Thásos, Skála Maríon

Forests slowly recovering after the deliberate fires in the 80s and 90s   

Arhangélou Mihail convent on the cliff top   

We spent the morning of 20 May exploring ashore at Alikí but wanted to continue on, so at 1300 we left the pretty bay and worked our way clockwise around Thásos. There was little wind and so it was a motor close into the shore.

The northern side of the island is densely wooded but here on the southern side the woodland is slowly recovering from a series of forest fires. Sadly, these fires in 1981,1985,1989 and 1993 were started deliberately by unscrupulous property developers wanting cheap building land.

A little further along the southern coast from Ormos Alikí we passed the Arhangélou Mihail convent perched on the cliff top. It certainly looks very impressive from a distance, though the rockfall beneath would have made us worry had we been living in the building!

Approaching Limenária   

On the south west side of Thásos is the island’s second town, the fishing port and holiday resort of Limenária. There is significant work going on building large breakwaters around the port and the centre of the harbour has silted up to <1 metre depth; we had to work our way in carefully. Once inside we found that all of the main quay space had been taken up by small local fishing boats and a couple of larger tripper boats. There was another quay on a promontory and we tried to moor there but found that there were lots of shallow rocks close in. We moved away and picked up the anchor with the depth gauge showing that there was barely 10 cm under the keel. We could have tried to free anchor or run a long line ashore but we felt that we would blocking up the fairway and so, on balance, we decided to move on.

Skála Maríon   

Breakwater and cove to the north of the village   

The options initially looked like a couple of small harbours on the mainland coast about 15 miles away but after a few miles heading in that direction we passed the small fishing village of Skála Maríon. There’s a breakwater and cove open to the north and a small port open to the west. Our pilot book suggested that the port would be fully of small fishing boats and the cove was not suitable with a brisk northerly wind forecast and so we had ignored Skála Maríon as an option. However, in passing we saw that the quay was empty and decided to give it a go. Nosing in for a recce we saw that there was good depth by the quay and so we rigged the fenders and lines and tied ourselves alongside for the night.

With the somewhat dreary weather and the disappointment of no sailing we decided to cheer ourselves up with a meal ashore. The locals were wrapped up in their thick, quilted winter coats and the waitresses offered to move heaters next to our table if we were, like them, cold. Clearly the weather is not as it should be in May. I was expecting a rather average meal but the food turned out to be excellent and well presented. Mushrooms with a balsamic reduction, fried cheese, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, and some grilled octopus all combined to make a very pleasant meal.

Rain!   

In the morning the unseasonable weather continued with lots of rain. ‘Champagne sailing’ was cancelled and so we decided to stay put for the day; clearly sailing in the Med has made us soft! We had been fine moored alongside overnight but the wind was due to change later. After our rolly night at Alikí we decided to moor stern-to, Med style, in case a swell worked its way into the harbour overnight; no point in scuffing our new paintwork!

Skála Maríon beach   

Re-mooring was the big event of the day and with the rain helpfully washing the decks and little or no wind to suggest sailing we stayed below catching up on admin and blog writing. Overnight the wind built and there was some swell rolling us a little and so we were glad that we had moored off the quay. When I came back from getting some excellent freshly baked bread Nicky revealed that she had a new masterplan. We had a 15 knot northerly wind forecast for the whole day which was ideal for a fast sail back to Límnos 55 miles SE of us. We could dally there for a day and then the forecast showed a perfect southerly wind to whisk us west to the Khalkidhiki peninsula. So, after a good breakfast and a quick walk ashore to take some photos of Skála Maríon without any rain, we slipped our lines, recovered the anchor and headed southeast towards Mirina on Límnos.

Thásos, Skála Maríon, Greece