Heading West 36:26.07N 25:23.00E
Freewheel
Julian & Anne Whitlock
Sun 7 Sep 2008 10:28
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Sightseeing and onwards..
The food poisoning was probably a virus
as Anne fell down with the worst of it 24 hrs after
I did and we both had severe headaches
and muscle pains. Fortunately only lasted 36 hrs
and then felt brilliant! Sail to Ios
was typical Med hastle. Winds varied from 10 to 35 knots
but generally from a sailable
direction. One severe gust lifted winds from less than 20 to over
40
knots without any warning in a matter
of 30 seconds. Did more sail adjustments in the 50 nm
journey than we did in crossing half
the Atlantic! Ios had a delightful anchorage but the next
morning I promised to take Anne to
Thira. An island she visited on a school cruise many years
ago but which we have missed in all our
Aegean cruising. It is dramatic to sail through the caldera,
see the volcanic plugs and calculate
the amount of material that was ejected when the island
exploded about 1400 BC. Mind boggling -
it is estimated that the explosion was at least 3 times
greater than Krakatoa and that could be
heard over a 1000 miles away. Thira's eruption must
have wiped out the whole of the
population in the eastern end of the Mediterranean. A little
worrying to consider that as we
sailed through the caldera as it is still very much active now...
Well leaving the cruise ships etc
behind there we are now making passage west towards Malta
weather permitting.
Inside the
caldera
Exit on west side of Thira with town behind
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