Fram's Voyages
9 September 2026 Gantry Bay - Ermioni harbour N 37 23.133 E23 15.189 Distance Traveled - 1 NM Time Traveled - 20 min Weather - Sunny 29C Wind N 2m/s The wind was going over to south today so we needed to move. We got going right after breakfast after watching about 12 boats leave the Ermioni harbour. We knew we’d find a place. Ermioni is a popular place. The village is super cute and built on a steep but small hill. There’s a lovely wooded park that goes out to the point and on the other side, south side, there’s another small town quay and a lot of cute restaurants. We found a good spot in 5m depth and sand. There were only 2 other boats anchored. But by late afternoon we were 12 boats. And the quay/ marina was full. In late afternoon a swell came in, so strange. There wasn’t much wind to speak up but the waves came in and we rocked back and forth. Ugh. Around 18.30 we took the dinghy in to have a beer at a café and basically just get off our rocking ship. The wind died completely when we went back but FRAM was still rocking back and forth. It’s OK in the cockpit but down in the galley where I was making dinner, it was hugely annoying. Everything sliding around and me as well. Thankfully, by bedtime around 22.00 it started calming down and our night was still. Usually, this is a great spot but there is a lot of construction going on right now; Dan looked it up and told me that they are building a huge marina with hotel, shopping complex to be ready in 2027. No bloody likely judging by the state it’s in now. The marina itself is still not finioshed, they are putting down foundations for the perimeter, no construction has started on land yet eiither. I think it’s fine, this place is so cute, it will be a shame to see it exploited.
8 September 2026 Portoheli - Gantry Bay Distance Traveled - 14 NM Time Traveled - 4 hours Weather - Sunny of course, 30C, Wind W 2-4m/s then N 7-9m/s Dan went for a run this morning and stopped by the café. He took a photo of all the people thee and sent it to me “is he here?” I scanned the photo and there was Vangelis sitting in the same place. I sent it back to Dan and said this was the one. He stopped by Vangelis’ table and introduced himself and thanked him for taking such good care of his wife yesterday. Vangelis lit up with recognition and said that he and I had a secret agreement. Dan raised his eyebrows and then Vangelis said “1 of 8” Then Dan knew what he meant and laughed. Once he was back on board we got ready to leave. We drove past a huge two-masted sailboat that must be at least 100 feet long. Sleek and gorgeous. When we came out of the cove we rolled out the genoa and sailed very leisurely in a southerly direction. Once we cleared Spetses and turned eastwards the wind died for about an hour so we motored. When it came up again it was right on our nose so we motored the rest of the way to this bay that is protected from northerly winds. We had an uneventful day in this quiet place. A road goes by but not so much traffic. We anchored in 7 m in sand.
7 September 2026 Portoheli North - Portoheli town N37 19.430 E23 09.163 Distance Traveled - 4.5 NM Time Traveled - 1 hr Weather - Sunny(what else?) Wind None Get yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and make yourself comfortable because I have a story to tell. But first; We stayed up late last night watching clips from the Golden Globe Race start. It’s solo nonstop, round the world sailboat race using the old-fashioned method which is no engine, no GPS only paper charts, no AIS, no starlink or other communication by internet and the boat can be no longer than 36 feet and has to be built before 1988. There are 16 competitors, one of which is Swedish. It’s an imitation of the original Golden Globe race in 1968-1969. We have just recently re-read Voyage for Madmen which is an account of the first ever solo nonstop round the world race. So exciting! If you haven’t read it, go out and get it! So, we came back to Portoheli, we like it, it’s got good all-round protection and a good supermarket. There were, as usual, lots of boats here but there’s always room for more. We went to our usual spot furthest in and close to shore for rowing Varga. There was plenty of space but a German in a boat nearby came out of his cockpit and said we were too close. We didn’t agree, but one doesn’t want to have unpleasantness around one, so we moved. The first drop was no good as anchor skidded on stones so Dan lifted it and we moved a bit further away from shore and dropped again and it was fine. I had to go in to town to pick up special food for Varga’s liver condition. I ordered it a week ago and now had to get a taxi to take me there as it was 6 km away. Dan didn’t want to leave the boat so I rowed in, put the dinghy on the little beach and went on my own. It was another gorgeous sunny day in Greece and temperatures were already rising to the 32C it would be by early afternoon. Portoheli is perfectly round and lined with lovely pine trees. Varga and I go from shaded area to shaded area trying to keep out of the sun. We walked in to the center of the town, which is also where the marina is located, and looked around but saw no taxis, so I went into a café and asked where the taxi station is. They gave me instructions to follow the road a bit further on and there I would find it. 2 croissants wound up in my canvas bag for later. Well, I found it all right but there were no taxis there. There was, however, an elderly gentlemen just getting out of his car which was parked in the taxi stand. His car wasn’t marked ‘taxi’ and was an old faded black small car, but what do I know, maybe that’s a taxi around here. So I walked up to him asking if he was a taxi. He said no but if I waited here it would come. So I sat down on a bench and waited. The gentleman sat right behind me in the café and we started chatting. He had a very kind face, white hair that stood straight up, a big man. His voice was smooth and gently and his English was pretty good; certainly better than my Greek which is non-existent beyond Yassas and aforisto (see, I can’t even spell them). I kept looking up and down the road for the taxi, he saw this and said “You must be patient, it will come” I laughed and said patience was not one of my virtues. “when do you think it will come” I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “soon, they have driven tourists to Athens early this morning” “Athens! I said throwing my head back in defeatism. This time he laughed. His Freddo Espresso came and he chatted a bit with some men who were sitting at the next table. One of the many cats around here came by and gave Varga dirty looks. I pulled her closer to me and gave the cat a dirty look and it walked on. After a few minutes the man looked at his watch and said he would drive me but he had to be at the church in an hour for the funeral of a relative. I pondered this and then said “It’s just a short way to the vet” He perked up and said “Giorgos the vet?” “Yes! Giorgos the vet in Kranidi” I said, “just a few km away!” “We could drive there, I run in pay for it and run back to car and we could be back here in 20 minutes tops! I will gladly pay you for your trouble” He waved that comment away and asked me if I have a driver’s license. I said yes and he passed me his car keys and said “G0!” I said “I can’t drive your car! I don’t even know the way” So he hesitated, looked at his Freddo Espresso, took a sip and then said “we go”. I was so happy! He opened the door for me to get in and then fiddled with the lock mechanism and shut the door. I have to admit I had a brief nightmare scenario pop up in my head that he was kidnapping me, but dismissed it immediately, he was really a very kind man and a retired ship’s captain to boot. We drove off very slowly because this car is also very old and apparently doesn’t seem to have much energy. But once it got going, I certainly wasn’t one to complain. We chatted in the car as we drove north towards the hilltop town of Kranidi, over his blaring radio, and he told me about his captaining and how he speaks 6 languages including Swedish. He proved it by saying “Skål and Jag älskar dig”. I chuckled, sounds like an American’s definition of “I speak languages” and you find they only know 2 or 3 words; like my Greek. The vet’s clinic was just outside Kranidi which is the seat of the county. I couldn’t open the car door myself so he had to struggle out of his seat, go round and open the door. “Faulty spring” he said. That explained that. I ran in and was out in about 5 minutes; there was a lady there getting stamps in her dog’s passport for travel to Spain. She had so many questions! I looked nervously out the window at the Caption. After about 3 minutes, I interrupted them and said I had a car waiting for me and could I please just pay for my dogwood and go? The assistant was very kind and processed me quickly. Out I ran, got into the car, he came round and shut the door on me and off we went back to Portoheli. On the way, he asked me where I came from. I told him Sweden. No self-respecting American admits to being American outside the US right now, and I actually am a Swedish citizen. He told me that he watched the series Vikings and said how brutal they were, I agreed but said that Swedish vikings were more tradespeople; the Danish and Norwegian Vikings however, were brutal. He laughed and asked me if I knew that the first viking ship in Scandinavia was built by a Greek. I had no idea, “no kidding?” “Yes, it’s true, people don’t know that Greeks travelled all over the world. In Scotland, you know Scotland?” “Yes, my husband’s mother’s family came from Scotland”. “Well, then you are familiar with the family names that begin with Mac? Mac stands for Macedonia, so all those people were originally Greek” Well, to