The (Windy) Cyclades Part 1

We allowed ourselves a day to rest up, provision and prepare and then set off for the Cyclades.  We had a big trip to our first island on our first day and so were up early to get a good head start.  Surprisingly we had some good wind as soon as we were out of Poros channel and so both the mainsail and the genoa went up.   We zoomed across to Kithnos at an average speed of over 7 knots and made the 61nm journey in about 8 hours!  We took a look at the first anchorage (Ormos Fikhiada) which had a lovely sandbar but it was too crowded for our liking so we headed a little further east to another anchorage (Ormos Apokriosis) where we stayed for the night.  There were a couple of tavernas ashore as well as a little chapel but not much else.   The wind was gusting down through the hills fairly strongly but settled overnight so that we had a good night’s sleep.

Knowing that the strong winds were coming, we decided to continue in a southerly direction the next morning early.  We motored most of the way as the winds were light.  Once off Serifos, we checked out one of the anchorages on the west side (Mega Livadhi) which our pilot guide indicated would provide excellent shelter from the meltemi.  It was a well-protected bay with a tree-lined beach at the end, some lovely white houses and a chapel and tavern, but Tad deemed it ‘too tight’ in the event of strong winds and so we continued southwards.

Ormos Koutala Beach

We rounded the southwestern cape and made our way eastwards to Ormos Koutala, a large, almost enclosed bay with three beaches within.  After taking a passing look at all three, we decided on the northeastern beach for our anchorage.  Mainly for the protection factor, but also because there was a lovely sandy bottom (our favourite holding ground) and a cute pebble beach with a small taverna ashore.  That evening we decided to give the local economy our business and had our dinner ashore – ironically the tavern (unlike the majority of Greek eating establishments) closed before 8pm, which I had discovered earlier by swimming ashore and enquiring of the owner.  It was bemusing to see several charter yachts and even local tourists (Greeks) come up to the tavern after 7:30pm only to be turned away.  When you have a business that can only make money for three or four months in a year, you’d think that staying open as long as possible would make sense.  Apparently not for this gentleman!

                                                   Dinner at the one and only taverna!

Early the next morning the meltemi began with gusts into the bay.  The meltemi is an Aegean wind that begins far north in the Black Sea and funnels down into the Aegean in a southwesterly direction and then heads southeast about mid-way through the Cyclades.  This wind usually starts to blow at the end of June and continues through July and August and sometimes into September.  It can blow anywhere from a few days up to a couple of weeks (as we were to discover!).  While the wind itself is not unpleasant, and in fact the local islanders in the Cyclades rather welcome it, due to the heat build up on land during the day, most anchorages and harbours experience some katabatic (amplification due to the surrounding topography) effect which results in strong gusts into the bay or harbour.   We observed many boats sailing/motoring during what we experienced as 40knots plus gusts and although there is considerable chop to the water which, in my humble opinion would make for a rather uncomfortable ride, it doesn’t mean you are necessarily ‘stuck’.  For our purposes, however, since we are not obligated to move when we don’t want to, and because we enjoy a comfortable passage when we move, we choose to stay put when it’s too blowy outside.

As a result, we stayed in Ormos Koutala for several days while the wind gusted down off the slopes and into the bay.  Our wonderful Rocna anchor dug well in to the sand and although Bisou danced around on her anchor chain we were quite safe.  The water was still pleasant for swimming and we could walk ashore when we needed some ‘land time’.  We also met up with some Americans on their boat (headed in the opposite direction towards the Peloponnese) and enjoyed dinner ashore with them on our last night in the bay.

Snorkelling along the rocky shoreline was pleasant enough as well.  While there is not the plethora of fish or colourful corals that we see in the Barrier Reef or some other locations around the world, with careful eyes you can find some lovely creatures hiding in the rocks and sand: sea anemones, hermit crabs, a variety of fish (not prolific but they are there), sea stars and many more. 

Sea pen (actually a worm!)

                                                             Camouflaged sea star

After much deliberating as to our next destination (should we go somewhere with a chandlery to buy the necessary items to fix our toilet or should we continue south towards Crete?) we decided to go south towards Milos.  We stayed in Serifos for 4 nights and then had a slight break in the weather which encouraged us to emerge from our shelter to sail south.  Although the winds were predicted to be moderate (20-25knots) there was a considerable swell leftover from the several days of meltemi and we had a bouncy ride for the 26nm south.  We raised both the main and the genoa to take advantage of the wind, and I, as usual put my line out to tempt any tuna which might be passing by.

Amazingly, no sooner had I put out my line and sat down to type some of my blog, when the rod went off!  I implored Tad to slow down (we were sailing at almost 8 knots) – a somewhat difficult request when you have both sails up!  He managed to furl the genoa while I tried to reel in my line (I assumed that I had caught some sea rubbish) and then came back to help.  The boat was still sailing along at 5 knots plus as I reeled in a tuna!  Tad was ready with the gaff and the tequila (you will recall from last year we used a good deal of our tequila to render my tuna tranquil) but this year we also had a baseball bat to stun the fish! 

If you have ever tried to land a 10-12kg flopping tuna onto the back of a boat sailing along at 5knots with a bouncy sea, you can imagine what we experienced. There was no way I was going to lose that fish but it was impossible to try and butcher it right away.  We tied it to the stern of the boat (not in the water) as we only had about an hour left to our anchorage, and carried on.  Catching a big fish is messy – blood and bits of scales and fish go everywhere, especially if there is wind.  No sooner were we anchored off a lovely beach in sand off the south of Nisos Kimolos (just to the northeast of Milos) then I set to creating some tuna meals for us to enjoy for several days.  The nice thing about cleaning a fish off the back of a catamaran is that you can just toss the unwanted bits overboard for the sea life to devour.  I always feel badly looking at the poor tuna’s big round eyes but thanked his head before tossing it into the sea.

                                                            Tuna # 2 in the Med

I had fresh sashimi for lunch and we had our first dinner of fresh grilled (seared on the outside and rare on the inside) tuna that night. YUM!  I am now ready to put my rod away for the season – not wishing to be greedy and take any more than is my fair share!

Nisos Kimolos is a lovely and interesting island – not busy and touristy like neighbouring Milos, it has a tiny harbour (Psathi) with a few tavernas ashore, and a ‘xoria’ (hilltop village) which has been beautifully built/restored.  The place abounds with guest accommodation and when I went ashore for a walk into town (about 30 minutes’ walk from our anchorage all uphill on the way there) I enquired as to what kind of tourism they experienced.  It seems that it is mostly Greek visitors who come here from Athens and other busy cities – they take the high speed ferry to Milos and then the local ferry to Kimolos.  The place is quiet, pretty authentic and has some lovely beaches as well as some interesting geological rock formations.  It would make a great getaway for someone who wanted peace and quiet and who loved to walk (although you can of course rent a motorbike or car to get around).

View from the hora to the port

The hora (old town)