With 45NORTH finishing up her wintering in Malta, our 2024 adventures will take us to Greece and Turkey. We arrive back in Valetta, Malta on April 23rd.

Leg 1 - Syracuse Sicily (Italy) - 80NM
Leg 2 - Porto delle Grazie- Marina di Roccella - 95NM
Leg 3 - Velico Crotone - 65NM
GREECE
With 6,000 islands and islets, Greece has beautiful scenery all around that makes it a highlight of season 3. The Ionian, Sporades, Cyclades, and Dodecanese Islands are bucket list-worthy destinations. Crete, Thassos, and Evia are other locations we will try to see if we have enough visa time.
There are roughly 227 out of the 6,000 islands that are inhabited. So we are in for a good mix of places that have been developed or untouched.
Leg 4 - Corfu Greece - 110NM
Corfu or Kerkyra is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece.
Leg 5 - Lakka Paxos - 25NM
The anchorage of Lakka, in the north of the island of Paxos, Greece, is very popular
Leg 6 - Island of Anti-Paxos - 8NM
Leg 7 - Island of Lefkada - 28NM
Leg 8 - Island of Kefalonia - 28NM
Myrtos Beach
Leg 9 - Zakynthos (ship wreck bay) - 13NM
Blue Caves on the Northern tip of Zakynthos
View from our lunch stop
It was terrific to meet up with the Let Go, Let's Go crew in Fiskardo and sail to Ithaki together.
Leg 10 - Ithaki 10NM
Leg 10 - Nafpaktos, Gulf of Corinth - 27NM
Leg 10.2 - Galxidi
Leg 10.1 - Aigio Aiyio 15 NM
Leg 11 - Corinth Canal - 40NM
The Corinth Canal (Greek: Διώρυγα της Κορίνθου) is an artificial canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, making the peninsula an island. The canal was dug through the Isthmus at sea level and has no locks. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 miles) in length and only 24.6 metres (80.7 feet) wide at sea level, making it impassable for many modern ships.
Leg 12 - Athens the capital of Greece (we will skip this stop and come back later)
Athens is the capital of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece, a powerful civilization and empire. The city is still dominated by 5th-century BC landmarks, including the Acropolis, a hilltop citadel topped with ancient buildings like the colonnaded Parthenon temple.
Welcome to the Cyclades
The Cyclades is a group of Greek islands, southeast of the mainland in the Aegean Sea. It centers on uninhabited Delos, considered the birthplace of Apollo, and home to some of Greece’s most important archaeological ruins. Many of the islands are popular holiday destinations, known for their beaches, ancient sites, rugged landscapes and traditional blue-and-white stucco towns overlooking the sea.
Leg 13 - Poros 30 NM (from Corinth Canal)
Leg 14 - Kithnos 47NM
Another Meltemi during our crossing to Kithnos with winds constant 20-30kts. 3rd reef point on the mainsail and 2/3rd Genoa. This was our first, but not last, experience with the high winds called Meltemis.
An evening out at the celebration toast to my late father who would have been 91 today on June 23rd. "Yamas"
Leg 15 - Serifos 16NM
Leg 16 -Sifnos 20NM
There are 360 churches on this little island of Sifnos. We rented a car and toured around and met up with Elaine and Duncan who had just finished a Mediterranean cruise.
July 1st - Happy Canada Day!
Still dealing with the Meltemi after a week. Check out the gust of 59kts. Yikes.
With all the pressure of the winds the sky-lite on the Bimini starts separating and lifting up. We lash it down with ratchet straps until we can get it siliconed back in place.
June 29th our stainless steel bridle shackle snapped. This is not good on a catamaran as we learned very quickly. The bridle is a line with each end attached to both of our bows and secured to a link on our anchor chain. The main purpose is to stabilize the pull of the boat on the anchor. When the bridle shackle broke free from the chain 45NORTH immediately started swinging from side to side and the chain started swinging into each of the bows. Andrew started the engines to drive forward to take the load off the chain while Janine figured out how to get the bridle re-attached to the chain with not one but two spare stainless shackles so we have a backup. Winds are still 35-60kts for the rest of the day and night.
Leg 17 - Kimolas Island 10NM
Mining is the main source of revenue on some of these islands. Bentonite is widely used (the material for 1000 uses, which is completely environmentally friendly) and is used outside industry, in drilling and construction, in cosmetics, detergents and pharmaceuticals and due to its high absorbency is used in the production of wines. in animal feed and for wastewater treatment. In recent years our company has proceeded with the production with Bentonite and Zeolite, hygienic sand known in the market "cat-litter". After relative treatment with various materials of our mine of the same composition we produce, Ultra-Fine, White Cat-Litter, Pure Zeolite Cat-Litter which are unique in whiteness with high absorbency without powder / powder.
Leg 18 - Pallonia, Milos Island 8NM
You can' t get any fresher seafood than this. Drying the Octopus for tonight's dinner at the restaurant.
This church is in honor of the sailing captains and crews so quite fitting to have 45NORTH anchored in the background.
Leg 18.2 - Paleochori (south side of Milos Island)
A naturally formed image of the evil eye in the cliff side.