say I was blown away would be an understatement. By now I believed every word he said. We were interrupted by Dan who called on my phone. He was following me on Life360 and wondered how I was doing. As I was telling Dan how I was, my friend said loudly “who is it darling?” He hooted with laughter at himself. I told Dan all was well and we were on our way back to Portoheli. Of course he thought I was in a taxi…. As we rolled in to the same parking spot, I said “Now that we’ve traveled in a car together, many I ask your name?” He laughed again and told me a story about himself; when he was younger he had a way with women. He would meet them, chat with them, and then make love to them. Afterwards, he would ask her, “I’m sorry, what is your name?” He chuckled again and said “Now you do the same to me!” His name is Vangelis. I introduced myself and we shook hands. He invited me to a coffee when we got back so I sat down at his table and had a Freddo Espresso. I thought I should buy his coffee and mine since he was so kind to drive me to the vet and back but he wouldn’t have it. He just waved my idea away. He said life is meant to be lived and a person has to have patience and accept the world around him. If someone is really difficult, one should go up to them and quietly say “Fuck off”. He shrugged his shoulders like a Greek. He said the world has treated Greece and Greeks very badly. They assumed that since Greeks were so kind and accepting of strangers that they were idiots to take advantage of. He said sitting and talking to me made him appreciate life. I asked him if he was from Portoheli and he said his family has lived here since before it was a town. He is related to pretty much everyone in Portoheli and Kranidi. As we chatted and sipped our coffee, Greeks were walking by dressed up and carrying flowers to the church for the funeral. He had a word to say to each and every one of them. “This one is my cousin on my mother’s side, that one is my brother-in-law, she is my father’s 2nd cousin. My parents were second cousins. And on it went. He said if he includes 2nd and 3rd cousins his family numbers about 2500. I was amazed. I told him I had 8 sisters and he immediately asked if any of them were single. I said one was and he gave me his phone number, took my phone number down and asked me to tell her about him:) I said I would but that she would probably not want to leave her home in Cape Cod. I commented on the large number of people going to the church for the funeral. He said “Everyone goes and by 12.00 when the church bells ring there will be nothing but tourists in the town. All Greeks will be at the funeral. That’s how it’s done. Everyone wants to say Goodbye and trusts that when they die, everyone will come to the church to say goodbye. I thought that was a wonderful concept. Greeks really are kind. After a delightful hour he had to get to the church and I had to get moving back to the boat. We shook hands and I thanked him again for his kind help. I told him this had been a wonderful morning for me that I would remember. “I hope your husband will not be angry with me!” I looked up his name later and found that it means “bringer of good news”. When I got back to the boat and told Dan about my morning he said he wanted to meet this Vangelis. So we went in to town for dinner and looked for him at the café but he wasn’t there. We went to a restaurant called Alexandra.It was an upscale place that I read about on internet. It turned out to be a fantastic place, much better than the reviews. They made a Greek salad with whipped feta balls rolled in crushed seeds and herbs, then I think, quickly deep fried and served warm on top of the normal greek salad that had a different dressing, there was something herbal about it that I couldn’t quite identify. Those feta balls were delish though. Dan had pork tenderloin in mustard sauce over risotto and I had a fish called milliskopi. It was a filet with quinoa and spinach on the side. Really really good. The place is run by a family. Even the little 9 year old daughter serves and clears in her roller blades skating silently and efficiently between the tables. The older daughter and the Father take orders and the youngest kid does the cash register including credit cards. I assume the mother was the chef. It was a lovely place and a lovely evening.
6 September 2025 Kalida - Portoheli N N 37 20.091 E23 09.190 Distance Traveled - 10 NM Time Traveled - 2 hrs Weather - Sunny 31C, Wind S/N 0-3 m/s We had a nervous moment this morning when Dan started bringing up the anchor. It was stuck on something solid. Oh No and silent scream. Dan yanked on the chain a few times but it didn’t budge. The water was very murky as bottom is mud, so impossible to see what thee anchor was caught on. Dan told me to slowly moved the boat forward, stop, wait, moved it forward again, waited and suddenly it gave and Dan was able to pull it up. What a relief. I was sitting at the wheel googling for divers to come and get us clear. Very happy that wasn’t necessary! We motored out of the bay which is extremely protected from most winds. We had had very high winds during the weekend but no waves came in which was nice. It was a nice place, very sleepy but nice cafés and tavernas. We usually go out for a beer when the sun sets (k19.45). The last hours of the afternoon feel like the longest hours of the day. By then we’re tired of the blaring sun and long for shade. Dan runs around the boat putting up beach towels and a sun-sail but because we are at anchor, the boat is constantly moving around so the towels and sun-sail have to be moved back and forth all the time. In the mornings after breakfast we tidy the boat, I go to the supermarket or green grocer and walk Varga. By 13.00 we are done with errands and tasks and settle in the cockpit to read our books. I’ve been reading a book about the Knights Templar, by Dan Jones which is super interesting and takes place in Europe and the Middle East. The Med figures very largely in the book. Dan is reading Lords of the Desert by James Barr. It’s about how the Middle East was carved out. When I finish my book I will move on to something much lighter, like Wedding People by Alison Espach. Dan likes to have masses of boat cushions all around him when he is in the cockpit. I like maybe one, often none at all. I have enough fat on my butt to use as a permanent follow-around cushion. On Saturday evening, Dan had a very nice long chat with an old friend from Finspång, Thomas Johansson. They caught up on each other’s news and news of common friends for about an hour. Thomas and Dan were in the same men’s club, Round Table when we lived in Finspång and the girls were small. I belonged to Ladies Circle which was basically wives of Round Tablers though I was invited in on my own merits and Dan followed. It’s so nice to have these connections. It took us less than 2 hours to get to today’s anchorage; Portoheli N. It’s a seclude beach north of Portoheli with clear water that we could swear is a few degrees colder than Kalida. It was lovely. Once anchored, we got out the SUP and I took Varga for a ride. We paddled close to shore and looked at all the rocks and fish. Varga hopped off when we got close to a beach and went swimming. She loves to get in the water and swim around for a few minutes. Does her a world of good. There was only one other boat there and they left at sunset. There were no tavernas or cafés here, just a few very pretty houses that were empty. There was a very light breeze through the night that gave us a velvety cool touch through our wind sock.
3 September 2026 Portoheli - Kolida anchorage N37 25.668 E23 07.905 Distance Traveled - 14.7 NM Time Traveled - 2.5 hrs Weather - Hazy 39C NW 1-4 m/s We sailed with both sails up for a change but not for long, the wind died and we motored the rest of the way. This is another very sheltered bay. There were a lot of boats so we chose a secluded cove just outside this bay. It had a long beach which seemed good for Varga but she was not interested in walking at all. We had been on a long walk this morning before leaving Portoheli and she was tuckered out. There was another convection cloud forming again and the wind started picking up just as I was rowing her in to shore. It was a long way as shallow water prevented us from getting too close. I watched the cloud apprehensively the whole time I was on the beach and I didn’t mind at all that Varga just peed and ran back to the dinghy and jumped in. That was that. We rowed back out to the boat without mishap. The wind continued for a while and then the whole cloud dispersed just like the other day. It was gray though as cloud covered whole western sky blocking out the sun. That was the best part about this convection cloud! Precious shade! It’s so bloody sunny here all the time and we are always out in it. Even though we have a bimini, the sun reflects off the water and shoots in under the bimini. We are always in the wind. When we can get shade from an odd cloud we are overjoyed. 4 September N37 24.950 E23 07.763 We moved into the more protected Kolida bay and found a spot in 3 meter depth and mud. Not too far to row to the waterfront. Strong northerly winds are coming this afternoon so we wanted more protection than what we had. There is a huge cave here in the mountain side. It has an entrance and an exit and is lit up at night. Varga and I went to the supermarket to get tahini and sardines and marinated anchovies. I have a total knee replacement coming up in November and have to start loading up on iron and protein now so I will have a better recovery experience. I made sardine salad on crisp bread for lunch with lots of lemon and green peppers. It was delish. In the evening we all went in for a walk and a beer at the local taverna.
