Our Environment

Local sponge warehouse in Kalymnos

Today we are moored in Kalymnos which is still considered the sponge capital of the world.

This a bare limestone island, separated from Leros by the narrow channel of Stenon Lerou. The coasts are mostly steep and rocky, with numerous coves and inlets ideal for a sailing holiday. The locals live partly by farming in the few fertile valleys, but mainly by fishing for sponges in the south-eastern Mediterranean and processing them for export to the USA. The departure (April-May) and return (Sept-Oct) of the sponge-fishing fleet are celebrated with lively festivities.  We have arrived just a little after the fleet departed so I’ll focus on talking to people about how the harvesting has changed over the last 20 years and what they see as the greatest threats to their industries.

If time permits I’d also like to visit some of the spectacular limestone caves around the island. It will be interesting to see if they have suffered and decayed from changes to the weather in the same way as caves in more populated areas around the world.

From Kalymnos we make our way via some of the smaller and very sparsely populated islands (Nisida Levitha, Nisida Kinaros) to Naxos.

Town of Kalymnos

View from the yacht before leaving dry dock

In the last few northern hemisphere spring and summer seasons I have found myself on board a yacht travelling as much as we can via wind power (i.e. sailing) through international waters from Croatia to Greece. Along the way I am keeping an eye on changes in the climate from year to year as well as listening to locals about their observations on climate change, wind generated power, solar power and global warming.

For the next couple of months I am going to be travelling thanks to wind generated power. So, every couple of days I’ll be updating this blog with my exploits and discoveries.

This year I am setting sail from Leros, Greece. This island is part of the Dodecanese Islands. It is located in the north western part of the archipelago, between the islands of Patmos and Kalymnos – closer to Turkey than Athens!

Its surface is about 54 square kilometers with a length of 15 kilometers. The coastline is about 46 kilometers, littered with small bays that are ideal for sightseeing, swimming, diving or fishing.

This is an island that does not have any smog with secluded coves as well as a gentle countryside and impressive bays for larger yachts.

Climate change is not a media phrase to these people. On this island they live off agriculture, particularly bee keeping, so what is happening with the climate directly affects them each and every day. In summer, tourism is another source of income – one which can also be adversely affected by changes in the climate.

My conversations with the locals have confirmed that this past winter was the wettest anyone can remember and this has been followed by rain in spring (the first time I have encountered this in my travels). There also appears to be many more biting insects this year – especially mosquitoes, again something I have not experienced here before.

Let the adventure and research begin – I’ll keep you posted.

View of a bay near Lakki