Telltale 96

Meltemi.....and more Meltemi.

Back to some old fashioned sailing on Sylphe. On my way from Symi to the middle of the Cyclades island group in Greece. The home of the Meltemi wind, which is feared by sooo many sailors. And indeed its reputation is a fearsome. it can blow for days (and nights) on end with a force 8 or 9. Stopping one dead in its track or plans to do any sailing. Still one has blue skies, great beaches and temperatures in the high 30's and the wind to cool things off. All in all a great place. Add to this that the wind is always constant from the North, making route planning easy and the fact that there is a next island - in any direction- after 30 miles, so a nice day trip sailing is possible.
I realize that although I went through the Cyclades several times in the last years with Sylphe, I had never spend an extended period in here. My previous good memories of the Cyclades date from the period that I was a charter skipper on polyester -Tupperware- boats in this area.

So at the end of July I sailed out of Symi, with being boarded in mid sea by my friends from the port police (see Telltales 95) and off I went, solo into the Cyclades. On engine the first two days with stops in Kos, where I took advantage of a well stock chandler to buy some more goodies for Sylphe. The water maker was restarted after its long winter period and all these weeks where I was not present and all systems were duly tested. Autopilot - Manolo- still works like a charm, although I had to fit a new remote control, as seawater had once again taken its toll on the display.

From Kos onward I went due North, to make as much ground in a northerly direction before turning West and going into the Cyclades. I made my way up through the Dodecanesos island group with places like Kalymnos, Leros and Samos. All familiar places and a gem to stop, but I have a deadline to catch, so on it went. I finally pulled into Patmos, on the south of the island, where there is a great bay. I hung around for 4 days, as the place was just great and I only had to do one more day of sailing to reach Mykonos. I met up with some more old friends and made some new, especially Marco, the Italian who runs a free-diving center from this location.

The newly installed Furuno Navtex was to provide me with adequate weather forecasts, so I picked a nice morning to finally leave and make the last 60 miles to Mykonos. I raised a reefed main and a staysail and motor-sailed upwind along the island, before I could finally turn west and sail the rest. That was the plan... Well, plans don't always work out. After two hours I had switched the engine on and off several times as the wind went from 20 knots to 5, veered from one side to the other and so on, basically making any decent progress under sail impossible. A little north of me, I could still see the island of Ikaria and I would expect to get some more stable winds once I was away from its lee and had passed the most western corner. And than it would only be 30 miles of open water before I would reach Mykonos. Ahhhhhh, plans.

When I finally did get some more stable wind, it was soon up to 25 knots and I was making nice progress. Until I heard some banging, which I could not locate. Standing behind the helm, it seemed to come from under me, and I first was afraid there was something amiss with the rudder. But no, I looked forward and suddenly realized that the forestay (not the one with the staysail on it) was slack. A closer looked revealed that the complete bowsprit was moving upward. Serious panic as this could mean loosing the mast. I turned the boat downwind to release pressure on the forestays, switched Manolo on and went forward to find the following: a loose swinging anchor banging against the hull and causing some damage, but moreover an undone bobstay (that is the metal wire from the top of the bowsprit to the waterline, which is being pushed out by a metal spike. The spike had come off and allowing the bobstay to be slack and thus no longer holding tension of the forestay. Serious stuff and if I would have the the foresails up, I for sure would have lost some rigging.



Note the spike (the solid bar of metal) pointing down and pushing the metal wire outward and down. This one had come undone

Lucky so far, but how to fix this, the boat was still doing some 7 knots downwind and the waves were about three meters, making the bow disappear under water at times. Fixing things was relatively easy, get the spike back into place on the bobstay, tension the bobstay with spanners and secure the anchor again. Easily said, if one were in port. Adrenaline helps in these circumstances, and hup, I went over the bow of the boat, hanging on to an swinging anchor, a bowsprit and anything else I could find. Equipped with spanners and screwdrivers. I was submerged several times before the spike was back in place, with the aid of my feet and legs banging it. Back on deck, I had to lean out far to get to the spanners of the bobstay to tighten them and make sure that the spike would not come out again. 10 minutes later, the anchor could be re-secured and all was well. Except of course for some serious gaps in the paint, caused by the sharp points of the anchor. Well, nothing that a little bit of filler and paint could not fix.
I went back to the cockpit, showered off and turned the boat back on to its course to Mykonos. But not for long, as the wind picked up, soon gusting 35 knots.

