A Fishermen from Ischia going out to fetch his daily catch - sadly he returned empty handed Our Captain Marco found the perfect bay to stay for the night. There was no swell. We had a good night's rest. The bay was also shielded from any radio signal - no messaging in this "Funkloch" as we said in ths Swiss Army. A southerly picked up shortely after 8 am - time to set sails and move around the island to visit Cumae, the oldest Greek colony on the Italian mainland. Founded in

Paestum's Temple of Poseidon was built a two Decades before the Parthenon in Athens Last night we could not stay in Agropoli. A bad weather system with lightning and thunder storms was moving in from the west. We needed a more secure anchor place. Luckily, Captain Mario had booked a berth at Marina d'Arechio near Salerno - just in case. Here, we were safe when gales started blowing. It rained all night - we hardly noticed. Paestum from the Air - the City had 50'000 inhabitant

Elea is visible from far away - the medieval Tower was built over the Foundations of the Temple of Athena. The ancient Townwalls included about half the visible Ridge. We are off to Velia today or Elea, as the ancient Greek called the town. It is a good two hours sailing north of our anchor place at Palinuro where we stayed overnight. Bidding Farewell to our ancient Greek Harbour of Palinuro Approaching Elea from the sea makes you understand why the Greek chose this place.

The majestic Greek Theatre in Tyndaris has been partially refurbished and hosts many musical and theatrical performance every summer Last night, there was a big party in Milazzo. After dinner, we went ashore to find out what people were celebrating. The entire town was on the beach promenade. Families with small babies. Couples dressed up elegantly. Elderly women in their Sunday gowns - their hubbies in shorts. Teenage girls and boys trying to impress each other. On stage, th

Taormina's Clock Tower is a time less Symbol of the Towns 2'400 Years - with an equally time less Mount Etna at the back After a good night's sleep on the open waters south of Taormina, protected from swells by an invisible underwater ridge, we got up early this morning. The goal was to beat the Cruise Boat crowd. Coming from Messina and Catania, they arrive by coach at around 11 am. If we managed to get to Taormina by 9 am, we'd have the charming town for 2 hours to ourselve

Syracuse Yacht Harbour at 07.15 at Sunrise Clear blue sky but a rather windy morning. Driven by the Mistral, a northerly wind is blowing through the Straits of Messina. It blows at > 20 knots. Waves south of the Straits are now at 1.5 meters. At breakfast, we decide to delay the departure to after lunch. We would get terribly soaked if we leave now. In the afternoon, the wind is supposed to die down. We will use the spare morning for things we have to do anyway. Whilst we do

Latomie del Paradiso - Quarry of Paradise got its name from the lush Garden which is now growing inside - it was anything but a Paradise during Greek time Yesterday's decision to cross early from Malta to Sicily was perfect. We lifted anchor at 6 am. The sea was flat as if Poseidon had ironed it. It was a hazy day. The sun was barely visible at sunrise. On the way we crossed a few container ships. One was huge with 200'000 BRT and a width of 60 meters. We were crossing the in

Greek Helmets excavated under the Temple of Athena in Velia (Elea). Geopolitics these days are interesting. With Russia’s unsuccessful war against the Ukraine, we witness the demise of one of the last empires. China’s rise to superpower is slowed down by unforgivable demographics, a lack of energy and an exorbitant debt burden. And the USA is trying to reverse its relative decline by “Make America Great Again”. Geopolitics are nothing new. More amazing though is seeing them b

The Ferrovia Tirrenia on the Coast of Calabria during bad Weather near Lamezia Terme When doing the contingency planing for sailing this summer, the.title of the book"The Importance of Being Idle" came to my mind. I read it a good 30 years ago. These days, most people are in a rush and always on the go. Stephen Robins, the book's author, makes the case that being idle allows you to contemplate everything a bit longer and focus on the essential. For him, being idle is a tool t

Hippocrates (Father of modern Medicin), Socrates (Philosopher), Leonidas (Spartan King who fought the Persians with his famous 300 at the Thermophylae) and Pericles (Leader of Athens who defeated the Persian Fleet at Salamis) all had Beards This summer, on our way from Malta to Pozzuoli, we will visit several ancient Greek and Roman sites. Thanks to EU funding, most of them now have their own on-site museum - though many suffer from the "Oggi Chiuso" syndrome. But occasionall

The Straits of Messina with a typical big Swirl at the Entrance In 2021, five years ago, we crossed the Straits of Messina twice. First on our way to the Aeolian Islands. Then on the way back to Calabria. At one point of the return crossing, the AFAET, our boat in 2021, was caught by a giant swirl. Within seconds it was 45 degrees off course - no problem for a modern sailer with a strong engine. The autopilat put us back on track. For ancient sail ships or galleys the problem

The Theatre of Tindari dates back to the 4th century BC and overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea One of the true pleasures of sailing along old trade routes is finding ancient Greek theatres. In Greece and Turkey we found one at almost every stop. They are obiquos. Now working on the details of this summer's trip from Malta to Pozzuoli (near Naples), I was looking forward to put them on our diary - researching their history and origin. Except - there are surprisingly few. Why are the

Lake Avernus in 2022 during the Blossoming of Cyano-Bacterium Planktothrix Rubescens A good 25 kilometer west of Naples, on the volcanic Campi Flegrei, is Lago Averno, a crater lake with a radius of ½ km. Its name tells a story. “Áornos” in Greek means bird-less lake. Birds flying over it were said to fall dead. This must have been true 2’000 years ago, when toxic fumes still evaporated. Today, the lake is dormant. From time to time though, it turns pink due to the blooming o

The well preserved Greek Temples in Paestum attract every summer Thousands of Tourists The piece I wrote two days ago showed a photo of the Castello Aragonese di Agropoli . A few kilometers north of it lies Paestum, a town founded by Greek colonists from Sybaris in 600 BC. Its original name was Poseidonia. Pictures of Paestum made me wonder why the town had such big temples. Three of them are well preserved and attract thousands of tourists every summer. They are almost as la

Scuba Divers are allowed to explore the Submarine Archeology Park in Baiae Despite fumes, frequent tremors and occasional eruptions, Greeks loved to live in and around the Bay of Naples. Nea Polis (Naples), Kumai (Cumae), Pithekousai (Ischia), Dicaearchia (Pozzuoli) and Poseidonia (Paestum) are the best known ancient Greek settlements which still exist today. The Romans loved loved living there too as did the Etruscans (founders of Capua) and the Samnites (founders of Pompeii

Etruscan Buccheri (simple pottery) exported to Sardinia, now in the National Archeology Museum in Calgari At times, I stumble on fascinating facts which stare into my face for years without me noticing. Happened again last week when I wrote about Campi Flegrei , the large cauldron west of Naples. As I was searching for craters, I came across the Greek colony of Cumae, a settlement with acropolis, port and long town walls. In 474 BC, 6 years after the Athenians destroyed the P

Am often asked “what was the highlight" of the 2025 trip? Most people expect an answer like the "Turquoise Beach of Kasos", or the...

Our Boat, the MYRA, this morning at Sunrise at 06.59 am (in Rhodes it was 06.25 am) This morning, after breakfast, it was time to say...

On the horizon to the west, in the hazy afternoon, the small island of Antikythira comes into view. We are on the way to Kythira but will...

The Venetian Harbor of Chania with the Workshops to maintain the Fleet on the Left Sailing from Rethymnon to Chania was fun - albeit a...