Porto Rafti’s nautical club Ν.Α.Σ.Π.Ο.Ρorganizes several sailboat races during the summer every year with the last two crossing to the second largest of the Greek Islands, Eboia (Εὔβοια,) or Evia. Eboea derives its name from the words εὖ "good", and βοῦς "ox", meaning "the land of the well-fed oxen. An interesting vignette is that the philosopher Aristotle died on the island of Eboea in 322 BC.
The race on September 29, 2019 was to the coastal town of Karystos in the south coast of Evia. In antiquity Karystos’ name was Chaeronea and was famous for its wealth.
The medieval Castello Roso overlooks Karystos. The impressive Venetian castle was built in the 13th century, and is offering a panoramic view of the town.
The overall winner of the race to Karystos was the legendary Okyrhoe. In the picture we see the boat maneuvering near the starting line with my brother Nikos at the helm.
The last race was to little port of Marmari in the southeast coast of Evia. The boats are jockeying at the starting line.
In this picture we see the southwest coast of Evia and the nearby Petali islets. These two races concluded the 2019 season. It is time for the boats and the sailors to rest and prepare for the 2020 season. I wish you all a good winter, stay healthy and get ready for 2020!
Porto Rafti is a bay on the east shore of
the Attica peninsula. Four islets
(Rafti, Raftopoula, Praso, Circe) are inside while one (Koroni) is outside and
slightly to the south of the bay. Porto Rafti and the surrounding region belonged
in the demoi (Δημοι) Prasiae
and Steiria, two of the 139 municipalities
of Ancient Athens. Pausanias tells us that
Athenians built a temple of Apollo and erected a statue of Erichthoniusat Prasiae.
Erichthonius, the son of Cecrops
and an Attic hero, was also buried at Prasiae according to Pausanias(1,31,1).
It is
not known whom the enigmatic statue on top of the Rafti islet honored and what
was its purpose. The colossal marble
statue likely was sculpted during the Emperor Hadrian reign (78-138 AD). Pausanias submits that it was Erichthonius
while local folklore suggests it was a tailor as the word rafti means tailor in
demotic Greek vernacular. Even a casual inspection of the statue convinces even
the most uninitiated that the statue is a woman. Therefore, deities such as Athena, Artemis or Demeter or prominent
women such as Hadrian’s wife Sabina or Herod Atticus’ wife Regilla are likely
candidates. Its purpose is also unknown
but I strongly believe that it served as a lighthouse to assist ships returning
at night from the Cyclades islands the nearest of which Kea is 20 miles away
to Attica. Two more reasons in support of
my theory that its main function was that of a lighthouse are first that it is
facing east towards the Aegean islands and Asia Minor and second one of its
arms is raised where I would like to propose a metal cauldron was placed and
used for the purpose of lighting a fire. Etching by Irish traveler E. Dodwell who visited Greece from 1801 to 1806.
Porto Rafti Regatta is a three-day event with the first race run was from the starting line around the islets of Praso, Rafti and back to the finish line a length of approximately 5 nautical miles. The crew of Okyrhoe in day I was my brother Nikos, his wife Alexandra, our friend Kostas and myself.
The course in the second race was similar to that of the first day and the crew of legendary Okyrhoe was Nikos, Kostas, Myrto a most able woman sailor, her daughter and our cinematographer Alecos.
In the third and last day of Porto Rafti Regatta my brother had an all women crew. It is interesting that Okyrhoe was first at the finish line in all three races. It was a most pleasant weekend and a great way for me to celebrate my 73rd birthday with relatives and dear friends. In closing, I would like to thank my friend Alexander Syris who was the cinematographer and producer of the three beautiful videos of Porto Rafti Regatta.
View
of the Rafti Island located at the entrance of the bay.
George
Harrison looking at the island during his visit at Porto Rafti in 1979; in this
picture with his guitar and likely singing “here comes the sun”.
A beach
on the bay not far from where George Harrison was strumming his guitar.
Can you
guess who among the young on the beach is a Beetle’s devotee?
A
lovely aunt with her pretty niece.
A
fisherman is tying
his
traditional boat. The black swan is
patiently waiting for a snack.
A young
family boarding their inflatable for a passage to Rafti Island.
My
favorite boat is entering the bay after a long voyage.
