98


ferocious until it resembled a monstrous demonic orchestra; a clashing uproar mimicing banshee screams, wailing sirens, skidding cars, screeching brakes, relentless low moans and piercing high- pitched whistles. It was incredibly noisy and the sea state was equally as devilish; a confusion of cresting waves continuously crashed over the pontoon and us. Leonie bucked in the turbulent water and jagged her mooring lines. Every so often a specially big wave picked up our dinghy and bounced it past the porthole above our heads. We decided to go out on deck to fully experience the full force of the storm and were amazed to see a couple striding down the swaying pontoon toward their speedboat. The skipper wanted to attach another mooring line to his vessel but couldn’t pull the boat in against the wind so he jumped into the foaming sea and swam a line out. Afterwards, his wife dragged him back onto the pontoon and they wobbled back to shore, waves crashing over their already drenched bodies. We were astonished to see a fearless windsurfer in the middle of the seething bay. Even more incredibly he surfed right into the inner harbour, skillfully executed a u-turn and surfed out again. Leonie’s lines held fast keeping her off the pontoon until


the storm eventually blew itself out at 4.30am. Despite the din we managed to sleep through the worst of it – living aboard on the River Dart in all weathers had been useful. One catameran across the bay had dragged its anchor and the skipper was up all night on watch. Thankfully, Milos had escaped the full brunt of the cyclone which instead veered towards the Peloponnese where it caused widespread destruction. Three people went missing


Carl at Vlychada Beach, Santorini.


Ancient theatre, Milos


on the island of Evvia, two yachts moored to the quay at Napvlion sank, a yacht was washed ashore at Methoni and many homes and roads were flooded. Milos is a volcanic island. One hillside near Adamas


is covered in black obsidian rock (volcanic glass) and a walk to the other side of the island took us to a series of fumeroles, where sulphur steam rose up through the rocks. We also visited an ancient theatre set on a hillside overlooking the sea and some eerie catacombs. After the storm we sailed round to the amazing rock


formations at Kleftico, created by volcanic activity. We swam in the myriad of caves then watched birds of prey swooping and hunting at sunset. Our next port was Karavostasi on the barren, steep island


of Folegrandos where the small Chora sits on the edge of a high, sheer cliff. A wonderful oasis of green trees, shrubs and flowers, the village was a gem. We dined in a fantastic outdoor taverna set in a wide square backed by a ruined church, feasting on moussaka and wine under fairy lights looped between the trees. From there we sailed to the awe-inspiring caldera of


Santorini – a 6-mile long volcanic crater now filled with water and encircled by the principle island of Thira and the smaller islet of Thirasia. Sailing past towering pumice cliffs with striations layered in shades of red, brown, grey,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124