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Year: 2022

Leisurely sailing year 2022

Leisurely sailing year 2022

June 2022 marked the beginning of the fifth year of our sailing adventure. The past year will go in the books as a somewhat lazy year, sailing-wise. Our boat Aina spent her fourth winter afloat in Crete, in the marina of Agios Nikolaos. One of our crew kept her company during the stormy Cretan winter, while the other worked in cold and snowy Finland. News of war, disease and inflation depressed everyone’s mood. For balance, we enjoyed the summer in the warm Ionian, detached and stress-free. As long-term travellers, we sometimes get tired or even bored of travelling – as funny or downright criminal as that may sound. But cruising is a lifestyle just like any other. It’s life, and it comprises different phases. Continue reading

Bits and Pieces of Summer 2022

Bits and Pieces of Summer 2022

Our sailboat photographed from above while climbing the mast

Summer 2022 was filled with boat projects and leisurely day sails. We even spent several weeks just floating at anchor. Most mornings we felt like unfurling the sails and travelling into the next bay. Then, the day’s heat descended upon us and it was much more tempting to stay put in the shadow of the cockpit tent. We’re here to enjoy the cruising life, not to execute plans or cross things off a bucket list. It’s okay to stop whenever we want to, and it’s okay to go on indefinitely. Continue reading

Cretan Spring and New Sailing Season

Cretan Spring and New Sailing Season

Grey stone windmills on a rugged mountain.

Winter 2021-2022 was unusually cold and stormy in Crete. Our boat Aina seemed to think it was the most uncomfortable winter along our journey so far, with frequent rain showers, hail storms and constant swell. The writer of this story, Inka, spent the winter back in the snowy homeland while the boat and the rest of the crew stayed in the marina at Agios Nikolaos. Continue reading

Spinalonga Island – A One Way Ticket

Spinalonga Island – A One Way Ticket

Venetian bastion with the Kalydon peninsula in the background

I was a teenager when I first visited Crete. It was my first and only holiday trip “south”. Besides the beautiful beaches and too salty but wonderfully warm water, I’ve never forgotten my visit to an island of lepers. Decades later, we had arrived in the same place on our own keel, sailed past the famous island, Spinalonga, and anchored in the sheltered bay behind it. It was time to hop in the dinghy and visit the island fortress again. Continue reading

Escaping winter to Crete – Spinalonga and Elounda

Escaping winter to Crete – Spinalonga and Elounda

Elounda fishing harbour is full of colourful boats.

Aina sailed peacefully, following her favourite compass heading, 180°. We saw Mykonos behind us, and soon also Naxos and Paros, as we continued further south. It was the last day of October, and the sun would set early. There would be no moon to guide us on this night passage. The cloudy sky soon turned pitch black. But the wind wasn’t bad, the sea not too bumpy, so we both slept well in turns. As I climbed into the cockpit for my shift around midnight, I saw the beautiful glittering lights of Santorini on our starboard side. Perhaps we would sail there one day, but not tonight – our destination was Crete. Continue reading

Mykonos with Wintry Winds

Mykonos with Wintry Winds

We had been dodging strong northerly winds for a week in Naxos during the second half of October. During a short calm break, we paid a brief visit to the island of Delos before having to hunker down for the next windy spell. There appeared to be some sheltered bays on the south side of Mykonos, so we headed there. Mykonos is one of the most touristy islands in the Cyclades, but perhaps this late in the season it might not be quite so crowded. Continue reading

Delos – the Sacred Island of Apollo

Delos – the Sacred Island of Apollo

Sometimes I think about what it would be like to be Greek. To have been born on a random island or a section of the coastline, where ancient bronze statues wash up on the shore on a regular day. Every hill around your home village would be an alleged birthplace of some son or daughter of Zeus’ seventh wife. The olive tree in your backyard would have been there when Aristotle was a little boy. Your grandfather would have grazed his sheep on a field where the Greeks once fought the Persians. Continue reading