Wildlife out there

Where we met them.

Six dolphin encounters between 2021 and 2025 — from the Cyclades in the south to the northern Aegean. Click a marker for the date and photos. One we caught only on video.

Dolphins.

Dolphins will often run with the boat a while — in the bow wave, or just passing through. Here are the times we managed to catch them — on camera or video. Click an encounter to see it.

A dolphin just below the surface in clear blue water, seen from the deck — 12 June 20216 photos ›

Two dolphins breaking the surface alongside the boat — 28 April 20248 photos ›

A dolphin leaping out of the water under a grey sky — 14 October 20221 photo ›

A dorsal fin breaking the surface in open water — 13 July 20231 photo ›

A dolphin in the wake south of Skiathos, July 2025 — frame from video — 11 July 2025video ›

A dolphin north of Skiathos, 19 October 2024 — 19 October 2024photo + video ›

Turtle?

Once we saw something break the surface — a small dark head, gone again before the camera caught it sharp. Maybe a turtle. Maybe not.

Sea turtles are hard to spot from a sailboat: they surface to breathe for only a few seconds, look like a piece of driftwood at distance, and are gone before you've focused. Three species live in the Mediterranean, and all three can in principle be seen in Greek waters:

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) — the most common in Greece, and the one you're most likely to meet. Nests on Greek beaches.
Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) — present too, usually as juveniles; it prefers warmer water, and its range is slowly expanding north.
Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) — a rare visitor out in open water.

Source: ARCHELON — Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece.

See one — or something that might be one? Take a phone photo. The GPS does the rest, and it ends up here on the map.