“Brace the yards to starboard tack,” came the command from Captain Komakin, and the bosun soon had the three mast teams hauling the port side bracing lines to alter the angles of 16 square sails to catch the fresh northwesterly breeze. “Hit the Rig!” came the next command, and seemingly out of nowhere 18 sailors started climbing the ratlines up into the rigging and out onto the yardarms. Most of us gazed up from the spanker deck in awe, as we learned how the sailing of a true hand-sailed tall ship really works. After the square sails were set, we moved forward to the bridge and monkey deck to watch the setting of the jibs and staysails, and finished up on the fo’c’sle (forecastle) to the glorious sight of Sea Cloud under sail.
And what a sail it was, with a fresh 20-knot breeze carrying us past the islands of Syros, Antiparos, and Sifnos at 6.5 knots. It was a spectacular sight and feeling, as we took advantage of the winds on the first day of our voyage to make the most of the sailing. This also gave us an opportunity to get settled into the ship and find our favorite spots, as well as to meet the expedition staff and explore our favorite subjects and specialty interests. Photographic instructor Ian Strachan introduced us to the art of photography (photo = light, graph = writing, photography = writing with light). Our Greek cultural specialists gave an overview of the Cycladic Islands as the historic steppingstones between Asia Minor, Africa, and Europe, which developed the Greeks as early sailors, explorers, and traders. And the many youngsters among us started to explore the ship’s collection of mythology and geographic references.
We were all hoping for a late-afternoon swim after the sailing, and our expedition leader had planned for us to anchor at the south end of the dramatic uninhabited island of Poliegos (poly = many, iagos = goats). The red mineral cliffs were stunning, but alas the increasing winds were wrapping all the way around the island, and if we had anchored the ship the winds would have wrapped us right into the cliffs. Captain Komakin held the ship off for some excellent photographic opportunities before we backed away to anchor in the open winds. The ship was remarkably stable in the strong seas, as we enjoyed a superb gourmet meal for our welcome dinner and retired for the evening in anticipation of tomorrow’s visit to the sacred center of the Cycladic Universe at the island of Delos.
