Sleeping aground in the south of Crete

It’s been years since we participated in the Aegean Sailing Rally. We have been preparing all winter by participating in various local sailing races and a few days before the start of the rally we start with a leisurely cruise. This time we would start from the south of Crete where we had the boat there. After relaxing in the beautiful bay of Loutros, we headed further east and anchored quite close to the beach of Fournotis. The place was magical with an endless long beach, while the big pine trees reached almost to the sea! It was the ideal place for some fishing and shortly before noon I jumped off the boat for my dip in the deep blue waters of the Libyan Sea. The rest would take their lunch break. The truth is that the beauty of the seabed and the frequent presence of fish made me lose track of time and place. I swam with the flippers very far, almost reaching the bay of Ag. Roumeli, where the exit of the Samaria gorge is also. At some point I decide to turn back as I had just over a mile to go. Constantly looking at the bottom I didn’t realize when I arrived but I had an unexpected realization. The sailing boat we were traveling on was no longer there! I started putting things in my head. Did we forget something at the port in the country of Sfakion where we started and they went to pick it up? Or did they have a short sail because of the light wind? As I progressed I couldn’t find the answer and neither could the boat! There next to Fournoti there is another small bay next to it and having no other choice he went there. I was surprised to see the sailing vessel there anchored in a rather strange position, or rather in a position which no sensible captain would choose so near the shore. Getting close I notice that yes the boat’s keel rests and has gently wedged into the sand bottom and that it finally became what I had in mind as the final version. The anchor had drifted out with the blowing wind and drifted gently to the bottom, only to stop several meters down after the keel rested on the sand just before the boat came ashore! Climbing on board I was surprised to see that my two friends were continuing their normal sleep, even stating that they were also enjoying the shade of the trees from the shore, as the boat was almost at the shore!