Enso sail

Bree and Simon joined Jon and Dana on Enso for two weeks. Flying into Athens followed by a late ferry to Milos. Arriving at 01:00 the bars were still in full swing. Ready for all the tourists getting off the ferry.

After a day exploring the hilltop town of Plaka and some grocery shopping we continued towards Athens where we would pick up Jacob who will help sail Enso to Sicily.

We anchored at Serifos island, Poros, and Agia; the site of Temple Aphaia which was a hot hike up the hill one morning. To some nice ruins with a good view over the sea.

From Agia we crossed the Saronic gulf to where we stayed in a marina for a few nights to see the best bits of Athens.

Another hot morning hike brought us up to the impressive but busy Acropolis of Athens. Beautifully situated on top of a hill with expansive views all around. The restoration work is ongoing, despite the crowds it is well worth the hike.

After a nice Greek lunch we visited the National Archaeological Museum. Large rooms full of statues and stone heads. The Greek history is spread across such a long time frame, it is hard to follow at times!

The next morning Jacob arrives to be John’s new crew member. After a coffee we headed west to anchor just before the entrance to the Corinth Canal.

The Corinth Canal is a canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese peninsula from the Greek mainland. The canal was dug through the Isthmus at sea level and has no locks. It is 6.4 kilometres in length and at 24.6 metres wide

Jacob takes over the blog from here!

We sailed through the Corinth Canal in the morning. Lining up with a few other sailing boats. The Channel is organised as one way traffic. So that you will never meet another vessel head on inside the channel.

For the next six hours we sailed to a small town called Galaxidi through the gulf of Corinth – which looks like a deep fjord. But apparently it is not. it’s a geological rift. as the Peloponnese peninsula pulls apart from mainland Greece by the earth crust’s movement, inch by inch every year the gulf widens.

I took My first turn at the helm. We all do one hour watches at Enso, changing at the top of the hour. I get my debrief on how to use the AIS, the navigation software Navionics, turning the auto pilot on and off, and the other instruments and am ready for duty.

I asked Jon for his fishing gear and cast off trying our luck, but none this time. At least yet!

We pulled into Galaxidi harbor mid afternoon. Dropped anchor and a few of us went for a swim in the beautiful warm water. About an hour later we took the dinghy to the town dock as the sun was not as brutal any longer.

We walked around the quaint town, which reminds me of Bozcaada in Turkey. We used to go there when I was in college with my scuba diving buddies from BUSAS, our fun scuba club.

We had a delicious seafood dinner, family style, at one of the seafood restaurants on the water. Then we headed back to Enso for tea. Just as I was enjoying my cup of tea in the bow under a full moon watching the beautiful lights of the church rising above the harbor, an amazing surprise topped off the scene: I could hear live opera coming from the harbor. Two opera singers and a piano were performing La Traviata. You Can’t make this up ! So I pulled up a bean bag on the bow of Enso and enjoyed a classical live concert in a harbor from antiquity.

-Jacob