I can finally say that we have sailed the Peloponnisos, and what a wonderful experience. Lots of cliffs, caves and castles, and beautiful beaches. Compared to much of the rest of Greece, unspoilt by tourism. Not many of the normal facilities one would expect, but beautiful unspoilt anchorages, sometimes a bit rolly near the capes, but well worth toughing it out overnight.
One of the most important lessons we learned, is when you round the capes west to east, in a light, downwind situation, the wind on the otherside is going to be fierce, so prepare to reef seriously or drop some sail.
NOTES FROM INTERNET:
Kitrou provides good shelter from S. anchor off beach .very attractive spot. few tavernas little else.
Limeni. shelter here during the summer months. Anchor Karavostasi in the NE of the bay or in the south at Limeni. very attractive.
Lakonikos. Asomato and Vathi are the first two inlets and are suitable anchorages in calm weather. Better shelter Kayio. W-SW wind anchor in the cove in the south of the bay. holding not good in hard sand with weed and rocks. alternative anchor in the east and north of the bay.
Kithera and Andikathera. Pelagia is the ferry port for the island. NE harbour untenable. Kapsali: western cove stern to or alongside the outer half of the quay. permission port police. sand rock and weed.reasonable holding. chora. attractive.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 19-Aug-2010
Monemvassia
Navarino Bay. (Anchorage)
Pilos (Town Dock)
Pylos
In Navarino Bay.
yacht marina here with lazy lines tavernas
http://www.cruiserlog.com/wiki/index.php?title=PylosHoward [ Just Imagine ] 03-Aug-2010After a quick look at the marina, we docked at the town dock. We were told by a dockman that we could only dock if we took on fuel, which we were ready to do anyway. There are several fuel trucks on the dock vying for business from the few boats that come in here.
Being alongside was great, and we did not have to worry about anchors dragging, but we did dock quite near to the sewer outflow in the corner of the dock. The dockman assured us that it was treated sewage, but I would warn the fastidious to dock near the outer edge of the dock or give this a miss.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 03-Aug-2010
Diros (Anchorage)
We anchored here early in the morning, coming from Limini, to see the wonderful Vlihada caves. Not to be missed
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 06-Aug-2010
Methoni (Anchorage)
anchor good holding in mud or sand.good shelter from NW. tavernas beach town.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 04-Aug-2010
Katakolon (Anchorage)
We anchored outside the harbor for a couple of days in the company of a few other cruisers. Great holding once in, in hard sand. Safe place to leave the boat to go to Olympia.
Cars, and horses and buggies drive along the beach here.
Nice town with waterfront bars and restaurants.
Great kick off spot for a trip to Olympia, where the Olympic games began in 776 BC.
We missed the 0922 train to Olympia, so we took a 1015 bus outbound, and came back by train. It was fun to ride on the bus observing the locals going about their business, as the bus stopped along the way, but next time we would take the train both ways, as it is so easy.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 30-Jul-2010Looks like a new marina in the satellite photo.
bow or stern to or alongside. good shelter. plenty of tavernas.tour Olympia from here.
Noonsite.com
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 01-Apr-2007
Kiparissia (Town Dock)
Contrary to previous reports, the harbour wall has been completed to the NW, extending beyond the eastern mole and giving good protection in most conditions. The satellite picture does not show the full extent of the new wall.
Go alongside the eastern breakwater.
Abundant water on the dock free of charge. There are faucetts at several locations along the wall.
A great place to rest up and wash down the boat.
The hotel on shore allows patrons of the bar to use the swimmimg pool. Great tavernas along the shore.
I walked miles up the hill with my hand cart to get some diesel from the gas station in town.
