Mykonos to Milos

Mykonos to Milos

Our departure from Mykonos looked promising, following wind at 12 – 15 kts, A very enjoyable sail down the Delos Channel in brilliant sunshine and a broad reach down to Andiparos, what could be better.....The wind lasted one hour before it died to next to nothing. We ghosted south for another two hours and then decided to head left and go into the anchorage off Paros town which we reached an hour before sunset; just in time to enjoy the closing stages of a local keel boat race. This was followed by supper and a visit from Yorgos who, having heard we were in Paros again, decided to pay us a brief visit and raid our drinks cabinet!

Sunset over passage between Andiparos and Dhespotico

The following day dawned bright and clear with a pleasant NW wind. We sailed off the anchor and headed SW towards Andiparos and Dhespotico. By 1200 we were through the channel between Dhespotico and Nisos Strongilo and headed eastwards to the anchorage which is between Dhespotico and Andiparos. Having anchored under sail, on what the Heikell pilot described as a sandy bottom, we discovered it was a rock shelf with a thin covering of sand, very poor holding. We therefore moved further to the north into the more populated part of the anchorage and there found good holding and settled ourselves for the night ahead.

Balsamo Bar, Ios Chora

From here we set off mid morning for the short passage to the bay on the south side of Dhespotico which we found deserted and as beautiful as ever. It is backed by a large flat area similar to a salt flat and is the ideal place to BBQ, with the exception that we had no suitable meat to cook over an open fire... slight oversight! By mid afternoon we had two other yachts in the anchorage and a fair breeze to take us south to Ios and so we decided to set forth. We sailed south in light and variable winds but resisted the temptation to start the engine. By 1930 we were in the port of Ios, backed up to the jetty and debating the climb up the hill to the chora where we planned to have supper. Although as we walked past the bus stop where a local bus was waiting we opted for the energetic choice by climbing the footpath up to the chora, some of the party were not so keen on this option by the time we reached the half way mark, but by then it was too late! Supper was a gyros in a street-side taverna followed by a couple of G&Ts in my favourite bar, “Balsamo”, a quirky little place high in the chora.

Stern to in Ios harbour

Next morning we did some essentials, such as victualling, and watched a catamaran trying to leave at the same time as a high speed ferry arrived; the Port Police guy must have been breathless with all the whistle blowing in his efforts to get the catamaran to move out of the way! We departed 30 minutes later, sailing off the jetty and ghosting slowly towards the entrance of the bay. Fortunately we were well clear when the next two ferries arrived. Our plan was to head to Ormos Negros, my favourite bay in Ios. It was a very slow passage but by 1400 we had covered the three miles southwards and had almost drifted to a halt in the bay before dropping the anchor. It was deserted but for one new structure, built since I was last here, a particularly disgusting restaurant or bar structure, half finished and with outer walls that looked like a gymnasium climbing wall! Why?

Departing Ormos Neros

We stayed here overnight and most of the next morning, waiting for the wind to fill in. Our decision to leave was prompted by the arrival of two grockle boats (grockle = tourist in Cornish) depositing their cargo on the beach, including sound system!

From here we headed across to Sikinos, intending to go alongside or anchor off in Skala Sikinos. We discovered on arrival that this small harbour is well silted and offers very little room. The small inner jetty that Heikell recommends going on stern to is no longer an option with depths of only 1.5m in the approach (we touched the bottom trying!). This left only the option of joining the three boats who were already alongside the outer end of the outer mole. Having backed in gently, we started to come alongside a Belgian registered boat named Octopus to be greeted by the owner and his wife refusing to take our lines! His attitude was completely unhelpful! The harbour was dead calm and, with shore lines fore and aft, having us alongside would have not represented any risk to him or those inboard of him. (Having previously been the 10^th boat out at Cowes Marina during Cowes Week only four seemed pretty reasonable to me …. he didn't see it that way!) In the course of our “debate” I instructed Christoph and Malcolm to step aboard his boat and secure us which generated even more vitriol from him with accusations of poor maritime etiquette etc, he didn't seem to connect that refusing to take someone's lines and trying to jam your dinghy in the way of a boat coming alongside were hardly acts of friendship. In the end he threatened to release our lines as soon as we left the boat! Given his unpleasantness we decided that having him as a neighbour was not a price we were prepared to pay for a night in Sikinos; we departed wishing him and his wife well with a few choice words in French.

