We awoke after a peaceful night of sailing the Aegean Sea southwards and found ourselves in the strait between the eastern cape of the Peloponnese and the Island of Kythera. Visibility was extraordinary, and several guests spotted the mountains of western Crete at a great distance. Winds were light and variable with abundant sunshine, promising a day under sail on Sea Cloud. After breakfast, Captain Svendsen met with guests to explain how he uses online wind charts to help make his sail plan. The group moved to the spanker deck where guests were excited to view the process of going under sail as the Captain narrated what the sailors were doing. Guests were then invited to the fore deck; this rare opportunity provided an excellent vantage point to appreciate the great number of sails in use and to take photos. Finally, the Captain invited guests back to the spanker deck as all sailors were needed to set the spanker sail and spanker top sail. We spent the morning with every possible sail on the ship in play!
After a fantastic buffet lunch on the lido deck, the Captain and expedition leader assessed conditions and offered the much-desired Lindblad Photo Safari by Zodiac to appreciate and to photograph the Sea Cloud under glorious full-sail! Nearly every guest on board participated in this wonderful opportunity. Meanwhile, the Sea Cloud Boutique was opened in the main lounge to provide shopping therapy.
In midafternoon, National Geographic certified photo instructor Linda Burback gave the first presentation on “Smartphone Photography” providing very practical and hands-on instruction to improve our photo game on mobile devices.
Later we enjoyed a special afternoon tea featuring crepes, and then witnessed the sailors once again hitting the rig to take in the sails.
At 18:30, guests arrived to the lido deck in their finest apparel for the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail. Officers and other notables were introduced, and we proceeded to a fine Welcome Dinner in the main lounge and dining room.
As we had great visibility and dark skies, expedition leader John offered a stargazing session on the spanker deck; guests gazed in wonder at a Milky Way so prominent that its light was even reflected on the sea!
