Límnos (Part 1), Sailing to Mirina

Twenty minutes after starting the engine in Skála Maríon on Sunday 22 May, we had the sails set and were bowling along southeastwards at over 7 knots. Delightfully, fairly early on in the passage we picked up an escort of dolphins which stayed with us for a good hour or so.

Better still, this was an acrobatic school of dolphins who seemed to like to leap out of the water to get a better view of BV. We took it in turns to stand at the mast and watch the fantastic display.

Approaching Límnos Mirina with its castle on the hill

By late afternoon the outline of Límnos was very clear and we could make out our destination, Mirina. At 1830 we were outside the breakwater stowing our sails and at 1900 we were safely tied up on the town quay. It had been a really good 55-mile passage which we had thoroughly enjoyed and we had averaged a little over 7 knots which was excellent.

Curry production   

That left us with the final big decision of the day: what to cook for dinner? After much deliberation it was decided that it would be a curry night and so before long spices we were grounding and the aroma of curry production soon wafted from the galley. Fortunately, producing a good curry from scratch takes time and so we were also able to enjoy a glass or two of wine during the process.

Moored to Mirina town quay 

Dinner was very good but perhaps the recipe calls for an extra chilli or two. Sadly, I have to report that the ship’s ‘chilli pot’ experiment was a failure; the Turkish green chillies started to ferment even though they were covered in olive oil and so they all had to be binned. For the time being we have been using dried chillies; maybe a ‘ship’s pickled chilli pot’ next time?

Limnos Mirina, Greece