning all boats were cancelled and he departed on the bus.  Being so close to the mainland we have an alternative to sea travel here and in a pinch we can drive someone to the airport in 2 1/2 hours, though we've never had to yet.  The car ferry hardly ever stops churning the waters between Poros and the mainland.  It is a five minute trip and a good captain can sail in almost any weather.

Schools all over the Peloponese are closed today.  No-one wants a tree falling in a playground or a flooded classroom.  

This weekend is European Heritage weekend and all the museums and archeological sites have free entrance.  Tourists with nothing to do in this bad weather will be able to spend free hours in the museums though I wouldn't like to climb the Acropolis in this weather.  The marble is slippery enough without the rain.