Ios Kora to Ios Manganari

11 September 

We visited the old town of Ios in the morning and provisioned. 

Had lunch at the Octopus Tree again and left the dock at 14:20





We arrived at Manganari Beach at 15:45 and anchored in N 36 39 395 E 25 22 108.
Beautiful sandy anchorage, had a nice swim and dined on board with burgers.

Paros to Ios

10 September 35 NM

We departed at 8:15 and sailed / motorsailed around North Paros to the coast of Naxos, then down to to Ios in variable winds W 8-18. 
We arrived in Ios at 14:55 and docked (with some difficulty in cross winds) in N 36 43 362 E 25 16 436. 

We topped up the water tanks and inquired about ferries or day boats to Santorini, but found that the schedule requires an overnight stay and modified our itinerary. 
Had a very nice dinner at the Octopus Tree Taverna on the harbor (including of course grilled octopus, just cut off the tree).

Paros Naoussa

9 September 24NM

We raised anchor in Syros at 10:40 after a nice swim and motored one hour to South Syros under main sail alone, then set the jib and sailed to Paros. Arrived at 15:20 and anchored in N 37 08 546 E 25 13 874

Dined on board of pasta with sausage and peppers.

Syros Finikas (24NM)

8 September

We had an early departure as at 6:45 as a departing 100ft motor yacht fouled our anchor chain; we maneuvered to avoid it, raised our dinghy and departed rather than resetting anchor. 
We set sail 1 NM north of Vourkari in NW 18 diminishing to 10kt. We arrived in Syros at 13:30 and anchored outside the harbor, had a swim in nice crystal clear water and provisioned some bread and ice. 

We enjoyed a nice fish dinner at the local taverna, which was doing land office business with the arrival of two large groups of cruisers. 
Also witnessed some interesting maneuvering and possibly heard some new greek words as an 80ft sailing yacht wedged itself in the harbor space left open by a 30ft fishing boat....

Exploring Kea Yioulis

September 7
We launched the dingy and went by taxi to explore the high town of Kea, Yioulis. After a wonderful seafood lunch at Rolando's Fish Taverna,

we took the walk leading to the Lion of Kea, an gigantic early Cycladic sculpture about a 20 minutes walk out of town. On the return to town we were greeted by an absolute deluge, which transformed the narrow alleys of the old town in little torrents.

It did not last long however and we dried ourselves, took a taxi back to Vourkari Bay and had dinner on board.

S/V Rosie, A Greek Intermezzo

September 6, 2014

What will we do with a vacationing sailor? Go to the Greek Islands of course. 

And so here we were, the normal crew of S/V Raconteur, augmented by Alexandra attending the chart briefing at the Olympic Marina in Lavrion and checking our chartered boat, a Moorings 43.3. 


After completing the paperwork and once cleared by the Greek port authorities, we departed the marina at 17:45, with just enough light left in the day to make the island of Kea.We motored around I. Makronisos to Kea Vourkari, briefly setting the jib in variable airs with the seas under 3 feet. 





We set anchor at 20:12 in N37 40 002 W24 19 486 in 39 feet of water. 

Dined on board on pizza and snacks and tried to go to sleep, but the local restaurant had a big party with music until 4 am.

A beautiful season ends

It's here - haulout time, when we part-time cruisers take leave of the full-timers and head for terra firma aka lubberland. 

Grand Etang seen from the trail to Mount Qua Qua

We continued to enjoy the atmosphere and activities of Grenada: we went twice to the Mount Airie Young Readers Program and also contributed some books, hiked Mt. Qua Qua with Private Dancer and Tara, enjoyed rotisserie chicken nights at Whisper Cover with Receta, Tovarisch and Richard Cory, heard a wonderful singer, Sonika, at Le Phare Bleu and threw ourselves on the two-for-one pizza night at Prickly Bay.

At the summit with Mark, Mitch, Lisa, and Mel

on the "boat forklift" - an impressive machine

Then came cleaning, dismantling and storing -- a 2-page to-do list (with some of the crew a bit mutinous).  Payback time for a season of great sails, congenial encounters, and beautiful anchorages.

good-bye Raconteur!  keep safe, and dream of fair winds and turquoise water