Temple of Poseidon, Sounion
This past January when Out on the Water Sailing got the call that one of it’s clients would be chartering a 43 foot sailboat for two weeks and was in search of a captain to lead their excursion. Naturally, we were happy to deliver. This July, Capt. Chris flew to Greece for an incredible two weeks of culture, food, sun and sailing!
The trip began in Alimos, a suburb of Athens, where we picked up our 2011 Beneteau 43. After all 6 guests had arrived and provisions were stowed we began our first leg to the ancient ruin of Sounion, where a Parthenon-era temple of Poseidon sat high on the hill above our anchorage overlooking the islands that we would explore over the next two weeks.
Each day we would travel to a new destination, often making two or three stops a long the way at small islands or beaches. Our breakfasts and lunches were often in the cockpit of the boat with the freshest of local ingredients. Dinners were mostly spent in the unique towns. Our general path through the islands was a counter clock-wise fashion with Santorini being the southernmost and Mykonos being the westernmost.
All the islands have their own unique personality and memorable charm like Milos’s widely varied caves and rock formations, Santorini’s volcanic arrangement, or Mykonos’s beaches and gay culture. Most islands have a port and a ‘hora’ or main town center. During their formation, the horas were typically high on hills in order to protect from attacks by pirates or other intruders.
Anchored for lunch at Polyaigos
Lasting impressions of our trip will include the frequent cliff diving with locals, scuba diving in the volcano of Santorini, exploring cave formations and ruins of Milos, partying with the Mykonos crowd, endless fresh salads with the ripest tomatoes, and experiencing the famed Meltemi winds that whisked us through the islands.
If you would like to plan a sailing vacation and need a captain or sailing instructor, please consider Out on the Water Sailing to bring you anywhere in the world!
