Saronic Gulf & Eastern Peloponnisos
We are still in this area and came here for easy winds!!! Well we have encountered a storm but enough of that what a beautiful cruising area this is and we have been further south in the med. than ever before as calm weather was forcast we ventured down to Monemvasia ! and it is beautiful the Greeks are restoring it to its former glory and doing it well.
Is called by some books Little Gibraltar and as we went around the headland there she was but the best was yet to come as we rounded this headland to go into the habour a village / small town came into view a film set Ray called it
When we left our previous port were concerned that it maybe full however this year we are at the moment finding everywhere empty? why who knows? The habour had 1 yacht in and no problem for us parking the boat.
This is the road to the island it never floods with tide unlike those we know in France and England we cycled to the village well not all the way the hill at the end got the better of us so we walked the last bit!!
We spent the day wandering around the cobbled streets and had a simple lunch over looking the sea.
A jug of Rosie and Moussaka and what a view!
I had a broken tooth so moving on to somewhere with a dentist was needed! so forcast for southerly winds Beaufort 5 good for going north to Navplona a large town to find a dentist. The wind had howled over night but there was a good forcast and yachts we leaving and a large Cruise Ship yacht 4 masts was coming in so we left.
Doesn't she look good and she looked even better in full sail but too far away for a photo.
We had half a genoa out and were sailing ok but not fast however under the lee of the island so we waited well 30 mins later we had a good wind and were enjoying the sail and then she (the weather ) turned in to a 45 knots of wind and a large swell!!! We made the sail smaller and still sailing at 10 knots!!! waves breaking over the boat and the only bay/ habour we knew 10 miles away however there was a small habour closer that we had never been to and in the end we diverted to it as ripping sail's is not good.
This is Ieraka the morning after the storm we arrived and thankfully it was empty so we dropped the hook in the middle and waited for the wind to drop and sure enough a few hours latter it was calmer so we re anchoured and tied onto the habour wall therefore not taking up all the space.
Fishing boats were coming in to shelter so it was very windy.
The next day the winds had dropped so we made a run for the north and had alovely sail to Navpolon .
37 deg33'N 22 deg47'E
This Old fortified Village is of Byzantine origin and was once of great importance as a port due to its location near to the southern tip of the Peloponise peninsular and the trade routes through the Agean sea.
By the end of the 19th century and the Greek civil war the community was very poor and impoverished and the the area slowly declined and died. The village was left to deteriorate into ruin.
In recent years a program of renovation has bought this amazing site back to life and is a great credit to the instigators of this wonderful project..
We can strongly recommend a visit to anyone visiting this area.
Ray and Mandy.
We are still in this area and came here for easy winds!!! Well we have encountered a storm but enough of that what a beautiful cruising area this is and we have been further south in the med. than ever before as calm weather was forcast we ventured down to Monemvasia ! and it is beautiful the Greeks are restoring it to its former glory and doing it well.
Is called by some books Little Gibraltar and as we went around the headland there she was but the best was yet to come as we rounded this headland to go into the habour a village / small town came into view a film set Ray called it
When we left our previous port were concerned that it maybe full however this year we are at the moment finding everywhere empty? why who knows? The habour had 1 yacht in and no problem for us parking the boat.
This is the road to the island it never floods with tide unlike those we know in France and England we cycled to the village well not all the way the hill at the end got the better of us so we walked the last bit!!
We spent the day wandering around the cobbled streets and had a simple lunch over looking the sea.
A jug of Rosie and Moussaka and what a view!
I had a broken tooth so moving on to somewhere with a dentist was needed! so forcast for southerly winds Beaufort 5 good for going north to Navplona a large town to find a dentist. The wind had howled over night but there was a good forcast and yachts we leaving and a large Cruise Ship yacht 4 masts was coming in so we left.
Doesn't she look good and she looked even better in full sail but too far away for a photo.
We had half a genoa out and were sailing ok but not fast however under the lee of the island so we waited well 30 mins later we had a good wind and were enjoying the sail and then she (the weather ) turned in to a 45 knots of wind and a large swell!!! We made the sail smaller and still sailing at 10 knots!!! waves breaking over the boat and the only bay/ habour we knew 10 miles away however there was a small habour closer that we had never been to and in the end we diverted to it as ripping sail's is not good.
This is Ieraka the morning after the storm we arrived and thankfully it was empty so we dropped the hook in the middle and waited for the wind to drop and sure enough a few hours latter it was calmer so we re anchoured and tied onto the habour wall therefore not taking up all the space.
Fishing boats were coming in to shelter so it was very windy.
The next day the winds had dropped so we made a run for the north and had alovely sail to Navpolon .
37 deg33'N 22 deg47'E
This Old fortified Village is of Byzantine origin and was once of great importance as a port due to its location near to the southern tip of the Peloponise peninsular and the trade routes through the Agean sea.
By the end of the 19th century and the Greek civil war the community was very poor and impoverished and the the area slowly declined and died. The village was left to deteriorate into ruin.
In recent years a program of renovation has bought this amazing site back to life and is a great credit to the instigators of this wonderful project..
We can strongly recommend a visit to anyone visiting this area.
Ray and Mandy.
