Made it to Katakolon

Details to follow...

Gulfs of Corinth and Patras

We set off from Corinth bound for Galaxidi - the best port from which to get to Delphi. As predicted, the wind near Corinth was light but further North and West it was 5 gusting 6 and on the nose, We had forgotten just how nasty that can be - and Lucifer found it even worse - a picture of misery huddled under the navigation seat.

We gave up and went into Kato. We are indebted to Sarah and Beanie on Rozinante who told us about the place describing it as a Hurricane Hole. Spot on! It's a huge but sparsely used commercial harbor where you tie up alongside a huge wall with bollards suitable only for huge ships. There is no water or electricity either but the shelter is superb and it seems to be completely free. We waited out the afternoon gales for 3 days before setting off for a dead-calm motor all the way.

Galaxidhi is as picturesque as we remember it - an exquisite village set around an excellent harbor with all facilities and only standard Greek port fees (€8.11 for us). Both water and electricity are free. Even David and Jilly tied up side too on the short jetty with no trouble. We were met by a rather strange bloke called Tammi who shouted a lot, tried to direct us and took our lines. He then tried to get us to take water for €5 but then asked for €2 when we said we didn't need it yet. I gave him €1 as charity (much to L's disgust) and he seemed to be my best friend which was not entirely a good thing. Later, the harbor master came round and told everyone not to give him anything as it just encourages him and he is defrauding the visitors.
Next day David, Jilly and I hired a car and drove up to Delphi. They went round the site and Museum (which L & I had done a couple of years before) and I spent a very happy 3 hours sketching the beautiful temple of Athena just below the main site and completely free to access. We had lunch in Arachova (alpine ski village on the shoulder of Mt Parnassos) and then drove back.
David & Jilly's boat, Meanderer, had been moved from the side to the head of the Jetty and slightly damaged! David was all for berating the German boat that was now in his place but luckily Jilly calmed him down as it turned out to have been moved by Tammi who "thought a ferry was coming" even though they haven't been here for years. The man is definitely loopy - L calls him the village idiot. The port police were very interested and will be having serious words with Mr T about not touching other people's boats.


Next day we pottered up to Trizonia having hoisted the Spinnaker more in hope than expectation. D managed to fly it in 4 Knots of wind for half an hour much to L's annoyance and then had to take it down again before it collapsed as the wind dropped further. Even Lucifer seemed to tolerate it.

Trizonia is a lovely little island with an effective but unfinished Marina - although we chose to anchor off. Lots of thick weed but enough patches of mud to give excellent holding with care. We went over to the tiny village for a drink but ended up being tempted to a meal. We were just finishing when a large thunder storm made its appearance over the mountains and was clearly heading straight for us. We dashed to the Dinghy and just got back on board before the heavens opened and the sea fried with Lightning.

 The next day we had the best sail of the year. After about 2 hours motoring in calm, the wind came up from behind. L, who was at the helm, noticed and actually suggested deploying the Spinnaker and we had a glorious run through the beautiful Rio-Antirio bridge and on almost to Missolonghi. We did the last 5 miles with conventional sails as the wind strengthened and backed a bit too much. The good news is that the repair seems to be holding.


Not only was the wind excellent but we found someone to sail with - a little Swedish Ketch called Johanna. We screamed past them with the spinnaker but once we were on main and jib, it was much more even. We both took pictures of the other boat and swapped them when we got to the marina.

So now we're resting in Missolonghi Marina for 3 days. Very reasonable price (€19 per night) and they have made huge progress since we were here 3 years ago. There are excellent facilities now and hundreds of boats both in and out of the water. They even have several washing machines and dryers! A supermarket and Chandlers are both scheduled to open in the next few days which will save on the long treks into town.