1 September 2026 Anargyron - Portoheli N37 19.491 E23 09.124 Distance Traveled - 7NM Time Traveled - 1 hr 30 min Weather - Sunny but hazy, 28C Wind N3-4 m/s We sailed out on the genoa and had a lovely lazy trip to Portoheli. Portoheli looks like a key hole from the air. You follow a channel into a big round area, looks kind of like a lake. It’s a hurricane hole in that it provides protection from all directions. It’s relatively shallow; 3-6 m depth and always has a lot of boats but there is always room for many more. We anchored in the place we’ve anchored before, our goal is to be as close to land making rowing in and out easier. We are always next to an abandoned sailboat. When we first anchored here 2 years ago, it still had sails on and a boom. This time the boom was gone and the mainsail was hanging over the side. The fixtures like navigational lights are long gone and it’s not even closed anymore. It think it has been thoroughly cannibalised. Now it’s just waiting to sink. We went straight in to the supermarket which us a 700m walk with our shopping trolleys,. We had no food left in our lockers and drank our last bottle of water this morning. So it was a big provisioning trip. We couldn’t get everything on the list, just the most important and would go back again later. Varga needs her Hepatic food for her liver so spent the better part of the morning calling around trying to get ahold of somewhere that had it and someone who spoke enough English to understand what I was asking for. It was quiite a challenge but in the end I found a vet office about 6 km away that had just ordered it and would get it at the end of the week. AI Claude helped me with food that is liver friendly that I could make to tie her over until we can pick up the hepatic food. White chicken meat, rice and sweet potatoes. This is a very good anchorage and has a good town with lots of shops and things one needs. Tavernas also and we found a great café that makes good smoothies. It’s right next to the AB supermarket. Dinner was a rotisserie chicken, with cut tomatoes cucumbers and onions and a hot pinse bread from the oven.
31 August 2026 Old Monemvasia - Anargyron anchorage on island of Spetses N37 15.189 E23 06.873 Distance Traveled - 35NM Time Traveled - 7 hrs 15 min Weather - Sunny in the morning, strange clouds over the mountains to the west which developed into a vertical convection phenomenon. 27C, Winds NE 0-2 m/s There was a NE wind blowing when we left our anchorage. We will never remember that place! When we got out into open water, the wind died completely and it was flat calm almost the whole way. We saw some dolphins but they were far away chasing some kind of fish that was jumping around. The strangest cloud formation grabbed my attention in the afternoon around 16.00. It was very diffuse cloud cover with a darker gray/blue section in the middle. And it was spreading out over the bay from the western mountains. It actually looked like rain but there was no rain forecast. I took a photo and consulted my AI Claude from Anthropologia. He came back and said it’s a rain shaft from a convective cloud. It can be quite dangerous when preceded by a squall of very strong wind before the downpour of rain hits. Apparently it’s very typical for the area. We kept a close eye on it and watched as it slowly moved north and dissipated before ever reaching us. Whew. Looked very threatening. We came into this cove where 5 other boats were anchored. We anchored in sand of about 5 m. Once we were settled I took Varga in for a pee-pee run and saw that the bar was open so rowed back to boat and picked up Dan. We sat under the pine trees looking out over the beach of pebbles and our boat in the sunset drinking beer. Lovely
30 August 2026 Fragkou - Old Monemvasia N36 43.975 E23 02.293 Distance Traveled - 32.6NM Time Traveled - 6 hours Weather - Sunny 30C, Wind NE 0-3m/s Barely enough wind to sail on so we mostly motored. At times we put out the genoa and it was really nice; quiet and peaceful. We passed dramatic mountainsides with tiny little monasteries perched in the middle of the cliff. We wondered how they got to and from the monastery. One place had goat path down to the water’s edge where a little fishing boat was nestled into a crag in the rock. Amazing. As we came around the corner of Cape Melea there was a lovely lighthouse perched on the rocks just 20 meters or so above sea level. Made of light brick with light blue trim. Cape Malea is infamous for its rough weather with currents and winds countering each other and causing choppy seas that can break up a boat. Today is was benign for which we were very happy. We passed by the Monemvasia rock and continued northwards to a bay with a hotel and some small B/Bs. We had to drop our anchor twice as first time felt too rocky. A lot of Greek anchorages have flat slab rock formations that are either on the surface where you can see them in clear water or under a few cm of sand making it very difficult. You can only tell you’ve hit a rock slab when the anchor hits it and gives off a clang and skids. Our second time went better. We anchored in 6m of sand. As I was preparing the dinghy to go in I saw a big turtle stick its head up out of the water near the boat. I ran for my camera but when I was ready to click it disappeared underwater. I took the dinghy in to shore with Varga and took a short walk around. It was very quiet, very few people about, almost dead. I went in to the hotel to see if the restaurant was open, which it was so we went there for dinner. They have a dock where boats can park their dinghies. We were the only guests. Dinner was not memorable but the view certainly was. On the terrace we could see the Monemvasia rock to the south and FRAM anchored just off the terrace. We felt like an inconvenience for them.
27 August 2026 Gythio - Ormos Fragkou, ilse of Elefonisos N 36 27.891 E 22 58.814 Distance Traveled - 29 NM Time Traveled - 6 hours Weather - Sunny 34C, Wind 0 for half the journey then NE 9-12 m/s We tootled off at 07.55 this morning in total calm, my weather app predict wind said strong winds from 14.00 but Dan’s app windy said no significant winds at all. At about 10.00 I looked towards shore and saw white caps. Odd, I thought, we’re not supposed to have wind now. But it took about 3 minutes before those white caps hit us and we were suddenly in 10 m/s winds. Dan rolled out the genoa speeding us up to 7 knots per hour. As we were close enough to land, we didn’t get big waves but the wind was really strong and was gusting at 12 m/s as we sailed along the west side of Elefonisos. Elefonisos is a small island very high and very barren looking. We had planned on sailing around it and anchoring over by the mainland town of Neapoii but when we sailed past this bay, there were sailboats and it looked really nice and protected, so we rolled in the genoa turned on the motor and motored in. It was a little tricky to anchor because there were a lot of boats and the wind was so strong that as soon as I put the boat in neutral, the wind grabbed the bow and swung us off the wind. But luckily the anchor caught right away and kept us in place. This Ultra anchor was such a great buy. It’s expensive but it holds every time. We feel so safe with it. This is a very popular place for Greeks to spend a day on the beach. It’s actually 2 coves; one little one (this one) and a bigger one to the west that is only separated by a thin sand strip. The great big motor yachts anchor in the bigger bay which is great because they always have generators running to keep the air conditioning and freezers going. But nightfall we were only 4 sailboats here. The 2 motor cruisers that were here left around sun down. They were Greek owned and had so many toys; jet skis, SUPs, little hydrofoils and a motor boat. They played all day. The other big boat looked like a charter as it was full of young people dancing and partying with music blaring all afternoon. We were thankful when they left! A full moon rose up over the hilltop just as we were getting ready to eat dinner. It was gorgeous.
