Our ‘Hop’ Across the Aegean, East to West, 1st Leg.

On the 19th July we left our safe haven on Oinoussos at 12 to cross over to Chios Marina for one night, it was blowing a healthy 25 – 30 knots pushing us along, so an hour later we were safely tied up in the unfinished harbour, hoping the Port Police wouldnt show their faces as we had checked out of Oinoussa with Tinos being our next destination and it was a 30 minute walk with our papers to their offices!

This gave us the afternoon to actually spend the time we missed on our day trip in Chios Town itself.

Chios Chora

The next day we had planned to make the crossing to Tinos, but the forecast was showing gusts of 40 + knots, and we know from hindsight that this was under-called and didn’t take into account the katabatics off the southern tip of Tinos. Much too feisty for us, so we decided instead to sail around to the south west tip of Chios, drop our pick and go the following day when the forecast showed a little less wind.

We still had a rather fast sail, covering 30nms in just under 4 hours and then found a beautiful anchorage, with turquoise water and a wonderful sunset, which we had all to ourselves, apart from the odd gust, you would not have known it was blowing a hooley around us.

Ormos Angelia, SW Corner of Chios

Then the following day, we took the plunge and set sail for Tinos at 6:30 in the morning, some 68 NMs away. The first hour was somewhat genteel, and we had our full sails out. Then as each hour passed, the winds got stronger and stronger and our sails got smaller and smaller until we got to the southern tip of Tinos, by which time it was blowing 38 knots, (forecasted 24 knots, boy were we glad we didn’t attempt the crossing the day before). With our genoa (only) the size of a handkerchief, we inched our way around the head and up the west coast for the last 2 hours and had a somewhat harrowing mooring on the quay, after having to lower the dingy from the davits, with it still blowing 30+ knots at the time, in the harbour!

Our top speed that day was 9.9 knots!

So after 10 hours, we were mighty relived to have made it without injury to us or the boat, despite a swiss neighbour trying to tell us how to do it, (all wrong we might add!) and was absolutely no help to us at all. We will be staying here in Tinos for a while until these ferocious winds decide to die down! As we moored up a very kind English skipper, who was just leaving let us have the credit for electricity and water, so we were all set.

22nd July 2022