We owned our previous boat Aurora, a Cape Cutter 19 for 10 years and made many friends in that time. It was how we got to know Chris and Kathryn Wicks, who live in the beautiful Pelion area of Greece and run the lovely Olive Store cottage. An added attraction of staying there is to join them on their forays aboard Kaliope, their Cape Cutter 19.

The attraction of this area is its relatively undeveloped rural character. The harbour at Platanias has a simple harbour wall at one end, to which the few commercial boats moor up, and a scattering of moored yachts. Ashore, there are a few shops and a scattering of small hotels, bars and tavernas. Even in high season, there is plenty of space on the clean town beaches. It is a fabulous base for a small boat, with an enormous amount of coast to explore. Chris has been an energetic promoter of the Cape Cutter, and there are now four based in the area.

Whilst we were at Platanias, the prevailing direction was from the NE. The strength varies throughout the day, often building from nothing in the morning, to a good sailing breeze mid-afternoon, fading to calm again in the evening. This simple picture is complicated by the “valley wind” that whistles south down from the top of the mountains into the harbour, which is otherwise sheltered from the prevailing wind.

This provides interesting sailing conditions; often the wind is nearly 180 degrees different when setting off from a harbour mooring, subject to the valley wind and sheltered from the prevailing wind. One can leave the smooth harbour on a gentle zephyr, only to cross a wall of air into a stiff breeze that would knock the boat down without a double reef!

All these shifty breezes are very reminiscent of my dinghy sailing days and it was a great pleasure to recapture the wonderful handling of the Cape Cutter under these very dynamic conditions. We would set off with an objective in mind, but the wind would shift in strength or direction so as to make that objective very inconvenient to reach. On other days, the wind would fade, forcing us to turn for home in order to avoid a return under motor. So it was we nearly went to many locations; one must keep in mind that the main aim is to have an enjoyable sail, so it’s best to adapt to the conditions at the time, rather than doggedly persist towards an arbitrary destination. In this way, we nearly went to Mouse Island, nearly went to Achilles’ Cave and so on.

One example of this is the day we nearly went to Skiathos, the town on the nearest of the Sporades Islands. Aimee and Alice had taken the tourist ferry across for some shopping and we decided to follow them in Kaliope. The valley wind had been strong overnight, but by mid-morning was very light. Out in the main channel, we could see rough water, so put in a reef. The light valley wind allowed us to waft North along the shore up towards the point and avoid a long beat. It was clear there was quite a bit of wind outside the lee of the headland, so Chris quickly put in a second reef, just before we left this relative shelter. This was just as well, because even four-up, we would have been over powered otherwise. The wind direction was just right for Skiathos and Kaliope powered across the straights a point or two off close-hauled. The wind was well above the forecast 15-20kt and decision was quickly made to abort and run back under the shelter of the headland. It was just as well, because the wind sustained that force for the rest of the afternoon and would have made the rest of the crossing, as well as the return, quite an uncomfortable experience.

As it was, we had an exciting reach across to “Charles and Camilla” (a beach our future monarch visited 20 or so years ago). After a short anchor stop for a cooling swim, we then ran back to Platanias for a pleasant lunch. The F6 was still kicking up white horses offshore in the straits but the wind was much more moderate under the lee of the headland at the “heel” of the boot which is the Pelion peninsula.

After a very agreeable meze lunch, Chris and I left the ladies to relax on the beach and ventured out again in Kaliope to meet the tourist boat’s return from Skiathos. Just two-up, a double reef and Yankee was perfect and Kaliope cut enthusiastically through the sea towards the returning day tripper boats. A few beats to windward and a wonderful run back to harbour completed the day and we were ashore a few minutes after the girls.

• Trips