20-27 August 2026 Skoutari - Gythio N36 45.33 E22 34.247 Distance Traveled - 12 NM Time Traveled - 2hrs 15 min Weather - Sunny 34C, Wind S/SE 0-5 m/s (0-10 knots) We left in calm weather motoring for about an hour then sailed on the genoa the rest of the way. We looked at a couple anchorages on the way but weren’t happy with either the protection or proximity to shore. Some places around here get shallow very quickly very close to shore. So we decided on Gythio as it’s a protected anchorage on 3 sides and close to town. There was meltemi weather going on further south so we decided to spend a few days here which ended up being 7 days. Gythio is a cute town, only Greek tourists. Masses of restaurants and cafés, thinking everyone that lives here eats out at night because all the eateries were pretty much full from 14.00 in the afternoon to midnight. There was live music outside the tavernas, wedding cars honking through town and the most ferocious cats we have ever encountered anywhere. On our first day in town, Varga got attacked by no fewer than 3 cats on 3 separate occasions. Only the first one was somewhat warranted perhaps as we were walking on a narrow sidewalk with Dan in front of us pulling the shopping trolley and didn’t see a mother cat with her two babies nursing right there on that sidewalk. I stopped a step away with Varga and was just manoeuvring back and around when the mother threw off her babies and lunged at Varga scratching biting and screaming. Varga was screaming in fear and pain as blood started seeping from several wounds, the cat had a total death hold on Varga, so I kicked her off Varga and then placed Varga up into my arms and walked quickly away but that damn cat followed us and jumped on my leg giving me 3 deep scratches from one paw swipe. Now we were both bleeding. Both Dan and I were totally frazzled, so was Varga of course. We went to a pharmacy and bought antiseptic spray for the 2 of us and I put Neosporin on us when we got back to the boat. We had 2 more incidents; one cat jumped out of a kiosk as we were walking by and swiped at Varga and another lunged out from under a car as we walked by totally oblivious of it, there was no provocation whatsoever. It gave Varga another gouge on her side. So for the rest of the week, we did not take Varga in to town. I took her for short walks on the little islet that according to legend, Paris and Helena spent their first night together. We used the SUP for our pee-pee runs, Varga standing in the front looking very majestic. Other than the cats we very much enjoyed Gythio though they are a bit different from the other Greek towns we have visited. Partly the plethora of restaurants and partly that their infrastructure is very limited. They have only one trash bin in the town and it’s behind a church. That’s for household garbage. And there is only one little bin outside the Market In supermarket for throwing empty water bottles, or dog bags, or paper or what have you. Very strange. The harbour is very shallow and boats are willy-nilly mostly fishing boats so really only room for 5 or 6 sailboats. The village is very clean in the morning so we suspect the village elders have decided it’s better to hire people to clean up the streets of litter and dog poop than to put out trash bins. We learned from a very nice Greek man that people have to take their household trash to a dump outside town and they have to pay to leave it. Lastly, while there are several supermarkets, none of them are more than a hole-in-the-wall with the bare necessities. Every afternoon the wind came up from south and blew between 5-11 m/s (10-22 knots) only to calm down at night to nothing. It was really hot; most days were around 35-36C. A couple nights were ghastly hot as there was not a breath of wind to cool down our cabin even with the wind sock. But the water was gloriously clear and we swam several times every day. We met a Zimbabwean woman named Jill who is a solo sailor on a 40-foot sailboat called ZigZag. She has RYA certification and takes people sailing so they can get in their sail-miles for their own boat licenses, captian’s license etc. She is here in Greece 6 months per year and then has to leave EU for 6 months. She was a very sturdy confident woman and she showed us where we could fill our water jugs with fresh tap water for free. So our water tank is now totally full. We can live off it for about 18 days.
Good morning We are still in Krotonas enjoying this lovely anchorage. The weather is mostly calm except for the afternoon blow which comes around 15.00. It’s a bit different here next to the Mani peninsula which is very high and very steep straight down to the sea. The creates a weather phenomenon called Katabatic winds. KW are very strong gusts that swoosh vertically down from the ridge and if you are not far enough away, say 4-5 NM, you will feel it in a most uncomfortable way. It’s like sailing along enjoying the view when suddenly the whole boat heels over and the wind is so strong that it is difficult to steer. I have been consulting Claude, my AI assistant about this and he has explained the process. When the sea gives off steam due to it being warmer than the mountain, the air rises and collects. The wind comes up in the day, usually afternoon and provides the engine for this warm air and sends it shooting up to the top of the ridge and over the top. The speed increases dramatically and the wind goes flying down the backside of the ridge and top speeds. If you happen to be passing a gully or a valley mouth, they act like a nozzle shooting wind like a jet down the ridge and out over the sea. If you watch the sea you can see when a gust hits the water and moves towards you at top speed so you get a second to prepare. The funny thing is that the wind meter doesn’t register the full power the wind. This is because the KW is a vertical wind and the wind meters are only able to read horizontal winds as those are the normal winds we sail with. We experienced many of them on the way here 2 days ago. The highest wind reading was 14 m/s but we know it was much more wind than that. We were only 1 NM away from the coast so we got the full force of the gusts. We learned yesterday that that is the most dangerous place to be. Typical for us! Yesterday was a very calm day until almost exactly 15,00 when a gust came through out of nowhere, causing all our loose items to go flying. Dan had a boat parasol up on the front deck which fluttered like crazy before we got it down. Towels hanging on the railing flapped madly and we raced around getting everything stowed. The boat couldn’t keep up and turned very quickly around leaving the anchor somewhere far behind us. It took a while before it righted itself and got behind the anchor. We had 4 or 5 of these before things calmed down again. So this is life in southern Peleponnesos along the east side of the Mani peninsula (second udder) The other very interesting thing we have noticed is Greek behavior and how much they love swimming. They can stay in the water for hours on end. In the early mornings the pensioners come out and swim. They bike, drive, walk to the beach carrying their swimsuits, towels and a sweet bun. They get in the water and swim back and forth or stand neck deep and chat with each other. It’s all very friendly and pleasant and everyone seems to know everyone. The late mornings are for the families with small children. They come to the beach with all the normal equipment and satchels of food and drink. They spend most of the day. In the early afternoons the teenagers appear to soak up rays and drink colourful drinks. In the late afternoon, middle-aged sons and daughters come to the beach with their parents who are unsteady, too weak to walk into the water on their own. They lean on their children’s arms and the children lead them into the water and stand supporting them. Sometimes they hold them under the arms so that the parent can lie back and enjoy the feel of floating. It’s really the sweetest thing to see such care and affection between them. And there’s never any rush, they take their time and enjoy the moment. One can definitely learn something from this. These are our observations and thoughts for the day.
17 August 2026 Koroni N - Kotronas anchorage N36 37.022 E22 79.774 Distance Traveled - 54 NM Time Traveled - 11 hrs Weather - Sunny 28C, Wind SW/W 0-15 m/s The weather forecast for the weekend didn’t pan out at all. We woke up at 06.00 on Saturday to swells from the North but no winds. So we rocked back and forth ad nauseam. Then the wind came up from N and we had a terrible 4 hours before it veered to West and we got some protection. We stayed on the boat all day until late afternoon when things calmed down a bit. The oarlock solution was perfect and we took a walk to the only supermarket in town that was open. It was up a hill and out of town and 2.7 km so doable. Koroni is a very popular place; we were about 12 boats in the anchorage and the noise from the waterfront was substantial. Lots of people in the restaurants and cafés. We took a night walk in town around 22.00 and it was bustling with people. Dan bought us ice cream and I ought an olive wood cutting board. Something to remember Koroni by. I find that it’s easier to remember a place if we have experienced something unusual or if I buy something that I use in cooking or serving. So this will help me remember Koroni. We left this morning before the Northerly swells could come in and upset us. There was no wind so had to motor for 5 hours until we reached the Mani arm of the Peleponnesos udders. This was. According to forecast but wind was supposed to be from W not SW which is what we got. The Mani mountains making up the Taygatos range are very steep and very high and with the SW/W wind it caused the most powerful Katabatic winds that knocked us even though we were only sailing on the genoa. We had taken down the main when we rounded the udder and sailed up the coast on the genoa, thank goodness as we would have been very adversely affected if we had the main up as well. We sailed to a small cove called Port of Kagio. It had a narrow opening and the winds were swooping down into the cove leaving no area untouched. We drove around the various anchorage spots but none of them seemed safe. Anywhere you chose could potentially be catastrophic if the anchor happened to drag as the whole cove was surrounded by cliffs and mountain. So we left and continued northwards until we got to Kotronas bay. It was nicely protected and big enough that dragging into rocks and cliffs was not a risk. The water is crystal clear here and there’s a small resort village but the real villages are up on peaks. The wind finally came down in the evening. I took Varga in to shore on the paddle board and we had a nice dinner. One good thing about these mountains is that the sun sets behind them earlier. We had an even earlier sunset due to the strange phenonomen of black clouds gathering on top of the ridge that stretched all the way down the udder. They just sat there all evening and didn’t break up until sometime during the night. We though we would get rain and possibly lightning but there was nothing, just black clouds. Interesting. Dan got 2 pieces of very sad news of people he has been close to that have been diagnosed with leukaemia and one who’s wife just died of cancer. We didn’t know she had cancer so were completely shocked by the news. As we were motoring here and watching the incredible landscapes and seascapes near us, we both got lost in thoughts of these people and of how one must be thankful for every day that we get in good health because you just never know what is around the corner.
