Porto Kheli

We left Ermioni at 1030 on 8 July to make our way around to Porto Kheli. The wind was good and so we were sailing 15 minutes after lifting the anchor.

Passing Spetsái   

It would not be a long passage, just 15 miles, and it took us around the headlands passing the busy holiday island of Spetsái to our left. The main town, also called Spetsái, is apparently more akin to the Italian Riviera than a Greek town which probably explains why there was a cruise ship moored close by. It sounds like it is worth a visit but not this time around for us.

Villas near Port Kheli   

The coastline close to Porto Kheli is apparently the place for wealthy Athenians to own a villa. Sailing past the headlands and coves we saw a lot of very beautiful houses.

With pretty bays and turquoise waters to look out onto with islands and the Peloponnisos mainland as a backdrop to the views, you can see the attraction of the location.

We also got one last look at Strev’s helicopter as he took off from the helipad at one of the villas.

Porto Kheli is a circular enclosed harbour with a narrow entrance. The wind was blowing straight down this entrance so we dropped the sails and motored in. The area to the west was full of yachts on moorings but there was lots of space to anchor and we found a spot reasonably close to the quay. It’s just as well that we avoided the obvious large open gap on the quay because a succession of ferries and hydrofoils turned up and any yachts mooring in the gap were ushered away with louds honks on the ferries’ foghorns.

After passing so many fabulous villas we had expected Porto Kheli to be a full of boutiques and expensive restaurants. However, it turned out to be rather ordinary. There are pleasant bars and restaurants around the quay but nothing that really made the place stand out. To the west of the bay, beside a short jetty, is a large supermarket which was full of yachties victualling; very convenient both for us and the other hundred or so yachts in the harbour.

There are a couple of archaeological sites we wanted to visit in this part of Greece and so had expected to sail all the way up to Navplion. However, our pilot book was quite off-putting about the harbour there; summer smells due to sewage, dragging anchors and uncomfortable and potentially dangerous swell were a bit of a turn-off. It didn't seem like the best plan to leave BV there whilst we travelled inland. So Porto Kheli, with its excellent harbour, offered us an alternative. We booked a hire car for Monday and started to try to decide which of the lovely bays we had seen we’d anchor up in for the weekend.

Porto Kheli, Greece