Caio! (and announcing the return of daily micro-posts)

Greetings from Pylos, Greece. As Homer called it “Sandy Pylos.” (As I write this, I’m enjoying a morning coffee from my Bialetti. While it percolated on the stove, it told me how much it was looking forward to getting back to its Italian homeland.)

The island of Ithaca (and generally thought to be the seat of Odysseus’ kingdom) lies about 100 miles to the north-northwest. I visited there last year (if you missed it, see this post, section: The Odyssey to Odysseus’ Home). King Nestor of Pylos plays important roles in both Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Nestor is the embodiment of the elder statesman. Always giving sound and reasoned advice based on his years of experience. The other day I rented a car, and toured what is thought to be the remains of Nestor’s Palace, and also hiked to Nestor’s Cave. Thrilling.

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I am at-once scurrying about and a little sad. Scurrying about because I’m preparing to sail about 300 miles or so to Italy. I’m a little sad because I’m seeing the last of Greece.

Reggio Calabria on the toe of the boot of Italy is my intended port-of-call but we’ll see how that goes. From there, north through the Strait of Messina and west along the northern coast of Sicily. I’m a little worried about this upcoming sail to Reggio Calabria. The winds appear to be light and fickle and generally from the north and west (the direction I want to go). It’s also 300 miles “as the dolphin swims” which could mean a lot more miles from me if I need to tack upwind.

I’ve reactivated my satellite connectivity so you should be able to track my daily progress on the HJ Sailing home page when I depart later today. As with my Atlantic crossing a couple years ago, I’ll try to make daily posts of what’s happening aboard. On the HJ Sailing home page tracker, my current location is a red dot and where I’ve made posts will be a green dots. My latest post will be at the bottom of the map and scrolling to the right you’ll see older posts.

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Fair winds and following seas!

PS: Thank you for comments to yesterday’s Jumping Ship post. I appreciate them so much. In thinking about the deeper context of the intertwined stories of the post, it occurred to me just how much of the enormity of life turns on little things. Some might call it luck, or fate, or God, or the gods. Perhaps it’s a good reminder to—on one hand—not get wrapped up in the minutiae of life; but—at the same time—know that those little things, regardless of if they are in your control or not, can determine the course of the stream of your life.

To that end, yesterday would also have been Colleen’s and my 34th wedding anniversary. I spent a lot of time yesterday and the day before rewinding fondly 34 years to what was happening on those beautiful days.

Also to that end, I am thrilled to announce that our son Jack and his most-awesome wife Jessie are pregnant! They are due mid-February 2025 and, although I couldn’t talk about it publicly until now, it’s another factor that Rhett and I considered when we set our goal to sail HJ to the Caribbean. Having Hazel a couple hour flight away is such a different prospect than having her halfway around the world. It will help us balance the sailing we want to do with all that we want to be as hopeful grandparents.