Position 36:37.773N 24:53.583E

The strong winds kept us in Nisos Serifos. It was not that we had any concern about sailing Minka in the wind and rough sea it was concern about finding a secure and sheltered berth at the other end. The visitors pontoon in Nisos Serifos became very busy as more and more yachts sought shelter from the Meltemi.

The yachts on the left side of the pontoon ended up three deep. They would have backed in but the holding is very poor for anchors here. We spent quite a few hours watching boats drag their anchors in the bay. I had to use my foghorn to wake up one chap on a yawl who was dragging whilst he was having an afternoon snooze. We were on the right side of the pontoon so were fine.

There was a beach a little south of the harbour so David and I walked there and had a swim. I took this photo of the yachts looking north with the Chora in the background on the way back.

There was a hill on the other side of the Bay and I walked round there and watched the ferries parking in high winds….they are very skilled. The yacht in the foreground was having his second attempt at anchoring and was dragging at about four kts.

We made some friends on the pontoon. This is Simon and Katie demonstrating how to rig a hammock using a spinnaker pole. I must buy a hammock and try it out….looks fun.

Later on I was sitting in the cockpit and saw this chap walking on water in the distance. This has always drawn a good crowd so I went to have a look…….

…and took a series of photos.

The pipe is attached to a jet ski.

But is doesn’t always go right…

In the evening the pontoon organised a collective meal at the waterman’s daughter’s restaurant. The waterman is a lovely old boy who comes round in the morning and evening and connects up a hose to fill your tanks for 5 euros irrespective of quantity. I have a suspicion that this is completely unauthorised and in effect you are paying 5 euros for the loan of a hose and a beaming smile.

The restaurant was in a great spot overlooking the harbour…….

…..with Nisos Sifnos in the background. We had a terrific meal and quite a lot of local wine

The moon came to join in later…

The wind was still quite strong and even blew our glasses over. That was ok because David had been worried about running out of wine so had a couple of litres to spare at his end of the table.

We left in the morning for Nisos Milos but had to lift Simon’s anchor as our chains were crossed. That provided a bit of entertainment for those left behind. Leaving the harbour we had good sailing winds until we got close to Milos when they died out altogether. We backed up to the concrete pontoon in the usual way.

As you can see there was a lot of space. I visited Milos last year and made an English friend here called Richard. I had hoped to have a drink with him but unfortunately I found out he is in England at the moment. However, not all gloom as David and I went to Marianna’s my local and they gave us a free carafe of wine. I did not take any pictures of Milos as they are on last year’s blog entry.

We moved on the following morning to Ormos Vathi on Nisos Folegrandos. This is a delightful bay. We have both had a swim and will be getting the dinghy out and rowing ashore later.