Santorini - The Jewel in the Crown ..... June 2009

08 - 11 June 2009
Just how to choose 4 photos to capture this amazing place is totally impossible, these are just a snapshot
***Skipper on the bow gazing in awe at the surroundings***Balvenie resting way down there***At the fort in the small western village of Ia, famous for its sunset views***Every shot of Santorini includes a 'med blue' church dome and the very blue med sea below, this is our contribution!***

With just enough breeze to fill the mainsail and poled out headsail we had good downwind sail the 40 odd miles south to Santorini (Thira). The island group has a somewhat explosive past. Once upon a time, Santorini and the surrounding islands were all one, well populated and with a bustling port. Then in around 1650BC, recent enough to be well documented, the very big bang occurred, the crater blew, part of the sides collapsed, islands were formed where the rim once was and water filled the crater, producing most of what we see today.

This makes anchoring there somewhat problematic as there are depths of around 50m right up to the crater walls. The cruising guide offers a couple of possibilities which we didn't feel comfortable with, and there is a small marina but it is around the bottom of the island and outside the crater and it is only 2 metres deep, so not an option for us. So while our eyes were feasting on the incredible vista surrounding us we tried to find somewhere to settle for the night.

We had heard a waterfront taverna had put in a few moorings but we didn't know where but saw some yachts so had a little tiki-tour along the shoreline and found them, unfortunately all occupied. There was however a couple more buoys a little further along with no lines on them but looking big and solid so we backed up to one, hitched a line through and tied on. We went ashore to the small taverna nearby to check if it was ok, he made a phone call to a friend and said no problem, yippee. We have found the Greeks to be so friendly and helpful everywhere we have been, nothing seems too much trouble, they are great. So after a celebratory dinner ashore we headed back to Balvenie and watched the full moon rise above the crater, just priceless.

Next morning, armed with plenty of water, we dinghied ashore and climbed the 276 steps up to the village of Ia. Now 276 steps is bad enough, but between some of the steps you had to walk 3 paces uphill to get to the next one, this was serious exercise. Arriving at the top looking and feeling very much worse for wear, we had a very leisurely look around Ia, enjoying its winding little alleys, stunning views, tasteful boutique shops and cafes with balconies suspended out over the steep crater walls.

We caught the local bus to Fira, the main town and got a circle trip sightseeing tour enroute. Santorini's non crater side slopes gently to the sea, offering a totally different terrain to the one she is famous for. There are volcanic sand beaches, some vineyards and a few crops growing, but tourism certainly is the mainstay. There were 4 cruise ships in port, and everywhere was bustling, cameras snapping, I cant think of anywhere as stunning as Santorini. Fira is just a larger version of Ia, we had a good look around, stopped for a rest and lunch then headed back on the bus, this time it took the crater rim road with stunning views, magical.

It was back down the steps to Balvenie for a swim and siesta before round two up to the top to catch the sunset. Unfortunately not spectacular but we sure got plenty of exercise.

Next morning the weather forecast was not good, our window of calm winds was closing rapidly and we had had some gusts during the night, so we decided to leave with a forecast of 10-15knots from the Northeast and head Northwest as far as we could. An hour out we were having second thoughts, very confused and lumpy seas, a double reefed main and reefed headsail and winds from nothing to 30knots - up and down, all day long. It made for a very uncomfortable, difficult and extremely wet sail, we do not remember when we last had so much salt water over the boat. We finally got in the lee of Sifnos, flatter water but mega wind gusts, the tops being whipped off the waves. We got the sails down and motored the last couple of miles into Vathy Bay, quite a wind tunnel unfortunately, and busy with charter boats dragging anchor. After a very long and tiring day we did anchor watch till around 3am when things settled enough for us to feel comfortable enough to go below.

Ole wind god Huey had thought it was time to remind us the infamous 'meltimi' was coming, and this cruising life is not all bikinis and martinis. Time to leave the Aegean. So with two more days before the 30+knot northerlies were due to arrive and settle in for at least a week we sailed northwest, first to a quiet remote bay on the southern side of Serifos where we had 12 hours sleep to recharge our batteries and then we had an excellent beam reach in comfortable seas across to Poros. It's a small island only half a mile off the northern coast of the Peloponnese peninsular, just 35 miles south of Athens, and most importantly out of the Aegean. Mission accompolished - extra rum rations for skipper and crew!!!!

