4-week cruise around the Peloponnese
Part 2, From Pylos to Monemvasia (South Peloponnese)

June 2021
A cruise report by W. Schock

At the next stop, Pylos, we can moor with a gentle breeze. The huge bay has history! Here in the bay of Navarino the united naval force of France, Russia, and England once sank 53 of 89 Turkish warships. They are still buried in the silt. The yoke of Turkish rule was shaken off. It meant the independence of Greece.

The prominent rocks at the entrance can be seen from afar. Pylos is full. Hardly a berth. But at the harbor entrance stands an old man tanned by wind and weather and what else, who pretends to want to look after the boat against 10 €. From an acquaintance, whose boat lies in Pylos, I learned that it should come here occasionally at night for spontaneous “property transfers”. At a rusty barge, we go alongside. The 10 € change hands and we think our boat is well protected. We stroll through Pylos and after a visit of Walter to the hairdresser Ernst says: You, who sits there in the kafenion, the old man, that is nevertheless our overseer. That’s how it was. He watched out that no new arriving boat escapes him. Back on the boat, we got a visit from the port authority. Control of the papers etc. The mooring fees are very low, if I may say so. Pylos was worth another day to us because there was much to explore.

As south, so the motto. There is again no wind, so we comfortably sail around Cape Saccouli, past Sapienza and Schiza, and look for a nice anchorage in Koroni (Corone). Here the supply possibilities are limited, but we need nothing thanks to a roomy refrigerator and sufficient water. Cooking on board is a pleasure for us.

Calamata is the next destination, unfortunately only reachable by the engine. We arrive in the late afternoon and after the boat is safely moored, we have a pier beer in one of the many pubs. Calamata is also equipped with an airport and there are all kinds of services on site. The next day belongs to the city. Here we have Greek food again, kokoretsi etc. The supplies are supplemented and well equipped it goes then course SSO further, along the peninsula Mani, around the cape Tainaron to Porto Kagio in the Limin Kagio. Already at the entrance, we were inspired by the beauty of the bay and the fortified towers. A few houses on the beach and also a few taverns can be seen from our anchorage.

5 m water depth, the best anchor ground, and only 2 boats in the bay inspire us. Of course, the “rubber pig” (dinghy) is made ready and shore leave is on the agenda. The very nice landlady of the tavern organized for us the next day an excursion with her car to the defense towers and the monastery. Her son was engaged as a chauffeur. At the end of the day, it took some persuasion to talk our driver into an appropriate tip. Both mother and son wanted to accept absolutely nothing!

The target is now the island of Elafonisos, on the south coast of which is a large bay with a long sandy beach, as it is not more beautiful in the Caribbean, with well-holding anchor ground and turquoise water. In the afternoon the anchor drops to 5 meters. The water is too warm and again a wonderful day is granted to us. Since we sail around the Peloponnese once a year, once to the left, the other time to the right, we already know all this extensively. Nevertheless, it is always beautiful, especially since only a few charter sailors get lost down here.

Well, then came Cape Maleas, notorious for its changing winds. So far wind from NW, now abruptly and violently from NE. After we had tied in 1 reef, the egg dance around the cape started. A single knot of speed we made over ground and the swinging on the winding course against on occupied us for hours. The LF Cape Maleas just did not want to move astern. After a few miles against the wind, it was possible to drop off a little and with the reefing out we were able to make good speed towards Monemvasia. Concerning the harbor Monemvasia, our disappointment was big; it was overcrowded and tiny. We didn’t want to moor at the breakwater facing N at all in the tight NE and so we decided to extend the sailing day a bit and sail into Limin Gerakas. The entrance to Gerakas is hard to see and not very wide. A steep wave stood at the entrance as we entered. The strong wind outside, was almost calm as we turned the corner and moored just outside the pub with a bow anchor and stern lines.

An exhausting beautiful day of sailing turns into a wonderful evening. The landlord, who knew us from the previous year, was very accommodating and also offered Walter to work in the kitchen. At this beautiful place, we spent the next day exploring the cave located at the entrance to the bay with the “rubber big”. Since we kept about a 5 m distance to the pier because of the water depth, we were forced to set up a “shuttle service” with the “rubber big”. I was already sitting in the pub on the box seat when Ernst and the Yogi wanted to cross together. Only In physics, both had not paid attention. The weight distribution was the problem. Thus, came what had to come. Both did an almost perfect Eskimo roll like from the textbook of the Inuit and went swimming. I bent over laughing, as did the host. It took a while until they were both dry again and sitting at my table. We ate delicious appetizers, enjoyed a variety of Greek cuisine, drank good wine, and laughed for a long time. The next day the host drove us to Monemvasia. To explore the Peloponnese without having seen Monemvasia is unforgivable.