Sailing with 35 knots and big seas in itself no problem, it all depends on where you want to go. If you are beating into it, it becomes a nightmare, if one is reaching it becomes manageable. The problem was that the coarse for Mykonos was beating upwind. So, bye, bye Mykonos, as I made the choice to bear away downwind, sailing at a 90 degree wind angle the boat was doing 10,5 knots under the reefed sail plan. A very wet ride, as the waves get "stuck" under the transom of Sylphe and than just vertically come upward, showering the complete cockpit. I sailed 6 hours like this, covering 65 miles. what a thrill ride....but in the wrong direction. I first thought that I would still be able to make the north tip of Naxos, but more wind and a change to the North East made this impossible as well. So, on it went, now pointing to the south tip of Naxos, passing by the island of Dhenoussa, which I decided to miss, based on its limited shelter in the port. By 7 in the evening I came in the lee of Naxos and the wind died within 10 minutes to virtually 0 knots. The engine was switched on, the sails lowered, a warm shower taken and i got a breather from a very thrilling sail. Helming manually for 6 hours, covering 65 miles in only that period alone. By sunset I rounded the south tip of Naxos and motored north again on a flat and calm sea, through the channel between Naxos and Paros. Mykonos island was now due North of me, but still 40 miles away. I dropped the anchor in the harbor of Naxos by midnight and went to sleep.
At 6 in the morning I was on my way again to Mykonos, as there was no wind. 4 hours later I limp into Ornos Bay, on the south end of Mykonos with again 25 knots of North wind and an engine that was giving me trouble. But I had made it, and still had two days before the Smithes would arrive. The engine problem turned out to be AGAIN blocked injectors, the third time in 6 years, but by now I recognize the symptoms and know how to replace them. Ordered them in Athens and having them shipped by courier, 24 hours later that problem was dealt with as well.

The next two weeks, the Smith family was on board and the Meltemi actually died down for a week, allowing us to explore some of these great islands. Paros, with the charming Naoussa port and a day later Skinoussa, even smaller. The channel between Karos and Anti Karos provided the best anchorage in crystal clear water, blue like nothing else in the world, almost the only boat there and a sky full of stars, as there was no moon. But on it went, to Anti Paros and the bay of Dhespotica and a few days later once again Naoussa, before we sailed back into Mykonos. Right in time, as the Meltemi was starting again, giving us a great sail upwind with 25 knots. The last two days we spent in the bay of Ornos. The whole family, including Grandpa this time, had a good time and a serious taste of what the Cyclades is all about: peace, beauty, roughness and holiday-pur-sang.

I have been sitting here on Mykonos island now for the last week, waiting for new clients, with a serious Meltemi howling over deck. Mind you, I am in the lee of the island, so no waves and rather protected, but the wind still finds you. Gusting up to 45 knots over the last days and quite irritating in the end. Day and night howling through the rigging. Putting a chair on deck is impossible as it will be blown away the moment you no longer sit in it. Also meaning that i can't leave the boat alone for a longer period. But I have been exploring all these bays and beaches that Mykonos is so famous for. Paradise, Elia, Psarou and all these names that ring bells to those that have visited the island at some stage.
A last word about Mykonos: I realize that it has been 9 years since I was here for the last time, and I must admit that I am impressed with the positive changes that have taken place. Okay the old harbor (which was the charm AND the nightmare for every skipper) is now off limits for yachts, a pity. The new harbor is a mess and still far from finished, but hey this is Greece, who would have expected such a thing to be finished within 5 years. The progress on the island as far as entertainment is concerned is impressive. One now finds lounge bars every where, international (and even GOOD) food is now available everywhere, the place is neat and clean. The building development huge, but still all in line with the typical Cycladic building style. The amount of tourists in August is dazzling and the place is humming with life.
For the younger generation, have a look on YOUTUBE and search for "Super Paradise Mykonos", you will find a whole range of videos about a famous bar and the things that go on there, including a swimming pool on the dance floor, where one jumps in, only to go back dancing wet again.



The view from Elia beach...not bad.



And this is the IN famous Super Paradise beach


And for the nostalgic amongst you: this is the abandoned OLD harbor of Mykonos. A pity, no more ferries, no more yachts to add to the commotion, stress and the ever blowing Meltemi. But still a great sunset view






AHOY,