Ghost harbor on the brink of dissolution?
36° 55’ 08.0000’’ N, 21° 41’ 95.0000’’ E We’ve heard in advance that Pilos Marina on the Peloponnese is a ghost harbor without supervision, on the verge of chaos and dissolution. “Don’t sail in there,” several sailors write on the digital bulletin board, Navily. Therefore, we are highly curious as we sail into the marina, […]
Oops, where is my anchor??
37° 01′ 42.0000” N, 22° 6′ 33.0000” E The skipper’s wife got a surprise when she tried to hoist up Ronja’s anchor the other day. Up came the chain. But no anchor. Darn it. Decades apparently wore down a connecting link between the anchor and the chain, and since the anchor was stuck behind a […]
Stowaway on Ronja
36° 8’ 35’’ N, 22° 59’ 55’’ E Stowaway on Ronja We haven’t encountered boat refugees yet. But a bedraggled little sparrow landed on Ronja’s deck today during a rain shower. The sparrow was drenched by rain and saltwater. It huddled, tried to get accustomed to a boat’s movements in high seas, and called – […]
Rat war all night! No thanks.
35° 23’ 3000’’ N, 25° 02’ 5200’’ E Sailors often seek advice from each other online. As we consider spending a night in a bay on the island of Dhia, north of the main city of Crete, Heraklion, we come across this warning from a British sailor: “The anchorage is beautiful, and the water is […]
Morning Coffee and Backgammon
35° 11’ 25.0800” N 25° 42’ 55.0700’’ E Once, Agios Nikolaos was a small fishing village on Crete. Today, like many other fishing villages, it has been discovered by thousands of tourists, including a large number of cruise ship tourists. Nevertheless, the town has retained its charm. The locals still play a significant role in […]
We hoist the Greek flag
36° 26′ 07.0000” N 28° 14′ 52.0000” E We are “home” in the EU The Turkish guest flag has been replaced with the Greek guest flag. We are back after a year in Turkey. It feels good. First impressions are that the Greeks speak better English, are in higher spirits, and have a more relaxed […]
Caught in a sudden storm.
36° 49’ 98.00’’ N, 30° 36’ 37.00” E It starts with lightning, and then another. Then the wind arrives, howling, almost insane, whipping the sea into foam and creating high – disturbingly high – waves. Then comes the rain, but mostly, we are preoccupied with the storm, tearing at the rigging and abruptly stopping Ronja’s […]
Broken leg and “Turkish Delight”
36° 39′ 29.7936” N 28° 51′ 10.5264” E Sarsala Bay May 27, 2022 And there I sit, writing to children and grandchildren that I have fallen from a mountain, but that nothing serious has happened. I even include a photo in which I stare, moved but grasped, at my left ankle, which is wrapped in […]
Way too many Russians
36° 44′ 55.0304” N 28° 55′ 33.59” E Göcek The first thing we see as we look up at the morning sky is the Russian flag waving from the neighboring ship at our little Turkish jetty. Four Russian men in their 40s had the night before had the Russian flag hoisted to the top in […]