To the Corinth Canal

Next day we headed up to Porto Heli. Unfortunately, there was no useful wind most of the way although we did get a couple of hours sail at the end. We had our usual excellent anchorage and were able to relax and have a good nights sleep.
We planned to go to Hydra the next day and - being so small and crowded, wanted to get there early so we had a crack of dawn start. We were there by 11.00, all tied up and looking forward to a day there culminating in a good dinner at a taverna. Hydra is a charming little town on a steep and sparsely populated island - with no motorised land transport - just donkeys and hand carts. The harbour is very small and crowded and unfortunately was too difficult for Meandrer who, after a valiant attempt, bailed out and headed for Poros. We we untied and headed there too. We ended up having an excellent meal at the Posidonia taverna so all was well. We stayed Sunday too as Alex and Emma had to get back home via Athens - I took the opportunity to draw and paint the Taverna.
The next day was Monday and off we went to the excellent chandler - the best I know in the Aegean. He managed to get an open cell domestic battery for David and new mooring warps for us from Athens that evening. We spent the day and night in Russian bay - just taking Rosa in to the quay in Poros for a few minutes to pick up the goods. We were moored next to a lovely little wooden yacht and I took another opportunity to paint - which came out surprisingly well.

On Tuesday May 1st, we motored round to Palaia Epidavros (not a breath of wind). We initially went on the quay and were met by the port police who asked us to report to them after 1700. We then found that the amphitheater wasn't open (a May 1st strike apparently) and since it was hot and a bit sticky, we joined Meanderer in the anchorage - a very good move as it was cooler and we could swim.
After lunch we were joined by a small charter yacht who laid their anchor to the bitter end which then plopped into the sea and disappeared! It seems that the charter company hadn't bothered to tie it on. They needed a hands so we tied their boat onto Rosa then all spent a happy two hours dredging his chain up with dinghy anchors - a surprisingly difficult task when the chain is too deep to see. In the evening we went off to the port police and to my great surprise were charged for swinging at our own anchor. Only €3.81 but stuck in the craw a bit.
Early next morning, we left for the short run to Korfos - yet again no wind. We swung at anchor with the idea of getting off early next day to go through the canal. After a peaceful night, we weighed anchor at 0700 only to find that it was heavily encased in a fisherman's net. It took an hour to cut it free all the time alternately drifting close to shore and motoring backwards (dragging the net) to get into deep water - with heart in mouth in case we got the damned thing round the prop. With hind-sight, I should have dropped the kedge after the first motoring session.
The canal passage was smooth and efficient although expensive. We were lucky that huge floating crane completed its passage and came out just as we got there or else we would have been waiting for hours.

That evening, together with Gilly and David, we had been invited to dinner with some very posh friends of theirs so we pulled into Corinth. We rafted up on the only hammerhead and hired a car for only €30 from a nice greek car hire company.

We had dinner with Nicolas Egon who is a famous artist (This is one of his pictures) and his wife Matty who owns a major Greek shipping company. Both were delightful company and we had a really memorable evening. Nicholas uses a technique of water color overlaid with pastel to give detail and brightness. I'm definitely going to give it a go.

Along the top of Crete

We had originally intended to head for Dhia and then straight for Milos. In the event, we would have been battling into a head wind for two days which was not a very appetizing prospect. So we changed plans and instead hopped along the northern coast of Crete in company with Meanderer.
After a long motor against wind and swell, our first stop was Dhia - an uninhabited island just north of the capital, Heraklion. Poor Lucifer (our newly acquired ship's cat) was seasick most of the way and looked very sorry for himself. With the strong westerlies we were expecting, we heard rumors that the most easterly bay would be best. We tried but nothing we did would make the anchor stick. So instead we tucked ourselves into the head of the dog-leg bay next to the west. It was a lovely peaceful spot despite some fierce gusts and the anchor was absolutely solid. I was a bit worried about a fishing net that seemed to be draped around the bay below us - but it seemed to be well below the keel so I didn't pay it much heed.
Next morning we were up with the dawn for the long haul against a head wind to Rethymno. Unfortunately, the net was all tangled up in the anchor chain and I had to cut it free - feeling rather guilty about some poor fisherman's livelihood as I did so. The voyage was spectacular on a sparkling blue sea with cliffs towering above us backed by the snow-capped White Mountain. The only disappointment was that we had to motor-sail all the way. L had got a tranquilizer down the cat but he still looked pretty miserable and mostly hid down below. We stopped for lunch ar Biali - another beautiful bay.
Gilly on Meanderer had broken her teeth and we had to find a dentist on Monday Morning so we had several hours to explore Rethymno which is lovely. The marina seems very safe and is very cheap (seems to be standard Greek port charges with a little optional extra for water and/or electricity). The town seems to have plenty of supplies, and a lovely old-town around the Venetian harbor and Castle. Fresh fish are sold by the fishermen on stalls beside the harbor.
After Gilly got her smile back we did a short hop to Palaiosoudha - a pretty little bay under Akrotiri. We watched the sun go down on a perfect evening with geese swimming around - Lucifer found them fascinating.
And so to Gramvousa on the far northwest corner of Crete. We wanted to get there in time for a nice walk up to the castle so we set of in the dark. We got a little sailing in but again mostly motored into light headwinds. Cat seems to be getting his sea-legs as he wasn't anywhere near so miserable. Gramvouse is spectacular - a sandy lagoon, completely isolated (not even a road) surrounded by high cliffs and mountains. Well worth a repeat visit for longer. The only catch being that there is no cellphone signal so we can't get weather forecasts.

