Northern Sporades

Crews Letter #2006 08 Northern Sporades

Another Beautiful Part of the World

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen:

Eleven months after the 2005 plan and a week after Sara and Lisa left for Texas, We reached the Sporades Islands in the North Aegean. They are both beautiful and different. Calling on Skiros, Skantazoura, Skopelos and Skiathos, we have found sand beaches, good cruising and helpful people.

Yeah, we know the last Crews Letter started with the same paragraph. That one was about things that got broke and the guys that helped us fix them. Sometimes it seems like our cruising is from one break down to the next. It really isn’t. It probably seems that way because when we aren’t working on repairs, we are almost too relaxed to notice.

The Northern Sporades are to be noticed. Situated north and east of Athens and a 100+ miles south of Thessaloniki, they are four populated islands, many unpopulated islands and the National Marine Park. Getting there is a bit of a chore. You can either cruise in the Gulfs of Eviia or make the long passage north up the east coast of Eviia. Before Sara and Lisa came in mid-may, we tried the south gulf inside passage. There were no suitable harbors for a yacht to moor in. We have since been told that in the north gulf there are some “ok” ports.

We picked a no north wind day and motored from Andros to Skiros. There again, the only harbor, Linaria, has limited facilities for a yacht. More than one, they don’t have any. There is a marina on the northeast side of the island. It is an EU boondoggle marina that both pilot books indicate is not safe in strong winds. Not only is it not safe to be there if the wind is blowing, it is not safe to leave or arrive. Appropriately, it is named Achilles. So it goes when government wants to spend money and the friend of a politician has a pocket. The next night we anchored at Skantazoura in a beautiful small bay on this unpopulated island. From there it was an easy hop to Skopelos, Skiathos or Alonissos.

On Skiathos we found Spiros and Demetris, a bustling tourist town, two charter boat captains: Paul on SY Nidri and Apostles on Zorba, Sapphire Yachting, an RYA Sailing School and Koukounaries Bay for beach and water sports by day and an anchorage by night. Koukounaries was one of those places where Perception’s anchor seemed to get set and the crew just mellowed out. Maybe a swim, nap, or some reading, tomorrow we will sail, or the next day.

During one of our stays on the Skiathos Town Quay, Stephen walked up and said,

"Hi. We saw your American Flag and wondered, are you really Americans, from Texas?"

Pretty soon, Stephen and Alisha, Greg and Christina were aboard Perception. They are part of the US Air Force and stationed in Ely, England. They were on Skiathos on holiday. It was the start of a chance encounter and a good evening.

With any luck, Stephen and Gregg will be crewing for Perception during Marmaris Race Week at the end of October.

….

On Skopelos at Loutraki there is a good harbor with a yacht pontoon. At head of the pontoon is Petrino’s Café: good pizza, ice cream and ice coffees. The main entertainment at Loutraki is the flotilla boats trying to moor up on the pontoon and swapping tales with their crews. Here we met people from Australia, Scotland, Belgium, Holland, Ireland, England, Germany, Canada and New Orleans.

Loutraki is the port for Glossa. Glossa sits high on the hillside above the port and dates back to the Minoan Empire of ancient Greece. The town name is a derivation of Nossos. Or glossa is the Greek word for tongue and the land there looks like a tongue.

“In Glossa,” we were told, “there is a Greek Restaurant like none other.”

It is well worth the taxi ride up and down the mountain. The cuisine is Greek in origin and ingredients; French in style, refinement and quality. This place, alone, is worth a trip to the Northern Sporades. Call +30 24240 33076 for reservations.

On Skopelos, we also anchored in Panormas and Skyalos and moored at Skopelos Town. It is a good island for cruising.

The next island east is Alonissos. There we anchored at Milia and moored at Patitiri. There is museum at Patitiri is a good visit. An day boat excursion and a visit to the info center gave us some insight to just how exciting the Marine Park is. We didn’t see any monk seals, whales or sea turtles which doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We did see dolphins on three different occasions.

Because these islands are very popular with tourists, especially Greek tourists, and not far Athens, Velos or Thessaloniki, there are lots of ferries. We were quickly reminded that ColRegs come three ways: international, Inland Waters and Western Rivers – an American aberration, and GFP – Greek Ferry Pilot. The GFP rule is simple: The course was programmed into the GPS at the home office. Unless your boat is bigger than mine or a military vessel, the program cannot be changed. For those of you boning up for your US Captain’s License, remember, there are not any rivers in the US west of the Mississippi.

From Patitira we sailed east anchoring at Kyra Panagia and Sidri on Lesvos and mooring at Mytilene, also on Lesvos. We checked out of Greece, sailed to Ayvalik and checked into Turkey.

Sails, Full and By,

Phyl & Fred

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