Artic Warrior
Well-Known Member
Ah ok, thank you for the info,,,ive been studying weather patterns,,,and the such like,,,interesting stuff :encouragement:
sailing the cyclades mid summer, too windy or not?
- Thread starter Artic Warrior
- Start date
Ah ok, thank you for the info,,,ive been studying weather patterns,,,and the such like,,,interesting stuff :encouragement:
1bobt
N/A
I have seen mentioned seek shelter on the south side of the islands .. Would not recommend that advise on places like Amorgos...and the like
Chris_Robb
Well-Known Member
Bob, I can understand that you can have ferocious gusting winds on the lee side from the mountains. Amorgos does not seem really to have any anchorages on the south side, but the other islands - are the lee sides really that bad?
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Chris_Robb
Well-Known Member
The Ionia is a place of tranquility waiting for something to happen. When it does, it really makes up for lost time. But in general, it is a pussy cat.
cmedsailor
Well-Known Member
Can be bad with the sails up.
1bobt
N/A
I believe Amorgos is probably one of the worst.but advise care going southside on quite a few when its hot with the Meltemi blowing, I lost the lot going south of the island of Pipeti got hit with winds over 60 kts. Cost over £55,000 to repair
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Steve C Cronin
N/A
Like anywhere in the Med., winds can be fickle but I have spent too many times beating the 60+ miles back up to Corfu from Levkas to take them for granted.
Roberto
Well-Known Member
a picture may be worth a thousand words 
somewhere in the middle of the Cyclades
somewhere in the middle of the Cyclades
Artic Warrior
Well-Known Member
Hi jim, I will read your site for info as we go, yes we are circa 17 ton and 45 ft so heavy seas arnt too much of a problem...Mmmmm maybe with all the booze on board more like 20 ton.
We are swing keel and only draw 4 ft so can get into a lot of sheltered places too
Chris_Robb
Well-Known Member
Yes - I remember the problems you had with the cost of the works nearing the insured value!
I know well about the effect of being on the lee side sailing, however my question was more related to the anchoring problems caused by these gusty winds - The main benefit of the lee side is lack of swell coming in which many of the north facing (Amorgas) suffers from.
Artic Warrior
Well-Known Member
Even though it can be gusty on a lee side I prefer that as its calmer seas...
The anchor is less likely to be snatched out like if you were on a north coast in the swell,
Because we can anchor closer than most, on a lee shore the wind sometimes goes over us and actually sucks us back in towards the land,,, so I have to anchor slightly out more to allow for this,,,
If that makes sense
BurnitBlue
Well-Known Member
I cruised the Aegean some years ago when SSB and Maritime mobile nets provided live instant reports from other cruisers. It was common in some years to hear of cruisers trapped in anchorages for weeks at a time.
This is one casualty of the internet as these live instant reports are not available except the reliance on dry factual weather forecasts.
A special Twitter or Facebook page may take it's place if organised. Then the reality and the drama would percolate through.
This is one casualty of the internet as these live instant reports are not available except the reliance on dry factual weather forecasts.
A special Twitter or Facebook page may take it's place if organised. Then the reality and the drama would percolate through.
jimbaerselman
Well-Known Member
Those wind diagrams are great. They get rid of myth . . .
So, 8% of the time winds from the northern sector are over 25kt (F6 +). That's just under 3 days a month.
The myths often arise because people anchor in places "sheltered" from the northerlies. But in quite a few of those places, the winds are accelerated 20% by the ridges of hills to windward. And around conical islands, there's another terrain effect. In northerlies the SW side winds are often 10kts stronger than those on the NE side.
And finally, the psychological effect. People talk up the dramas, not the average!
So the myth arises; "avoid the Cyclades in summer due to the meltemi". Really? 90% of the time the winds are below 25kts
So, 8% of the time winds from the northern sector are over 25kt (F6 +). That's just under 3 days a month.
The myths often arise because people anchor in places "sheltered" from the northerlies. But in quite a few of those places, the winds are accelerated 20% by the ridges of hills to windward. And around conical islands, there's another terrain effect. In northerlies the SW side winds are often 10kts stronger than those on the NE side.
And finally, the psychological effect. People talk up the dramas, not the average!
So the myth arises; "avoid the Cyclades in summer due to the meltemi". Really? 90% of the time the winds are below 25kts
jimbaerselman
Well-Known Member
Again, the reports tend to exaggerate the reality, and that's because the meltemi shifts and occurs in different areas of the Aegean. At any one time, clear winds of F7 usually only occupy one or other of the possible "corridors". A frequent pattern is that they will start off the Bosphorus, and work south through the corridor just west of the Dodecanese. Another time it'll blow through Syros and Mykonos. And yet another will be between Mylos and W Crete. http://jimbsail.info/sites/default/files/charts/Gr Winds.gif shows a picture of a big area meltemi.
So, listening to a radio net will give about three times the number of strong wind reports than would affect a single location.
BurnitBlue
Well-Known Member
I do remember one very active cruisers on the local 7meg band that just about everyone swore was the transmission of the devil. Nobody wanted to go anywhere near where he was anchored because no matter where he was it was always blowing F8 or above.
OTOH is was useful in general to spot windows without waiting for the Greek VHF (No Significant Change is Expected) for the next day.
Jim, Have you considered setting up a Twitter or Facebook thing on your web site for Med cruisers to follow? In fact is it possible? Maybe ybw could set it up. If my understanding of Twitting is anything then it might serve the same as the old SSB system for live weather updates. I really miss that feature of SSB days.
cmedsailor
Well-Known Member
And probably always through Karpathos!!!!
1bobt
N/A
Well I spend about 6 weeks sailing in the Cyclades every year for the last 14 years I cannot remember a year that we have not needed to stay a extra day or two if around Naxos or Amorgos Ios area. Often winds F7+ for days .
Last year in Monevasia f8 all week,then flat calm back to Poros .
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vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
August 2009, Loutra on Kithnos. For ten days it blew like this or more. Almost nobody moved in or out of the harbour, the anchorage opposite was untenable. We had dashed here from Mikonos, where it had been very similar, also for ten days or so, with a two-day respite between. We left towards the west in a solid force 6 with heavy swells. On reaching N. Yeorgio the conditions changed totally and we had to motor onwards.
jimbaerselman
Well-Known Member
Vyv,
That looks like a good F6! I'd guess it's an afternoon pic, when the wind strength is at its peak. Nights usually drop the wind by 5kts - 1 step down the Beaufort scale. That reduces the averages, of course. So it's cheeky of me to say 3 days a month, when I should have said 6 daytimes. And yes, some seasons are worse than others - especially if the monsoons are exceptionally heavy, the Turkish mainland temperatures are above average (and the Italians on a holiday high to boot!).
Moral, beat north at night!
That looks like a good F6! I'd guess it's an afternoon pic, when the wind strength is at its peak. Nights usually drop the wind by 5kts - 1 step down the Beaufort scale. That reduces the averages, of course. So it's cheeky of me to say 3 days a month, when I should have said 6 daytimes. And yes, some seasons are worse than others - especially if the monsoons are exceptionally heavy, the Turkish mainland temperatures are above average (and the Italians on a holiday high to boot!).
Moral, beat north at night!
BurnitBlue
Well-Known Member
If that is the Meltemi then the cars are pointing NW which makes the shadows at 16:00 late afternoon.
All the best from Sherlock.
All the best from Sherlock.
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