Sleeping in a Volcano

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Yesterday kind of slipped by without my notice, but I did many small things. Today was all about making it to Santorini to scope it out for places to leave the boat when I bring my guests here later in the spring. Thera, or Santorini is also believed to be that historical place, Atlantis.

While it is now obvious, I hadn’t realized that both Milos and Santorini are the outside rim of volcanoes. The Atlantis story is very interesting as is the history of Minoan people who were probably wiped out in a massive eruption around 1500BC. I think that would have qualified as a climate change event. I know this is a bit scattered, sorry! Just putting these items in here in case I want to look back at the data and events in a few years

When I was lifting my anchor in Idra, I used my pole to remove the chain it worked but pulled the pole out of my hand and it sunk to the bottom. Meanwhile, the cruising guides tell me that anchoring here is very difficult with few shallow places, lots of rocks and fouled anchorages. The answer to not getting your anchor trapped is a trip line. I went to the local boat shop and bought a few parts and pieces, a new pole, some light line for an anchor trip line and associated gear. Next time I anchor in these very rocky shores I will have a trip line to avoid losing an anchor that is probably worth $800 and more importantly is required gear when there is no dock space available.

After that I went to report in with the port police but much confusion ensued. All of it my fault, but clearing the issues up took two hours. In the end all was fine and I had a chance to ride my bike for about 90 minutes. Milos’ scenery is quite spectacular and it is not busy like Santorini. Here are a few more shots.

I was up by 5 am, and left the dock in the darkness of morning. Slipping slowly through the bay until I could see the hazards. I wanted to be tied up in Thera before 4pm.

Here are some photos from the water.

The water today was quite rough again although my scopolamine patches worked great. With the wind coming from behind on the starboard side, the boat would get tossed violently every few minutes. The stabilizers helped a bit, but mostly I just accepted my fate and adjusted my speed from time to time to get out of a wave trough as it was throwing me about.

In the end I arrived in time to receive some help on the docks, got the boat tied up like a charm and went about my day from there. My last task was to report in to the port authorities and that meant a 10km bike ride each way. This island has many steep hills and I had to climb a few to get from Vlychada to Fira, the main town that has the port police.

This spot looks like it may be appropriate the next time I stop in, but I imagine it gets very busy in summer and there isn’t a lot of room to manoeuvre so it will require care and attention. But now I am friends with the harbourmaster and that can help too!

Now I am back on the boat and contemplating my last run for a while, to Crete. Tomorrow I will be up early again, to try and arrive in Crete before the sun goes down.

Pictures of Santorini will have to wait until the end of the month when I return with guests.