Paros was an unexpected stop. We were on the way to Milos, and weather conditions continued to worsen. We needed a place to pull in and reassess. The problem with Meltemis is that they don’t care about sailors wants and wishes. If you get caught up in one and the wind and waves, the conditions could get a lot worse and last for a lot longer than expected. This happened to us.

If crew members are not loving it, why keep them onboard having a miserable time. The admiral was NOT loving it and was not having a good time so we all agreed that the smartest thing for her to do was to take a bit of shore leave and wait the meltemi out ashore in a comfortable inn or bnb.

Even at anchor, things were a little tenuous so I stayed aboard and Michael dinghied her to the closest beach. We managed to get her accommodation for the night and a taxi soon picked her up. After some rest she would look at ferry or flight options and join us later somewhere in the Ionian out of the Meltemis reaches  after we agreed on a suitable location.

A good plan all round. It was a blusterous night and in the morning Nick, Michael and I setoff for Milos.