Tinos
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Tinos
Click for larger view
Background
Tinos (Τήνος) or Tenos belongs to the Cyclades group. It is a mountainous island of 195 km2 and about 8,500 inhabitants. Its tallest peak, Tsiknias is 729 m (2392 ft). It is a wooded island famous for its many villages (64) and its Venetian dove coats (800), little white towers inhabited by flocks of white pigeons. But the real fame of Tinos is owed to the miraculous icon of the Madonna. The yearly pilgrimage of the faithful and afflicted on August 15 has made Tinos the Lourdes of Greece.
The ancient name of the island was Ophiousa, meaning with snakes, because it was infested with small vipers. The name Tinos maybe is a corruption of the Phoenician word Tunnoth ("snake"). The island was settled by the Ionians in the 10th century BC. The Persians occupied the island in 490 BC but after the Battle of Marathon is was freed. Following the liberation a sanctuary was built dedicated to Poseidon because he sent a flock of storks that ate the snakes. Pilgrims and afflicted persons would go to the island to celebrate the December festival of Poseidon, the Poseidonia, and many were cured from their afflictions. In Roman times Mithridates of Pontus (Black Sea) invaded the island and destroyed its towns in 88 BC. After the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204 AD), the Venetians conquered the island from the Byzantines. The Gizis, its Venetian masters, built the fortress Of Santa Hellena at Exombourgo, on the foundations of the old acropolis. This fortress, deemed the strongest in the Cyclades, withstood all eleven attacks of Barbarossa. In 1715 AD, long after the rest of Greece had been occupied by the Ottomans, the island was surrounded by a massive Ottoman fleet. The Venetians finally surrendered. Their captains were executed in Venice, and Santa Hellena was blown up. The result of this long occupation by the Venetian was that most of the island inhabitants became Catholic. Even today, Tinos has the largest number of Catholics in Greece.
Tinos stayed under the Ottomans until the Greek War of Independence of 1821. In the second year of the war a nun, Pelagia, had a vision of the Madonna who directed her to look under a certain rock. Next day, remembering her vision she looked and found the icon which proved to have very potent in healing powers. The icon inspired the Orthodox inhabitants to revolt and liberate their island. A church, the Panagia Evangelistria was built at the site where the icon was found. People flock to this church and dedicate diamond, pearls, engraved human limbs, in silver and gold, engraved ships, etc. Religion has become the island's major industry.
Charts
- BA 2682 Kólpos Patalion to Nísos Nísiros
- BA 1647 Nísos Tínos to Nísos Ikaría
- Imray-Tetra G31 Northern Cyclades
- NIMA 54334 Plans in the Aegean Sea
- Greek 42 Andros to Chalki Island
- Greek 421 Karystos to Naxos
Radio Nets
Also see Cruiser's Nets
- Coast Guard - VHF channel 12 & Tel. +30 2830 22 348
- Olympia Radio - VHF channel 03 & 04
Warning: The strait between Tinos and Andros to the north, Strait Dhisvato, has a current setting towards the south-west. The strait at its narrowest is just over half a mile wide. With the meltemi blowing there are very strong gusts through this narrow channel. Also the channel between Tinos and Mykonos is notorious for its gusts.
Anchorages
Tinos unfortunately does not have many anchorages. There are only three possibilities:
Tinos Harbor
| Tinos [37° 32' N 25° 10' E] is the only harbor in the island. It is a large commercial harbor with very limited space for yachts. Because it is an excellent all-weather harbor it is crowded, especially when the meltemi is blowing.
Proceed to the inner harbor and moor stern-to. You may have to tie on a second or even a third tier. The bottom is mud and provides good holding.
|  Click for larger view |
Panormos
This bay on the north-east side of the island provides some protection from the meltemi but it is not comfortable because of the swell.
Ayios Fokas
This cove just east of the harbor could provide some shelter.
Routes/Passages To/From
Popular passages/routes, timing, etc.
Tourism & things to do ashore
Other than the church of Panagia Evangelistria in the town of Tinos there is an Archaeological Museum (open 8-3 except Mondays) which contains artifacts from the Sanctuary of Poseidon and Amphitrite. The excavation of the sanctuary can be seen in Kionia about 4 km W of the town.
Another place worth visiting is the Kechrovouni Convent, one of the largest in Greece where Sister Pelagia, now a saint, had her vision. On the way one can see many picturesque villages. The drive past Exombourgo to Volax, where they still do nice basket weaving, all the way to Kolymbithres goes past many villages and dove cotes.
There are two modern sculpture museums: in Isternia and in Pirgos, the later was the house of the famous Greek sculpture Giannolis Halepas.
Fuel, Water, & Electricity
- Fuel - N/A
- Water - On the quay
- Electricity - N/A
Laundry
Grocery Stores
- Good shopping in the town
Eateries
- Indifferent restaurants in the town
Motorbike & Car Rentals
- Possible from the town
Marine Stores & Facilities
None.
Repairs
N/A.
Transportation
Ferries to Rafina and Piraeus.
References & Publications
See Greece.
Cruiser's Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forum Discussions
List links to discussion threads on the Cruiser Log Forum
External Links
- Tinos (Wikipedia)
- Panagia Evangelistria
Personal Notes
Personal experiences?
Last Visited & Details Checked (and updated here)
Date of member's visit to this Port/Stop & this page's details validated:
- July 1990 --Istioploos 17:15, 30 August 2008 (UTC)
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