And on yet again. It would have been nice to have explored St Maria di Leuca a bit further, but at 33e a night and a deteriorating weather forecast, we could not linger.
20
minutes after leaving harbour we met our first ship heading up into the
Adriatic which woke us up immediately, trying to work out if we were on a
collision course or not, ok for a long while, then it changed course and
appeared to be heading right for us, so we put the revs up and got out of
the way quickly!). We saw a large pod of dolphins with very tall, pointed
fins following a fishing trawler and some turtles! We had never seen turtles
and today we saw about a dozen. From a distance they look like big brown
knobbly dustbin lids. Usually they dive under the water as you get close,
releasing a large bubble of air and pulling with their flippers as they do
so. Most turtles seemed to prefer their own company. We did see one pair and
whether they were playing or fighting, we could not say, but there was a lot
of splashing!
We motored all the way, so apart from the turtles, oh and the ship as we approached Othonoi (an island north of Corfu) which was supposed to give way but gave no indication of doing so, we were not troubled. We anchored inside the harbour at Othonoi , very pleased to be in Greece at last and celebrated with a swim in the clear waters.
2. Tues 10 July. to Ay Stefanou, Corfu.
Mindful
of the forecast of some strong NW winds, we wanted to get to the
east side
of Corfu for some shelter if the winds materialised. We headed nearly due
east, sailing a beam reach and then down wind under genoa alone for most of
the way to the north east point of Corfu. The thing we could not stop
looking at was Albania; it has huge mountains and sheer cliffs, all
seemingly barren and brown. It looked very majestic yet Albania still has
something of a mysterious reputation about it. There is very little
habitation either, until you close the channel between Corfu and Albania
where an ugly city pops up, full of tower blocks and severe housing. This
contrasts with the Corfu coast that is lush and green, sprinkled with small
resorts and exclusive villas (in this part at least).
We entered the bay at Ay Stefanou and dropped the anchor. The water was quite murky so it was difficult to tell where any patches of sand were (good holding) and the weed (bad holding). Needless to say, we were in weed and the anchor dragged as we tried to set it. We tried 6 times before we got something we were vaguely satisfied with, but it did not give us much room between us and the Italian boat behind. Later 2 groups of Dutch flotilla boats came in, one lot (a load of jaguar 27's towing little rigid dinghies) tied up to the quay, piggy-backing on to the boats tied directly to the quay, and another load of Bavarias who anchored with barely a care if their anchors set or not. one boat did try to test it, dragged, pulled up the anchor which was a huge ball of mud and weed and promptly dropped it in again without cleaning it off! oh well. We slept ok, but were woken several times by the wash of passing ferries causing us to roll, one had things flying about the cabin as we lurched from one side to the other.
Next morning we went ashore to the pretty village and got shopping and found a bar with internet access. The weather forecast was still supposed to worsen. The greek forecast said NW5-6 locally increasing, so as we were not sure of the holding in the anchorage we had to move on.
3. 11 July. Ormos Kalami 4nm
A small trip south to a larger bay to find a better anchorage. We motored round the bay and saw just weed on the sea bed again, so we decided to swap the new Rocna anchor for the bigger heavier 50lb Luke anchor (like a fishermans anchor). so we motored around for a bit as we retrieved the yet-unused Luke from a locker and attached it to our anchor chain. Back to the anchorage we deployed the Luke, but we still dragged. we were very down-hearted. I dived in with my mask and snorkel to go and look at the anchor. Terry reversed Roam again, I could see the anchor drag about 2 meters and then hold solid in a patch of sand. I checked with Terry on the helm and he agreed that we were stopped. Great! Only slight problem was that the wind was currently SE, so any change in wind and we would have to check it again. 3 hours later the wind began to gust down the mountain sides from the NW as predicted. We swung a bit, so i went to look at the anchor again, it was half way round. 20 minutes later it was all the way round and well set in again. A french boat came and anchored next to us just before the wind changed. They had lunch and went for a siesta. 5 minutes later the boat was up and away in a gust, so Terry got in the dinghy and rowed out to tell them that their anchor had dragged in the gusty wind - they were very grateful (unlike the boat in Spain in our first year). Later a fine looking Italian wooden yawl came in. The wind was still gusting 30-35kts down the hills, they anchored and about 15 minutes later got into their dinghy to row ashore. Before they had got to the beach, their yacht had dragged too and was heading off to Albania, fortunately they saw it and were able to get back to rescue it.
