Guest blog by Kaitlyn I arrived in Greece expecting sunshine, swimming, and a relaxing week aboard KORA. Instead, my second full day at sea began with what felt like a practical demonstration of fluid dynamics. The sail from Schoinaoussa to Astypalea (some spell it Astypalaia) was about 50 nautical miles and took roughly ten...

After two wonderful weeks with Steve and his family, KORA suddenly felt… quiet. No more cousins playing cards around the table. No more chatter coming from every corner of the boat. And for some reason, the absence of our extended family made us miss the only one missing from our family of four even...

Kaitlyn is here! With one very important crew member finally arriving, the family was complete once again. (Well, almost. Emily is in Australia, her usual place of residence May-August. Hopefully next year she’ll join us!) Oscar, Chelsea and I practically sprinted to the ferry terminal to meet Kaitlyn, and before she’d even had a...

Sometimes an island just feels particularly special. For us, that island was Naxos. Whether it was the incredible scenery, the welcoming locals, the mountain villages, or simply the memories we made together as a family, Naxos quickly became one of our favourite stops of the summer. And with three nights planned here – our longest...

With the Meltemi keeping us close to Paros and the nearby islands for another day, we decided to explore a different corner of Paros. Our first stop was Kolymbithres Beach, one of Paros’ most famous beaches – and it’s easy to see why! Rather than long stretches of sand, the shoreline is framed by enormous...

So far, our sailing plans have been falling nicely into place. We’ve made a few small adjustments along the way. Sometimes we hear about a “must see” location from another sailor. We’ve followed several of these suggestions and must say that we’ve been pleasantly surprised by every one! Other times its weather related. Indeed,...

Our sail from Antiparos to Paros was a short one – just 4.7 nautical miles. Winds were light, and thus, we actually motored all the way. Though we did see some kids out on the water learning to sail on optis (small single-handed sailing dinghy). The two islands sit so close together that “Antiparos” literally...

Guest Blog by Oscar (with a little help from Chelsea) As the sun let the moon clock off its night shift, we woke up on Folegandros Island and set off for Antiparos. First up we sailed over to the uninhabited island of Despotiko. We weren’t the only GOATs on the island. Real goats were trotting all...

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....