Leg 18.3 Paliochori
Leg 18.4 - Adamantas (West side of Milos Island)
Michelle and Mark join in our adventures for the next two weeks as we continue to explore.
The ancient city of Klima - Klima Village in Milos has only 8 permanent residents as of the 2021 Greek census, being one of the smallest settlements on the island, but also an absolute must for all visitors! The waves literally reach the doors and rush inside the homes. Klima is famous for its two story boathouses called “syrmata,” which are adorned with colors and line the shore creating a picture perfect view against the sparkling blue waters of the Aegean. These traditional boathouses were originally used by fishermen to store their boats and gear. Nowadays many have been transformed into vacation rentals offering visitors an unforgettable experience of Greek island life.
Ancient catacombs of Milos. A network of underground tombs dating from the 1st to 5th centuries, decorated with Christian symbols. Each opening would hold one family line. In the early AD centuries in Greece Christianity was not accepted so they reverted to digging tunnels to hold their religious celebrations and bury their dead.
Sarakiniko - aka Shark-nato Beach. Bright white rock surround the turquoise waters of the small beach.
Leg 19 - Folengandros Island - 30NM
It is great to have new crew join us.
Leg 20 - Chorolitia Beach - 6NM
Leg 21 - Sikinos - 11 NM
Cruising Life is great and even better when shared with friends.
Leg 22 Santorini (Thiresia Korfos anchorage) - 21NM
Santos winery tour. The most spectacular views for our wine & food tasting. Highly recommend this stop (make reservations well in advance or go at 10am like we did).
Leg 23 Anafi Port - 25NM
Leg 24 - Astypalaia (aka Butterfly Island) - 33NM
Astypalaia is a Greek island with 1,334 residents (2011 census). It belongs to the Dodecanese, an archipelago of fifteen major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea. However, many scholars recognize Astypalaia as an extension of the Cyclades, as many cultural and ecological components of the island are more indicative of the Cyclades rather than the Dodecanese.
The castle of Astypalea. It was founded by Giovanni Querini, a Venetian official of the Duchy of Naxos, in 1413. At that time the island had been desolated due to the consecutive pirate raids. The castle was built using local ferrous rocks at the position were the ancient acropolis of the island once stood reviving the village and ensuring its survival against potential invaders. The architecture of the castle makes it very impressive even today.
Our last supper with Michelle and Mark. They take a ferry to Kos tomorrow as the weather is not favorable for 45NORTH to make their final destination. And that is what life is all about cruising - schedule is driven by the weather.
Leg 25 - Kos Island - 36NM
Leg 26 - Symi - 41 NM
The distance between Greece and Turkiye is very close. Less than 1 NM in some spots. The Turkish Navy patrolling their waters as we stick to the Greek side heading to Symi.
Symi port is very pretty with the different color buildings and homes skirting the harbor hills.
The world famous Symi Sponges. Simi had the world’s largest sponge-diving fleet and was a pioneer in sponge diving on the North African coast, processing the sponges and marketing them through the island of Syros to London and the United States. The first Greeks to work on sponge diving were the inhabitants of Symi. They have taught the other islanders to dive, process, and trade the sponges. The foreign travelers who visited Greece in the Middle Ages, as only the inhabitants of Symi fetched sponges, believed that sponges occur only on the soil of Symi. In 1840, the first diver from Symi Michael Karanikis dived at the bottom of the sea, holding a flat stone weighing about 12-15 kilograms. From 1863 to 1896, the number of boats with diving bells over the Mediterranean reached about 440, while the number of ships of divers steadily decreased.
Party night in Symi. Dinner, dancing and plate smashing. Check our video section for more antics of our night out.
Leg 26 - Rhodes - 20NM
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period although little remains of this culture.
Windmills near the town quay where we stayed for the first two nights for only 55 Euro.
Leg 28 - Marmaris Turkiye - 25NM
The Marmaris castle was reconstructed by Suleiman the Magnificent during his expedition against Rhodes. The fort is one of the few castles in Turkey that also possesses a museum.
According to Greek historian Herodotus, the first city walls in Marmaris were constructed in 3,000 BC.
Day trip out to Phosphorus bay to make water as our stay in Marmaris was almost two weeks waiting for customs to clear us in. Turns out that they do not accept photo-copies of anything and our original boat registration back in Mar 2022 was mailed to home as we were in France waiting to depart. So after 2 1/2 years of cruising we get caught up on a technicality. Thanks to Jenna for couriering our original to Turkey.
Smug get's a new coat. New Chaps for her. The crew at Aktif did an amazing job.
Road trip to Pamukkule.
Leg 29 - Blue Grotto - 23NM
Leg 30 - Buyukaga Koyu - 16NM
At the right side of the beach there is a pathway that hikes up the hillside.
At the top there are ruins and an ancient cistern. Well worth the hike up.
Leg 19 - Sifnos 20NM
They call Sifnos the Island of Gastronomy.....
Leg 20 - Milos 20NM
Leg 22 - Sikinos 11NM
Leg 23 - Chora 8NM
Leg 24 - Santorini 21NM
Stay tuned for the Turkey itinerary
Comments