It all started at 06:00 am on Saturday , September 20, 2003 at the Cape Sounion of Attica and a spot called Kavokolones. It took the athletes between 16 and 19 hours of continuous relay swimming to reach their first stop over, the island of Kythnos and its port, Merihas.
Covering the distance between Sounion and Kythnos was a real challenge. The distance is long, about 45 km, but depending on weather and open sea conditions, the athletes would have to cover as many as 50 km during the first day of the relay.
Obviously, such a distance would entail swimming during the evening and at night, which would be particularly challenging even for the most experienced athletes.
he Aegeathlon athletes eventually reached the port of Kythnos late in the evening of September 20, 2003 and were generously welcomed by the local people. It was a hard endeavour, as the wind was quite fierce, reaching 6 to seven degrees in the Beaufort scale.
Aegeathlon