The 2024 Euro summer was one for the logbooks. I’m Blerina, admiral and official feta distributor aboard Sailing B’leve, a catamaran captained by my husband Steve — an absolute legend of a sailor, amateur engine whisperer, and the sort of guy who’d MacGyver a fix for anything from a busted seawater pump to a stubborn customs checkout process.
Together, we spent six months and 2,268 nautical miles cruising around the Aegean Sea. Our compass? The wind. Our mood? Generally beam reach bliss. And our Volvos? Put their feet up and had a holiday of their own.
Sailing with the wind in the Aegean Sea, by Sailing B’leve
The Route Less Motored
We kicked off from Kilada, Greece (aka The Catamaran Cradle), with a plan so simple it sounded suspicious: follow the wind. And what do you know? It worked. We rode the prevailing southerlies north through the Argolic and Saronic gulfs, tiptoed through the Corinth, snuck up the Evia channel into the Sporades, then made our way east to Turkey before looping back through the south Aegean and north of Crete, finishing with a tidy full-circle return to Kilada.
Curious where exactly we wandered? Have a peek at our full route here and relive the highlight reel in this cheeky Instagram wrap-up.
BlerinaA good sailor never blames their tools — and we had no reason to
Gear That Got Us There: Tools of the Trade
A good sailor never blames their tools — and we had no reason to. Our Big Three:
- Rod & Lucinda Heikell’s Greek and Turkish Waters Pilot Books – More sacred than the family Bible. Charts, tips, tales, and the kind of detail that would make a customs officer blush.
- PredictWind Pro – We’re subscribers, and frankly, addicts. Their high-res weather modelling is next level — helped us dodge a few tantrum systems and made route planning feel like cheating (in a good way).
- Navily – Real-time anchorage reviews, crowdsourced sailor wisdom, and our outlet for sharing 114 anchorage tales of joy, swell, and occasionally, goats. (Yes, goats.)
Crossing Borders Like Pros (Eventually)
Ah, bureaucracy — the one headwind we couldn’t avoid. Here’s how the border dance played out:
- Exit Greece – Leros – Anchored in Lakki. Realised we actually had to schlep to Agia Marina to do paperwork. Paid €15 and waved goodbye to spanakopita.
- Enter Turkey – Didim – Found a gem of an agent via the “Aussies & Kiwis Sailing the Med” Facebook group (cheers, legends!). WhatsApped all the paperwork. Showed up. Smiled. Paid €300. Boom — we’re in.
- Exit Turkey – Fethiye – Another agent. Another €150. Quick and painless, unlike that Turkish gulet’s anchoring technique.
- Re-enter Greece – Rhodes – DIY style. Walked 30,000 steps around Old Town to hit up all the right offices. Paid another €15. Rewarded ourselves with tzatziki and oregano chips. Life’s good.
Hot tip: Keep those boat docs tidy, lean into the collective brain of the sailing community, and budget for Turkish agents unless you fancy interpreting regulations written in Ottoman calligraphy.
Top Anchorages: Our Favourite Wet Spots
Out of the 114 anchorages we visited, a few deserve a shoutout louder than a Meltemi:
Winds, Warnings & (Unintentional) War Games
The Aegean is a sailor’s paradise — but it pays to keep your ears to the VHF and your eyes peeled for red zones.
When sailing near the Carian coast of Turkey or the southern Aegean (Crete included), check for active military zones. Some areas randomly go off-limits due to exercises. Ask the coast guard. Or the guy at the local bakery. Or, as we did once, Google Translate your way through a PDF only available in Turkish. Kiwi ingenuity goes a long way.
Final Reflections from the Helm
This season was about sailing with nature, not against it. About tuning into the wind, the rhythm of the sea, and the sound of feta clinking gently against a ceramic plate.
We didn’t rush. We didn’t motor unless we had to. And we left every anchorage with a bit more salt in our hair and joy in our hearts.
Fair winds, glassy bays, and border crossings with fewer stairs to climb.
— Sailing B’leve
(A couple of Kiwi-American-Albanian-Croatian sailors with a dream, a few passports, a mainsail and a couple of hulls)
Comment
Hi there! This is Sascha and Irene – before from Hong Kong, now finally back to cruising life and making our way up the East Coast of the US during this summer. Congrats on your shared blog on Navily where we found you smiling out of the MacBook to us! Happy to read that you are having a good time! Fair winds and safe travels 🙂