15 August 2026 Kirties - Koroni N N36 47.960 E21 57 437 Distance Traveled - 15NM Time Traveled - 3 hrs Weather - Sunny 33C, Wind N 6-8 m/s, NE 0-2 m/s Strong Westerlies were forecast for today and tomorrow so we decided to hop over to Koroni N. We left around 09.00 and had a lovely N wind to sail on. It was a beam wind so very comfortable and fast. We sailed across and got almost all the way before the wind died and we had to motor. Koroni is very nice to anchor in because it’s all sand as long as you are in front of the waterfront restaurants. The water is clear enough to see the anchor at 5 meters depth. We had about an hour to get settled and swim before the wind picked up to 10 m/s from West. Dan got in the dinghy to nip in and get some provisoins but only got about 50 m toward shore when one of the oarlocks broke so he had to paddle with the one back to the boat. That was our excitement for the day. He went below with the oarlock and his toolkit and devised a replacement using a long bolt and a rubber hose. This man is amazing and I’m ever so glad I am on his team! Even with the oarlock fixed we did not go to shore, it was too rough and windy. Varga managed her needs on deck. By late evening the wind abated and we had a calm dinner in the cockpit of Grilled Steak and Greek Salad. Due to the heat, we keep our meals very simple with as little cooking as possible.
13 August 2026 Kirties - Kalamata Marina - Kirties Distance Traveled - 5 NM Time Traveled - 1 hour Weather - Sunny 33C, Wind None We got a text message early this morning from the electric guy Costas to come right away to the marina to get the batteries installed. So Dan hauled up the anchor and we motored off. There was no wind so motored the whole hour. We entered the marina and tied up at the fuel dock which no longer is in service. Costas came within minutes and took out the old batteries and replaced with the new batteries. Meanwhile, I nipped off to the AB supermarket to get mineral water and something for dinner. The whole thing was done in 2 hours. A slight delay because Costas couldn’t get his card machine to work and had to fix it first. But by 11.00 we were finished. We toodled out and started looking where to go for tonight’s anchorage. It looked like Kirties had the most overall protection from the winds in play so we went back there. It’s a really nice anchorage with several tavernas on shore. We anchored once again in sand at about 9 meters. Spent the day swimming, reading and hanging out. In the evening we took the dinghy in for Varga’s sake and to have a beer at the closest taverna. It’s the one that stands alone a few hundred meters north of the other tavernas. It looks kind of rustic but turned out to be really nice. Dan finally got daring and allowed me to order a dish of marinated anchovy fillets. To his surprise they were very good, a lot like Swedish herring but smaller of course. We watched the other tables around us order dish after dish and learned the Greek way of ordering. The anchovy dish and bread was enough for us for the day but will remember for the next taverna visit now that Dan is more amenable:) There’s a small boat harbour here where the fishing boats come and go so all the tavernas seem to have fresh fish every day. Tourist boats come and go too and there is an occasional jetski. Otherwise it is relatively peaceful. We give this anchorage 5 stars.
12 August 2026 Koroni - Kirties anchorage N 36 55.989 E 22 08.510 Distance Traveled 14 NM Time Traveled 2 hours Weather - Sunny 33C, Winds SW 2-4 m/s, then SE 10 m/s We have battery problems. Our first clue was when we were sailing to Koroni; the GPS kept shutting down and saying low voltage. It was fine when the engine was running. Also our fridge stopped working. Hmmm. Dan checked the batteries and found that without the engine they were very low, 11%. Now our batteries can’t charge to max. Dan thinks it’s due to the high temperatures in the boat while we were on the hard, which made the fridge work harder and wear down the batteries. So he spent the better part of the day chasing down batteries. He found a guy Costas who has a shop right next to the harbour office in Kalamata so he ordered 3 batteries at 375€ each. Highway robbery, but what else could we do? He would order them and let us know when the arrived. So we decided to hang out in Koroni another day. But as the morning progressed the bay got very choppy (not forecast). We couldn’t figure it out, waves coming from north but we only had a breath of a SW wind. Anyway, we dithered about what to do and finally decided to move around the corner to the south side of Koroni as winds were gong to be W which would put us in the lee. Koroni S was lovely with crystal blue clear water, we anchored in 4 meters and sand. But the wind never went over to W, so we were exposed there. We picked up sticks in the afternoon and sailed across the Messinia Gulf to Kirties which is protected from all southerly and easterly winds. We thought it would be a lazy sail but half way out into the bay the wind died completely whereby we hopped off the back of the boat and cooled ourselves in the water. We started motoring but after about 30 minutes the wind picked up from SE, (not forecast)so we rolled out the genoa. Very quickly we went from 3 knots to 6 knots of speed due to increased wind (not forecast). It was surprising. But we rolled with it and reached our destination very quickly! Here in the cove there were about 5 boats. We found a spot, not the lovely spot we had last spring but it was fine, still sand and in front of another beach and taverna. Once we were settled, we looked at each other’s windblown hair and a
10 August 2026 Kalamata Boatyard - Koroni anchorage N 36 47.938 E 21 57.558 Distance Traveled - 15 NM Time Traveled - 3 hours Weather - Sunny and hot 34C, Wind 2-5 N What joy it was to get the boat back in the water again after 5 days on the hard having work done in Kalamata Boatyard. Our rudder has been unusually heavy ever since we bought the boat 6 years ago, but has gotten worse in the last couple years. So we finally had the time and boatyard to get it done. They were amazing; very professional and very quick. The rudder had to be completely removed and the shaft that the stock goes into had to be widened ever so slightly to reduce the friction. The hardest part was taking the boot off as it had been glued with some very tough glue. It took him a lot of swearing and hacking to get it off but after 2 hours it came off. The rest was quick and easy. Then while we were there we hired a guy to clean and wax the gelcoat. He also did a great job. The downside of all this was that it was 35-39C and sunny. Very little wind to offset the heat and we were miserable. We booked a hotel for 2 nights on the last night we rented a car to go up into the mountains mainly for the AC! But the trip was fantastic. We drove through the Langada Pass in the Teygatos mountains to the ancient cities of Sparta and Mystras. Sparta didn’t have much to see as they did not build in stone; they built in wood and they didn’t make stone monuments but Mystras was amazing. Mostly ruins but the castle and monastery had been rebuilt preserving the wall paintings that were still there. In the castle you could do a digital history tour by signing in with a card. The first questions to fill in were a choice of characters you could be. We chose the Cook, the Queen and the King. When we got to the kitchens we tapped in the screen and were told to stand on a circle on the floor. Dan did that and suddenly his face showed up on the screen dressed in a cook’s hat and medieval dress:) It was hysterical. The hilltop fortress way up on top of the peak was not accessible, at least by us. We had already walked an hour and a half to climb up to the city ruins and castle and were thoroughly soaked through with sweat. Varga was not allowed to come with us, so stayed in the car with a bowl of cold water and all windows open with car in the shade. She was fine, certainly better that we were! Getting back in the AC of the car was a huge relief. We took the thruway route 7 to Megalopoli to see the biggest ancient theatre ruins in Greece. We got to the parking lot where there were no cars, no busses and the lot was all broken up with cracks and roots from trees. It looked totally abandoned and was locked with a chain-link fence all around. We walked up to the gate and looked inside then turned to leave as there was no one there when suddenly a man appeared and gestured us to come back to the gate which he opened for us. We walked in about 50 meters and there covered in earth and grass and flowers was a scooped out hill with some stones showing. This was the ancient theatre, hmmm. We looked for about 5 minutes then turned and thanked the man and drove back to the town of Megalopoli to have lunch. Then took back roads back to Kalamata. It was so hot at the boatyard that we just grabbed our swimsuits and got back in the car and drove around relishing the AC and looked for a beach to swim. Everywhere along the coast were cars and people going to and from the beaches. It was crazy crowded so we kept driving until we got gave up and returned to Kalamata and our usual swimming beach which is never crowded because it gets deep so quickly. We stayed in the water for about an hour, even Varga spent a long time in the water. It helped bring our temperatures down. Finally Monday morning arrived and we were the first boat to be launched. Joy! We were in the water by 09.15. The guys on the travel life were very professional and very calm. They treated FRAM like a baby. A far cry from our lift and launch experience in Chalkis and Messolonghi. We motored out and headed south to Koroni as it is only 15 NM from Kalamata. We just wanted to relax on the boat, swim, read, sleep. This anchorage is good for that. The temperature here is a bit lower and there is a light breeze from south which is soothing. It’s good to be on the water again!
