June 14, 2022. Our earliest day yet to get a head start…it was going to be full! It was our longest journey yet and we wanted to do it during the day. With the voice of Phil and Lesley, our travel buddies, coming from a close anchor, we agreed it was time to get moving. Huh…its still dark! With the moon setting and us looking forward to the sun rising, we pulled up the anchor and hulled up the sails, off we went.
Milos has a large bay. Phil and Lesley from Pacifique turned on the motor and got about an hour headstart on us. The was wind so we sailed. In hindsight, that extra hour would have made a big difference later in the day.
To get out and around the point of the bay, we turned the motor on for about an hour. Once around the point the wind was on our beam and we set sail west. There was a small island on our starboard side and just north. As we approached it, we could see a bit of wind blasting around it. We reefed in the sail and got ready. Yep, it was blasting. We sped up and enjoyed the sail. The heavy wind didn’t last too long. Our mistake was not putting full sail up again fast enough to take advantage of the wind while it lasted…because it didn’t last;)
A few hours later the wind died right down. We turned the motor on and plotted along at 3knots. It was calm and comfortable but not without excitement. It wasn’t too long before we had some swimming friends join us. The little kids, India and Nina were once again sooo excited to see Dolphins. The big kids were pretty excited too. It seems no matter how many times you encounter these amazing swimmers, every time is like the first time.
There are always fun things to do when sailing from one place to another. For India, she likes practicing her dolphin calls.
As the sun got lower in the sky, we got closer to our destination the historic Monemvisia on the first finger of Peloponnese.
We got anchored while there was still light in the sky. This is not the most ideal anchorage since it is quite small and drops off quickly, but we were able find a spot in 20m of water. Having lots of chain helps in situations like this. Small snacks and off to sleep.
Monemvisia is one of those places that when deciding to visit was neither here nor there. To go or not to go? Well, when looking at the map, it was not directly in our path, but it was possible. It was Phil and Lesley that helped influence our visit. Imagine if we would have missed this spot. Oh my. It was such a surprise to see this little spot. It was like being dropped in a small Italian village. We all enjoyed it so much.
From anchor to shore to the old town didn’t take long at all. Once we arrive, there is always lots of exploring to do. India and Nina are such little adventurers they walk around and have an interest in many different things. Of course when their little legs got tired, or when Dad got tired from carrying them, we would search out a place for lunch or ice cream.
Of course, a stop is not without a visit to the beach. Being on the water in Greece means you are never far from a beach. This was no different. We gathered our beach bag tossed it in the dingy and made our way to shore for some splashing around.
