The passage from the island of Rhodes to the port of Lavrion was approximately 240 nautical miles. The course over ground (COG) was much longer as the northerly headwinds (Meltemi) required frequent tacks. At this point a word of advice to those mariners who intend to sail the Aegean, the Meltemi winds are strong during the middle of the day but ease up in the very early morning and also in the evening. |
The
first stop on the way back was the small island of Tilos, which is located 40 nm
east of Rhodes. Our intend was to sail
to Kos but because of strong north winds we changed course and headed
west. Interestingly, the gusts tore up
our jib, which we sew ourselves when we reached Livadia, the main port
of the island. The island's old capital, Mikro Chorio, first settled in the
15th century by the Knights of the Orderof St John, overlooks the bay. It has been completely abandoned by its inhabitants
in the 60s.
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The second leg was to Astypalea α 60 nm crossing. The
island was reached after a rough sail against strong north winds 25 knots
gusting to 30 with only two able sailors aboard, Nikos and Elias. "We managed with double reefing the main and
with the assist of our 9HP engine that worked nonstop during the 12-hour
crossing" Nikos said. The island of Astypalea was
named after the Greek mythological sister of Europa. The shores of Astypalea are rocky and the
island has two sections that are separated by a small 125 meters band. (map by Giacomo Franco 1597)
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On the way to Astypalea we sailed by several
islets the largest of which is Syrna.
In Astypalea we met the owner of a general store called Syrna. She was the last and only resident on Syrna
islet.
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That is quite a story! I did not know St. Nicholas was the patron saint of sailors, but he always made it to my house when I was growing up! Fantastic pictures!
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