winter waves

[Yannis]

A friend of mine is standing on the dock of the Mykonos port, awaiting for the ferry to bring him back.
Just in case any of you would wish to see how the Aegean looks like in the winter.
In the summer, when it's equally windy (the meltemia) the situation is the same, only its 35 instead of 10, and the whole sea is blinding yellow from the sun. Not a Bertram weather this one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=36&v=h9M1tkbd6tg

[Navatech]

Yannis, please allow me to "fix" your post for you :-)))

A friend of mine is standing on the dock of the Mykonos port, awaiting for the ferry to bring him back.
Just in case any of you would wish to see how the Aegean looks like in the winter.
In the summer, when it's equally windy (the meltemia) the situation is the same, only its 35 C (about 95 F) instead of 10 C (about 50 F), and the whole sea is blinding yellow from the sun. Not a Bertram weather this one.

[Yannis]

By all means. Thank you.

[Navatech]

Lest somebody get the wrong idea, these regional winds do NOT flow this hard all the time... Sometimes, especially in the late summer, The whole Med can be as still as a pond... Sea state (Beaufort Scale) 0...

And yes, while we enjoy sunny conditions from May/June until well into September/October summer storms (with sea states up 12) do occur... And, one can have too much of a good thing (sun)... Just like in FL and the Caribbean, much summer boating is done in the morning and afternoon in order to avoid the worst heat of the day...

[Yannis]

much summer boating is done in the morning and afternoon in order to avoid the worst heat of the day...

Heat means wind. So to avoid the wind, and the consequential waves, you cruise early. If you haven't left by 6 or 7 in the morning, you may not be able to leave port for the day anymore.

This video shows a 150 meter vessel at a Force 8ish ( maybe upwards) on the Beaufort scale. The last minutes of the film are less than a mile out from the port.

[Carl]

Not a day to venture out...


...unless fish are biting.

[Tony Meola]

40 years ago I probably would of said lets see if she can take it. But now, I am older and wiser.

[Navatech]

Not a day to venture out...

Depends on what you're going out on... While I'm sure that many of the passengers (especially the tourists - the locals are used to the sea) on that ferry aren't having such a great time the ferry itself is in no real immediate danger... Many of these ferries are rear loading instead of having the lifting/opening bow... And you can see the reason why...

...unless fish are biting.

Nah... I fish for pleasure... If it's no fun I wouldn't go out... Now, if I were a commercial fisher that would be another story altogether...

[Yannis]

In the, perhaps, hundreds of Greek ferries, maybe one or two are bow loading. Only the typical flat, open air ferries that connect two points are bow loading but these are usually not subjected to such violent conditions as they are only "back and forth" shuttles between straits lacking a bridge. Some are also front and rear loading so as to minimize maneuvering time for boats and cars alike. Also, they are usually the first ones to be halted by the coastguard when there's a rough forecast.
To say, though, that locals are used to the rough seas is an overstatement. Otherwise one can't explain the loads of liquids (a polite term) on decks and floors...

Tony, you were probably always wise, now just a bit older! But we only care about wisdom, not age !!

[jackryan]

Is it my imagination, or is that ferry listing to port towards the end of the video?

[Yannis]

Jack,

She's listing alright, because of the wind!

[Navatech]

Is it my imagination, or is that ferry listing to port towards the end of the video?

Yep, she was listing... Probably due to the wind...