Another 40 miles planned today along the south west tip of Evoia and up into Stenon Orei. Stenon means strait.
The wind was fresh and we had a lovely sail along Stenon Lithada. (Wpt #1) This part of Evoia is particularly beautiful and a number of possible fair weather anchorages that we might have stayed at if we didn’t have the appointment at Orei.
We sailed near a “Neilson type” Surf, Sail & Cycle centre bringing back great memories of our dinghy & windsurfing days.
At Wpt#1 (below) you pass between a number of islands and a sand spit each side of which again are a possible couple of anchorages though you would have to watch the current which is fairly strong here. A beach bar opens in the summer & it looks popular with campervans. It’s a lovely spot.
Over to the left somewhere (below) is the famous pass of Thermopylae.
We tacked over to Wpt#2 and were headed by a freshening breeze. We continued tacking about half way to Wpt#3 but in the end gave up as it was taking far too long.
This channel seperates Evoia from the Thessaly coast and in places particularly narrow, little more than a mile across and there can be currents of up to 2.5kts. At Orei its the highest tidal range in the Eastern Mediteranean, at springs 2.5ft. It was a bit of a slog on the motor & in retrospect might have been preferable to continue sailing and get in late. We did however get a stern too berth one of the last available that evening so yin & yang.
