Friday - Preveza to Gouvia

We were up at 5am - a quick cup of tea and a bit of a tidy up - time to go. After emptying the rain water from the dinghy we upped anchor at 5.45am. We headed to sea, steering 320, under leaden skies with the wind still gusting at 17-18 knots and the rain falling hard. We were heading straight into the wind and slightly across a moderate swell - so not very comfortable.

It is now 10.45am, the wind has dropped back to 8-10 knots and the sun is out. We are passing the northern end of Paxos and planning to go to Sivota for lunch. The forecast for the rest of the day is not too bad, so hopefully we will get a final sail in this afternoon before returning to the marina. 

Later: We had a final lunch of Greek cliches - taramasalata, Greek salad & calamari. OK - not imaginative - but it had to be done!  Then after a bit of shopping we set off for a swim in the bay around the corner before the run back to Gouvia.

On the way back we could see the sort of inverted grey funnel ahead that meant a rain storm and soon enough we got another soaking. The bimini does a good job though and if you are careful you can come through more or less unscathed. When the weather cleared, the wind freshened to 15 knots or so and we did manage to get the sails up for a bit. The wind direction was rather unstable though and we needed to be fully close-hauled to make our course. We didn't have time to meander up to Corfu Town as the wind dictated unfortunately. One day we will do this when we are not against the clock. Soon we were past the town and on our final stretch up to Gouvia. 

    


















We met up with Alan outside the marina as he wanted a diver to look under the boat - a good practice to ensure it is all OK for the next customer. We knew we had not grounded at all - but quite a few of the popular places are pretty shallow so no doubt it does happen. Finally we headed into Gouvia and had dinner at 'Telesilla' where the food was great and the service was superb. When we arrived we immediately got a tour of the kitchens to watch their most popular dishes being prepared. Our friends from No Stress Yachting paid for our wine, which was very nice of them. Then to bed - a very long day - but a fitting end to another superb sailing holiday. 

We must thank Alan and his team - this has been the best chartering experience we've ever had. They have a great attitude and they have added nice touches of detail that make a real difference. Including fuel in the charter price is a boon - not because of the money - it's the queuing at the fuel barge that is a pain. The communication equipment is also great. Nobody has offered us a 'bat phone' for connecting to base without hassle or a 3G wifi hub. We have always been left to sort this stuff out for ourselves. Throw in the complimentary airport transfers in a Range Rover (driven by someone who is not trying to kill themselves and everyone else on board) and it all adds up to a much better experience than the competition have ever offered. We hope the business thrives! 

That's it for another blog. Nothing to say about tommorow except pack up, go to airport, hang around etc - all too familiar to all of us. Roll on the next maritime adventure!

Thursday - Preveza

We arrived in Preveza just after 8pm last night and headed into the first marina - named Cleopatra. Apparently this is near the scene of a famous naval battle between Anthony and Octavius - won by Octavius - which effectively made him emperor (Augustus) in succession to Julius Caesar. Anthony did a runner with Cleopatra in the middle of the battle to Egypt where they then topped themselves.




Now that the history lesson is over, I have to report that it is RAINING. We have had THUNDER and LIGHTENING - this is not what we ordered at all. We are staying put for a while until it abates and then we were planning to go and see Vonitsa which is in the 'inland sea'.

Later:

It eventually stopped raining and so we motored off to Vonitsa - which is an interesting old town with a Venetian fort (remains of). The inland sea feels quite different from the rest of the ionian. Perhaps because it is comparatively sheltered from the weather there are huge fish farms here. Although generally the water is deep (30 Metres +) there are extensive marshy shallows and lots of  small islands. Chris saw a seal in Cleopatra Marina and we all saw dolphins on our way to Vonitsa. You could spend several days exploring here, but sadly our time is almost up.




We went for dinner in a Pizzeria and it all took longer than we planned - so we did not get away until about 6.45pm. The idea had been to make some progress northward up the coast to avoid too long a trip tomorrow. As has happened so often in the past, the weather intervened in our return-to-base schedule. As we left Vonitsa it was looking ominous ahead. Suddenly, as we rounded a headland, a 36 knot gust of wind appeared from nowhere followed by a ferocious downpour. This soon eased, but the wind continued to howl at 27 knots or so and we were headed straight into it. We decided this was not the evening for a dusk voyage, so we identified an anchorage just off Preveza and have joined a dozen or so boats taking refuge.

