Day 11 - Hydra (Υδρα) to Aegina (Αιγινα)

Wednesday, October 6
Travel time: 5.5 hrs, Distance: 29.9 nm

We got up at 7:20 a.m., had coffee, and prepared to go. We had warned the boats rafted in front of us that we would be leaving about 8:30. The other boat crews were on deck for our departure.

Fortunately, only one boat in front of us had to motor away. We were able to squeeze between the others and gently push them to the side. To our amazement, our anchor was not fouled by our fellow ships.

We were so excited about how smoothly our departure went that we didn't remember the fenders and other items until we were out of the harbor into the heavy winds. Lesson learned! After getting our act together, we headed north, across the strait to Peloponnese, to get some shelter along its southeast coast.

The seas were very choppy with 2-4 foot waves all the way across to the Peloponnese The waves and wind calmed down some, but we were still fighting to go forward into the wind. Kelli helmed until southeast shore and Kevin took over guiding us to Poros.

After two hours of motoring. Poros was a respite. The seas at Poros were flat, since the area was protected by the surrounding hills. We took our time motoring through the area and enjoying the calm.

We were surprised by the number of boats rafted together along the Poros waterfront.

Mike took over the helm as we left Poros and worked us through moderate seas for the two hours trip to Aegina.

Aegina was a commercial center about 1000 BC and become a great maritime power by the 7th century. This power made Athens uneasy. Athens attacked the island in 459 BC and defeated the Aegina army. Aegina was forced to pull down its city wall and surrender its fleet. Aegina never recovered. Aegina has since slipped into a more humble role as Greece's premier producer of pistachios.

Today, the Aegina harbor at Aegina Town is busy and the quay is noisy. Like a lot of Greek islands, there are tons of scooters and motorcycles that can drown out a conversation at a street side taverna.

Team Sivota enjoying a Mythos

Our mooring went perfectly. And good thing because six other Tradewinds boats were there waiting for us and watching. The winds were light and the water was calm.

After settling the boat, we were off for light snacks, some shopping, then a light dinner.

In the first picture below, Didimos is the sailboat to the right of the orange taxi. Didimos has the "candy striped" rolled up foresail.

Because we had a significant amount of alcohol left over, we invited other Tradewinds crews over to our boat for a party. The official count of bodies on Didimos was 23. (Of course, if the Greek Coast Guard is reading this, we're just kidding about having 23 people on board our vessel...) This was a great way to celebrate our final night on Didimos.

The Didimos crew after our boat cleared off