Sailing Aglaya

It is well known that marble has been quarried on Thassos since ancient times. Driving across the island in a hire car, we see quarries in the mountains, but also right by the sea. However, it is in the harbour of Limenária that we discover that there are also an unusually large number of black cats on this island. They are everywhere, coming on board with us and jumping onto our laps when we drink beer on the beach in the evening.

In the harbour of Limenária, we are protected by a bow anchor with our stern at the pier. It is a good place to leave the boat to explore the island. There is no harbour authority, no shore power and no other infrastructure for sailors. But there is water at the pier, so we can thoroughly clean our deck of sand, Posidonia and salt from the breakers of Samothraki. Here we finally free our ‘Adenauer’, which had become stuck at the top of the besan mast.

Limenária is an old mining town. The first official rights to mine iron, zinc, lead and silver ore were granted to the Speidel company from Pforzheim in 1903. At that time, the island was still under Turkish administration. The Speidelschlösschen, which has been uninhabited since 1964, towers directly above the harbour. Unfortunately, it is not being maintained. We took a look at the old mining facilities and also at the ‘Crown of Limenária’, twelve marble slabs arranged in a circle, which were designed by pupils from the Stuttgart Waldorf School.

Pictures of Limenária and the surrounding area

The weather continues to be very changeable, cool, cloudy and rainy at times. But that didn‘t stop us from exploring the island further. We drive along the south coast in a hire car for a day, climbing down the steep rocks to a special bathing spot (Gióla) between the cliffs. Along the rugged marble coast and beautiful sandy beaches, we continue past the Archangélou monastery to the Alikí peninsula. We walk around it and admire the large marble blocks right by the sea and the remains of the sacred sites from Byzantine and Roman times.

Pictures of Gióla an Alikí

We take the local bus for a day trip to Liménia/Thassos on the north side. There is a busy ferry service here to Keramoti on the mainland. In the old naval port, where fishing boats are now moored, we enjoy the breakfast we brought from the baker (spinach pies and tomato and cheese pies). There are many ancient ruins to discover right in the town. And up in the forest above the town, we marvel at the amphitheatre, made entirely of white marble, which is currently being restored.

Pictures of Liménia

When it becomes sunnier and warmer again, we put on our hiking boots, take the bus to the mountain village of Theológos and walk along the Dipótamos stream bed down to the coast. A very well-marked trail takes us almost eleven kilometres through varied terrain, sometimes along stone walls through olive groves, then through oak and plane tree forests and through pine trees and heather. In Germany, such a well-maintained, beautiful trail would be classified as a ‘premium hiking trail’. Apart from goats and sheep, we didn't meet anyone here.

Pictures of Theológos and hiking

Today we are treating ourselves to another day in the harbour before setting sail for Kavala on the mainland tomorrow.

After the island initially welcomed us with strong winds and breakers that washed sand and Posidonia over our boat, we were able to discover many interesting and impressive things on the island over the following days. For example, we watched the large ferry that comes from Alexandroupoli every day manoeuvre cautiously. There was hardly any swell for our boat. And the ‘anchor manager’ at the bow waved to us every time the bow almost reached our boat. Once, however, the ferry's two bow anchors became entangled with each other. It took an hour and the help of a large fishing boat to resolve the problem. 

Samothraki, located in the far north-east of the Aegean Sea, is different from the more southerly Aegean islands. High mountains with rugged cliffs that plunge directly into the sea, bizarre rock formations. At 1600 metres, Fengari is the highest mountain. The north side of the island is green. Here you can hike through plane tree and oak forests to various waterfalls.

There is always something going on in the main town of Kamariotissa when the ferry arrives.

We travelled by bus and on foot. We visited the town of Therma with its sulphur springs, looked at the small harbour and decided not to go there with our boat. The harbour entrance is extremely narrow and the harbour quite shallow.

Pictures of Therma

We were particularly impressed by the sanctuary of the Great Gods. In the third century BC, the great gods met here and performed mystical rites to make the world a better place and ensure divine protection at sea. It takes time to walk around the large complex and reach the spot where the Nike of Samothrace was found. In the beautifully designed museum, we were able to marvel at many well-preserved finds. 

Pictures of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods  

The old capital, Chora of Samothrace, is located in the mountains. Almost everything is closed here: the season is over.

Pictures of the Chora

The southwest of the island is rural. With a view of the high mountains, we walked through mown fields, past small farms with goats, sheep and geese, and sometimes military installations. Turkey is not far away.

Pictures from the southwest

To say goodbye, Gisela took a beautiful hike to the Fonias waterfalls, always along the stream bed and finally with a bit of climbing on a fixed rope.

Pictures of Fonias

Yes, Samothraki has hardly any tourist infrastructure and everything is very informal. Everyone greets everyone else. So that's what we did too. The bus driver even waved to us, when he drove past in his bus.

We are now on Thassos, having made a long journey of 44 nautical miles to the west, and are currently moored in the harbour of Limenária.

That's what we say to each other from time to time when strong winds and a restless night are forecast, when we hope that our anchor will hold. Here on Samothraki in the harbour of Kamariotissa, that's also the motto. Secure the boat well, be alert, persevere. We are moored alongside the outer pier together with several other sailing boats that have also taken refuge here from the forecast strong north wind. It is the only safe harbour on the island; the nearest harbours on other islands are at least 40 nautical miles away. And here, you can only moor alongside, as a large ferry docks in the harbour every day.

However, we didn't think it would be so violent and last so long. Twenty-four hours of strong winds of up to 40 knots, spray and breakers coming over the quay wall and pouring over our boat meant we had a sleepless night and a day on watch on board. Our lines have held so far. But the breakers are bringing lots of Posidonia onto our boat. The drains on deck are constantly clogged with it, so the water that comes over the side cannot drain away. We are waiting for the weather to calm down so we can go ashore for a coffee and to buy something for dinner. We don't even want to think about cleaning up the deck yet.

Waves come over the pier on our boat: video

Despite little wind, we managed the 56 nautical miles to the island of Limnos well, thanks to our Nanni. We were underway from sunrise to sunset, twelve hours, with the impressive view of Mount Athos to our left for a long time. On the way, there was wind from the north-east and a strong current from the south, which led to chaotic waves.

In the harbour of Myrina, we were able to moor alongside, with a great view of the large fortress directly above the harbour. To make sure our visitors, who were arriving by ferry from Chios the next day, had enough space on board, we had to do a major reorganisation. A look at the weather apps showed us that we would probably have little opportunity to sail in the next few days, as very changeable weather with lots of wind and rain was forecast.

Elisabeth and Thomas spent eight days with us on board. We were only able to sail on one day. What a shame! 

But luckily there is a lot to discover on Limnos. Myrina is a nice, cosy place in the off-season with good grocery stores and a fish shop. 

Of course, we climbed the large Venetian castle. There, the strong wind whistled around our noses and we had great views.

We rented a car for a day and explored the island: the desert in the far north-west, the beautiful bays in the north where we could watch the surfers, the very traditional villages inland, and the bays on the south coast.

Pictures from the island tour

We were particularly impressed by the day hike through the barren and rocky landscape to the small cave church of Kakaviotissa, which is located high up in the mountains.

Pictures from the hike

When the sun came out and the wind wasn't quite so strong, we were able to go swimming at the beautiful city beach.

Yesterday, Elisabeth and Thomas left and we are back to being just the two of us. And once again, strong winds and rain are forecast, even more severe than in recent days. We would have liked to keep our berth alongside the pier. At first, the Port Authority told us that we could stay there, even though a cruise ship was coming and space was needed at the pier. But then yesterday we were asked to move to the pier in front of the promenade with a bow anchor. We would have liked to have known this earlier, because now we had to carry out this rather difficult manoeuvre with our long keel in the rain.

Now we are moored directly in front of the Limnos Hotel and the town hall, having had a restless night with lots of rain and wind. Early in the morning, we had to go on deck to put out a second spring line. The wind had changed direction and become even stronger. In the meantime, a swell had built up in the harbour. It was quite uncomfortable. All the boats are rocking back and forth, tugging at their anchor chains and lines. We stay with our boat and wait for things to calm down. And we are already looking forward to the next island: Samothraki, 40 nautical miles to the north.

Pictures of the strong wind

Incidentally, the cruise ship did arrive this morning and anchored outside the harbour for a while. However, the passengers, who were surely planning to take a tour around the island, were not brought ashore due to the strong wind and waves. Instead, we were able to watch a competition of the Hellas Rowing Team on the city beach. The athletes were not deterred by the strong waves.

We have already told you about the fishing ports on Kassandra. Now we have spent a few days on Sithonia, taking plenty of time to explore the middle finger of the Chalkidiki peninsula, including on foot. Sithonia is greener and more mountainous than Kassandra.

Along the west side, we stopped for a night in Neós Marmarás. When mooring at the only available spot, we realised that the floating jetty was completely dilapidated, wobbly and also extremely low. The swell came almost unhindered into the harbour, as the protective breakwater had been dismantled. With so much rocking, we didn't dare to get very close to the floating jetty, so we couldn't use our gangway and go ashore. No problem, we had dinner in the fridge and the view of the village was very nice. Only the champagne for our 35th wedding anniversary was missing. Contrary to our expectations, we had a quiet night and the next morning, well rested, we watched over coffee as a large fishing boat moored in front of us was manoeuvred back and forth.

In Nikiti, in the far north-west, we had a comfortable berth with water and shore power at the pier for a few days. At weekends, this is completely occupied by boats from several charter agencies. During the week, it was easy to get a spot. Next to the harbour, sun worshippers from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Moldova and a few from Ukraine were bustling about on an endless sandy beach. Germans and Brits are rarely seen here.

And once again, there was something to celebrate: Gisela's 70th birthday, this time with sparkling wine and a delicious meal ashore. We visited old Nikiti with its beautiful stone houses and wooden verandas. On a hike across the peninsula to the other side, we could see over to the eastern finger and Mount Athos.

Now we have been back in the south-west of Sithonia for a few days, in the sheltered bay of Koufós. Here we have secured a spot at the pier and are waiting for the strong north wind in the Aegean Sea to subside. We are not bored here. We have already hiked along the bay to a lagoon and over a hill to the remains of a Byzantine fortress. Swimming, draught beer on the beach and a very good fish shop make our days here a holiday paradise.

Soon, however, we will venture into the Aegean Sea, sailing 50 nautical miles to the island of Limnos to take our next visitors on board.

We sailed south along the west coast of Kassandra (the westernmost ‘finger’ of Chalkidiki), past miles of white sandy beaches with Caribbean-turquoise sea. At anchor, you could see every little fish, wonderful.

Very seldom we see other sailingboat here. There are many fishing villages with small harbours, which are usually described in sailing forums as too small, too crowded or too shallow. We wanted to find out for ourselves. We moored for a few days in three small villages: Nea Moudania, Nea Kallikratea and Nea Skioni. The ‘Nea’ stands for new settlements founded by Greeks who were expelled from Asia Minor during the establishment of the Turkish state in 1922. Everywhere there are quite large fishing fleets, some consisting of individual boats, some larger with crews of 8-10 men, the skipper Greek, the crew mostly Egyptian. The villages are really cosy and relaxed, and all have sandy beaches right next to the harbour. There are nice pubs and bars, and the tourists here are either Greek or from North Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria or Romania. 

The fishing boats head out to sea in the evening and return in the morning, where small delivery vans are waiting to collect the fish in white polystyrene containers. They also deliver ice for the next trip. 

On the larger boats, you can sometimes see Egyptians on their prayer mats; they only set sail after they have finished praying. We witnessed a farewell party, with many Egyptians with wheeled suitcases or rucksacks heading for the bus to begin their journey home. They will return in the spring, as the earnings here in Greece are sufficient to feed their families.   

As for the water depth: the harbours tend to silt up. Our large ten-year-old almanac usually showed one metre more on the charts than we then found. With our 1.80 m draught, we usually had at least a metre under the keel. However, most sailors have more draught than our Aglaya. 

Greece here is very different from the tourist-filled coastal towns or the islands – a wonderful new experience.

Here we go again, the summer break from sailing is over. On 29th of August the taxi took us quickly from Thessaloniki Airport to Marina Aretsou. Aglaya was already waiting for us. Everything was fine, but during the two months we hadn't been sailing, more fouling had accumulated on the hull than we had ever seen before. We were able to remove some of it with a scraper while circling the boat in the dinghy. But the propeller was completely obscured. Diver Kostas used his equipment to remove the big rest. 

Our friend Hans, himself a sailor (catamaran on Lake Alpsee and several trips in the Aegean Sea), came on board for a few days. And right on time, as agreed, DLSails installed the new sprayhood.

Immediately afterwards, on 1st of September, the three of us were able to set sail in light winds and sunny, cloudless weather. Even on Mount Olympus, which was always in view, there was not a cloud in sight during the three days we were sailing together. That doesn't happen very often. It was nice to be back under way with the mainsail, genoa and mizzen immediately after setting off.

We sailed south along the west coast of Chalkidiki, but wanted to be back in Thessaloniki after three days because Hans had to catch his flight. What did we see and experience? Lots of moon jellyfish, the harbour of Néa Michanióna, which was full of large fishing boats and where we couldn't find a place for our boat, so we anchored further south off the headland of Epanomí in slightly choppy waters and shifting winds. Nevertheless, we were able to enjoy the three sea bream we had brought from the fish shop in Aretsou and had a quiet night. 

We sailed south along the west coast of Chalkidiki, but wanted to be back in Thessaloniki after three days because Hans had to catch his flight. What did we see and experience? Lots of moon jellyfish, the harbour of Néa Michanióna, which was full of large fishing boats and where we couldn't find a place for our boat, so we anchored further south off the headland of Epanomí in slightly choppy waters and shifting winds. Nevertheless, we were able to enjoy the three sea bream we had brought from the fish shop in Aretsou and had a quiet night. 

In the morning, we took a dip in the crystal-clear water before setting sail in a light breeze to the small harbour of Néa Kallikratía. Here, too, there were only fishing boats. But there was still space at the south pier. With a metre of water under the keel, we moored there. Right next to the harbour was a bathing beach and a shower. Perfect!

And then, unfortunately, the next day it was time to head back to Thessaloniki, first motoring a short distance with dolphins visiting the boat.

Then, to finish off, some more beautiful sailing. It was a short, but lovely time for the three of us.