The weather forecast was clear: a summer storm with rain and thunder was due on Saturday, July the 19th, and thus short after noon time. Rain and lightning and wind would hit Athens and the bad weather for Greek summer would last until the evening. And so it did.
I was glad to follow a friend’s invitation and escape the Greek capital over the weekend – escape also the thunderstorm, I thought.
I left the city at noon, just as grey clouds started to pile up over the sky of Attica and the sticky heat was slowly being sweeping away by a growing wind.
As somebody who grew up next to the sea, I have sailed on tiny, medium and big boats since I was a child. As somebody who does some occasionally dinghy sailing, I am good at weather, wind and Beaufort ‘things’. I can normally can tell you whether the clouds will bring rain or not, a short heavy rain or a dripping water front that will tear your nerves apart. I can tell you when and for how long we should go for a swim. I can also tell you whether the sea will be clean or full of plastic bag remains, orange peels and brown sea weed.
I crosscheck weather forecasts and reports, “I read the signs in the sky” so to say…
Just recently, we were swimming at an Athens beach with west wind… Suddenly an orange peel shell swam towards me. I told my friend that the weather changed to south wind and we will soon swim amid a filed of swimming orange shells. And so it happened! Who was the idiot who drank a ton of freshly pressed orange juice and threw the garbage in the sea?
Arriving at the port of Piraeus to get the boat, I was pleasantly surprised that there was just some pale and blur white clouds towards the north and the heat was still hitting back from the cement. “Let’s go, Saronic Gulf and escape the storm,” I thought, bought me a ticket and went on board.
We left Piraeus with the sun shining… Aegina is less than 20 nautical miles away, an hour or so by ship and boat. We can see Aegina from Athens, and we can see Athens from Aegina. When there is no storm….
Sailing towards the sun, when behind us a storm was piling up…
As we sailed towards the island… Athens sea line was swallowed by the mist and storm…
Sailing surrounded by a cloud tiny water droplets
Anyway, I was really glad to have escaped the storm in Athens. However I didn’t consider that the storm had decided to follow me.
A lunch table on the balcony was awaiting me and short upon my arrival and we sat to enjoy the food and the nice panoramic view.
Suddenly wind rose and nice little waves crowned with white foam started to rush from the northeast. Thunder was heard not far away, the first rain drops were heard, seen and felt.
We kept eating commenting on the rain and how odd the July of this summer was with storms and rain and clouds and wind.
Big mouth, me, I told them the rain would not last longer than 15 minutes. And suddenly… KABOOΟΟΟM! A thunderbolt crashed right in the middle of our panoramic bay view, not far away from the balcony. Τhe reflex of Captain Big Mouth and her friends was amazing! In zero time we stood up and ran inside the house.
The rain lasted indeed 15-20 minutes, though 🙂
Lesson of the story: you can’t escape storm unless you move far away very fast…
Very enjoyable story!
thank you, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did lol