Santorini or bust

Ever since I read J V Luce's theory that the eruption of Santorini (Thera) in pre-classical times was the origin of the legend of Atlantis, I have wanted to visit the island. We tried three years ago when we chartered a yacht in Athens, but the winds were too strong and we were defeated. So we made it a goal of our first venturing out into the Aegean to get there. Since L has to be in Athens by 3 June, we didn't have long so we decided to give it some welly and get there as quickly as reasonably possible and then, weather permitting, to meander back.


First stop through the canal was Aigina - a large and populous island south of Athens. The harbour is charming but noisy. We needed supplies and it was a great place to get them. We left for Poros at noon and had a nice gentle sail all the way across.


We anchored in Russian Bay on the previous trip and loved it. It hasn't lost any of its charm. An evening swim was wonderful but sadly we had to set of early next morning to get to Idra.





Idra is a wonderful place. No motor vehicles of any sort. Just donkeys and hand carts. We'd been there before but both loved it so we decided to spend a day. We got there at 10.00 (its usually chokka) and nipped into a just-vacated spot. Spent the rest of the day in port-bureaucracy, shopping, tavernas and generally relaxing for the long slog next day. Later, as the tiny harbour filled up a huge millionaire monster came in and the later another that almost blocked us in.

I had stuck a sign on our bow saying "Leaving at 0500. Do Not Block please". Nevertheless, I was feeling a bit guilty that we might wake people up as we scraped past. In the event, they rolled back to their boat, drunk, at 0200, turned the music up, and partied until 0400, keeping the whole harbour awake. So we hoped we woke a few as we went!

And so to Santorini................................

After an hour, dawn broke to give us a fabulous view of the first island of the Cyclades on the horizon and of Idra fading behind us. There wasn't a breath of wind all day so we motored to Sifnos.




We anchored off a charming port called Kamares. It looks well worth a return visit but we had a poor weather forecast for 1800 the next day so we wanted to get to Santorini before it broke - meaning another 0500 start. So we ate, turned in and slept like logs.

The voyage to Santorini started calm but by 1000, we had a good beam wind and sailed a lot of the way. Two hours out of Santorini, the wind rose up to 25 Knots and we needed to put a reef in. That was when we discovered that I had got the reefing lines crossed when we put the sail back on in Malta so we had to drop it and motor. Doh!
We sailed through the caldera and round to the only marina at Vlikatha. I was wary about getting into a tiny space in a high wind and sea but in the event it was a doddle. It's much bigger than it looks in the Pilot, has excellent shelter and facilities and is all-in for €20 per day. Excellent value.


Next day we went into the capital Fira by bus. What a stunningly beautiful place and at this time of year not crowded. Had a beer with stunning views then set off to find the Archaeological museum. Unfortunately, it is shut on Mondays but we're here for a few days so we'll go back.


Many cruise ships arrive in the port (so called) and the tourists (and locals) are carried up the huge hill on donkeys (or cable car). We chose to walk down and take the cable car up as L was sorry for the Donkeys.