We had a good sail here in 25 kts of wind most of the way, it was only the last four miles or so we had to put the engine on as it was almost dark by now and we wanted to get in and anchored while we had a bit of light. Misjudged it and it was totally dark when we got in but got a good hold with the anchor and slept peacefully after another longish day.

We planned an early start the next morning as we’re heading back to Zakinthos and want to get into a harbour spot where we will have water and shore power. I’m heading home for a week as Lotty is back in hospital and not doing too well, so I want to go home and surprise her and hopefully cheer her up a bit.  So all in all, it will probably be around twelve days, so Gordon need to have some comforts while I’m away.

We had a fantastic full days sail back to Kiparissia. We reefed the main and genoa when the wind picked up to 20 odd knots half way through the day, but even then we still had a great sail. Just as we approached Kiparissia this German guy in a Catamaran put his sails away and came hammering up under power, there were a few boats had gone in before us and he was obvioulsly getting his knickers in a twist that he wouldn’t get into the harbour. So much so that he came up behind us as we were in the entrance and overtook us on the inside and nearly mowing down divers in at the nearside near the breakwater. I was so angry. As soon as we tied up I went along to their boat and gave them a piece of my mind and asked if they had even noticed the divers in the water who had been screaming after them as they came in. It wasn’t even as if there was a beach close by that they had to get their towels down! As Dirk and Anneka arived, they told us that this same guy had cut them up twice, forcing them to tack when he could have quite easily got out their way.

Anyway, we had a nice meal out with Dirk and Anneka as we were all moving on the next day to Katacolon and as it would be late when we got there and we would all be on anchor, we said our goodbyes in Kiparissia.

We had the option of going to Kiparissia or Pylos today, the former being closer. It turned out to be a very uncomfortble journey so we decided to head into Kiparissia. Gordon didn’t really fancy it but in fact it turned out to be a really nice wee place.

The harbour is free but no electricity. So hair drying by natural elements today.

 

There is one of the smallest churches we have ever seen , its about the size of a garden hut. Presumably for the fishermen & sailors.

The town was an uphill walk from the harbour and was fairly modern, lots of cafes, bars and restaurants, focused on the main square. Effie, a nice lady in the shop down by the harbour (that’s it behind the church)  recommended that we  go up to the Byzantine castle to watch the sunset and enjoy the walk back down. She arranged for a taxi to take us up.

 

Up in the old town there is one street ,typical of old Greece, with a few nice tavernas. The dish of the day seemed to be suckling pig. Unfortunately we had already eaten so opted for a nice G & T after taking a wander round the ruined castle.

 

We took the “traffic” directions back to town adding about 2 miles to our journey in pitch black roads. I nearly embedded my foot in a recent roadkill , yugh!

Next day we walked along the coast and through the olive groves to the beach for a well earned rest. I kid you not, this is a tiring  life that we lead. We were treated to a lovely golden beach, clear blue sea and to top it all, no one else in sight.

It was a longish but lovely walk back to the harbour

 

On we go ………..

 

and on

  

Finally a shower at the 5 star boutique hotel

We’re now back on the mainland  wit a view to making our way down the Peloponnese to Kalamata, one of the two places we are considering wintering this year. We motored for the first hour or two then sailed firstly by Genoa only then hoisted the full main and had a good sail in to Katakolon. Either the weather systems have changed in the Ionian or we just seem to be in the right place at the right time, but we have had some decent wind and good sailing, both in the Northern Ionnian but especially in the South, which you would expect. The mornings are calm but the afternoons have been pretty good, maybe just a bit annoying when it goes from a nice force three or four to absolutely nothing or so strong it puts you on our side. You really need to be prepared for anything so it makes it all the more exciting.

Another harbour here with shore power and water. Katakolon itself is really a place where cruise liners stop as it’s a good place to visit Olympia from. We decided not to do the tourist bit here but to get the blog up to date , give the boat a good wash and Gordon got some small repairs done around the boat.

 

We also got an e-mail back from Kalamata to say they are full for the winter, but to contact them again at the begining of Sept. We think they are hedging their bets and waiting to see if they have enquiries from larger boats before offering us a place. Puts a bit of a sour note on things but not a lot you can do about it. Here’s hoping Sicily have better news for us.

We left Agios Eufemia about 1100 hrs in calm weather so had a motor for a few hours till ,what has become the usual afternoon wind picked up. We had a reef in the main and the Genoa  so as not to be caught out like before, honestly, the wind just picks up without any warning at all and the next thing you know is your on your side hanging on for dear life. Anyway, we were prepared today and had a good sail in about 15 knots of wind making a steady 5 kts.

We arrived at Port Zakinthos about 1900hrs, on calling up we were directed to the harbour wall, seemingly the marina was full. The harbour seemed a bit smelly and there was no shore power although you could get water if needed.

