Until Next Time

It's always good as you end your week at sea if your charter crew starts asking when the next trip is. This happened this time. It did help to have three solid days of Tourist Weather, and some more nice ports and then some excellent sailing. Nobody is going very far in the meantime- often my crews are from all over- this group is from my home town. And everyone got along.

Back at the base there was the usual cheerful welcome, and we were glad have the arrival run by staff and not us. We are confident in our boat backing ability, but Olympic Marina is tightly packed with boats. We shared a few "where were you in the storm" stories with the other guests.

On the way back to Athens we were impressed how much the entire area looks like California.

In talking with others on our return, we all had the same conclusion - the Cyclades are a great but windy sailing area. And one must have experience with Med Mooring and keeping the boat safe in challenging conditions. The area over toward Athens (such as Hydra, which other guests were raving about) is more protected to the north. Beginners to Greece should consider Vounaki, which has the same great food and people, but is very protected.

So in short, we'll be back. Exactly where and when will depend a little on our system of democracy and after that on where and when

the wind blows.

When it rains, they pour

Back in Athens after turning in the boat, we had a bit of rain and some labor unrest- so the main historic sites were closed. One of our crew decided she needed some mall air to make things right. We hopped on the Athens Metro up to Marousi, (Neratziotissa Station) and saw the some Olympic stadiums and this very hip suburban mall. If you want the full back in the USA look and feel, this ("The Mall") is it. One of our group wandered into a well known USA chain restaurant, but I could not bear it. This place, with a Sci-Fi atmosphere and nice techno music was just right.

Our New Cruise Director

One of our sailing buddies does not charter. He says he has "crew problems." We try not to have those. One staff job I try to have filled is the "Cruise Director" - a person who is friendly, cheerful and has off the scale people skills. Her (usually a she) job is crew morale, shore excusions and helping with the dishes. We try to have excellent food, to read our charts and navigate competently. We have this group decision making process, based largely on Robert's Rules of Order in force. But sometimes, you need to have someone to smooth over the customer service worries and keep everyone focused on having fun.

Amy is on the left.

Our New Favorite Boat

We decided today the new Sunsail 41 is our all time favorite charter boat. We like how light and airy the cabin is below, and the sailing performance is excellent. There is a second comfy seat by the Nav Station, and the extra shower compartment in the aft head keeps the floor dry and you can hang wet towels to dry. (Those retractible clothes lines you see in hotels would be a nice touch). The engine is smooth and powerful (good for dodging ferries) and the rig is just like our boat at home (a Hunter 31) so there is zero training time for our crew. Flat and fast is good sailing behavior for a charter boat. The galley layout is outstanding. We would pick one without air conditioning if we had one at home to conserve storage space. Our only quibbles are some low budget cam cleats (Harken but strangely disfunctional) and the cabin door handles need a drill and some lock-tight compound as they keep falling off. Overall, a 10/10. Oh and we can't forget to mention the sturdy bumper rail on the stern for Med Mooring accidents

and a place to store the life raft out of sight.

Euro Techno- EN PLO- Kea

I secretly wanted to find a Euro Techno place. I sometimes want to feel young and hip and stylish. I was of course in the uniform of the over 50 American male on vacation- shorts (always), polo shirt, fancy camera and running shoes. But for a moment I felt cool.  Plus they had nice coffee and WiFi and I could watch our boat out of the corner of my eye. The picture is of Gianna.

Ordering Fish- the Final Solution

We have strugged to order fish for dinner in Greece. For our crew of six, we tried the "million minnows" approach, then we tried "all the fish you have" (a version of the previous technique, since all the fish were small). Finally, in Korissia, at Mayuyes(?)our waiter Jani from Albania got us fixed up. The key was one really large specimen, what was described as a "yellow fish" on menus. Everybody was happy. We even had leftovers for breakfast.

Hydrotherapy @Loutra

For many years the theraputic benefits of mineral spas have been recognized. In Loutra, there is a well known sulfur spring, and in fact a large spa and treatment center still stands. The residential building seems closed, but the baths are open every day from 0800-1600. If you had a few million Euros it might be fun to remodel the place. We always lose we

ight on the Greek diet so a combination of that and the mineral water might be a winner.