4. 12 July - O Valtou. 19 nm
Next morning I rowed ashore for shopping while Terry changed the engine oil. By 1.30pm we were ready to leave the bay - the wind was still gusting strongly and it was a bit uncomfortable. With just a scrap of genoa out and going down wind with a force 6 behind us we raced along at 5 knots. Roam behaved impeccably as usual, lifting her stern to each short wave as it swept up behind us. Just as we were trying to find the entrance to the anchorage at O Valtou, a ferry came out of Igoumenitsa and turned first one way, forcing us to alter course to port and then turned again right towards us, this time making us turn the other way. There was no need for this really and I tried to call them on the vhf - as usual, no response! By the time we had dealt with the ferry we had nearly missed the entrance and had to put the engine on to help us make the course. We passed a fish farm but very little else. The pilot book says the last bay affords the best shelter so we went to investigate, as we peered round the corner all we could see was water and low hillsides covered with scrub and low trees. Just as we thought that we were completely alone, one mast appeared, then another and another - in all 9 yachts anchored in the bay including Chris and Claire on Vonasi, who we had seen in Syracuse in June. We dropped the fisherman anchor again, it dug in firmly at the first time of asking.
We were invited to share a barbeque with Chris and Claire on their freinds' Sissi and Ulrich's catamaran Shironn B (and their black lab puppy, Sam), so had a great evening as the wind eased off.
5. 14 July. Lakka, Paxos 19nm
After
a quick stop for shopping and water in Igoumenitsa (minding the ferries
plying in and out) we headed off for Lakka at north end of the island of
Paxos. It began with no wind and we were resigned to motoring all the way,
but soon we were close hauled in a brisk WSW wind. I got dollopped on by
waves as I stood on the foredeck to take a reef in. For the first time, I
hardly minded as all i had on was a bikini as it was so hot! As soon as we
rounded the into the bay, the sea calmed down completely and we found a spot
to anchor in the busy bay off the quaint waterfront of Lakka. Then we dived
into the refreshing water for a dip. The next day Vonasi appeared and then
Schironn B, so we stayed a couple more days. Sissi and Ulrich managed to
find an olive oil press where they bought local oil for 3.50e a litre
(reportedly sold by Harrods), unfortunately it was closed the next day when
we went to buy some. (Later when we tried to get some in Port Gaios, they
wanted 35e for 2.5l!)
5. 18 July - Port Gaios 4.6nm
A quick hop down the coast of Paxos to Gaios where we anchored stern-to in the channel before the town. We had to take a line ashore to secure the stern to the rocks behind. The only way to do this was to drop the anchor and try and reverse somewhere close to where you want to go, then jump in and swim with the line, scrabble around and find something to tie the line to, then haul the boat round so it is at right angles to the shore. It took a while, but we got there in the end. It was very hot in the steep sided channel, so we dinghied to the 'sea side' to find a beach for a swim. That night I cooked thai green chicken curry for Chris and Claire...it was sweltering in the galley, but the result was quite tasty!
6. 19 July. Preveza. (34nm)
A long-ish day with 30 miles to Preveza on the mainland as we worked our way south. There was very little wind for several hours and to cool down we started to throw buckets of sea water at each other. on one foray to the foredeck we noticed a boat coming towards us, so we altered course a couple of degrees to make sure we missed it; it then revealed itself as a Westerly Centaur and then we realised it was Carol and John on Genesis, who we had met last year in Cadiz after they had bought some parts off the old engine. How weird to pass so close! They were working their way north (going back to UK!), but had been talking about turning round as they had probably left Preveza too late to get to Paxos before the afternoon NW wind got up too much (and would be heading them), so they turned round and came back to Preveza with us. In a short while we were reaching in a f4 wind that soon increased to f5 so that we had to tuck in a reef as we turned into the bouyed channel into Preveza gulf. Carol had told us that they had stayed free on one of the moles where the charter boats go in the 'marina', which was duly the case! It seems strange that there should be a staffed quay, with water and electric for nothing! the staff's main job was to make sure that there was space for their charter boats at the weekend. That night we went out with John and Carol (who had rescued a german windsurfer on their way into the harbour after his board, sail and himself had parted company) to a local bar and then for our first greek fast food - gyros - a fried pitta with meat, salad, chips and dressing all for about 1.50e!
