Sailing Aglaya

At the island of Icaría, Icarus had flown so high that the sun melted the wax that held his wings together - he crashed, his father Daedalus buried him here - so far the legend goes, a huge impressive monument on the harbour pier in Agios Kyrikos reminds us. 

We came the 47 nautical miles from the south coast of the island of Chios with a north-northwest wind and a very strong swell to Icaría. In the afternoon, the already strong wind increased again and we had to contend with fierce gusts shooting down from the high mountains of the island. So once again a tough ride.

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The port of Agios Kyrikos is not recommended in the sailor’s guidebook - the strongest gusts in the Aegean are found here, they say. We made it, no sails were torn from the mast, but when you sit in the cockpit in the morning and want to put sugar in your coffee, the spoon is three-quarters empty when it arrives over the cup (in the harbour!).

Icaría - a very wild island, with gorges, vertical cliffs, tiny bays and picturesque villages, some of which are so narrow that it can be scary, when you drive in - as we did - with the rental car. How do we get out of here? So are the breakneck serpentine roads around the many rocky outcrops, some of them almost 1000m above sea level, with vertical drop-offs right next to the narrow road. 

Ag. Kyrikos is very Greek, very relaxed, very quiet, the few tourists here are mostly Greeks. Very winding alleys, sometimes you can hardly get past the chairs and tables of the restaurants.

We are moored in a tiny little marina that has functioning water connections, but no electricity. But it doesn't cost anything either. And: in the rock face at the edge of the marina springs a hot, radium-containing healing spring. You can bathe in it in Therma, two kilometres away, where it flows directly into the sea. You swim through 50 metres of sea water, currently 20 degrees, then you are in a natural pool like in a bathtub, estimated at 40 degrees, the water comes directly from a grotto in the rock face. 

Icaría - all in all a beautiful mixture of rugged wildness, intensified by the extremely strong winds, and cosy relaxed idyll. 

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Under cloudy sky in a thundery mood, we leave the harbour of Psara and set course for Chios. On the west coast, after a beautiful day of sailing with plenty of wind, we moor in the harbour of Limia/Volissos.

Homer is said to have come from the island of Chios - he is said to have taught children here, but nothing more precise has been related. The island has been inhabited for 5,000 years and experienced several periods of prosperity under the Greeks, but also under the Venetians and Turks, until in 1824, when Chios joined the Greek liberation struggle, the Turks killed 40,000 inhabitants and sold 25,000 into slavery........Chios itself is historically said to have had the first slave market, but under Greek rule.

In the northern part of the island there are not only high, barren mountains, but also wonderfully green and fertile valleys.

In the small harbour of Limia/Volissos, there are usually a maximum of three boats - but now another 15 came to take part in a regatta from Athens to Chios and back. The second event on the Greek Whitsunday was 20 horsemen who rode into the bay with their horses and held a feast. Most of them looked quite wild with their black and white neck- and headscarves and leather boots. Are these the cowboys of Chios? 

Volissos is a beautiful little medieval town, 2 km from the harbour on the hillside, with a Frankish (here the collective term for crusaders) castle from the 11th century. Steep winding streets, partly dilapidated, partly very nicely restored houses, lead up to the castle, from which one has a wide view of the many bays and the entire coast. 

After three days, we set off in the direction of the southern part of the island, in the meantime the Meltemi announced itself with a strong north wind. There is a lot of wind and waves. On the way to Ikaria we stay for one (restless) night in a small anchorage in the southern part of Chios, as the only boat, far and wide no house, no artificial light, very lonely and very impressive. The southern part of Chios is rather barren, rocky, with little vegetation, not as lushly green as some valleys in the north - in any case, a very varied island. 

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If it wasn’t so warm, you'd think we are in Norway.

A small village with a harbour, two modern windmills, old windmills, beautiful bays with sandy beaches, rugged rocky coastline and countless churches and chapels - we are on the small island of Psara. It lies about 15 nautical miles west of Chios. Turkey is not far away either. 

With the electricity working perfectly (thanks to the new batteries), we have come 57 nautical miles over from Skyros, heading east-southeast. Here we moor alongside at the pier (later also in the pack). Village life takes place right before our eyes. Fishermen are sorting their nets, the walkway to the ferry pier is painted white, people drink coffee in the shade during the siesta, and when the ferry from Chios comes over, there is a lot of activity. Everything is a bit sleepy, as befits such a small island, but not at all quiet. The men in particular communicate by shouting, from house to house, from the kafenion to the fishing boat ... And in the distance you can always hear at least one rooster crowing. This is the soundtrack of Psara. We find it very cosy here. 