Panorama of Karavostasi, Folegandros

The wind was South Westerly, and about 15kts, as we departed rendering any thoughts of anchoring on the south coast of Sikinos impossible; our alternative was a beat west to the bay at Karavostasi on the eastern end of the island of Folegandros. By the time we arrived at 1930 the wind had died to nothing and we motored the last 30 mins into the anchorage and settled down for the night anchored in 4m, 50m from the beach. Next morning, who should arrive but “Octopus”; they anchored as far from us as they could but not before falling foul of the Port Police for obstructing the ferry turning area!

Ormos Vathi, Folegandros

After a brief victualling trip and a coffee ashore we set off under sail for the bay of Ormos Vathi on the south coast of Folegandros. This has to qualify for the slowest passage this year, 3.5m in four hours! We were determined not to be beaten by the lack of wind! By 1630 we were anchored in the bay in a flat calm and debating the merits of supper ashore in one of the tavernas. 1930 found us seated at the nearest taverna to the beach enjoying a simple but good meal and better still they agreed to provide us with two loaves of fresh bread next morning.

The following morning dawned grey and with a southerly wind, it did not look promising for a settled day. By 1500 we had collected our bread and decided to head back to Karavostasi where decent shelter from a southerly could be found. We sailed off the anchor and an hour and a half later we were settled in the south-easterly bay at Karavostasi. Here we spent a quiet night listening to the wind whistling overhead but in absolutely calm water.

Anchored in Fasolou Beach, Ormos Faros, Sifnos

Our plan had been to go back to Vathi next day but a westerly wind convinced us that a trip to Sifnos would be a more pleasant sail and hence we set off with reefed main and genoa, on the wind. Within an hour the wind had moderated slightly and we enjoyed a fetch under full sail for the rest of the passage arriving in the southern bay of Ormos Faro in time for a slightly delayed lunch. Nearby was another Blue Ensign yacht, a very pleasant couple from the East Coast of UK sailing their dream. By evening we decided to move berth into the slightly better sheltered bay, called Fasolou Beach, which is to the east of the village. At the second attempt the anchor bedded itself into sand and we were set for the night to come.

Pharos Taverna, Ormos Faros

Next morning Christoph and I swam ashore to get bread and a few other essentials but unfortunately bread stocks were finished for the day; the bakery is in the Chora several km away. We had enough onboard for lunch and with the weather being benign and sunny we decided to stay another day and eat ashore that night, allowing us to collect bread the next day. Supper ashore was in the Pharos Taverna, above the western end of the town beach, run by a Greek lady whose Romanian assistant spoke good English, always a help when there is no Greek speaker aboard. A simple supper of grilled fish served with local rose wine was thoroughly enjoyed by all; after which we adjourned back onboard for a Metaxa nightcap.

The Castro, Sifnos

Our plan the following day was to adjourn to the other side of Sifnos, to Vathi, an almost enclosed bay on the west coast but first, given the very light conditions, we opted to head north to the bay under the Castro and anchor there for a swim ashore and a look at the Byzantine village before heading south round the island.

The Castro, Sifnos

Kurukulla anchored in Ormos Castro

On departure, in light airs, we sailed most of the way to Vathi passing through the shallow channel between Sifnos and the adjacent island to the SE by the name of Kitriana. Heikell does not mention this channel and the chart that I had onboard showed it as less than 5m and rock strewn but in our time in Faros we had seen several large yachts negotiate it, thus we decided to give it a go.

In the event we recorded nothing less than 15m on the echo sounder, as we sailed slowly through with Christoph in the bow as the eyes of the ship. By 1900 we were anchored in Vathi, on the eastern side of the bay, in 5m of water, on beautiful clean sand. Ideal for the night.

Ormos Vathi, Sifnos

After a walk ashore next morning for coffee and a leg stretch we sailed off the anchor, beat out of the bay and set sail for Milos where we planned to pick up Yorgos again for his next spell onboard. The passage south was variable, from no wind to having a reef in the main and several rolls in the Genoa but we were fortunate that only the last few miles were on the wind. By 1900 we were anchored off the town of Adhamas, waiting to move alongside the next morning if or when a berth became free.

Next morning we moved in at 0930, backed into a suitable berth only to be met by a blank stare of disbelief and a total failure to offer to take our lines from the owner of the adjacent boat who was on the jetty. It was the Belgians again!

Arriving Milos

More when we leave......