Cruising Info for Santorini, Sifnos and Serifos - Greek Cyclades:
Anchorages -
Ia, Santorini ... 36 27.56N 25 23.08 on large red buoy in 50m. Taverna buoys are slightly west, there is also a dock you can tie to temporarily so enquire, not sure on depth. No charge for buoy but we dined one night in their taverna. Nothing flash but ok and not expensive
Vathy Bay, Sifnos ... 36 55.72N 24 41.42E 18m. Well held ok but others were dragging in strong bullets
Koutala Bay, Serifos ... 37 08.14N 24 27.62E 7m in sandy patch. Slight roll overnight, didn't seem to be affected over in western part of bay by it
Internet -No wifi onboard at any. Didn't look for internet ashore in Santorini
Money - ATM's at Ia and Fira on Santorini
Provisions - Small supermarket and bakery by bus stop in Ia
Formalities - did not do any

Mykonos - Anchored in Millionaires Row ..... June 2009

05 - 07 June 2009

***Mark, relaxing with a cold beer in 'Paradise', don't miss the go-go dancers in the background***Balvenie, looking somewhat small in Superyacht alley!***The little church overlooking the anchorage on Paros***

Finally we left our little sheltered and very friendly harbour of Finakas on the Cyclades Island of Siros and headed due east. Heading east is not a good thing when you are circumnavigating in a westerly direction but sometimes you just have to make these sacrifices to ensure you do not miss any of the best bits. It was a beautiful day, the strong winds had abated, the seas flattened and we had a very pleasant but slow sail the short distance across to Mykonos.

We anchored in the southern bay of Ormos Ornos amongst several other yachts and sat back and watched the procession of superyachts arrive on this sunny Friday afternoon. This was our first taste of the big boys and their bigger toys in the Med, as most of them don't seem to go the extra miles to Turkey, I don't know why as I suspect it is not because they can not afford the fuel!!

One of the top stops on Greek cruise ship itineraries, Mykonos boasts a lovely cute little old town around the port area (yachts not permitted), with white sugar cube buildings which I thought looked more like marshmallows as all the buildings edges were nicely rounded, most of them displaying 'med blue' shutters and trim, with blossoming bougainvillea cascading down, all picture perfect postcard scenes. All the tiny boutique shops, bars and cafes welcome the arrival of around 4 cruise ships a day in summer, there was just 1 in while we were there at that was busy enough.

We had heard about 'Paradise', an area on the southern coast not far from our anchorage so decided to catch the bus and check out Paradise. Basically its a beach resort that could have been in Thailand or the Caribbean, with thatched umbrellas, sun loungers and many many people. Its a major party spot, loud music, cocktails aplenty, go go dancers, partiers dancing on the table tops - and we went at about 5pm!!! We didn't stay for the full moon party, this was way out of our league.

2 nights and one full day seemed enough for Mykonos, so we lifted anchor and motored south in no wind and glassy seas to Paros. There is a small harbour on the northern coast, but with 3 over 20m power boats tied up it didn't leave much room for anyone else, so we anchored off in a Plastiras Cove a nearby sheltered bay for the night. The plan was to spend a couple of days here, then go across to the neighbouring island of Naxos and leave Balvenie tied up for 3 days while we caught the ferry down to Santorini. However we are ever flexible and after hearing the morning radio net which gave a 5day weather forecast of very light winds we decided to point the bow south, ever conscious of the fact that we would have to put the miles back in north again. The weather was warming, the dreaded meltemi winds possibly about to strike at any time, we knew we would not be able to seek shelter in the small marina as we draw too much, but life is full of gambles and sailing our own yacht into the crater of Santorini appealed, so south it was!

Cruising Info:
Anchorages
Mykonos.. Ormos Ornos - 37 25.14N 25 19.37E 13m sand & weed but can see bottom, can go further in but quite busy and more noise from the shore
There is a free dock on the inside of the cruise ship dock which many were using, you need to catch the bus to town from either and Ormos Ornos was closer for us to leave heading south
Paros.. Plastiras Cove - 37 07.56N 25 13.17E 7m sand Harbour wall would have been good if room, some parts closed off for charter fleets
Internet - Unlocked Wifi onboard in Ormos Ornos most of the time, no signal on Paros
Money - ATM's in Ormos Ornos
Provisions - Small grocery and bakery Ormos Ornos. Good Fruit & Veg shop Mykonos town just by bus station
Formalities - none
Sightseeing - Local buses around Mykonos 1.40Euro, most hourly but not regular times past the hour

Mykonos ..... June 2009

When we bought Balvenie there was a framed photo print on the bulkhead in the forward "guests" cabin. It looked great there, quite colourful and peaceful, and it made us dream of faraway places, way over the horizon. It is a photo of Mykonos, in the Greek Cyclades Island group.

So here we were in Mykonos, at last after over 5 years of heading over many horizons we have made it so we set out on our quest to find the shot of our print.

We headed into Mykonos town and down to the waterfront area, really not knowing where to start. It is an island after all, it could be anywhere.

And there it was, just like that, looking just a little different but certainly still recognizable. Unfortunately our camera doesn't have quite as wide an angle but we have got it, mission accomplished. Another one on the list of must do's successfully crossed off!!