We can also get enough exercise here. A board with a map of the island shows us various hiking trails. As sailors, we hike to the lighthouse, of course, meeting shy goats on the way, standing high up on boulders like the chamois in the Alps. The boulders are interesting - sometimes it's slate, sometimes it's marble. It looks as if a giant had thrown them into the landscape. 

The people of the island have suffered heavy blows of fate in their history, which began in the time of Mycenae. There were times when the population was expelled, new settlers then came, for example from Euboea. When Psara took part in the liberation struggle against the Ottomans, these killed a large part of the island's population in revenge in 1824, and the rest were taken into slavery. The paintings on the harbour pier created by a street art artist on the occasion of the 200th anniversary bear witness to this. Together with the city of Messolongi on the mainland, Psara is revered as the most important heroic city in the Greek liberation struggle. 

Now a strong south wind is blowing. We stay here for another day. Time to read and play the guitar.

And here a few more pictures:

Shouts in the harbour of Linarià (Skyros Island). Everyone comes out of their boats onto the pier to our boat. A motor yacht has torn off our mooring line with its propeller while leaving. With only the two forelines still attached to the pier, Aglaya drifts across in gusts of 4-5 gusts and is pushed alongside onto the pier by the wind. We like to moor alongside, but not like this! Everyone on the pier holds Aglaya away from the pier so that no damage is done. A toast to the helpfulness of the sailors among themselves! 

Alexander, Georgios and colleague, who look after this beautiful little harbour, quickly repair the mooring from the dinghy and then pull Aglaya back into position with the stern. It all works quickly and smoothly. High praise for the three of them, who do a super job for sailors here anyway (help with mooring, all important information, in print even in German). Totally fit, helpful and always in a good mood. 

A nice place to stay. There is also comfort: clean showers and washing machines. Also great is the beautifully designed information about the interesting bird life and the ecological concept on the whole island.

Yes, and then we have been dragging along a problem for the last few days, which Georgios actively helps us with: our three mega-heavy service batteries are so deeply discharged that we need new ones. We have been observing that the voltage of the batteries is dropping for a week now. Too many consumers? Too many IPads and mobile phones permanently charged? At least that's what's killed the five-year-old batteries. We order new ones through Georgios, hopefully they will arrive soon with the ferry. It's a blow to the ship's cash box, but it has to be done.

For the ferry, which arrives once towards evening, the café-bar Cavos announces at great volume and with astonishingly good sound quality: "Also sprach Zarathustra" in the original version by Richard Strauss resounds in the harbour. Since we are still waiting for our new batteries, we have the opportunity to go to "Cavos" and find out, why this particular music is being played.

Video: The ferry is coming

And tomorrow we will explore the island further with a rental car. Then there will be a few more photos of this beautiful island in the blog.

On 20 May, our friends Andrea and Axel were already standing at the pier with their luggage when we entered the harbour of Skiathos coming from Euboea. In the bay in front of the harbour we were greeted by dolphins. Our friends had to walk back and forth on the pier a few times until we had identified the only possible place to moor, but then they were able to take our stern lines.

For eight days we sailed between the Sporades Islands. With mostly light winds, we were able to concentrate on trimming the sails and benefit from the experience of Axel and Andrea, who sail regattas at home with their Corsair. By keeping an eye on the trim lines and slightly correcting the sail position if necessary, we were able to outrun another sailor from time to time. 

So we visited the beautiful green islands of Skopolos and Alonnisos - Peristeri (an uninhabited island, where we only encountered goats and seagulls). There was no artificial light here, so we could admire a wonderful starry sky at night and the complete silence was also impressive.

In the little harbours (Neo Klima on Skopelos, Patitiri and Steni Vala on Alonnisos) we were a bit on the run from a flotilla. A concentrated load of English people. When they were in the harbour with their boats, it was full.

Today we said goodbye to Andrea and Axel in the harbour of Skopolos. They are taking the hydrofoil to Volos and are now on their way home. We stay two more days in the beautiful harbour bay of Skopolos, have a look at the beautiful town and get our boat ready for the way south.

Pictures from Skiathos

The four of us sailing

Pictures of Skopolos

Pictures pf Alonnisos

Pictures of Peristeri

Elymnion: A nice cosy place climbing up the hillside with a small narrow fishing harbour

Loutra Aidispou: A spa town with hot springs. Many hotels, but many of them are empty because of the crisis. A bath in the 70 degree hot springs: wonderful. In the harbour we are the only sailing boat.

Oreoi: On the north side of the island overlooking the mountains on the mainland. There are many sailors moored here, there is a boatyard and mechanics - fortunately, because we still have dirt in our fuel system. The pump and lines could be cleaned here. At the nice grocer Vassily we get what we need for the pantry and all the information we need.