Samos, Greece For weeks we had been promising ourselves that we would no longer try to move north through the Greek islands. The north winds have been brutal and even a terrific boat like Berkeley East could not make the daunting passages comfortable. We’re not sure if it was poor planning, bad judgment, rotten luck, […]
Amorgos, Greece After 10 days in Naxos, we finally left the island in clear skies and moderate wind, heading 18 miles south to Shinoussa. With the breeze at our back, we were happy. The conditions were fantastic. No more moving north we promised ourselves, only south, possibly a little east to get to the Dodecanese. […]
Naxos, Greece We’ve anchored close to ferry docks before, but never as close as in Naxos Town. And the ferries have never been as big, or as frequent, with two or three arriving and departing at one time. Some were high-speed catamarans, others, traditional car ferries ranging in size from 300 to 500 feet, with […]
Mykonos & Delos Greece One day when the wind seemed lighter, we decided it was a good idea to go 20 miles north from Paros to Mykonos. Halfway there, as we saw 1.8 knots on the boat speed gauge, it felt like the wind and waves were actually pushing Berkeley East backward. We thought about […]
Naousa Paros, Greece Our friends Kathy and Carol left Berkeley East in the nick of time. While their final dinghy ride to catch the ferry was a bit wet, they missed the days of gusty winds that followed. A week earlier, they arrived at the marina near Lavrio. “Our taxi driver said it’s been windy […]
Lavrion, Greece On day three of the Meltemi, the winds felt a bit lighter, until the big gusts hit. Boats were moving. They were mostly charter boats loaded with people on a week’s holiday who have the desire to go everywhere, but not necessarily the skills to deal with the conditions of these winds. Our […]
Eastern Peloponnisos, Greece Meltemi winds are the strong, dry north winds of the Aegean Sea, which blow from late June or early July to September, reaching full strength in July and August. They blow strongest in the central Aegean, typically peak in the afternoon and often last for days without a break. The winds are […]
Mykonos, Greece We have been fortunate to spend much of our lives living near beaches. And when we didn’t, we made a point to travel to places with great sun and sand. From California and Florida, to Australia, Mexico, Central America, South America, the South Pacific, Caribbean and now, the last four summers cruising in […]
Athens, Greece While planning our trip to Athens, we read a lot of opinions, much of which were that Athens is just a big, busy, dirty city with only one redeeming feature, the Acropolis. We even met people who said it wasn’t worth a visit. But with our newfound love of Greek ruins, we had […]
Golf of Patras to the Eastern Peloponnisos, Greece We often blog about the exciting things we see and do while cruising. But in between the iconic ruins and thrilling passages are normal, everyday occurrences that take cruising from one long vacation into just a regular, somewhat unusual, life. After a few weeks sailing around the […]