11 June 2026 Krities - Kalamata N 37 01.450 E 22 06.370 Distance Traveled - 5 NM Time Traveled - 1 hr Weather - Sunny 28C Wind S 0 m/s We woke to another glorious day in Greece. At 06.00 I rowed Varga ashore for her business then we went back to FRAM for a morning swim and breakfast. I like getting up early to meet the sun and enjoy a cooler time of day. It’s quiet as no one else is up and I can sit in the cockpit and ponder life. Dan got up around 07.00. After he had read the news and drunk his coffee, we set about preparing for our last sail for the season. The dinghy came up onto the foredeck and was cleaned out. Several things have gone missing over the 2 weeks we’ve been sailing and all items were last seen in the dinghy. It was one of my flipflops and 2 leashes for Varga. Of course Dan had rolled his eyes when I couldn’t find said items. I was stumped as did not remember leaving any of them on any beach and they were definitely not on the boat. I kept my one flipflop for a week and then tossed it in Koroni. When Dan lifted the matt out of the dinghy, he found all above items including my flipflop. So typical. I knew my flipflop couldn’t have blown out of the dinghy. But at least we have the leashes back. Up went the anchor and we motored north to Kalamata, FRAM’s summer residence. We radioed in as soon as we got close and a marinero came back and told us where to go. He met us on F dock and I steered us in. All went smoothly and we have a good spot well protected from weather. As weather goes, Kalamata is not very impacted. The meltemi comes as far as the mountains to our east and no further, the medicane is not viable in this part of the Med so the only strong winds are the daily southerlies that start around 15.00 and end as the sun sets and they are not stronger than 10 m/s or 20 knots. The break wall provides good protection from that. We spent the rest of the day registering, paying our fee, and checking out the town. We had to go to the Port Authority to officially check in to Greece. Even though we are from an EU country, we still have to check in here. We went to the Port Authority just a few hundred meters away, a once grand building which is not sadly in disrepair. The stucco facade is losing bits and pieces and inside it looks like no one has touched it with paint or tender loving care since the place was built sometime in the early 1900’s. We went in and a man was sitting in a glass booth. He asked us “what you want?” We told him we wanted to check in the Greece, he directed us to an office around the corner. We went there and 2 moment were sitting at computers behind glass. We told them we wanted to check in to Greece and they said, “office 3” pointing down the corridor. We duly went to office 3 but no one was there. Typical. So sat down at one of the desks and waited a few minutes. A man in uniform came in and we presented ourselves and our papers (registration, insurance and proof of E-Tepai (tourist tax). We had to fill out a crew list which is just the two of us, pay 15 Euros and received a stamped form proving we’d checked in officially. And we were done. That is the most painless check in we have ever done, so we said good-bye and continued on into town to provision for our last few days here in Greece. In the evening when it started getting cooler, we cleaned ourselves up and went to the casa marina bar right here in the marina. It’s a beautiful place, with terraces, gardens and long balcony with old fashioned ceiling fans. We sat under one of these to get the cooling breeze and had Ouzo and beer. Thinking it’s probably more expensive than the other places along this waterfront but the ambiance cannot be beat. Felt like we were transported back to the 1920’s with soft jazz music playing in the background and the view of all the boats in the marina before us. There is something about Kalamata that feels really good. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I liked it on first impression. Of course there are interesting exceptions, for instance, we paid 5 euros for a key to the gate onto the dock and a key to the showers. On closer inspection we see that the gate to the dock has no lock. Maybe there was a padlock at some point but it’s gone now. And the showers are never locked. On top of that, most of the doors into the booths are swollen by the heat so you can’t even close the doors completely, much less lock them. I am lucky because I have Varga who lays down outside my shower and guards me. But the fact that no one seems to complain about these faults, leads me to assume that there is no cause for worry or insecurity. On Wednesday, 17 June, we leave bright and early for our flight to Athens and then Copenhagen. We will be back on 4 August to continue sailing in Greece. Not sure where yet, we’ll see. Until then, have a great summer!
10 June 2026 Koroni west - Krities anchorage N36 55.889 E22 08.531 Distance Traveled - 12.4 NM Time Traveled - 3 hours Weather - Sunny(of course) 26C Wind S 3-6 We rolled out the genoa as soon as we left the bay and set off across the big bay between the first and second udder of Pelepponesos. Krities is a little anchorage protected from south and east winds. There are 2 small resorts here and couple houses built into the hillside which is very lush and steep. You can glimpse yellow sandstone cliffs under the greenery. The water is the usual crystal clear and easy anchoring in sand. There were some strong katabatibc winds coming down the steep hillside that caused us some concern but it didn’t last long. Caused by the daily increase in wind around here and exacerbated by the high mountains. Some thunder rumbled from far away and dark clouds rolled in and then quickly dissipated. We had a lovely calm evening swimming, cocktails and dinner in the cockpit. Only one other boat here. In the evening we took Varga in for her business and walked through the larger resort area which had 4 restaurants and was incredibly pretty. There were lots of cats, but Varga isn’t so interested in them anymore. She has learned her lesson I think after several whippings by said cats.
8 June 2026 Finikounda - Koroni anchorage N 36 47.940 E 21 57.554 Distance Traveled - 14 NM Time Traveled - 3 hours Weather - Sunny 25C Wind SW 3-5 m/s (6-10 knots) We left Finikounda’s lovely town and anchorage in the late morning and motored for an hour before we had enough wind to sail. We rolled out the genoa and floated along at 3 knots till we rounded the ancient castle at Koroni. There was only one boat there so we found a lovely spot not too far from the break wall and in pure sand. The anchor caught immediately and a swim out to inspect showed that it was dug in up to the shaft. We were set. Dan went for a run and then in the evening we walked in to see the town. It’s a rather big town compared to the ones we’ve been to so far, but although it had all the restaurants, cafés, and shops, none of them had any special character. The whole town was kind of low energy. The supermarket was just a mini-mart, the meat shop had hardly any meat to sell and the clothing and swim equipment shops looked like the merchandise had been there for decades. We had a beer and an ouzo at one of the waterfront cafes and then went to a wine shop where we bought some local wines on the advice and recommendation of the owner, Jannos. We got to try various whites reds and roses. It was fun and Jannos was very kind. 9 June We got up early and took a walk up to the fortress ruins. It was a steep uphill walk but flat once we were up. It was a huge fortress with some houses still lived in. Flowers like Bougainvillea were everywhere and the smell was divine. I love that the Greeks have so many flowers. The pine trees add their special scent as well and together they are unbeatable. There are 2 churches up there perched on the hilltop with amazing view of the sea on 3 sides. All beautifully kept up. We strolled along tree lined stone tile roads back down to the village and walked through back to the waterfront and then dinghy to boat.