We got chatting to a guy who had been there two days and informed us that it wasn’t the quietest spot. Honestly, the traffic noise was unbelievable, the one saving grace was that there was no music nearby. However, Zakinthos town itself we quite liked. It was rebuilt after the 1953 earthquake when  the town which consisted of Venetian styled buildings were completely destroyed. They have tried to rebuild the town with a Venetion aura, spacious boulevards, arcaded shops and a central square, maybe they’ve not quite hit the mark but all in all it a nice place to spend some time and I quite liked it.

There was a real buzz going on, after our great pizza we went for a wander throught the main part of town. It was their patron saint’s day, all the shops were to stay open till 3am, there were tables outside shops  with large boxes of wine and cake which anyone could have, music and singers were dotted all along the main boulevard giving quite a fiesta feel to the night.

 

Oily calm leaving Zakynthos Harbour in the morning

Having read the lastest pilot book we knew we had little chance of finding a berth in Fiskardo, but we stuck our nose in just to have a wee look. It was bunged. We could’ve possibly squeezed in but to be honest both of us just looked at one another and said “Anchor”.

 

So that’s what we did in Palaiokaravo Cove, just south of Fiscardo. It took us 3 attempts with all our 55 metres of chain out. A peaceful night with a friendly French yacht for company.

  

We had been to Assos by car before and had said if we are ever lucky enough to sail here in our own boat we should visit it. It is a fairly exposed sail down the West coast of Kephalonia and the anchorage wouldn’t be to clever in a blow, but it was settled weather wasn’t it ?

     

Assos itself was beautiful, we dinghied ashore for dinner. We got talking to a German guy who’s dream was to do what we are doing so he picked our brains while his wife went to pack !

Now Assos bay is not the largest you will find but still plenty of space for everyone so goodness knows why this Ass from the Cruising Association had to anchor only half a boat in front of us when he swung . He dragged his anchor once and had to reset it , where? in the same place. We then had to listen to his soulmate cackling louder and louder until 02:00 in the morning, lucky white heather.

During the night the boat began rocking from side to side quite violently with the swell and I was worried about his anchor (and ours ) holding. This meant bad weather outside.

We left at 08:00 waiting until his boat had begun to swing out the way so we could retrieve our anchor. Outside the bay we were met with a 3 m swell, 30 knot winds and a lee shore. We had originallly intended to head down the west coast to Argostoli , but we binned that idea and headed back across towards the Megannissi channel and good old Vlikho. It was a bit fresh and with only a  small reefed genoa we were doing 6+ knots.  After 5 hours we were back at anchor in Vlikho . We had little provisions and I’ve noted in the log book . Louise will need some magic to rustle something up, but she did. And there was of course wine.

The next day we took the dinghy into Nidri for some shopping and I went fishing with my feet.

 

We have been struggling where to winter and we had heard Kalamatta in the Peloponese was an option. Its about another 150 miles or so south so we have decided to cruise down Kepahalonia , Zakynthos and the mainland of the Peloponese to have a look. If we dont fancy it ther should still be time to cross back to Sicily our other option.

Yesterday we had a fantastic sail all the way down passed Ithaca and as we rounded the cape at the South we we hit with 30 -35 knot winds for our hour and a half or so crossing to Ay Euphemia. It was fun getting the main down but eventually managed it and dropped anchor in the winday anchorage in Ay Euphemia, with some colourful gear on show !

 

Today we moved onto the harbour wall where we have electricity , water , supermarkets  and laundry. Seems like 5 star !

Tonight was the 1st night since Preveza Louise has managed to use a hairdrier or straightners. I wondered who the woman was that emerged from the cabin.

We headed round the corner a bit from the main town for our meal and a bit of piece and quiet before going back to the boat to be seranaded by the usual Greek music from the harbourside tavernas till the wee small hours.

   

Ay Euphimia front and our anchorage of the previous night

Anyway that’s the blog upto date next stop possibly Zakynthos.

The area South of the lefkas canal bordered by the mainland, Lefkada & Megannissi islands is apparently known as the inland sea. It is usually a settled gentle sailing area so is very popular with flotillas.  It has become even more busy than it was 18 yers ago Sunsail & Neilson have moved their bases to Lefkas marina & Vounaki but the Greeks have cottoned on to the charter game and many companies have sprung up. You can hire motorboats with no licence, you can imagine how much fun that is in a busy anchorage.
 
Fun at Nidri
As Louise said in a previous blog we are revisiting a bit of our past when we came on our 1st flotilla holiday to this area.
 
Skorpios Island once owned by Jacqueline Onasis
Our first stop (though not to be our last) was Vlikho Bay a delightfully quiet anchorage just past Nidri. Once through a bottleneck it opens out into an oval landlocked bay. In Septemeber 2011 an extreme  weather event occurred here. Strong Southerlies had been blowing and in the early evening a hurrcane force squall hit parts of the bay causing a rapid 180 degree shift in the wind , many yachts were knocked down at anchor & one catamaran capsized. Thankfully we saw no repetition while we were there.
  
  
We day sailed to the new Neilson base at Vounaki on the mainland to see if we would be allowed in to use their pool etc , but no joy!

