After our windlass was fixed, we could finally sail to Ikaria. It was hard to find a good weather window, with the Meltemi starting up so early in the season, even for short trips between the islands in the Aegean Sea. When we finally left the strong gusts falling from the mountains of Samos, we could sail close-hauled towards Ikaria. Starting with 20-25 knots, we finished the trip with 33 knots true wind, luckily in the protected waters south of Ikaria. We did manage to get ourselves soaking wet anyway! We stayed on Ikaria only night, as there was a good weather window the next day to reach Naxos, the most central island of the Cyclades. That trip turned out to be smooth sailing, with 18-22 knots on the beam, making us cover the 60 miles in only 8 hours. We had a great time on Naxos, driving on both coastal and mountainous small roads, enjoying the great variety of the landscape. The Chora on Naxos is lovely. After securing our boat in Naxos Marina, we left East of the Sun, to return only in a couple of weeks time. To be continued…..