6 June 2026 Kolyvri anchorage - Finikounda anchorage N36 48.335 E 021 48.615 Distance Traveled - 2.4NM Time Traveled - 30 min Weather - Sunny 25C Wind None Today is Sweden’s National day. It’s a relatively new holiday which only got it’s bank holiday about 10 years ago. They took away Whit Monday and gave the free day to the National day. We still don’t have any traditions in celebrating it. So consequently, we both wished each other Happy Day and got on with what we were doing. We left our anchorage in Ammos on the island of Sapeindza due to wind change making it no longer a protected anchorage. It only took an hour or so till we found Kolyvri on the mainland. It was totally protected from everything except wake from tankers during the night; even though they were 12 NM away from us. That’s the ripple effect for you. The water was crystal clear though and a lovely temp of 21C. We swam, read our books and worked out on shore. There was nothing here; no houses, no taverna, just a road connecting Methoni and Finikounda. We had to motor to Finikounda as there was no wind. There is a harbour and an anchorage outside the harbour in front of the town. We chose the anchorage of course, so we can swim. Crystal clear water, making anchoring so easy. Even so, I put my mask and snorkel on each time the anchor is set to go have a look at how it has dug itself down. This Ultra anchor is positively amazing. It sets perfectly every single time. Compared to our old Bruce anchor it is a vast improvement. We love it and highly recommend it. It’s expensive but definitely worth it. Finikounda is a super cute tourist town, with a main street that runs along the waterfront and then several small streets behind going up the hill as everywhere in Greece is mountainous. The main street is lined with lovely high-end shops, clothing, hats, swim equipment, a ships chandlery, a gourmet shop with home grown olive oil, olives, honey and other olive products, and of course tavernas and cafés. The streets are pristine clean, the smell of pine trees, cypress trees and of course flowers waft along you as you stroll up the street. We ate at one of the tavernas, a traditional Greek food restaurant. Dan had his usual grilled pork chop and fries and I had moussaka. It was delish but way too much food, I could only eat half of it. Greeks can’t compute “small portion”. They say ”yes yes yes” but then serve you a huge portion. We found the first supermarket that is worth its name in Greece here in Finikounda. It was lovely, I even found dijon mustard that I have been looking for since Sicily. Normally we see very few boats as we travel along the south Pelepponesos coast but at this place we were a total of 12 boats anchored in the bay. A Polish boat anchored very close to us on the second day. It was a very old cat, looks like one of the first ever, only about 28 feet long. A family of parents and a teen-age daughter and dog lived on it. In the afternoon the wind came up quite strong, as it does most afternoons. It blew about 10 m/s (20 knots) As we were sitting in the cockpit enjoying a honeydew melon, we saw the father go to the bow and start hauling up the anchor. We thought it odd that they would choose that time to leave, and apparently the mother agreed because she sat at the wheel and refused to go forward when he directed her. He started screaming at her and she screamed back and they had an ungodly fight that ended in his boxing her ears and her stomping below decks and closing the hatch. Dan wanted to go over there but I advised against it because the guy was obviously drunk and who knows what he will do if someone interferes. So Dan picked up his phone and pretended to film the fight. Anyway, the father eventually got in the dinghy and went to shore to cool off and after that all seemed to go back to normal. We weren’t the only ones watching; all the boats in the near area were sitting watching and wondering where this scene was going to go.
4 June 2026 Methoni - Ammos, Sapienza Islet anchorage N 36 47.363 E 021 42.635 Distance Traveled 2 NM Time Traveled - 30 min Weather - Partly cloudy, 20C Wind E 2-3 m/s (4-6 knots) The wind is going over to south today so we weighed anchor at 09.00 and nipped directly south to this little islet of Sapienza that has an anchorage on the north side with a little beach for Varga. We plan on staying here till the wind goes back to NW and will then move. The anchor caught once again perfectly. I swam out to have a look and make sure it was dug down in sand. There’s a lot of posidonia here so was a little tricky to hit sand. Sapienza is totally covered in Bushes so very green. Underneath looks like granite rock.
2 June 2026 Gialova anchorage - Methoni anchorage N 36 48.922 E 021 42.565 Distance Traveled - 10 NM Time Traveled -2 hours Weather - Sunny 24C Wind NW 0-3 There wasn’t much wind this morning so we took our time getting ready to leave. Morning swims, coffee in the cockpit, Varga to shore for her business and around 10.30 we were on our way. We are super happy with our new anchor, an Ultra 21kg. It caught perfectly first time both in Gialova and in Methoni. Granted, there hasn’t been much wind to pull on the anchor but still, feels good. We motored the whole way to Methoni, known for its fortress first built sometime in 10th century by the Normans, destroyed in 12th and rebuilt by the Venetians in beginning of the 13th century and sometime in the 1500’s was owned by the Ottomans. It’s huge and upon closer inspection as we walked through it, it is the biggest fortress in Greece through the ages. As we rounded the point that the fortress is on we saw a really lovely anchorage, all sand with beaches and a small village. There were already 6 boats there when we got there but there’s plenty of room. By the end of the day there were 25 boats and it didn’t feel particularly crowded. The water is crystal clear, feels like floating in a swimming pool. Water temp is about 20C, so very refreshing. We dropped our anchor and, as I said above, it caught instantly. Using my new mask and snorkel from Madeleine, I swam out to check the position of the anchor and it was spot on. Varga and I took the dinghy to get something for dinner. The village is very small but very cute. Clean stone tile streets, and the most amazing flower arrangements. There are hibiscus trees, bougainvillea, trimmed plane trees and other trimmed trees lining the streets as well as beautiful pink flowers growing below the hibiscus trees. They don’t have much in the way of supermarkets, however. We managed to find 2 rather small mini-markets where I could buy tomatoes cucumber onions parsley and dill. In another I found frozen pork chops, no fresh meat anywhere in town. In the square down by the water there are several tavernas and cafés. 3 June A beautiful sunny day today, not much wind in our anchorage but more out at sea. We spent a lazy day. Dan went running in the early afternoon and then we took the dinghy in to explore the fortress which is rather impressive. They had a big square where merchants could sell goods, 2 hamams 2 churches, one of which became a mosque when the Ottomans had control, and magnificent ramparts. We had Ouzo and beer at a café in the square before dinghy-ing home for dinner.
27-30 May 2026 Marina di Cala del Sole, Sicily - Pylos Pelepponese N36 56.948 E021 41.887 Distance Traveled - 390 NM Time Traveled - 82 hours Weather - Sunny, 20-22C Wind W, NW, W 0-8 m/s (0-16 knots) Anchored in sand, 4.4 meters depth We dropped our lines, took up the gangplank and ladder and left our winter berth in Licata at 06.23. There was a light North wind which we caught as soon as we were out of the harbour area and on the sea, both sails went up and I shut off the engine and that’s when it started vibrating violently, again. I quickly shut it down and it stopped. We both looked at each other; not again! We sailed for about 4 hours before the wind died and we had to start the engine. I hate this, so nerve-wracking. It vibrated again when we started it but as soon as I put it in gear and increased the throttle it disappeared and all was normal again. But this was a pickle. We can’t have it idling so how do we anchor, come into a marina to park the boat? We both mulled this over for hours and came to the conclusion that since it only happens when the engine is on idle, it must mean that the rpms it’s set on aren’t high enough for it to get going so it vibrates as it tries to get to where it can idle. So on Day 3 in the evening, Dan went down and adjusted the throttle up just a tiny bit. I started the engine and it started without a hitch. Wonderful! He made a final adjustment and now we no longer have a violently vibrating engine, just a nice purr. The sailing on this trip was really nice. We managed to sail keeping an average of 4-6 knots for 262.7 NM which is pretty good for the Med. The sun shone all day long every day, the temperature was mild and lovely, the stars shone magnificently at night and we had a full moon to guide us, indeed it was a Blue Moon. We did our usual watches; 3 hours on and 3 hours off and after a fitful first night, slept like the dead during the subsequent nights. There was very little tipping as we had mostly following winds and nothing too strong or gusty, just smooth sailing really. Waves weren’t big either, so all in all, this was a very good crossing of the Ionian Sea. In the afternoon of Day 4, 30 May, we entered Pilos lagoon sailing through a very narrow opening between the rocks and then entering this huge lagoon. The town of Pylos is right at the entrance in the south. We chose to sail to the northern end Gialova and anchored in sand. There is a very long sandy beach here and we are anchored right outside a little resort village with cafés restaurants and nice shops. We rowed in to have dinner at a restaurant called Nature. We sat in lounge furniture under lovely low trees with cute lamps hung from the lower branches. Dan ordered Ouzo and beer for us and we had mixed grill and Greek salad for dinner. It was delish and a very nice rounding off of our 4 day sail. We will stay here for a couple days. There is a hiking trail up a cliffside to an old Norman castle ruins and a cave called Nestor’s cave that we want to check out. We also want to sleep:) We are also thinking of renting bikes and biking to the village of Pylos. We have 12 days to play before we have to be in Kalamata and get FRAM ready before leaving for Sweden.
