We met up on Saturday, a motley crew of 10, headed by Captain George, and sailed off into the Saronic Gulf at sunset …4 locals from Aegina and 6 from foreign parts…Ireland, Germany, Russia, England, Albania.
Cronos, an Ocean Star 51, was home for the next 7 days, while we sailed 350 miles around the Cyclades.
We started off as a group of individuals, all with different reasons to be there, different agendas. But we gelled as a team and as a crew, as we sailed Cronos through sun and storm, night and day..and early morning!
Looking back through rosy-coloured specs I almost forget the 6am starts (oh, but that was only the blue watch!) and the Force 7 winds, desperately chewing ginger…though I’m sure that was part of what helped us gel as a team.
I remember the camaraderie, the fun and laughter, the endless mugs of tea, the shared Factor 20,the mutual support, the help heaving on ropes, Georges ‘Go, Go, Go!’, Greek strength G+Ts, the market in Ermioni, learning about life in Albania and Russia and virtual offices in London, the north/south Liffey divide, swimming pool maintainance in Aegina.
We plotted charts, took bearings, kept the log and took fixes. We kept lookout for vessels and dolphins, we did anchor duty. We practised our knots, again, and again and again! We gybed and tacked, we fished and swam, we rowed the dinghy (and slept on it!) . With Georges expert guidance we tasted the delights of Greek cuisine…on board and ashore. We Med moored…and cursed the idiot who caught our anchor in Milos!
We had some hard sailing and one rough day, Force 7, which was a test of us all…our physical strength, charting and lookout skills, queasy stomachs and navigation, but we were in safe hands with George, and manged a toast to our success (again!) that evening in Milos.
We ended the week older, wiser, more bruised and sun- burnt . 3 of us completed our Comp Crew…the rest clocked the 350 miles to their log books..it was a fantastic week, a memorable experience and a great crew.
Penny Howell
