Dave Nairn - Sporades Sailing Pilot

Dave Nairn 2012

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The Isle of Skiathos is a green and verdant spot in the Aegean and attractive from seaward. Some say the island got its name from skia meaning shadeor shadow in Greek and like some other Sporades islands is covered in vegetation. Others claim a more romantic meaning behind the name and say its acombination of skia and athos and came about because the shadow of Mount Athos created by the sun on Midsummers Day kissed andthus blessed the Isle of Skiathos. The 6,600 ft high Mount Athos, on the Halkidi Peninsula, has housed a monastic community since the 3rd century and isknown as the Holy Mountain Only problem is that Mount Athos being north of Skiathos could never cast a shadow on Skiathos although Mount Pelion mightat sunset.

Katigiorgis is just 2.5 NM away on the Mainland across the Skiathos Channel and to the north the Halkidi Peninsula has helped bar the traditional sea routefor invaders bent of sujugating Greece. Persian King Darius saw 300 of his ships wrecked wrecked on Halkidis rocky tip by a storm in 492BC and Spartahad 50 ships share the same fate in 411BC.

Skiathos is famous for its beaches and has more than 60, many only accessible by boat and despite being a busy tourist destination the island still holdsa unique charm for visitors who are repeatedly drawn-back. The island has its own international airport with daily flights to Athens and charter services from many European airports in the summer. Indeed, growingtourism has led to plans being announced at the end of 2011 to increase the size of the airport which will lead to Xanemos Beach being built over. Ferry servicesrun from the island to Ag Konstantinos on Evia and the City of Volos.

A single main road runs along the south coast from Skiathos Town to Koukounaries served by regular bus services which makes it very simple to leave youryacht and explore some of the many beaches dotting the islands coastline. The buses can get very crowded in the main holiday season but bike, scooterand vehicle hire outlets are plentiful. Skiathos Town has everything you would expect and need from this size of community and with good night-life, excellentrestaurants, shops and boutiques.

It hasnt always been the main settlement on the island with people shifting backwards and forwards from The Kastro the fortifiedcliff-top position on the north coast built in the 14th Century as a refuge from pirate attack. Skiathos is a small island about 5.9 x 4.5 nauticalmiles (nm) with a 21nm coastline so there wasn't a lot of places to hide from invaders. Nowadays the sheltered south contains the majority of the populationwith the remote northern coastline remaining rugged bearing the brunt of the prevailing NE meltemi winds.

The islands maritime history stretches back to ancient times with a 4th century BC mention as an ideal anchorage for overwintering naval ships and local people rightly maintain pride in their seafaring and maritime heritage. The Barbarossa Brothers were probably the most infamous pirates but Skiathos suffered numerous corsair incursions with a long history of relentless subjugation and constant attack from external forces including the Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman Empires.

Skiathos is studded with churches and monasteries Evangelistria is the most visited through its special significance as a centre of resistanceduring the long and often bloody Greek independence struggle when Skiathites were sustained by their deep-seated faith in the Greek Orthodox religion.There are almost 400 island churches, monasteries and convents with many sited in Skiathos Town. St Nicholas has two island churches dedicated to him andbecame patron saint of Seafarers & Sail through his voyages to the Holy Land.

When making a southerly or easterly approach to Skiathos Harbour the islands dotted around the bay are easily identified. The most common approach,and easiest at night, is from the south and follows the local airport flight path. Sailing north you leave Nisos Tsoungriaki to starboard and KalamakiPeninsula to port before encountering Daskalonissi the rocky islet at the entrance to Skiathos Bay. From the east, the main channel can be found leaving Repi,Arko and Marangos Islands to the north and Tsoungria Island to the south, then turning north when clear of Marangos Island.