Bisou de partout: The (Windy) Cyclades Part 2

We waited out the winds in Kimolos for another couple of days and then, when it looked like we could make a break for it, we decided to head east for Santorini, with a view to possibly stopping at Folegandros on the way should the need arise. The winds, of course were blowing from the time we set out just after dawn and we put up the genoa to help us on our way. We ended up having katabatic winds off Folegandros, and had to reef the genoa, only to be followed by a lull in the wind which necessitated the engines again! The seas were rather lumpy as a result of the continued meltemi blowing, but we had a good crossing and reached Thira (Santorini) in time to anchor in a lovely bay on the south side of the island.

Red Beach Bay, Santorini

The island of Santorini is actually the remains of a volcano which erupted in about 1600 BC and whose effects were felt around the world, including causing a tsunami that hit Crete with some force. The island now consists of a backwards “c” shape of high and steep rock on the west side, but gently sloping on the southeastern end. There is a single ‘marina’ on the island, but it is full of day-charter boats and fishing boats and rarely has room for visiting yachts. It seems that visiting yachts simply do not come here as there is nowhere to safely anchor and leave your boat for any length of time. We were recommended to either tie up at Ios town quay and take the ferry across to Santorini for the day, or try and get into the marina. Tad took the dinghy over one day to take a look and decided against the latter option. We had a couple of windy days, quite sheltered in our anchorage in lovely clean sand, but bombarded by day-charter vessels coming and going all day (the nights were stunningly dark and peaceful so very worthwhile staying here); the beach we were anchored off is known as Red Beach and is a real tourist attraction – people came by car, scooter and boat to see it. We were the only boat in the anchorage by late afternoon until the last day, when we were joined by a Belgian boat and a German yacht.

Getting away from the crowds!

These boats go to all the beaches - Red Beach, Black Beach, White Beach

On our last day, the wind died down enough to allow us to have our own private little cruise around the caldera (the western side of the island and of which most photos are taken); gazing up at the mass of houses, hotels and villas perched on the cliff edge like cream on a cake, we were actually rather happy to not be among the masses of tourists on land. We picked up a mooring (belonging to the day charter boats) at the north end of the island, under the town of Oia and had a lovely swim and some lunch on Bisou before being told by a RIB operator (that ferries guests to and from the day charter boats) that we could not stay there. We meandered back to our anchorage late in the afternoon, just as the day-trippers were leaving and enjoyed a quiet last night in Santorini.