Cyclades Routing - Your Experience?

[Chuteman]

Athens (Kalamaki/Alimos) & return - 14 days (actually 12 on the water) This May.
Starting my study (chart, Greek Waters Pilot, Jim B's site(gotcha) and various
on-line itineraries. I did search but did not see any recent threads
Almost all the on-line routing - Go south - then east in Northern Cyclades, then drop south from Mykonos to Paros to Ios then Santorini
From Santorini NW few stops making your way back to Athens

Also saw one that added Poros & Aegina on the way back too

Looking for personal experiences, the route you took, looking back if You would do it differently.
Thanks in advance

 

[Glyka]

I live in Greece, I sail mainly in the Aegean and IMHO it's too much for just 12 days, unless of course sailing is just what you want.

Mu usual route (for 4 weeks) is Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Antiparos (Despotiko), Naoussa (Paros), small Cyclades (Iraklia, Schinoussa, Koufonissi) and back. Sometimes I add Donoussa, Amorgos, Ios, Syros, Kea or Naxos. Once Andros. Never been to Mykonos!!!

But then, my main target is relaxing

 

[Glyka]

On second thoughts, Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Ios, Santorini and back via Sifnos or Serifos could be ok.
Milos (South) and Hydra may worth a visit.

Just try to split the first leg to Syros by leaving on Saturday and spending the night at Sounion.

Also try to save some days for the way back.

 

[Chuteman]

I hear You

Glyka:
Thanks for info & comments.
Sailing Only - If it were just me, I would say YES but I will be a good host.

This was just my 1st close look at the printouts, chart & GWP laid out next to each other + doing some gps distance checks.

In the past i.e.; Carib, we have used lay over days after long sails.....but the stop has had plenty to do/see for two days. We are still reviewing the island descriptions to zero in on those that hold the most promise. Santorini is at the top of the list - I was there many years ago & zipped by on my way east last year.

Mykonos - mixed opinions there.....a landlubber friend said it was a must see but sailor notes are less enthusiastic especially during busy periods.

Would like to avoid the loud disco music until 3am places if I could. I try to reserve sleeping (napping really) with ear plugs for transatlantic flights.

Thanks again

 

[charles_reed]

I'd agree that the proposed route is probably too busy.
Avoid beating up N against the meltemi - I did that last year and, whilst very character-forming it's strenuous sailing. Quite frequent F7, especially close to islands.

 

[vyv_cox]

In May you are unlikely to experience the meltemi I but you may well have light winds and thunderstorms. The weather so far this year is disappointing, heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds over much of the Aegean. Hopefully it will have calmed down by May but a couple of years ago we motored a lot over that route at the same time of year.

 

[Chuteman]

Understand

Charles_Reed:
N headings - agree, however - with the exception of the one routing back thru Saronic & one back from Mykonos ....most show coming up from Santorini which has a lot of N in it. I've also experienced bashing(Mid-Sept) coming back from Poros. Will keep eye closely on the weather during the whole trip so at least we are not surprised at the very end.

vyv_cox - I was also expecting to avoid in May. In fact, it seems charter bookings are brisk so it seems like a lot of people are trying to avoid summer winds. But weather patterns are not as predictable these days, so fingers crossed that we have Dry, Sunny and moderate winds

Thanks for the comments, info & suggestions

 

[Melody]

We run mile-building trips to the Cyclades a couple of times a year with students. We do it in a week with long days sailing as we have a strong crew who want experience but you could do a similar route over two weeks in a more leisurely fashion.

We don't go to either Mykonos or Santorini though. In my opinion you are better to visit those islands by ferry as neither are good from the point of view of weather and mooring.

The route our yachts take varies slightly depending on the wind but a typical trip would be Kalamaki - Kea / Kythnos - Syros / Naxos (both Syros & Naxos are good for a stopover) - Milos (day off in Milos & take car or quads to explore) then we do a night sail to the Argolic, ideally calling at Monemvassia, which is lovely to visit. I guess you could do this in the daytime. We then go back to Kalamaki via Plaka and the Hydra Channel, calling in at either Poros or Aegina.

You do need to do one long sail back NW but the advantage is you can almost always do this route without beating often with a south-westerly in the Argolic

The other option is to stay mostly in the Northern Cyclades and visit Tynos and Andros for instance. Much more off the beaten track but very beautiful.

 

[tonybannister]

So here I am in Cesme with almost guaranteed Northerlies. Need to get to Athens. What have I had for over 2 weeks and still got them - Southerlies. Sailing!!. However some german friends have given up trying to sail south so are leaving for Lesbos, north of here. The moment they do that the wind will change to be against them - then I go before it discovers what I am about.

