Rounding the Peloponnesus peninsula through the night, dawn broke with the sun rising over the Aegean Sea ahead of us and the easternmost of the Ionian Islands astern. Kythira is an Ionian Island like Ithaca and Corfu, but it marks the boundary of the two seas and remains the busy shipping channel that it was in ancient times. To our port side was the very rugged Peloponnesus limestone, dramatically catching the sunrise light on its eastern faces.
Our plan was to try to find a leeward shelter from the strong westerly winds and following seas so that we could have a light sail for our final day aboard Sea Cloud. But Aeolus, the god of the winds, had other ideas and a freshening breeze wrapped around and up into the Aegean. Captain Komakin called the crew to sail stations to set the lower and upper topsails and the topgallants, but any of the higher square sails would cause the ship to heel over and threaten to carry away the upper sails. We set the inner jib to reduce the lateral drift and keep the bow trim. Seven, eight, nine knots we were sailing, and we were supposed to be trying for a light sail today! We fell off the wind a bit to northeast, and settled into an excellent sail on a broad reach at about 6 knots through the morning.
It was beautiful. We’d had many busy mornings on this active and interesting itinerary down the Dalmatian Coast and through the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, so we all relished the time to relax on deck and take in the glory of Sea Cloud under sails. The Aegean waters were blue as a jewel, and the sun shone golden and gentle. Our Greek cultural specialists Stella Galani and Eleni Premeti gave a broadstroke overview of the history of Greece, covering four millennia in forty minutes, and we started reading and preparing for our big visit to Athens and the acropolis tomorrow. Lunch was highlighted with Sea Cloud’s signature Parmesan pasta wheel, which left us all in need of an early afternoon nap in the blue lagoon or in the shade of the leeward deckchairs.
The following winds persisted, though we were trying to outrun them to the north. Stella and Eleni held an informal question and answer session on “All Things Greek,” and then we heard the call for the crew to go to sail stations again. The winds had diminished enough to set the royals, or the upper square sails, as well as the courses and staysails on the foremast, main mast, and mizzen mast. The afternoon light softened, making for the best sailing photography of the voyage. And then suddenly—without explanation—the wind changed. We all looked up at the sails in befuddlement, with the staysails filled, the courses backed, and the upper squares luffing. Captain Komakin let the staysails bring her around and the squares filled again, and we slowly regained a semblance of headway. The wind is funny that way, and we were barely moving when the crew went aloft to put in a harbor furl for the final evening of the voyage.
After the farewell dinner this evening, we all joined our photographic instructor Alberto Montaudon on the lido deck to view a slideshow compiled of photos taken by our shipmates during the voyage. It was amazing how many great experiences we’d had and already forgotten about in the rich variety of places we’d visited and explored. Few of us had expected that the Dalmatian Coast and Balkan Peninsula would be so rich and colorful, with such an unforgettably dramatic landscape!
