We were very excited about exploring the Cyclades in particular Mykonos and the surrounding islands given it is a sailors paradise and especially because this was our first opportunity to try out the Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40 that we've been seriously thinking about buying. We tried to arrange a sea trial several times in the UK but were not given the opportunity by the UK agent MiCats, a poor service. So we dove into a week trial and decided we’d made the wrong choice.

But things don't always go to plan. Before we arrived we saw that winds were forecast to be 17kts gusting 25kts during the beginning of the week and then building to 25kts gusting 45kts towards the end of the week with seas gradually increasing from 0.7m up to 3.0m.

We also had some challenges with my expired RYA ICC certificate being accepted by the base and getting Covid passes for our guests. But with some begging and luck the RYA came through and helped us out with a fastback service and we got the covid passes just before departure. Yay.

Day 1 - As our excitement grew we boarded the early flight out of Gatwick and arrived in Mykonos with a short delay but around 3pm local time, in time for an afternoon beer before getting ready in our wonderful Hotel Tharroe before walking down to for dinner in Mykonos old town.

A wonderful dinner at Nice & Easy Greek restaurant with live local music was a great start and we explored the windy streets on the town before heading back to the hotel, with an ice cream stop along the way.

Day 2 - We headed over to Mykonos old harbour after a delicious breakfast to locate the marina office and our floaty home for the next seven days. Check out was flawless although some areas of the kitchen could have been cleaner. The supermarket delivery arrived and we headed out a couple of hours before sunset down to Ornos bay and dropped the hook. Music from all the bars and clubs around this area of the island created a vibrant background to what otherwise was a very chilled evening.

Day 3 - Cautious about the building wind and sea state conditions we decided not to head south but to potter around close to Mykonos, and, unless the weather forecast changed, back to Mykonos old harbour for Wednesday evening. We set off late morning around the bottom of Delos and into a pretty anchorage south of Rinia island. A few local Greek party boats came and went as we prepared for another night on the hook, we swam and scooted around the shallows in the dingy and gradually the bay emptied to just three boats and a super dark star lit sky.

Day 4 - Despite having a large supermarket delivery the ladies wanted some extra fresh meat and vegetable provisions so we headed WNW to Siros via a short lunchtime stop at Gaidharos island. The crossing was very choppy with winds averaging 25kts gusting to 30kts. A pure reach was uncomfortable and to compensate the drift south we pointed the boat 60 into the wind and waves and made slow 3.5kts progress. And we were playing it safe as we were unsure how the catamaran handled these conditions. After lunch we made short work of getting into Ermoupolis town and completing the easiest med mooring with a little help from a local bypassed. The girls went shopping, and we contemplated staying for the evening but agreed to head out back to the small island bay for the night given we'd be holed up in Mykonos later.

As we left the town quay the port engine stalled, after two restarts it seemed to be fine and off we went now on a slightly more comfortable ESE run before turning into the bay and anchoring. We swam to check on the anchor and it seemed to be dragging so we pulled it up and the port engine failed again. Rather than deal with engine trouble in the dark if the anchor did drag we headed back to Ermoupolis and called the base who promised to send out an engineer and diver early the next day. We explored the town and found the best meal in a small courtyard several streets back from the quay front.

Day 5 - We waited. We waited more. And waited until finally the engineer showed up at 13:30. He checked the engine and found a issue with the diesel filter. The diver checked the prop and found nothing but the prop had previously been twisted and the outer plastic shell of the prop cone was no longer on the cone but the prop was held good and tight. We were given clearance to depart and headed back to the small island to resume our anchorage and while the water was relatively calm in the bay we endured constant 25 to 35kts of wind all night in what was a sheltered bay. Being cautious we deployed the anchor in 4m of water with 50m of chain and took turns on watch for 2 hours each through the night and luckily the boat held fast.

Day 6 - We wanted to be back by lunchtime as we knew the wind conditions would only get stronger and the sea state worse. We set off shortly after sunrise and made good progress with the mainsheet with three reefs. Again point slightly up wind and not on a perfect reach the boat handled the conditions well as the wind continued to beat 25 to 30kts and the seas grew to 2m and sometimes more. After a long passage we came into Mykonos new harbour, refuelled and set the boat back in her berth disappointed that the weather would cut short our sailing for the next 3 days. Other boats had ether already returned or made their way back as the ay progressed.

Day 7 - We hired a tiny yellow car and explored the various bays around island: stormy Fokos on the northern shore, sheltered Kalafati with a series of ocean liner tourists bused in, and stylish Kalo Livadi with the Solymar beach club.

Day 8 - We explored the island some more, this time to find Kalafati quite breezy so we headed down to Gialos beach to find the beach crowded with sun loungers outside the popular tavernas and bars only to see a few boats anchored up in what looked like calm sheltered waters. We debated whether we should have been less cautious but agreed that the return north, beating against the swell and wind in an under-powered catamaran was probably best avoided. So the girls had a quick swim and we headed back to base.

Day 9 - Needing to vacate our floating home at 9am we took the sea bus into town and walked the legs off Mykonos town, having some nice breakfast and then a few cocktails near Skarpa watching people get splashed as they traversed the narrow path between the bars. And then made our way to the airport ready for an 8pm return flight home.