The Cyclades at last, Aegean Sea, Greece ..... June 2009

31 May - 04 June 2009

***The town wall harbour at Ermoupolis, Siros***After several 100's of steps the stunning view back down looking southeast*** Bourangvillias in full bloom on Siros***Meze taster of famous Syrian (from Siros not Syria!!) sausages***

We had enjoyed our stay at Skyros, despite our midnight harbour excursion to re-anchor, but there is always somewhere else to go and explore and we wanted to start heading further south into the Cyclades Island Group, famous world wide as home to Mykonos and Santorini. The infamous northerly "meltimi" winds start to kick in by mid June as things warm up, and our goal is to be out of the Aegean by then. With all this in mind we did another long day and knocked off 65 miles, in reasonable downwind conditions and put in plenty more practice gybing the pole (unfortunately there were islands in the way we had to go around, and of course the winds keeps changing directions around these islands too!!).

We just did an overnight stay in the harbour of Gavrion on Andros, at anchor, as suggested in the Greek Waters Pilot "as far out of the way of the ferries as possible". It was Sunday night, and a ferry had left as we arrived so we anchored as suggested all tucked away but not expecting to even see another ferry. Well we arrived at 7.30pm - 3 more huge ferries came in before dark, bearing down on us at what seemed great speed then stopping, turning reversing, unloading and refilling in minutes and off again. One more overnight and then the previous nights 3 back again for seconds before we left at 9am, plenty of action. It isn't a very big island, heavily populated or very touristy, heavens know why so many ferries.

We left and headed for Siros, sailing again most of the way in variable light conditions. We pulled into the small harbour of Finikas on the southern coastline, amazed to find over 15 other yachts, we have found the charter boat route at last, hours of entertainment watching their comings and goings. We went ashore and spoke to the extremely helpful Harbour Master to see if we could get a berth on the inner harbour wall for a few nights as a very strong southerly was due the following night for 48 hours and there is a real lack of protected southerly anchorages around the islands near us. Next morning he moved some boats, changed some mooring lines and created a space we squeezed in to, his explanation as to why he had gone to so much work "you have sailed here all the way from New Zealand, we must look after you". What exceptional service, and for a port fee of 1Euro a night!!!

Today we caught the bus into the capital of Ermoupolis, what a great place. A grand neo classical Town Hall and surrounding square area, a rabbit warren of multi coloured houses - some beautifully restored, others crumbling around them, and if you need to do a serious hill session, look no further. We climbed steps, up and up, then up some more (Lonely Planet suggests catching bus up and walking back down, probably a good idea!), until we were up at the top. There is a large church up there, unfortunately locked, but the vista was worth it overlooking Tinos to the north, Mykonos, Delos and Renia to the east and Paros and Naxos to the south. Down the countless marble steps was much easier but we built up a healthy appetite so stopped in a little cafe, on yet another marble paved alleyway, overhung with vines and bougainvillea and sampled some Syrian sausages for lunch, somewhat unusual but very tasty. Then we had an hour to kill before our return bus so gravitated to the quayside for a drink, watching the yachts and ferries coming in and enjoying all the related activity.

The bus trip alone was worth the outing, as it goes round in a circle, so we got an island tour thrown in as well, lots of tiny vineyards, many shade houses with tomatoes inside, some small tourist accommodations, a few sandy beaches - all in all if you want to get off the main Greek Islands tourist trail and find somewhere more Greek, this would be hard to beat.

So we sit here still, tonight will be our third night on the wall, the winds have come and gone and really we should move, ah maybe tomorrow, the sun is shining, the sea still brilliant blue, and its really warming up now - currently 27degrees at 8pm.

Cruising info:
Anchorages -
Gavrion, Andros ... 37 53.152N 24 43.897E 3.5m sand. Very little ferry wash. Go in as far as you can in the northwest corner. There was no room on the wall as boats were side tied and not very big
Finakas, Siros ... 37 23.693N 24 52.555E 8.8m find sandy spot outside moorings Holding good
Finakas, Siros ... 37 23.827N 24 52.601E 3.4m on inside wall, bow to with stern mooring line. Great spot. Outside berth untenable in strong southerlies - easterlies. Anchoring marginal unless you tuck in between mooring buoys (very few boats on buoys). Over on eastern side of bay, just north of Navy dock there is a new concrete jetty which some boats stern tied to during over 30knots southerlies, they were in flat water with very little swell.
Following for Siros as didn't go ashore in Andros
Internet - Unlocked Wifi on and off at anchor, all the time on the wall. Internet cafe at little chandlery
Money - ATM machine on seafront, 2 minutes walk
Provisions - Excellent Bakery and adequate supermarket. Small chandlery (has Croatia courtesy flags for 3Euro) Fuel Mini tanker comes around dock at .96c euro per litre
Formalities - No port police, transit log not looked at. Wonderful Harbour master and his assistant. Power and water on the dock were charged, we didn't need them so just 1Euro p/n for berth
Sightseeing - Bus just by chandlery, catch it going either way. We caught 12.05pm to Ermoupolis and 4.30pm back. Cost 1.60Euro p/p o/w. Bus timetable on wall in taverna opposite ATM, not the easiest timetable to decipher. Ermoupolis very worthwhile, very "mediterranean"