Next day
we moved to the Town Quay - loads of room for plenty of boats and
then we found Robert and Susie on Chimere and Vonasi. We asked
everyone to a barbeque on the quay in front of the boat - we had seen other
people having bbq's - so thought it was ok. however, the Police had
different ideas and would not let us continue, even threatening to douse the
bbq with water if we did not move it on to the boat. Reluctantly we squeezed
8 people and a bbq into the cockpit of the boat and continued there. It was
an entertaining, if hot, night.
7. 25 July, Nidri, Lefkas. 18nm
A couple of days later we made our way to the Lefkas Canal to enter the 'Inland Sea' that is created by Lefkas, Cephalonia, Ithaca and the mainland coast. We arrived just in time for the 1300 'swinging' of the bridge and motored down the canal past Lefkas town, which looked lovely but very hot - no chance of a swim in the sea there. As we exited the southern end we turned left, dropped the hook and dived into the cool sea. Later as we motored past Nidri on our way to the large bay of Vlikho to the south, we saw Full Flight on the town quay waving us in to a space - so we hastily changed plans and dropped our stern anchor and went bows-to the quay. Unfortunately we had been in a bit of a hurry and had forgotten to put the fenders out, but the boats either side of us had them out, so no harm done. It was great to see Pat and Tony again as we had not seen them since we left Sardinia to go to Tunisia on 1st June.
We had been warned off Nidri ('it's like Blackpool'), but we found it busy and vibrant but not nearly as over-run as we had expected. There are plenty of places for supplies as well as chandlery (better than Preveza, we thought) as well as bars and tavernas. Yes, there are lots of tourists, but it wasn't noisy on the quay like Preveza was (oh, apart from the the girls from the boat next door but one trying to tease the local boys into something their parents would not have been happy to hear about at 5.20am!)
8. 27 July, O Kapali, Meganissi. 5.3nm
We
decided to have a barbeque in a quiet anchorage with Full flight, so
bought appropriate supplies and headed off for a bay on Mehganissi about 5nm
away. The inlet is very deep and weedy, so anchoring with a line ashore was
a bit tricky, but we managed to get the anchor to hold the second time.
Unfortunately in the late afternoon the wind increased and we had little
protection where we were moored, so we did not feel safe leaving the boat.
The next day a couple of spots opened up in a more sheltered area so we
re-moored. There is an ideal barbeque spot here - a ready made pit with a
bench a few feet up the terracing. So next night we gathered our stuff and
moved ashore. It was a fabulous spot and we had a great night. An italian
crew also came ashore to cook, so we made some new friends that night.
The next
morning was not so happy. We found rat droppings in the cockpit
and evidence that he may have been below too. We also found a small
cockroach. So we went into full action to take the boat apart to see if we
could find any further evidence of either. We set a trap of rat glue on an
old tray (the rat goes for the bait in the middle, but gets trapped in the
gooey glue). To date we have not found any further evidence of the rat -
perhaps he was scared off. We think he came aboard using the long shore
lines attached to the boat having been attracted by the barbeque and any
rubbish that may have been left (even though we did ensure we cleared up
afterwards). The cockroaches are an on-going story. We've found a few more
since, but have cleaned, sprayed poison and laid boric acid traps to try and
kill them off. We'll let you know how it goes. Who says yachting is
glamorous?!
9. 30 July. Sivota, Lefkas. 8.4nm
A short hop back to the island of Lefkas to the bay of Sivota. It's a big bay, virtually lined with quay all the way round. We picked a spot and moored bows-to with our stern anchor. There's not too much to the town - a few shops and the rest is tavernas and bars. By the evening the whole of the quay was occupied with visiting yachts and flotillas as well as many boats anchored in the bay. It was easy to see why the tavernas are there!