Sadly, on the way, the toilet pump blocked so instead of strolling around the bay, I spent three hours upside down in toilet plumbing. Yummy!

Next day (Wednesday) the winds were forecast to be strongish but from the south so we should get a good sail up to Kithera. As it turned out we never saw the southerly but still had a nice beam wind all the way. Typically it started to get uncomfortably strong with a nasty swell as we approached our chosen destination - Avelomonas. It looked untenable so we diverted to Diakofti a few miles to the north. We're there as I write being blown all over the place but (touch wood) safe and with no driven waves. On the way in, we passed a spectacular wreck where a cargo ship seems to have tried to do a James Bond over a small island.
Lucifer seems to have found his sea-legs and is getting a lot more adventurous. The boom now seems to be a favorite place where he either perches on top or worms his way under the mainsail cover becoming completely invisible and panicking L who thought he had gone overboard! Now all we have to do is to stop him jumping up on the solar panels and decapitating himself in the wind-generator blades!
After a windy but safe night, we headed for Monemvasia on the Peloponnese.....

Leaving Aghios Nikolaos

Well it's been more eventful than I had hoped but at least we're off tomorrow.
We went into the water a week ago only to find out that there was a nasty grinding sound when we put here in forward gear and gave her some welly. After a sleepless night thinking about it, I figured it out. I had adjusted the position of the rope cutter on the prop shaft and it was now too close and the prop was pushing it into the cutlas bearing. I psyched myself to dive on it for three days but in the end it wasn't as bad as I expected and all was sorted in half an hour.
We had a lovely Greek Easter with spit roasted lambs and a pig. After final preparations on Monday, I went to the port police for a routine checkout only to be told by a sharp-eyed police woman that my boat registration is out of date and we weren't allowed to leave!
After a very stressful morning on Tuesday trying to sort it out and staring a delay of weeks in the face, I ended up applying for a new Small Ships registration which was e-mailed to us on Wednesday afternoon and checkout went fine.
Actually, none of this slowed us up as the weather has been awful for the past few days - gusting at 50mph (severe gale) overnight and blowing a hoolie for a few days.
Anyway, its clear for us to go to Spinalonga a couple of hours North tomorrow and than probably to do the first longish passage on Saturday.

Winter

We love Aghios Nikolaos and Crete. Sadly, this winter it hasn't loved us! The locals say it has been the worst winter they can remember - cold, wet and windy. The only compensation has been that it was even worse further North in Greece with snow on the ground in Athens.
We've also had a couple of significant problems this winter - we broke our Spinnaker on the way to Crete and had to have it repaired. Then the fresh water tank sprang a leak. I had to cut a huge hole in the seating to get it out and now have to install the new Plastic one supplied by Northshore. A real nightmare!

We have to leave fairly early in the season to get to Katakolon on the North West corner of the Peloponnese in time to lead the the Cruising Association "Cruise in Company" down to Kalamata. We're booked into the Marina until 17 April and intend to celebrate Orthodox Easter on the 15th here. As soon as we get a weather window, we will go up to Spinalonga in company with Meanderer and wait for a good time to go North and West.

I'll post as we go.