 

[Chuteman]

More Good Food for Thought & Consideration

Melody:
Sounds like the kinda week I would enjoy with your Students.
Mykonos - from a Mooring standpoint, I did not think that was bad except
the requirement to use marina
Santorini - my original plan (using my boat) was to use a ferry because I draw 2+m but with this smaller boat and earlier in the season, I thought it might be OK. What island do you suggest to leave boat for ferry ride in?

Thanks for the add'l ideas / islands to visits

Tonyb - please get those winds aligned properly with the right speed before I start my charter

Thanks again for your input & experiences

 

[Melody]

Ios is very sheltered so you could leave your boat there. I suggest you ask someone to keep an eye on it for you though. It's never a good idea to just leave a boat Med moored somewhere without anyone looking after it.

 

[Chuteman]

Will Note That

Melody:
Thanks for the add'l info & suggestion.
I was reading more island descriptions last night trying to get a good feel about
each to begin the culling process.
Sounds like I might have a group of very hung over young people in various stages of undress sleeping or sunning on the boat if I leave it on iOS

Thanks Again

 

[Chuteman]

My Experience

After the ideas, suggestions and experiences, thought I'd close the loop with a report back........
Two weeks in Turkey before the Greece trip spoiled me with warm temps, bright sunshine and good wind ......but I was in the yard shining my boat which is for sale....did I mention that?

Anyway, Cyclades Trip
Charter Boat - ended up too small......at least for the conditions & distances

May 18th - Alimos to Hydra(1st time Greek visitor Crew requested, aaarrrgh) - clouds, F4-6 N-NE, rain showers
May 19th - to Serifos - Some Clouds F3-4 N-NE
May 20th - to Sifnos - Clear, wind same
May 21st - to Milos - With approaching storm warnings seeking best hideout.
The recent quay/dock extension was a welcome sight (not in the GWP) as the prediction and actual winds were from the S-SW-W, F5-7+, A number of boats came in the next two days seeking refuge
May 24th - to Santorini - Early small weather window shrunk as black wall chased us midway, F4-6 SW-W, big waves, would have been fun with right boat, like mine
separate note on marina below
May 27th - to Naxos - Cool, Cloudy F3 on nose or close
May 28th - to Paros - More Sun - F2 on nose
May 29th - to Kithnos (Loutra) - Mostly Sunny - F1-2 on nose
May 30th - to Alimos - cool then sun - F2 mostly on nose

Bottom Line -
Weather - Cooler, Unsettled, Surprising - Disappointing for May
Sailing Conditions - Mixed, Ran the full Range, Just like the Med's Reputation =
None, Too Little or Too Much
Route - Affected by stormy weather = lost days, Stayed too many days in Santorini (crew wishes) - then had to hustle to make it back to Alimos for flight home. Pace was not casual ........which was somewhat disappointing

Santorini Vlihada Marina:
The approach/entry as laid out by Greek Water Pilot and other sources was pretty straight forward, and as stated not that bad looking back. Only the Yellow buoy (small) was in place away from the entrance - never saw the two small red ones.
The "fun" part comes as you enter the Marina - it is inconsistently shallow. Your shallow water alarm should be going off as you read this......we had a 1.8m draft and it was nerve wracking - my 2.2m would not have been good.
However, the first sailboat I saw was a 50' Beneteau charter boat and there were several 50'+ boats on the marina, of course I do not know their draft/keel measurements. We turned into the inner circle (to starboard) because looking ahead it was very easy to see the reef/surface rocks which are to Port as You continue around the outer circle - although there is room (depth?) to clear the rocks and the water crashing over the breakwater.
The marina is filled mostly with fishing and day tripper boats. There is limited space (at least when we were there) for private / charter boats. The Harbor Master and staff were attentive to arriving boats and directed us to a slot (fishing boat) and told us we might have to move if that boat returned, they did not while we were there. However it was very shallow + quay car tires turned our white fenders a nice shade of black by the time we left. It was 15 euro a night which included elec & water (fluctuating pressure). Most of the Private/Charter boats where rafted together is a few allocated areas.
Except for a couple of tavernas, it is pretty remote and the marina is not very
attractive since it is more of a "working" harbor. The Harbor Master was helpful and kept close control of all comings & goings. At the same time, he explained that the spot he gave us would offer protection from winds/water that was kicked up for almost 2 days.
Fuel was available via tanker truck.

Will be happy to answer any questions