Day 36 (Wednesday)
Before we picked up our boat we bought some provisions for
lunch and a snorkel so that we could see some fish.
When we arrived at Makis boat hire he looked us up and down
and decided he wouldn’t trust us with one of his 30hp boats. Tracey said that her father was in the navy
but he wouldn’t change his mind. He
brought us over a lower powered boat that would be easier for us. It didn’t have a steering wheel or electronic
start so I failed to see how it would be easier.
After a (very) quick lesson we were off. First we went to the south of the island
because we didn’t have to cross the ferry port that way. Once we had gained a bit of confidence we
turned round and headed north where we found a lovely beach to swim and
snorkel. We discovered that the best way
to enjoy snorkelling was to find a submerged flat rock and rub it with your
foot to disturb the algae. This attracted
dozens of fish, creating your own mini aquarium. The boat was equipped with a small ladder to
make getting in and out of the boat easier, fine in theory but more difficult
in practice.
When it was time to set sail again we found that we couldn’t
lift the anchor as it was well and truly stuck in some seaweed. Undaunted, I got back in and heroically dived
down to free us. Using the rope attached
to the anchor I pulled myself down the 10 metres to the sea bed, stood on a
rock and wiggled it free. The purchase
of that snorkel was very wise.
Tracey had a go at captaining the boat and because she has
inherited salt water in her blood she was much better than me. Lunch was calling so we stopped again, this
time in a shallower weed free spot, had lunch followed by another swim and
snorkel before setting sail again for the northern tip of the island in
somewhat choppier waters.
Tracey was gaining confidence in her boating skills and ‘volunteered’
to ‘park’ the boat back into its mooring spot.
We saw Makis indicating where to park in what looked like a very small
space. Approaching cautiously and hoping
that no other boats would cross our path we pointed the vessel in the general
direction of Makis. What I had failed to
tell Tracey was how to stop so we may have just ‘clipped’ a boat on the left as
we careered towards the harbour. Makis
winced a bit but no harm was done.
Having left our sea legs firmly in the boat and paid Makis for the fuel
we had used we made our way back to our accommodation for a slug of rum and the
singing of sea shanties.
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