26 May 2026 Licata Sicily Weather - Sunny 22C Winds mostly north or west, light 2-4 m/s (4-8 knots) It’s been a long month since our first intended departure towards Greece in April when our engine would not start. After much troubleshooting and best intentions of know-it-all sailors, we had to engage Volvo Penta in Catania to come down and take a look. The problem was water ingress into the injectors. It’s difficult to know where the water came from but most likely it’s water that escaped through the valve that is supposed to prevent this from happening. It’s a huge problem and required a total replacement of the engine top and all the injectors. In Sicily the client has to pay for the work before they will order the parts and make an appointment to come and work on the boat. The cost was nearly the same as a new engine by the time we added up the first troubleshooting visit and then the spare parts and second visit. It also took a long time to get the second appointment as Volvo Penta is very busy at this time of year, of course. But 2 guys finally came down yesterday and spent the entire day getting the job done. At 16.00 we turned on the engine and it sputtered back to life. We still have an issue with the engine being below the water line so need to have a goose neck pipe fitted at some point. Right now we are happy to have it running and Dan will have to be diligent and turn off the salt water sea cock to the engine between runnings just to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s a bit more complicated than this but it’s what I have managed to gleen while listening in to all the spitballing. We kept ourselves busy all month by being very social; happy hours, BBQ’s and dining out with boat friends. We work out every day except Sunday. Dan runs 3 times a week and works out 3 times a week, I work out 6 days a week. On Sundays we go to the Sunday BBQ with the liveaboards or go for a long walk on the beach. Lena a Swede from the boat White Pearl and I hike up the hill to the fortress a few mornings per week to exercise our cardio. We read books and putter around the boat. Varga is with us everywhere we go happily trotting alongside us on our hikes and walks. We find masses of wild rosemary, fennel grass and oregano on our walks. I always pick bunches for cooking. Today we have been bustling about getting ready to leave tomorrow; I went to the green grocer, the butcher, the deli and the supermarket and stowed everything wherever I could find space. While Dan blew up the dinghy and secured it on deck, I cooked up a storm making 4 dinners for our journey. Now we have battery charging, stowing all our stuff that we have left out during our winter sojourn here in Licata. It’s been lovely and we will come back in the Fall for another winter here. It’s a great place to be; the marina is spacious and nice, palm trees everywhere, the townspeople are very kind and helpful and the liveaboards are nice and very helpful. I think the majority of liveaboards are German followed by French, Dutch and Swedes. We were 7 Swedish boats here this year. A few Irishmen, Engiishmen, and a few Italians. It’s a good group and we look forward to coming back for the 2026-2027winter. Tomorrow we leave Licata bright and early and will sail nonstop to Pylos in Greece. It’s going to be a very short sailing spring for us as we are leaving FRAM in Kalamata and flying home on 17 June.
17 April 2026 Licata Sicily Yes, we are still here. Sicily has experienced a colder-than-normal spring after a cold and stormy winter. We were planning on leaving this week when the weather has shaped up to warm and sunny, but once Dan de-winterised the engine, we couldn’t get it to start. Eventually we got it going but only on 2 cylinders. For some reason cylinders 2 and 3 were not working and there was a knocking sound going on. We had a guy look at it and determined that we need to bring in Volvo Penta people to deal with it. So, we are here for the rest of the month and possibly into May as they can’t come out until the 30th of April. It’s a bit of a setback, especially considering we have an engine that is only 2 years old. But we couldn’t be in a better place to kick our heels. Sicily is a fascinating island and I, for one, am happy that we have more time to explore it. We rented a car this week and went to Ragusa, an old hilltop town with a magnificent cathedral. Next week we plan on going to Noto and Siracusa for a couple days to see the sights. It’s quite easy to find hotels that welcome dogs so Varga will be able to come along with us.
3 April 2026 Licata Weather - Chilly, stormy, wet Temps between 10-16C On a good day with sun and light winds, the temperatures hover around 18C. We strip to shorts and t-shirts during the warmest part of the day; early afternoon. As soon as the sun starts to set, the chill sets in and we are back to trousers and sweaters. We have had a lot of rain which shows in the landscape here; very lush and green with grass and flowers growing to profusion. The Sicilians say that this has been the worst winter they can remember and Spring looks to be heading the same way. On FRAM all is good; we have heating, good food, good drink and plenty of GB for watching sports like Curling and movies at night. FRAM is now dressed in her Genoa and mainsail, the deck has been cleared of the mould and algae that set in during the wet winter, and Dan has sanded down the two teak shelves on either side of the companionway in the cockpit, and is just waiting for warmer temperatures and lighter wind to start varnishing them. I have been doing an inventory on our stores onboard FRAM and frequenting the Sicilian markets where Italian artichokes, oranges, lemons and fennel are in season. The pistachios of Sicily are the best we’ve ever had and we eat them every day. Almonds are good too. We have a fabulous butcher at our local supermarket Conad where I have learned the Italian ways of cutting meat, so now know what to ask for. The deli is also superb and we are enjoying Sicilian prosciutto salamis and cheeses. We have our exercise routines that we adhere to religiously (in order to eat all the good Sicilian food!); Dan runs 10 km every other day and muscle building exercises on the odd days. I do my yoga training every day and try to power walk up the steep hills around Licata every other day when my knee permits. The Licata cliff cemetery has a series of steps up the side of the mountain where all the mausoleums are kept immaculately clean and decorated with flowers and photos of the one inside. I get a good cardio workout climbing up to the top and taking the downhill road back to town and the boat. Sicilians like to walk as we have noticed while staying here. The harbour walk is very popular with all kinds of people running/walking out to the end of the pier on the east side and back then round the whole marina, stopping for a coffee at one of the cafés that line the marina waterfront. They are out there from early morning to late evening, elderly coupes often taking a short stroll past the boats after a dinner out at one of the restaurants nearby. Marina Cala del Sole is a really beautiful marina; palm trees and rosemary bushes lining the walkways, nicely tiled walkways and several shops cafés and restaurants to sit down for a meal or a coffee. I just discovered a new coffee called Cafe Crema. It’s very creamy and thick, cold and delicious. We have a variety of plans for our spring/summer sailing, none of which have been decided yet. One is to go to Montenegro and then down the Ionion islands to southern Peleponnesos as far as Kalamata. Another is to go round Sicily past Siracusa, Catania, the Liparian islands and then cross over to Sardinia. We are letting the weather decide. So more on that later. Our cockpit tent is at the sailmaker’s in Ragusa for cleaning and waterproofing. We miss it sorely as it acts as a sun room when it’s cold and rainy outside. Dan still has to de-winterise the engine and get that up to speed. We had a glitch with it in November when we had trouble starting it. The local expert Matthew who is actually Australian, looked at it and found that our electric switch needed replacing which he duly did. Now we need to see if that has solved the problem. Other than that, we are enjoying being back on FRAM again and looking forward to a new sailing season.