Nice beaches a short dinghy ride from the port.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 01-Aug-2010
Kiparissi (Anchorage)
We anchored off the central beach near the town and dinghied ashore. Popular bar on the waterfront with Greek tourists.
http://www.ballgate.com/safehavens/kiparissi.shtml
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 13-Aug-2010
Ancient Olympia (Historic)
Where the Olympic games were first held.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 30-Jul-2010
Vathi Avlaki (Anchorage)
This was one of the most stunning anchorages of our summer, that we stumbled upon as we gunk holed our way up the coast.
http://www.ballgate.com/safehavens/vathiavlaki.shtml
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 13-Aug-2010
Yerakas (Anchorage)
Ieraka
Entrance between high cliffs.
Bow to in front of the tavernas, or anchor in the west near the lagoon in 4-6m mud.
http://www.ballgate.com/safehavens/yerakas.shtml
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 12-Aug-2010
Limeni (Anchorage)
It seemed a bit deep to anchor in Limeni, so we anchored in the bay in the north east. Some bareboats went alongside the old pier.
Limeni. shelter here during the summer months. Anchor Karavostasi in the NE of the bay or in the south at Limeni. very attractive.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 05-Aug-2010
Plitra (Town Dock)
bow or stern to the outer end of the mole. Holding not great on the rocky bottom trip line. Shelter good except S. tavernas.sandy beaches snorkelling.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 08-Aug-2010
Petalidhion (Anchorage)
small bay NW of the gulf of Messiniakos. good shelter except NE or E. attractive village sandy beach.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 06-Aug-2010
Kalamata (Town Dock)
Excellent all round shelter. alongside the western quay adjacent marina. supermarket walking distance. tavernas.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2743533
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 07-Aug-2010
Yithion (Town Dock)
bow or stern to the mole where there is good holding in mud. good fish restaurants
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 08-Aug-2010
Koroni
anchor mud, sand and weed. good shopping and tavernas
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 05-Aug-2010We anchored along the beach south west of Koroni as the harbour looked a bit crowded. Bit of a rolly night.
The next morning we anchored in the Koroni harbour and went to the fabulous monastery.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 05-Aug-2010
Finikounda (Anchorage)
bow to breakwater or anchor. tavernas. village wonderful, built around the beach.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 05-Aug-2010
Ormos Potamou(Antikythera) (Anchorage)
Unsafe in all but calm weather most yachts avoid the place.
The Antikythera mechanism discovered here in 1900 is believed to be an ancient mechanical calculator dating from 100BC, designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in 1900 in an ancient wreck in this bay. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not appear until a thousand years later.
The device is displayed in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens along with a reconstruction made by Derek de Solla Price. Another reconstruction is on display at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 10-Aug-2010
Ormos Kapsali(Kithera) (Anchorage)
Ormos Kapsali
western cove stern to or alongside the outer half of the quay. permission port police. sand rock and weed.reasonable holding. chora. attractive.
Kythira island
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 09-Aug-2010
Limin Kayio (Anchorage)
Asomato and Vathi are the first two inlets and are suitable anchorages in calm weather. Better shelter Kayio. W-SW wind anchor in the cove in the south of the bay. holding not good in hard sand with weed and rocks. alternative anchor in the east and north of the bay.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 07-Aug-2010
Leonidian (Plaka) (Town Dock)
We went bows to near the end of the jetty, after dropping a stern anchor in 53 feet of water. I realised that this was a huge mistake when I went to haul it in by hand the next day. We do not have a stern windlass.
The anchor chain all ran out, and the rope securing the bitter end played out before we reached the dock. I was able to pull some chain back in to get a snubber on it.
We later found out that we could have gone alongside the ferry dock at the end of the jetty, as they have not had a ferry stopping here for years.
Lovely little port once you are docked. Nice tavernas. While we were eating dinner, the lights went out. All the lights in the entire region went out. The waiters brought out candles for us to complete our meal. Very quaint.
The water man came the next day and charged €4 for us to fill our tanks. The power boat next door used the water for a complete washdown. Not sure what he paid for that.
The satellite picture on the right, does not show the ferry dock constructed yet, though one can see the beginnings of it under the water.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 14-Aug-2010
Ancient Sparta (Historic)
Maratho (Anchorage)