The Aegean can be nasty

[Irish Rover]

I travelled by ferry from Piraeus to Syros this morning - ferry was the Blue Star Paros all of 124M long so a bloody big ship. The forecast didn't look great showing 25Kts from the NW but I really wasn't expecting the waves to be so big or powerful. At times the entire ship was shuddering as she was pounded by waves. Just south east of Kea I had a look at Poseidon which was showing force 6 and a Significant Wave Height of 1.8 metres. Truthfully I thought it was more and while I lost service before I got a wave frequency reading it can't have been more than 2secs. I'm glad I wasn't at the helm in my own boat out there today.

 

[mjcoon]

I travelled by ferry from Piraeus to Syros this morning - ferry was the Blue Star Paros all of 124M long so a bloody big ship. The forecast didn't look great showing 25Kts from the NW but I really wasn't expecting the waves to be so big or powerful. At times the entire ship was shuddering as she was pounded by waves. Just south east of Kea I had a look at Poseidon which was showing force 6 and a Significant Wave Height of 1.8 metres. Truthfully I thought it was more and while I lost service before I got a wave frequency reading it can't have been more than 2secs. I'm glad I wasn't at the helm in my own boat out there today.

I think it was in September 1977 that we had been "free-sailing" away from the flotilla in the Sporades in some rather stormy weather but eventually had to go and re-join the rest of the flotilla at the rendezvous. We had a ruffty-tuffty trip, the fiercest I've ever encountered. And chose not to go in the real rendezvous because the entrance was too exposed. When we had parked we discovered that the ferries had stopped and people were desperate to get to Skiathos to catch their flights home! (But we were not allowed to give them lifts, of course...)

 

[AndrewB]

1.8 metres? Imagine what it was like in this one ...

 

[westernman]

1.8 metres? Imagine what it was like in this one ...


View attachment 151171

That is pitch poling territory for most of us.

 

[Irish Rover]

Rough night here last night with wind wind gusting close to 50 kts. This is from Marine Traffic on X

 

[dgadee]

The crew cheered when we completed our circuit of the Aegean and got back into the Ionian. It made her just a bit nervous: we were in a F3 (top of) and she said, "Will we reef now?"

 

[Irish Rover]

Rescue operation under way after cargo ship sinks off Greece coast https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/26/rescue-operation-under-way-after-cargo-ship-sinks-off-greece-coast

 

[mjcoon]

Rescue operation under way after cargo ship sinks off Greece coast https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/26/rescue-operation-under-way-after-cargo-ship-sinks-off-greece-coast

I think the link you wanted was:
www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/26/rescue-operation-under-way-after-cargo-ship-sinks-off-greece-coast

 

[Irish Rover]

I think the link you wanted was:
www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/26/rescue-operation-under-way-after-cargo-ship-sinks-off-greece-coast

Didn't know it wasn't working. Thanks.

 

[westernman]

The conditions at the French/Spain frontier can also get nasty as well.
This is an area I know very well and have passed by that point many times.
I have often anchored in the bay of El Port de la Selva.

I once tried anchoring in the bay at Llanca, but could not find any decent holding in what seemed to be gravel and then went to the bay of El Port de la Selva again. Some reports I have seen suggested that they had anchored there and the anchor had not held.

Catalogne : Deux Français retrouvés morts après le naufrage de leur voilier

 

[mjcoon]

Didn't know it wasn't working. Thanks.

I think there's a fault in the mechanism whereby it does not create the link that you intended; I initially had the same problem!