The journey to Folegandros reminded us that the Aegean doesn’t always play nicely. With steady winds of 20-25 knots, gusts over 30, and 4-6 foot seas, it turned into one of our rougher passages of the summer. KORA handled it beautifully, although a few stomachs weren’t quite as enthusiastic. Poor Chelsea donated her lunch to Poseidon,...

One word is quickly becoming part of our everyday vocabulary in the Cyclades: Meltemi. Every summer, these powerful northerly winds sweep across the Aegean, often blowing at Force 7-8 on the Beaufort Scale. They’re famous among sailors – deserving of respect, occasionally feared – and most always taken seriously. Fortunately for us, we’d already found shelter....

While everyone back home in America was celebrating the country’s 250th birthday on July 4th, we found ourselves celebrating somewhere equally memorable – floating in one of the most spectacular bays in all of Greece. Today took us to Milos, one of the Cyclades’ volcanic islands, famous for its dramatic coastline, brilliant white rock formations,...

We’re slowly making our way south through the Cyclades, and are beginning to understand why it’s such a popular place to charter a boat and go sailing. We’re also feeling grateful that we have our own boat and can sail at our own whim because there are so many wonderful places to explore! For...

Guest Blog Post by Chelsea McNally As the sun tackled the moon across the skyline, KORA set sailed for Kolona beach on the island of Kythnos. The trip felt very long but it was only 4 hours. Aunty Karen, Oscar and I played golf (a card game), but then I felt really sick and...

Guest Blog Post by Oscar McNally As the sun chased the moon off the night shift, we all rose from our slumber and were starving. Rushing up to the buffet breakfast, we were all quickly munching down our bacon and eggs, anxious for the journey ahead. Finally, we arrived at the marina where we...

With KORA fueled, provisioned (first round), and ready for her next adventure, it was finally time to head into Athens. Before we could begin sightseeing, however, we met up with my brother Steve, Catherine, Oscar, and Chelsea – the first time we’d seen them since sailing together aboard KORA in Italy last summer! It...

After weeks of island hopping, quiet anchorages, and sleepy seaside villages, we arrived somewhere completely different. Athens! The sail into the city certainly made us work for it. With gusts pushing close to the 30-knot mark, KORA spent much of the passage under heavily reefed sails, charging toward the city at speeds sometimes reaching...

Some archaeological sites are explored on foot. This one required a mask and snorkel. I found the below aerial picture online. Our destination was the Sunken City of Ancient Epidaurus, where the remains of a Roman-era settlement lie just a few metres beneath the surface. Believed to date back nearly 2,000 years, sections of...

Some places amaze you because of their beauty. Others because of human ingenuity. The Corinth Canal falls firmly into the second category. After being closed for months while engineers carried out major slope stabilization and rockfall repairs, the canal unexpectedly reopened just days before our arrival, giving KORA the opportunity to transit one of...