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Every
year several sailboat races take place in the Aegean Sea. This year 76 sailboats from 15 nations participated
in the Aegean Regatta from the island of Patmos to the island of Rhodes. Our boat Okyrhoe departs from the port of
Lavrion at 7:00 in the morning of August 15, 2017 on its way to the island of
Patmos. At the helm my brother Nikos
Spigos who was accompanied by Elias Thomaidis and Vangelis Tridemas.
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The
first leg of the trip to Patmos was from the port of Lavrio around the southern
capes of the islands of Macronisos and Kea to Poseidonia on the island of
Syros. The length of the passage was 48
nautical miles.
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Poseidonia
is a small community on the west coast of Syros.
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| The next leg of the trip was was to the island of Donousa, a distance 48 nm with the final leg to the island of Patmos a 45 nm distance. All three crossings were fast due to the strong seasonal northerly wind called Meltemi that blew every day with velocities ranging from 25-30 knots gusting to 40 knots. |
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Donousa, the second stop, is a small
Greek island that you can literally crisscross on foot in its entirety.
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Finally
the weary group of three sailors reached its destination, the island of Patmos,
one in the chain of Dodecanese islands.
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| Patmos is a holy place where St John the Divine wrote the book of Revelation. A fortress like, 11th-century monastery dedicated to Saint John overlooks the whitewashed houses of the hilltop capital. |
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My
brother Nikos and Georgos Polioudakis, his crewmember, from Crete at the
entrance of main chapel (catholicon). Inside
the chapel, 12 carvers from the island of Chios made a wooden iconostasis in
1820. As all faithful they asked for Saint John’s support in the race that was
due to start the day after that I will describe in the November post.
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