A Mykonos sunset cruise is an evening boat trip along the coast of Mykonos while the sun goes down. The trip is one of the Greece Tours on Greece Ville.
This post covers the island in numbers, the bright path that the low sun draws on the sea, how long twilight lasts after sunset and the questions that come up on an evening at sea: boat lights, wind chill, balance, dusk photos and sound over water.
What is a Mykonos sunset cruise?
A Mykonos sunset cruise takes place around Mykonos, an island in Greece. Mykonos forms one island complex with Delos, Rhenia and small rocky islets. Together, the complex covers 105.481 square kilometres. The three main bays of Mykonos are Chora, Panormos and Ornos.
On a Mykonos sunset cruise, the weather and the wind around the whole island matter. The wind on Mykonos is normally between 2 and 6 on the Beaufort scale, which measures wind strength.
Calm conditions are low on Mykonos, at only about 11.3 percent of the time. The island is mainly hilly, and near its coasts there are no large flat surfaces of land.
For a Mykonos sunset cruise, the yearly rainfall numbers for the island show a dry place. Mykonos has a low average annual rainfall of 371.7 millimetres, measured over the period 1989 to 1996.
The highest temperature on record at Mykonos is 37.8 degrees Celsius, reached in both June and July. The lowest temperature on record at Mykonos is 1.4 degrees Celsius, measured in the month of January.
- Driest: July is the driest month at Mykonos, with only 0.1 millimetres of rain, and August follows.
- Wettest: January is the wettest month at Mykonos, with 66.1 millimetres of rain.
- Earthquakes: Mykonos belongs to the region of Greece with the lowest seismicity, which means earthquake activity.
The Marathia Dam stands on the north-west side of the island of Mykonos. It is about 4 km in a straight line from Mykonos Town.
What makes the glitter path on the sea of a Mykonos sunset cruise?
A Mykonos sunset cruise looks at a glitter path made by wavy water. Each wave patch reflects the sun at a different angle. A viewer in the right place sees a small sun image from each patch tilted toward the eyes.
On a Mykonos sunset cruise, the glitter on the sea follows the law of reflection. A ray of light leaves a surface at the same angle it arrived, but on the opposite side.
Hero of Alexandria lived about AD 10-70. He left the earliest known description of this mirror-like behaviour. In 1954, Charles Cox and Walter Munk measured sea roughness from photographs of the sun’s glitter.
During a Mykonos sunset cruise, wavy water is rippled but smooth in small spots. Each wave point reflects the sun at a different angle. The exact pattern depends on the viewer’s precise location.
The illumination angle of a surface is 0° with the sun overhead and 90° at sunset or sunrise. Water reflects very little light at low and medium angles, but a great deal at high angles.
- Skimming light: Surfaces look like mirrors when light skims across them, but reflect poorly when it arrives head-on.
- Foam: Whitecaps look white because the reflections of the bubble surfaces in foam add up.
- Ripples: Light breezes that stir up small ripples on the water are sometimes called cat’s paws.
Seen from space, smooth ocean water becomes a silvery mirror where the sun glints. Rougher water appears dark in the same view.
How long does twilight last after a Mykonos sunset cruise?
A Mykonos sunset cruise sees three kinds of twilight after sunset. Civil twilight ends about 30 to 40 minutes after sunset. Nautical twilight ends about 60 to 80 minutes after sunset. Astronomical twilight ends about 90 to 120 minutes after sunset.
On a Mykonos sunset cruise, the Sun appears to move across the sky at 15 degrees an hour. Twilight lasts longer when the Sun goes down at a more slanted angle.
In the tropics, twilight lasts only about 90 minutes. About an hour after sunset, a good number of stars are visible. At 50 degrees north on the June solstice, astronomical twilight lasts all night.
On a Mykonos sunset cruise, latitude changes twilight. At 40 degrees north on the June solstice, twilight lasts 2 hours and 2 minutes after sunset. Each degree north of 40 adds almost 12 minutes.
With the Sun 6 degrees below the horizon, 99% of the air straight overhead lies in Earth’s shadow. After sunset, the dark band of Earth’s shadow seems to rise in the eastern sky.
- Purple glow: Glowing sodium and oxygen high in the air can add purple to civil and nautical twilight.
- Horizon: Toward the sunset, 35% of horizon air stays sunlit until the Sun is 12 degrees down.
- Eyes: In dim light the eye switches from cones to rods, so colours look washed out.
No sharp line divides Earth’s shadow from the pink Belt of Venus above it. One band blends into the other.
What do visitors ask about a Mykonos sunset cruise?
A Mykonos sunset cruise puts people on a moving boat at dusk, when the light fades. Wind, cooler air, boat lights, drinks, cameras and sound all matter at that time. Each topic has simple science behind it.
What makes the wind feel cold on a Mykonos sunset cruise?
Moving air breaks up the thin layer of warm air next to the skin. The faster the wind blows, the faster the skin cools. Aircraft carriers steam straight into the wind at top speed, which raises the apparent wind.
Which lights does a boat show on a Mykonos sunset cruise?
Before shared rules, ship lights differed from place to place. The confusion between vessels caused collisions and groundings. Ships over 50 metres must show masthead lights for 6 miles. Sidelights, sternlight and all-round lights must show for 3 miles.
Why does a Mykonos sunset cruise feel cooler after dark?
Hypothermia, when the body gets too cold, does not need freezing weather. It needs surroundings cooler than the body, which holds its core near 37 °C. Thin layers of clothing trap body heat better than one bulky layer.
How does alcohol affect people on a Mykonos sunset cruise?
Alcohol disrupts the brain’s communication pathways. This makes it harder to think clearly and to move with coordination. Alcohol also relaxes the blood vessels near the skin. A drinker feels warm but loses body heat faster in the cold.
What camera settings matter on a Mykonos sunset cruise?
A lower f-number means a wider lens opening, which lets in more light. An f/2 lens lets in four times as much light as f/4. On the ISO scale, doubling the number doubles the sensitivity to light.
Why does sound carry on a Mykonos sunset cruise?
A foghorn can be heard close by and far away, but not in the sound shadow between. Humid air carries sound slightly faster, by about 0.1% to 0.6%. This happens because water molecules are lighter than oxygen and nitrogen.