We made it to the Cylcades - the Greek islands you see in postcards. We've been anticipating these islands and a bit nervous about them too. Although they are known for beautiful turquoise water and white washed houses, from a sailing perspective they are notorious for the unforgiving meltemi winds. The big charter boat companies do not have bases here for a reason. The meltemis can start in June and hit hard in July and August where they'll blow from 25-40 knots for 3-10 days making for unruly sailing conditions. Hopefully they'll stay away for the rest of June - who is the wind god again?

Our first stop in the Cyclades was Sifnos, a quiet island with the main town way up on the hill top. The blue domed cathedral out on a rock was tough to hike to - it must have been a lot harder to build! The church thing is crazy here - the island has a population of 2000 and about 400 churches. There is a different church for each day of the week, and a few more for good luck I guess. The bright blue dome means there is a Sunday service.

Until Sifnos, we haven't met any Americans since returning to the med. While Rodney and I were out for dinner at a beach traverna in the quaint bay of Vathi w/ about ten other boats around, we sat next to some folks talking "American." Now we haven't heard this accent for a while so we started chatting w/ them. We met Ursula and Richard from Palo Alto who were on a charter boat from Athens. The skipper of the boat, their instructor from home, was with them as well - and amazingly it was Eugenie Russell. Rodney and I have been in awe of Eugenie since reading about her incredible story in Latitude 38. Essentially, while captaining a sailing school passage from CA to Mexico on the Baja Ha Ha rally in 2009, her boat collided w/ a whale and suffered irreparable damage. Abandoning ship was the only option. After radioing for help, etc. everyone got in the life raft where they bobbed around 4 hours in big seas until the coast guard came and rescued them. She was gracious in answering our questions - which she must have heard a million times already. I was most curious about the moment when one realizes you have to get in the life raft - gulp. Eugenie is a professional and is respected for doing all the right things to ensure the safety of her crew. It was great to meet her- - and on a remote Greek island no less! Small world. Maybe some day we'll see her where she lives now, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where she is the base captain for J-World sailing school.

Sifnos was off the beaten track and laid back. RJ and Leo enjoyed it as the place where it felt warm enough to do water sports again. They had a blast waking up the quiet island w/ all of their activities. Here's RJs latest video demonstrating their favorites.
Photos Here