Vounaki Neilson Base                                       
So we headed for Vathi on Megannissi. Years ago we had gone to a taverna here and the highlight of the night was when they brought out “Mama” to balance a considerably heavy table on her head and dance! She was agood age then I’m sure they will have allowed her to retire by now.
Vathi now has a small marina that we had booked for quote “one possibly two nights”. This was confirmed but when we arrived at our due time 18:00, tied up , connected electricity and all the parephenallia required to moor a boat, it seemed to have lost something in translation – we could stay the one night but they couldnt tell us if we could stay two until the next day ? As we had only really gone in for laundry facilities and water we decide to leave but not before filling up with water.
So it was back to good old Vlikho to anchor for the night after what has become to be known as the “Water Job” (though not to be our last ! again).
The next day we headed back to Megannissi this time to Port Atheni. 18 Years ago there was only one taverna here and our Sunsail flotilla took it over partying untill 06:00 in the morning ! The 1st night we anchored off

and the second night we tied up to the harbour wall next to an old Moody that had seen better days. The guy that owned it was a bit of a character.  Though cheerful , he & his wife basically drank all day and night and had umpteen cats on board (plus a few other creepy crawlies we suspect.) I was up at 02:00 chasing  stray cats off our boat attracted by the girly moggies next door.
 
Having visited the man made beach we had to return to the Taverna for our dinner. The owner did remember the the Sunsail “Gallini” fotillas and the lead crew Jeremy & Mandy who have been back , now married with a wee boy. The Taverna now shuts at 12:00 sharp!
  
It was good to revisit the start of our sailing experience so continuing the theme we decided to head over to Kephalonia the next day…………..

Lefkas is an Island but is only classed as on because the bridge that attaches it to the mainland is a lifting bridge. Seemingly they chose to have the lifting bridge as opposed to a fixed bridge so as to get grants from the EU for being an Island.

Anyway, the bridge “lifts” on the hour so you need to make sure you are there just before the bridge lifts to allow you through the canal on up to Lefkas otherwise you will have an hour to kick about till the next lifting and there is nowhere to tie up to. It must cause some amount of hassel for motorists as you can see from the queue of cars which builds up very quickly to allow boats to transit the canal.

 

We passed Lefkas marina and thought about going in to see if the man who first owned Camira still had his boat there, but we thought if he did he probably wouldn’t be there in high season when it’s so so hot.

 

Our stop for the night was Nikiana. This isnn’t our first time to Nikiana, we were here on holiday in 1998 on the Sunsail Gallini  Flotilla with our friend Iain. Once again this part of our trip brought back so many great memories,……. Liz and Joe who now have their own boat in Largs, the six Essex boys that I had said to Gordon and Iain were going to be a nightmare and very loud but actually turned out to be fantastic fun, dancing and partying till four in the morning….Aahh, those were the days.

Anyway, I digress, the town has changed so much, it’s much bigger and quite busy, when we were here it was a really small place and very quiet, I suppose though, it was 18 years ago and things change. The one area which was exactly the same was the harbour. I still remember the nerves I felt when being shown our boat for the week, it was a 30ft Durour and everything in it seemed so alien to me, plus it was blowing an absolute hoolie that night, so much so that the Sunsail crew asked if anyone would prefer to go back to the hotel for that night, which I don’t think anyone did. Sorry, I digress again. 

When we moored up we thought we got the last space on the end of the harbour, however a yacht run by a company who do Skippered day sails came in and basically moored up on the corner of the harbour wall where the only thing for him to tie onto was the lamppost, well seen it wasn’t his yacht. We tried to get a taxi that night for a trip into Nidri but to no avail so we ate in the taverna just up from the harbour and had an early night.

  

The next day was a motor sail back across to the mainland to Preveza. The wind picked up about three miles to go but by then we had been under way for nearly seven hours and just wanted to get in and settled. There is a narrow channel leading to the Preveza town quay or the marina which didn’t look particularly inviting, so the town quay it was.

We were pleasantly surprised by Preveza, the quay side has recently been upgraded and pedestrianised which makes for good people watching. Although, I’m not sure who was doing the people watching, us or them.  Six old geezers came both nights and perched themselves on the bench opposite our boat just at the time we would be getting ready to go out for the evening, which includes our shower up on deck. Och well, whatever makes them happy.

We managed to get more wi-fi here, not my-fi which means we are sharing a sim card between two phones and an iPad, not the most convenient but it’ll do for the moment. The shopping area in Preveza is good, not all touristy tat but some nice “normal” shops. We also found a great restaurant up one of the back streets and away from the louder music bars on the front followed by a jazz pub. That was the only thing I didn’t like about here was the noise late at night from the bars which were right next to where the boats are moored up. Earplugs and the noise of the fans going helped drown this out, so we did manage to get some sleep on both nights.

  

We got stocked up on provisions at one of the worst supermarkets I’ve been in, it’s over three floors……. not easy. I did buy my eggs from a wee man who comes round the boats selling fresh eggs and Ouzo of all things which Gordon couldn’t resist. Seemingly he had a farm and due to the austerity measures he had to sell his machinery which had cost him 30,000 euros of which he got 23,000 for but by the time he paid the bank back he only got a couple of thousand out of it.