Captain’s Log

We spent our final day together as a crew exploring Athens. Panagiotis, an old friend from my last time in Greece, spent the first part of the day with us taking us through the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum. The Parthenon was quite impressive, as were all of the details he shared with us about life in Greece in the 5th century B.C.. We walked through the windy, narrow streets - making our way to Syntagma Square and then to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to witness a remarkable changing of the guard ceremony. Back on board we took showers, finished packing and then headed out to dinner for a last bite of authentic Greek food.  The crew has all come to enjoy this food, and everyone had some version of gyros (the pitas always have fries rolled into them), tzatziki, pita, saganaki, and a Greek salad (tomato, peppers, onions, olives, and a slab of feta on top, but no lettuce). A post-dinner walk and some gelato landed us back on board for closing activities. Hard to believe by this time tomorrow the crew will be enroute to school. 

With the hope of getting a jump start on the day, we woke up pre-dawn and hauled back the anchor. It was a quick trip into Zea Marina, where we had to back into a very tight space to stern-tie between two other boats. The next order of business was field day - a deep cleaning of Geronimo. Three and a half hours later, we wrapped up with a very clean boat.  Much-welcomed showers followed, then we drove out to Sounion to see the temple of Poseidon and offer thanks for 1700 n.m. of safe passage across the Mediterranean. Back on board we made a dinner that is hard to describe, but involved grilled pita with cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers; quesadillas, sausage, a salad and even a spanakopita. We are presently in the middle of hide-and-seek. Two teams (boys vs. girls), one team hides and the other seeks. Team that can hide the longest wins. The boys took 12 minutes and 36 seconds to find the girls. The girls just stepped on the boat and are 37 seconds into their search. It's going to be close. 

Tomorrow our plan is to visit Athens - see the Acropolis and other sights, and then go out to dinner and have closing activities. 

We med-moored in Agkistri in a beautiful steep-sided cove on the southeast side of the island. Swim call was the first order of business, followed by a review for the marine science exam. Nicole made fried rice with broccoli and chicken for dinner, followed by a cookie and brownie dessert courtesy of Lily and Aria. Can't remember what was on top, but I think it was brownie. Either way, they were good. This morning we started the day with Lily's crepes, along with bacon and fruit. After dishes, we went right into the marine science final exam - everyone did pretty well. Before we departed we went for a final swim in the deep blue water and even saw an octopus. Dylan was JWO sailing us off the anchor, and did a great job. The breeze backed off and by lunch we were barely drifting. After handing over the watch to Chappy, the wind filled in from the northeast and we had a lively sail tacking up to Pireaus. Not long after sunset, we sailed up to the anchorage, struck sail and let go the anchor. Dinner included chicken, rice, beans, burrito fixings and an apple crisp, and a view of the Parthenon, lit up off the starboard bow. Our plan is to head into the marina tomorrow morning and commence a deep clean of the fine vessel that has afforded us this unique opportunity. 

Hydra proved to be one of the crew's favorite stops. For me, it's the endless paths and staircases that wind through the settlements and eventually end up on a ridge overlooking the town. After a hike up to a monastery for some great views, everyone returned to town and had lunch, then we went for a swim in the deep blue Mediterranean. We then grabbed a soccer ball and football and made our way to the town's turf field for exercise. Lily, Oliver, Bryce and I faced-off against Aria, Chappy, Nicole in Dylan to a game of football (American). Back on board we had dinner chicken, rice, quinoa, salad and even our waffle overflow from the morning. After dinner we went ashore for some gelato and phone time.

At 0700 the bell tower echoed through the circular, steep harbor and seemed to focus on our boat. Lily and Aria got up early for a morning stroll through town, while Oliver, Mr. Brown and I went for a run up into the mountains for sunrise. Everyone else pushed through the ringing bells and went back to sleep. Our run up into the mountains was interesting.  It's not every day you see a donkey carrying a refrigerator up a steep path.  Bryce got us underway from Hydra and navigated us through several tight passages. We dispatched our inflatable while passing through Poros to pick up some gyros for lunch. Oliver took the next watch and we had a very pleasant sail out of Poros and north past Methana, before the wind gave up on us. We are presently steaming to an anchorage on Agkistri. Hard to believe tomorrow will be our last full day of sailing.