Summer cruises 2016; Spetses

The magnificent Poseidonion Grand Hotel and its promenade near Spetses’ new harbor.     

Beautiful houses along Spetses’ waterfront near the old harbor at springtime (c. 1969).    

The island of Spetses hosts every year a classic yacht regatta. 

Sailors in traditional outfits sail an open caique (Greek; καΐκι). 

Spetsiot shipbuilders still practice their craft, a labor of love; building beautiful boats and thus they preserve a skill that goes back to Ancient Greece.  Caiques, the small narrow wooden boats of yesteryear, were powered by sails and some were rowed.  They crisscrossed the Mediterranean and some ventured even into the Atlantic.   Caiques are the workhorse of the islands, often being used for multiple purposes such as fishing, people transport, and the shipment of goods. Being small and having shallow drafts, they can easily slide into small harbors and draw close enough to many beaches so that passengers can either walk down a gangplank or can wade onto the shore.  The picture (c. 1960) was taken in one of Spetses’ shipyards where three craftsmen are busy building a caique.  

Picture of a Spetsiot shipyard (Greek: καρναγιο) in the old harbor (c. 1969).

The classic sailboat “Aphroessa” is a traditional trechandiri one of the many types of Caïques.  It belongs to last King of Greece.

In 1821, Spetses was the first of the Greek islands that raised the flag of Revolution.