So, it's an early start tomorrow - we need to make substantial progress before lunch. The forecast is OK so fingers crossed.

Wednesday - Gaios to Preveza

We had to escape from Gaios quickly as when we checked in with the authorities our surnames came up on the criminal register. Apparently a 1979 party had done a runner after trashing their apartment. 

A horde of angry locals chased us down the quay with sharpened boathooks and we only just got away thanks to some quick work from the team. We sought asylum in Anti-Paxos. Emerald bay was OK - maybe we are getting complacent over these grade A beauty spots - but even in early season it was packed with yachts and trip boats. I should imagine in the summer it is hard to find a spot to anchor. When the third huge trip boat came in blaring music we lost hope and decided to move on. 

A little further down the coast was a similar bay that we had more or less to ourselves, although a large gin palace eventually joined us. We had lunch on board - tuna salad, haloumi cheese and lashings of chateau colostomy. After a few swims and an exploratory expedition to the beach we set of for Preveza, on the mainland near Levkas. It's a trip of around 26 nm so we were hoping for a good wind - but sadly it's only 7-9 knots - not enough to make the required progress. So we are motor-sailing and making about 6.5 knots.  We've realised that we have rather over invested in alcohol so we need to get busy. Peter is making the G&Ts! The forecast is less good for Thursday and Friday but we are hoping for the best. 

I have to say that barring the minor electrical problem, now sorted, this is a very good boat. It sails well and it has very good accommodation. It has three double cabins, all with en-suite bathrooms, a good roomy saloon and galley. When you consider what is included in the price, we are all big fans of No Stress Yachting [ www.corfuyachtcharters.com ]and are talking about when we can come back. There is so much to see and do in the Ionian - and in a week you can only get a taster. 

Tuesday - Lakka to Gaios

OK - so we're up and running with the blog - time to take the handbrake off and tell it like it is. (Is there a change of author? Let the reader decide!)

We woke this morning with the bay of Lakka lit up with bright morning sun and the water crystal clear.

During breakfast Peter spied, through the gangway, the stern of a German yacht hoving into view. Everyone looked lively to fend off the foe. Laura was able to kick our boat off just as the skipper arrived on deck. We both switched on our engines and moved forwards.

We had to leave Lakka, owning to the harbour master swimming out wearing what appeared to be a flower pot on her head.  She was discouraged from coming too close, owing to morning ablutions and the possibility that we might open the waste tanks. Fortunately, it became clear, that we were not her intended target.  Instead she was strangely drawn to the Swedish siren languishing provocatively whilst her husband (of course an assumption, it might have been a toy boy) prepared a delicious dish of meatballs.

So we ran the gauntlet of the gin palace, (not stopping for drinks as it was only Gordon's).

Having narrowly averted two international incidents, we set off to view caves that have formed in cliffs along the west side of the island - as recommended by Rod.  One was said to have housed a submarine during the Second World War to allow the Greeks to hide from the invading Germans. We didn't locate the 'submarine cave', but enjoyed pootling about in the tender looking at the rock formations.

Considering the amount of cheese there is to purchase, we are yet to set eyes on a goat.  The quest continues.

Later: We did see a goat on the way into Gaios - but he was all alone so he must be one busy goat. After viewing the submarine pens we went to Mongonissi for lunch which is a bay between the main Paxos island and a little one off the South end. We dropped anchor and moored stern on to the quay. This is the standard practice here as generally there are no lazy lines. Good lunch - freshly caught tuna steaks and sea bream.

After lunch things went down hill. First a flotilla arrived and a bloke that looked like he was auditioning for the Bee Gees in 1976 arrived on the quay with his handheld VHF to talk his charges through mooring up. This involved the usual shouting and arm waving. All the drones had their VHF on deck speaker so Barry's voice was booming round the bay. THEN a bloody catamaran arrived and moored up right next to us. We decided to leave. The nearest drone said "It looks very relaxing what you're doing - you just do whatever you like." CORRECT.

