Not always single handed

My youngest son David, his wife Marie and two children Otto and Berta also came for a visit. I arranged accommodation at an hotel in a beautiful bay across the sound. The evening before their arrival I waited for wind to drop before leaving the mooring I had borrowed for the last month. (Many thanks to Pete and Sue) The sun was going down behind the mountains and I just managed to anchor in the bay in front of the hotel before it got dark. 

Aquarella and the ferry arriving from Athens with my family on board.

Davids family are not so used to sailing so we decided it would be best with a land based holiday for them. Every day I took the dinghy ashore and we spent time relaxing on the beach where I could still keep an eye on Aquarella. Eight year old Otto overcame his fear of the water and equipped with finns, wings and a small surfing board found great delight in this new element. After a few days he was able to swim with only his wings on for safety's sake.

Otto getting up speed

Berta had a life-vest and although she got afraid in the beginning of not being able to "reach the ground" she too became confident and was able to go through the motions of swimming so she could move forward in the water.

Even though the strong Meltemi winds were blowing every day we decided to take a short sail around the sheltered waters of Poros bay. We went as far as we could get and anchored for lunch nearby an old ship wreck. The wreck is now used as a platform for the water-boat Dimitri, a small tank ship which comes twice a day to fill up with fresh water from the river. The water is then transported to fill the dry reservoirs on nearby islands. 

On the way back we passed the narrow gap to the open sea where the wind howled through and the waves were breaking. It was only for a short while though so there wasn't enough time for the family to get seasick.

Grandson Otto, My son David, daughter- in -law Marie and grand-daughter Berta

I had promised Otto that he could stay overnight onboard Granny's boat at the anchorage and he was really excited about that. He thought it was so interesting with all the electronic equipment and gadgets and enjoyed the cosiness of the cabin. With inspiration from the day's sailing trip he made a few drawings of islands and pirate ships.  I think he'll be going in my footsteps as an artist in the future. Otto is looking so much forward to telling his school friends about Granny's boat in Greece.

Otto in the cabin drawing Greek islands and pirate ships

After a great week together it was time to say goodbye again, they had really enjoyed their holiday here and I was so happy to have them nearby. It was a great success so we hope to do it again next year.

In conclusion I can honestly say that these past weeks with the children and grandchildren have been the happiest for me for a long time. So I feel now that my decision to keep the boat and go on sailing was the right one. I don't after all always need to be alone on the boat and cope with it single handed. Needless to say it's great and very rewarding to have company too and to be able to share this priceless experience with children, grandchildren and friends.