We left at 09.00 after the jet ferry managed to churn the sea beautifully causing a fabulous swell! 8- 10 knots of wind met us gently carrrying us to the headland. Within minutes we were using the mainsail, gliding easily in a westerly direction. Wind seems to swirl around the Islands yet settle as soon as you reach open water. Our genoa was unfurled with a great increase in speed to 6.6 knots. Wind thheen picked up quickly to 15 knots, powering us along at 7.3 knots of speed so Genoa taken in for a more comfortable journey. Throughout the four hours we had 27 knots then 5 knots, then 26 knots and that is how our morning transpired. Sails in, reef then sails out! What an annoying wind. Each island seems to push the wind around or over it, so between islands we have calm, then chaos. It isn't easy to get a steady sail at all. We arrived at the entrance to Folegandros having followed a tourist boat, they give you a good idea of what is to come, so we diligently followed and found the best spot to moor. If the wind had been a bit less ferocious we would have easily anchored. Just as well we didn't, the swell grew continuously making 'Kejstral' bob up and down terribly therefore, anchoring would have been a nightmare. We worry about the anchor in calm weather, this was anything but!
So good choice to moor against the harbour wall, €6 for one night. Once secure we fished and wrote and relaxed, very pleasant apart from the swell. The main town here is called .........you guessed it, Chora! It cannot be seen from our spot in the bay it is apparently really pretty . Tomorrow we will catch the local bus to Chora then cool down with a dip in this beautiful aqua green sea and hope the wind disappears completely. For now we walk around the coastline watching boats approach and find anchorage, a few are happy to pursue the challenge, a few tie up next to us. The wind does not settle, usually sunset brings a calming soothing evening as the land temperature drops the winds generally lessen, really .... well no one told these wind gusts!
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Sailing Kejstral AdventuresRetired and following our dream of sailing around the world Archives
April 2019
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