We sailed up to Gaios on two longish tacks and motored up the narrow channel. A good spot on the quay was free with a quiet looking bar behind. Result! All was good until we realised that the quiet looking bar was a bloody nightclub. We have a talent for picking these out! So no sleep until 4am. This is a cool place so it is rather a shame. Needless to say there has been some stronger language used on this subject. So, having had breakfast in a quiet-ish cafe (someone is pneumatic drilling the quay) we are heading off to Anti-Paxos to inspect Emerald Bay.

Monday - Sivota to Lakka (Paxos)

We awoke in a lovely place just behind the islands off Sivota and Chris and Lizzie went for the early swim off the back of the boat followed by the (cold) deck shower. Then Alan texted to say he was on the early ferry so we set off for Sivota. Alan was on the quay to guide us in. It is a beautiful place so it was no hardship and while Alan did headstands in the aft lockers we had coffee and breakfast at one of the cafes on the quay. Kudos to him as he managed to fix it. As previously mentioned it makes such a difference being able to communicate properly with less of this "you speak slow I no hear you very well what is problem?" stuff we are used to. NSY even provide a Greek mobile with all their numbers in it so you don't have to try to work out how to call them from your own phone. So we are chilling out a bit more here then off to Paxos.

Later: We were so taken with our breakfast cafe that we decided to take them up on their offer to make us delicious baguettes for lunch. Once we had them in hand we cast off and headed out to sea. When we opened the bag it contained four rather stale cheese and ham paninis. Did we pick up the wrong order? Shame! 

We had a great sail to Paxos- the wind got up to about 12-15 knots and we were making 6.5 knots most of the way so we arrived at Lakka on the northern tip of Paxos at about 4pm. I was grateful for the return of the autopilot as it makes a long run on a single tack so much more relaxing. It is such an amazing place and no photo can really do justice to the colour of the water and the light.

After a swim and some shopping we headed to a bar with a balcony overlooking the bay for a drink - and then off to a restaurant called Akis for dinner.

Laura ordered muscles in squid ink which made her mouth go black - reminiscent of 'Calypso' in Pirates of  the Caribbean.

One noticeable difference between here and Croatia is that they don't charge you to anchor in wonderful places like this. Tomorrow we will head down the coast  of Paxos to Gaios, the main town.

Sunday - Gouvia to Sivota

Last night we decided not to head straight off but just to relax in the marina. In the evening we went to 'Harry's Taverna' - recommended by Alan from NSY. They had a duo playing live Greek music who were excellent.

The high point was a lively rendition of Nana Mouskouri's 'Never on a Sunday' which inspired some leathered English yachties to dance embarrassingly. This morning we all showered in the traditional 'black hole of Calcutta' shower block and, after breakfast, headed south past Corfu town. 

We are heading for Paxos, but planning few stops along the way. The weather is superb - but not much wind yet. It played the usual trick on us this morning - showing 7 knots in a helpful direction - but by the time we had the sails up it was 3 knots and coming exactly from our chosen heading. We are not bothered as we are told there is never a lot of wind in the morning.

We had a fabulous lunch at a little bay called Petriti - a whole sea bream for four washed down with the local white wine. It is hard to beat anchoring up and heading to lunch in your dinghy. After lunch we went to a place called Levkimmi on the advice of Rod - the pilot book man. Either it's gone downhill or Rod needs to go to Specsavers! They do an interesting line in four letter boats though.

We had to anchor offshore and take the dinghy into town as access is via a mile-long canal. As is traditional the outboard ran out of fuel on the way back!

It seems I may have spoken a bit too soon about our boat. The auto-pilot does not work. On Alan's advice we were trying to follow instructions from Raymarine to re-calibrate it by motoring around in circles. I hope nobody was watching from the shore! The instructions were in French which did not help. So we are going round to Sivota tomorrow morning, which is close to where we have anchored tonight, so that Alan can take a look at it. This always seems to happen. I suppose it is the nature of modern hi-tech boating. Not everything works all the time.

Arrival

We've arrived in Gouvia Marina and boarded Ariadne - a Beneteau 423. This boat is in good nick compared to our last foray onto the high seas and so far No Stress Yachting are living up to their name. Chartering from a UK company rather than a local company with a UK agent seems to make a big difference.