The remarkable, solitary journey of the Piraeus yachtsman Giorgos Kesse, with the yacht "Pytheas" from Piraeus to Marseilles, the first French town to host the flame of the Paris Olympic Games.
The Municipalities of the two ports have been twinned since 1984, symbolizing the strong ties of friendship between the two Mediterranean port cities. As a result, the escort of the Olympic Flame under the Greek flag and the flag of the "sister city" of the Municipality of Piraeus in Marseilles, a city founded by Greeks, is considered particularly important.
So, the idea was formed for a small Greek sailboat, with a Piraeus yachtsman as its sole crew, to travel to accompany "Belém" and the Olympic flame on their entry into Marseilles. "Pytheas" is a French-built yacht of the JEANNEAU shipyard, model SUN FIZZ 40 and designed by Philippe Briand.
As its exterior design suggests, the Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40 is a performance cruiser. The trip commenced from the Piraeus Sailing Club.

On this journey, the Piraeus yachtsman will call at a number of ports, which have active Greek communities and are inextricably linked to Greek history and culture. The purpose of this visit is to convey in his meetings with the Greek expats, the Olympic event, but also a tour of their archaeological material and monuments related to their early Greek historical period.
The "Kymothoi" Initiative has undertaken the organizational support of this project. Boats & Yachting, the annual publication, is a communications sponsor.
The Olympic journey of "Pytheas" has been placed under the auspices of the Ministries of: Foreign Affairs / General Secretary for Hellenism Abroad & Public Diplomacy, Culture & Sports and Shipping & Island Policy.