10. 31 July. Nidri, Lefkas. (9nm)
We
were in need of water for the tanks and to do some washing. The water at
Sivota was delivered via a machine on the quay which took 2 euros. I asked a
sailor how much water you got for your 2e, he said that the water lasted
about 3 or 4 minutes - not nearly enough for us (or it wd cost a lot of
money!). Another sailor had told us about the Neilson Charter pontoon in
Nidri who are happy for visitors to use their facilities, if they have space
and not at the weekends, including water and electric (charged at 3e each
per day). So eventually we found ourselves on the pontoon with running water
and up to our knees in washing buckets. You can also use the pool at the
Athos Hotel opposite - infact they welcome all visitors - so we had a couple
of afternoons stretched out by the pool - it was just like being on holiday!
11. 3 August Vlikho, Lefkas. (2nm)
Immediately south of Nidri is the big bay of Vlikho, virtually land-locked. We had been recommended to go in there and indeed it offers great shelter in a big bay with plenty of room for everyone. We met up with Chris and Clare again and went ashore for a meal (unfortunately a little disappointing) and visited the Yacht club for a beer and to take some books to the huge book swap there.
12. 4 August. Port Kalamos. Kalamos. (20nm)
A good
sail today on all points of sail. A gentle beat down the channel
between Lefkas and Meganissi in the morning breeze. As we exited the
channel, the wind freed to the west and allowed us a reach across the south
of Meganissi and across to Kalamos. We thought we would stop for a swim in
Port Leone, but the wind was whipping over the hills into the bay - not
ideal for a leisurely swim! So we continued with the wind astern with the
genoa up to Port Kalamos. There we were met by Full Flight again!
Usually George takes your lines to introduce himself and his taverna in the
harbour. He works very hard directing boats and helping them to moor in the
tricky cross wind that builds up in the afternoon, getting into his launch
to help if necessary. there was some strong wind forecast, so he was asking
everyone to lay lots of scope on their anchors. this meant that there was a
lot of criss-crossing of anchors in the middle of the harbour. On the second
day it got very busy with boats seeking shelter. One large motor-boat jumped
the queue, laid his anchor and
tied
up, shouting back at all the yachts that were patiently waiting to berth. He
was not popular! The next morning we watched the spectacle of boats trying
to disentangle their anchors. One boat even pulled up a bicycle from the
bottom! Unfortunately there was one tangle that was bigger than all the
others - and guess who was at the centre of it - yes, our friend in the big
motor boat! His chain was lying over at least 2 others and he refused to
budge and even pulled his anchor chain tighter making it more difficult for
the boats trying to leave. The whole harbour seemed to join in as the boat
crews took against the motor-boater who continued to refuse to move or help.
Eventually George had to plead with him, at which point he claimed he was
fed up with the place and left!
13. 7 Aug. Port Kastos, N.Kastos 9.5nm
A lovely easy sail over towards the mainland, only to have the wind shift and strengthen making our return tack to Kastos difficult. We found a spot on the quay and dropped the stern anchor. Unfortunately it did not hold and we were berthed down wind, so hastily put a line on the boat next door to hold us off the quay and re laid the anchor from the dinghy. This time in sand rather than weed. Kastos has a relaxed and out of the way feel, but by the time the afternoon was out, there were 60 boats in the harbour, which we had felt full with 20 and another 20 or so outside.
We felt it was time to move out of the Ionian....
14. 8 Aug Astakos. 10.5nm
Another easy sail to the mainland town of Astakos. Again we moored bows to the quay by the town, which provided a good range of shops and bars for the greek tourists and a small beach. The wind blew quite hard in the afternoon from the north, testing our anchor from the side.
15. 9. Aug. Limin Petala 10.2nm
We
arranged to meet Vonasi in the huge landlocked bay of Petala on our
way
towards the Gulf of Corinth. There wasn't much wind and after about an
hour of drifting we motored into the bay to find 4 yachts there including
Vonasi. It's very remote with a few fish farms for company. We cooked
curry for all of us with the new supplies.
see logbook 5 for continuation - Gulfs of Patras, Corinth, Saronics and Cyclades.
