Our first day on Sea Cloud started as it should: a full day dedicated to sailing in the Aegean Sea! This is the sea named after the tragic king Aegeas who threw himself off the cliffs of Cape Sounion and was drown in it, because he saw his son Theseus’s ship returning with black sails from Crete—where his son went to kill the monster Minotaur in the Labyrinth—and thought his son was dead. Tragedy!  It was a beautiful day for us nevertheless, and we sailed in the dark bright blue waters, the same sea where man set sail for the first time in human history thousands of years ago! The god of the winds Aeolus sent us just the right amount of wind from the northeast to set sails and be on our course along the east coast of the Peloponnese heading south. After all this was the right time of the year, because during the two hottest months of the year, July and August, we are blessed in Greece with strong northeast winds, the meltemi winds, that blow and keep us cool and not humid. Many of us were up on the spanker deck in the morning, where our expedition leader Tom O’Brian gave explanations as the crew was climbing the ropes and masts to open the square sails at dizzying heights!

The day proceeded at a very relaxed pace, and when the time came for our wonderful buffet lunch on the lido deck, we were all stunned by a humongous fresh tuna fish that was the highlight, among many other delightful dishes! It was cut on the spot, and we had it either raw or grilled, and of course we loved it! Our day was also enriched by a “crash” lecture on photography given by our onboard expert Linda Burback, and an overview of the Greek history in the region presented by the two Greek cultural specialists Roula and Smaro.

Our day ended with Sea Cloud sailing by the southern part of the Peloponnese, past the island of Kythera—and birthplace of Aphrodite!—enjoying the captain’s cocktails on the lido deck, getting acquainted with the 14 different nationalities of crew on board, and finally having a first class dinner in the lounge as the moon was shining its silver path in Homer’s wine dark seas…