Last September, I spent two weeks sailing in Greece with Tom, a fellow sailing instructor. The sailing school we both work for, OCSC Sailing in the Berkeley Marina, organizes at least two sailing vacations each year for its members and guests.
By Captain Ray
Published: January, 2016
Last September, I spent two weeks sailing in Greece with Tom, a fellow sailing instructor. The sailing school we both work for, OCSC Sailing in the Berkeley Marina, organizes at least two sailing vacations each year for its members and guests. In the winter we go the Caribbean and in late September each year we visit the Mediterranean, alternating between Turkey, Croatia (see page 19 for more info) and Greece.
This time we chose to sail the Saronic and Argolic gulfs and the coast of the Peloponnese. Tom had lived and worked in this area years before and was looking forward to visiting old friends and places, and both of us had already sailed among the Cyclades, which is a group of islands including Paros, Mykonos/Delos, Kithnos, Santorini and others. There were about 40 people in our group, distributed among six boats, each with the freedom to set its own itinerary as there was no obligation to stay together. However, as Tom and I developed a proposed itinerary and ran it past our crew members, we decided we would sail together throughout the entire trip.
Our plan was to sail a day and lay over a day. If you move the boat every day (and there is frequently subtle pressure from those aboard to do just that), it often turns out that all you see of a place is the bar/restaurant closest to the boat. We all agreed we wanted to spend time actually visiting the places we visited.
We boarded our boat, a 50-foot, four-cabin monohull, late afternoon on Saturday. We checked out the boat, settled in and then went out to dinner. The next morning at 9 a.m. we started on our adventure. It was a false start as it turned out, as my boat had a problem with the engine throttle. Not the best of beginnings, but better to have the problem close to the charter company’s base, where repairs are easily obtained. An hour later we were on our way again.
The first stop on our itinerary was the island of Poros, with its very busy charter yacht waterfront. As we walked the back streets (most too narrow for cars) and climbed up away from the waterfront, we were transported to another world—that of Greek village life. Here we enjoyed a two-hour dinner in a stonewall-enclosed courtyard, under an olive tree.
Our next stop was the island of Spetsei, where the residents have had the good sense to ban automobiles. Scooters and quads are still permitted, however, and my crew rented some to explore the island. That evening we feasted at a waterfront restaurant that featured a five-course meal (with a choice of lamb, chicken or fresh fish for the entrée) plus local wine for 20€, followed by a moonlight walk back to the boat—a fitting end to a good day.
Our next port of call was the town of Navplion, which is on the Greek mainland and easily accessible by car and bus. It is one of the larger towns we visited, definitely trending upscale, but with a beautiful colonial (and traffic-free) town square area, set just back from the waterfront. Our main reason for this stop was to visit the ruins of Mycenae (think Agamemnon and the Trojan War). This mountaintop fortress, with temples and palaces within its massive walls, was built about 1350 BCE and, even in its ruined state, is very impressive. An early morning taxi pickup at the harbor (arranged by my first mate) allowed us to avoid both the heat and crowds of midday. Having studied anthropology, this was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
We then stopped at Plaka, a small harbor on the Peloponnese. Two tavernas on the waterfront, a minimart, two swimming beaches and one small hotel welcomed visitors. We planned to stay two nights—a month would have been better!—but approaching bad weather forced us to leave after one night. Even Margarete, who was not at all shy about corralling business for her taverna, said, “I will feed you tonight, but tomorrow you leave! Bad weather is coming and here will not be safe for your boat!” We took her advice and left to seek shelter from the storm.
Next month, I’ll tell you the rest of the adventure.
