Khakis

........no we never did find the praying mantis again. Guess he just needed a lift to Eretria! 

We spent a very pleasant evening in Eretria with Carole and Dave on Hydra and their Danish friends Lars and Lisa. Dave had seen our Cruising Association flag and come over to say hello.

Having got the laundry done and stocked up with food we left Eretria and went north up to the bridge at Khalkis - the narrowest point of the Evia Channel.

As we got closer to Khalkis there were some huge ships anchored off near the cement works.

This is the first modern road bridge crossing the channel

Always that moment when you think "will we fit under there?" despite everything you have read beforehand when planning the route.

We arrived in Khalkis and tied up alongside the Port Authority quay with Hydra and Lars - they had left before us as we had to wait for laundry and, being catamarans, they are faster than us. 

We then had to register our documents with the authority, pay our 35€ to pass through the sliding bridge. Then, at 16.00hrs we had to go to the port police to be added to the list of boats passing through and then wait. They only open the bridge between 21.00hrs and 03.30hrs to avoid disrupting the traffic. The time depends on the currents at the time as they are very unusual at this point.

Luckily that night we only had to wait until midnight before they called us on the radio to say it was opening - boats from the north passing first and then us from the south.

Here you can see how the bridge slides back under the road on either side to let boats through.

The bridge in daylight looking south to north.

The changing currents 

According to Wikipedia The strait is subject to strong tidal currents which reverse direction approximately four times a day. Tidal flows are very weak in the Eastern Mediterranean, but the strait is a remarkable exception. Water flow peaks at about 12 kilometres per hour (7.5 mph; 6.5 kn), either northwards or southwards, and lesser vessels are often incapable of sailing against it. When nearing flow reversal, sailing is even more precarious because of vortex formation.

So many "fried egg jellyfish" behind the boat!

Khalkis is the capital of Evia, this is looking back to the bridge from the quay on the north side.

After a day in Khalkis we sailed north heading for the anchorage in Atalanta bay. However, strong, gusty winds and seas that felt like being in a washing machine, we decided to head into Limnari bay for shelter. Again we were the only boat in here, nice on our side but very industrial on the other. Huge cupronickel factory with large freight ships coming and going.

We anchored behind the small island, glad of the shelter but still a very windy night.

This small island was the night roost for at least 15 herons and about the same number of egrets who all landed in the trees.

Approaching the bay of Atalanta, Dave spotted the "face" on the hillside!