JULY 4TH HYDRA GREECE

My birthday started at 4am when the crew on our Starboard side returned from a bar and decided to carry on partying with rum and cokes and loud music - oh well I thought, they're young, they're American, go with it Mar. So I got up at 4:45am and started to dance in our cockpit as it was my birthday as well :O) With that the four young German men on our Port side hung on our rails and started to sing Happy Birthday loudly (and harmoniously) to me. WTF? I had told no-one it was my birthday. The American's joined in as well. WTF? It turned out that Victoria and Kane had met them all in a bar and put them up to it LOL. The wind was picking up by 7:30am and the Americans were in full flow (!) now. I heard their skipper say:' Hey Guys how about we leave for Athens now? ' I couldn't believe my ears as they were all totally pissed. Anyway, by 8am they were making ready to leave. They cast off all their lines, the wind was blowing them onto us and as they went forward their stern crossed over our anchor chain. Greg shouted:' Cut your engine, cut your engine, you've got our anchor line!' Of course being pissed they were slow to react. We could hear our anchor line wrapping itself round their propeller. Now all hell let loose, the wind picked up again, we were being pushed back onto the quay, everytime they tried to adjust their position more chain entangled. Men onshore held off our stern ( thank God) and two of the drunk Americans jumped into the water to try and free our anchor chain - now a ball - from round their prop shaft. So now fast forward: Americans eventually free themselves, drop our ball of anchor chain and sail off ( Greg hoping their propeller was stuffed). Our bow is tied to the German boat while we sort the mess out. German chap - Lasse - jumps into his dingy (which is flying about in the swell) and retrieves our bent, twisted and knotted anchor line - all 30m of it. Two hours later we have it all unknotted and re-set. Winds still increasing. All is well, double-check anchor hold, check springs check check check - drama over. So to offer our thanks we invite the four Germans to have breakfast with us and Victoria and Kane. Lovely guys, all friends from University days having a sailing reunion. As we were eating breakfast at a bar 50 metres from the boat, Greg shouts: 'Oh no, that boats got our anchor now.' Another yacht leaving harbour had dragged his anchor across three other anchors including the Germans and ours - off we ran again. Eight Greek men helped keep Lerryn Lady off the quay, we sent a line out to a fishing boat that also helped hold us off, we couldn't believe this was happening again. And again, the yacht causing all the trouble just sailed off leaving three boats floundering. The quay on the north of harbour had two empty spaces ( unusual) so we upped lines and moored on the north quay, the Germans followed suit, we might be safe there. In three days we had our anchor lifted five times through no fault of our own - it is a small harbour and huge gin palaces come in laying two anchors apiece hitching everybody - total madness ensues every other hour. We sat and watched the shannanigans with people hopping mad, screaming and shouting at each other all day. Hydra is stunning and beautiful, goodness only knows what the locals make of all of this.  Oh, I forgot to mention the best bit of my birthday - I now own a horse, a beautiful grey called Pip :O)))))))))))))))))))))))))))) The second best bit - making four new friends :O))))   The third best bit - knowing I can keep very calm in a Tempest.

Our anchor coming up after the Americans tangled it:

The first knot to appear:

Then more:

This is Lasse with our twisted chain in his dingy:

Then we all went for a birthday breakfast:

 During breakfast we had our anchors dragged again. Here are the four German friends, Lasse, Benedict, Robin and Moritz after they moored alongside us on the north mole of the harbour - safe now? Don't ask!

 Greg with our German friends: