June 2022. Milos here we come. Leaving Sifnos was an easy departure. Big bay on the south of the island. There was a little offshore wind in the morning and we lifted the anchor and set sails. Off we went. One Greek island to the next is pretty easy sailing. There is always excitement for the destination, but when sailing there is never a need to convince kids and crew to enjoy the journey!
Sailing into Milos bay was standard practice…but never without an opportunity to learn;) The bay is big which results in a popular destination. This is because, on a wind from the north, boats go to the north where the town is located. On a wind from the south, just the opposite, boats goto the south side of the bay, which we would find out in a few days. On our arrival, and just after we passed the point in the right picture above, the wind picked up! Yay, we sped up but heck…we had reached our destination and it was time put the anchor down. We headed into the wind and towards the shore. White caps started and the wind was close to 20 knots. We found our spot and Karin, Nea and Daniel put the anchor down. At the same time, I put the motor in neutral and the wind turns us and pushed us side on. Anchor chain was still coming out and INDININI was being blown down wind. That was ok since it was away from shore, but hey when is the anchor going to dig in! Well this is where the learning comes into play and understanding the importance of scope. Unless there is enough chain on the bottom, the anchor wont turn the right way and wont dig in. Tick tock, tick tock, chain still going out, we were still blowing down wind and all of a sudden BANG YANK WHOA! Our anchor was set. So much so that it felt like it ripped the bowsprit off. Lesson learned. Keep the motor on, keep the boat in place until enough chain is out. Well at least we didn’t have to set the anchor;)
Anchor down, things secure and off we go. First stop…ice cream.
Ice cream was fun and then back on the boat. The weather forecast was changing so the next day we picked up and headed for the south side of the bay for a couple nights. What a spot. Amazing beach. The crew adventured way down the beach exploring and the girls and I played with some other kids from other boats on the beach.
After a couple of nights on the south side we headed back to the north side near the town so we could eat more gyros;) It wasn’t long before we got a surprise call on the radio from Phil and Lesley. They were in Turkey with us the previous year. In fact, we took over the apartment that Phil was staying in while he waited for a flight back to Australia for the winter. And here they were anchored meters from us months later. It was nice to see a familiar face and we planned an adventure for the next day.
A little bus ride and it was time to climb to the top of the hill. India and Nina’s little legs did very well. India always spoke about ‘training’ her legs so she could walk farther. Well, she had undoubtedly done a great job on this hike. Her little legs kept moving. When she or her sister was tired of walking, Dad really got his exercise! Piggybacks or shoulder rides are always welcome. Fortunately for this trip, Phil was also up for helping:)
Walking down the hill was much easier. When we reached the bottom we kept our eyes open for somewhere to fill our tummies. We found a small cafe and they had a chess set. A big chess set is the first place the girls got to play. Although we never finished, and there was certainly no adherence to the rules, we had fun nonetheless and a great environment for lunch. Once lunch was done we headed back to the boat.
The bus adventure was so fun that we had to do it again! Off to the bus stop the next day and to the other side of the island.
From beaches, church ceilings, wooden bikes and swings, it was time to begin our journey back to the boat side of the island. Daddy daughter’s days are every day. We always have so much fun learning things about the Greek island and the way of life.
Milos is such a popular destination it has a ferry terminal and beside that a nice dock. It had been a couple weeks since our last tie up so it was time to arrange a spot and start washing cloths! It was only a few hundred meters from where we were anchored to the dock where we would back into. Growing up in Canada and seeing boats tied to fingers of a dock in a marina is what was ‘normal’. Med mooring was always foreign but after doing it a few times and getting comfortable, it really is a great way to tie up to a dock. We backed up, tied off, started the laundry and everything great until…
A charter catamaran decided it wanted to fit in next to us. With engines on and propellers spinning, it came to a halt trying to squeeze between INDININI and the smaller boat to our starboard. The aft mooring lines were so taught we could have strummed a tune! There are things that don’t make sense, and what these ‘sailors’ were doing was one of these things that didn’t make sense. The event gathered a crowd of people walking by and other boats in the marina. It took some time, but we let off the aft mooring lines made room and they pushed into their place.
As the story was told to me a few years prior, the Greek government wanted to promote tourism and Yacht chargers, so they subsidized the purchase of catamarans up to 50%. This resulted in hundreds of catamarans being purchased. I was told that a large majority of the people purchasing catamaran were previously fishermen. This resulted in fishermen, becoming sailors and operating Yacht charter businesses. Just because you can sit in a boat and catch a fish doesn’t mean that you can sail a boat and run a yacht charter business. This was certainly a good example of that.
With the dramas behind us, the crew filled up the water tanks, and finished up the grocery shopping and although we had already paid for the night on the dock, we decided to head back out to anchor and swing freely in the wind. With cookies in the oven it was time for some painting in the cockpit, watch a nice sunset and plan for tomorrow’s adventures.
