Órmos Dhimitriaki

Órmos Dhimitriaki is a gem of an anchorage. It’s just 2 miles south of Panagía and so we were there at 1830, after a mammoth passage of 35 minutes!  There is an island at the entrance to the bay which would provide some shelter from onshore winds but, when we were there, there was little to no wind at all. The large bight of Órmos Dhimitriaki contains 3 or 4 smaller coves and we could have anchored in any of them. We chose to anchor off the easternmost one because we thought that it had the most attractive beach. To our right was a low rocky headland with some off-lying rocks – the only real danger in the bay as far as we could see.

To our left was a shallow area with turquoise water and above it a small hill with a scattering of villas.

Serenity Estate   

At the head of the bay was the beach laid out with a few parasols and sun loungers. We discovered that it is called Serenity Estate. The shelter in the bay was good, the surroundings were attractive and the sea was a lovely colour. What a great place to spend an evening relaxing!

In the morning it was a surprising early start. Nicky swam a few laps and then put on her ‘Med Net Controller’ hat. There is a daily check-in on the HF SSB radio and some of the yachts take it in turns to run the radio check-in procedure. Nicky does the Thursday morning one. We have a brief chat with other yachts in the Aegean and as far west as Sicily, sharing information and keeping track of where everyone has got to. These sorts of radio networks are common for cruisers to share information and on big passages, like crossing the Atlantic, to be able to alert yachts close by if you need emergency help. In the Caribbean its known as the ‘Coconut Net’ and is used for anything from emergency information, publicising social events, to sharing taxis to the shops. Here in the Med it’s nice to chat to the other yachts but it’s also good practice for us to become familiar with the quite complicated SSB radio and to just to check that it’s working.

Órmos Dhimitriaki, Greece