Day 120

4/2/2014

A sailor told me that the Corinth Gulf is considered a rough sea. The wind is always strong. It blows a few days east-west, then changes for a few days of west-east. I wanted to make it to the end of the gulf before the wind changed against me and I got nailed down.

I pulled out of the port into the tailwind and flew.

Sunny snow-capped three thousand foot mountains shone over the gulf. Whitecaps rode the sea and the world was full of light.

Where was I? I took a bearing which did not match the spot where I expected to be. I took another bearing off a point behind me and was further distraught. I examined my chart and found a point that matched my bearings. It was almost twice as far as my initial estimate.

I found a fat bald swimmer and tried to ask the name of the town, but after he learned I was American he would only grunt at me. I waved my paddle and got the attention of some hooligans near the beach. They didn’t seem to want to talk to me either, but when I called out the name of the town they confirmed.

I paddled 33.5 miles in 8 hours. Never have I paddled so far so fast. I rolled for joy and pulled into the port in Xylokastro. I was greeted by a man who was excited to see a kayaker. He called his friend who makes kayaks.

Artvali showed up and invited me into his home. I showed off my own traditional paddles and had an amazing tour of beautiful Alution and Greenland skin-on-frame kayaks and paddles. His home was a temple to the paddle gods and a gateway to heaven. It also has a hot shower.

I inspected his boats closely; they are really nice. If any of you paddlers out there are ready for a new custom designed high performance paddle or boat, skin on frame or kevlar, at a great price contact Artvali.

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Current location: 38.081431,22.62294