With generous help from the god of the winds, Aeolus, we were able to set sails this morning as we start our explorations of the Aegean Sea and the surrounding Cycladic Islands. The first indicator that the crew is preparing to climb aloft is not visual rather it is heard. Crewmembers don a safety harness before they start their skyward climb, and the soft jingling of the carabineers on their harnesses let you know the climb up the ratlines is about to start.
We watched as the yards were braced, then the jingling crew scurried up with professional ease to their positions on three of the four masts to loosen the gaskets. Once everyone was back on deck, sails were set and trimmed. The engines of Sea Cloud were put to rest and we sailed under the power of the wind. With wind speeds at times reaching 27 knots we were able to reach a maximum sailing speed of 7 knots today.
Sailing past Santorini, we came into the lee of the island of Ios for the afternoon. Aeolus was still whipping up the waters of Poseidon, so we chose to delay our swim and instead enjoy a leisurely tea for the afternoon. Time came to bring in the sails and the call of “sails away” came from Captain Komakin. The yardarms were dropped, the square sails were clued up, the jib was hauled down, and once again the crew hit the rig to now furl the sails. We glided through the azure Aegean waters for a total of 36 miles under sail today before anchoring in the refuge of Manganari Bay on the south side of Ios.
This week of exploration is not all about the destination; it is about the journey as well. In the nearly lost tradition of square-rigged sailing we started our journey in magnificent style, with the help of Aeolus, under billowing sails.
