South to the Gulf

We finally set off from Tranquil Bay (so called) opposite Nidri and sailed gently on Spinnaker most of the way to Kalamos. We took it down as we approached in anticipation of much stronger winds near the mountains - and weren't disappointed. We finally closed Kalamos town in a SE5 with a substantial swell. The harbour sheltered us from the swell but the wind was still strong and would be beam on. A flotilla was arriving so inexperienced boats were milling around the entrance waiting to be called in by the leader. We bided our time till there was a gap and, went in for an approach. I always test the bow thruster as we are so dependent on it for manoeuvring in tight spots - and lucky I did. All power on the boat immediately went off. The engine kept running of course but instruments, thruster, windlass and even starter motor were dead! Luckily we were still outside the harbour and L went round in circles while I went below to fix it. It was the same problem we had had in Navarino Bay 4 months ago. Our Sterling shunt had gone open circuit. A good whack with a hammer cured it (at least temporarily) and in we went determined not to use the thruster just in case.
It wasn't easy as the quay was almost full except for one Italian who had moored diagonally across two spaces and one spot right on the outer edge of the mole opposite a stub mole making it difficult to place an anchor. They guy next door was very helpful as was Georgeos from the Taverna - we tied onto our neighbour while Georgo placed the anchor from his dinghy. All well although the anchor wasn't really holding well and we leaned on the boat next door all night. In the morning, I took the offending shunt out and gave it a really serious whacking to close the brass slot onto the shunt metal. I really must replace it this winter!
Kalamos town is very steep but a pleasant walk. A bakery, supermarket, butcher rewards the trip. Tavernas by the quay around the quay are also pleasant and reasonable (especially aforesaid, very enterprising Georgeo's). After a leisurely beer in lovely surroundings, we strollad back to Rosa and spotted a very unusual little sailing fishing boat. It would have been fascinating to see it set sail, but sadly there was no sign of activity while we were there.

We stayed one night. then pushed on to Kastros. What a lovely island! It has three good anchorages, several less good and a lovely harbour. We spent a night in the uninhabited NorthEast bay with good shelter and good holding on sandy patches. Lovely calm quiet night with a black sky full of stars above us and brilliant phosphorescence below. Next day we explored the other coves on the east coast. Many are reasonable spots but the far South East is really good shelter. Unfortunately it seems to be where all the large Italian power yachts go - there were at least 10 of them all line ashore with a few lonely sailing yachts dwarfed in between them. Not our scene. So we motored back to the one and only town.

We got a superb anchoring spot in beautifully clear turquoise water on good hard sand. So nice, we stayed for two days, dinghying into the town. It has a few reasonable tavernas including a spectacular bar in an old but still functional windmill on the point. There is also a small shop but that's it. No rubbish (by order),no water, etc. The town only has 35 winter inhabitants all over 50. Everything comes by boat. The olive presses have closed down so the olives rot on the trees - many of them spectacularly old. Apart from some fishing and a little horticulture for home consumption, there is only tourism and not a lot of that. Nevertheless, there seems to be a housing and construction boom with tastefully renovated and built properties - most I suspect holiday homes for rich mainlanders.

We celebrated L's birthday at Chef Johns - a brisk climb up the hill. Superb views, truly excellent service and my Beef Stifado was excellent. Unfortunately L's lamb was over salted which spoiled it a bit.

We were glad we stayed as John and Pam from Cosi dropped by for a chat in the morning. They had been in the harbour the night before but unfortunately we hadn't noticed them.
We took the afternoon wind over to Astakos (Lobster in Greek) on the mainland and stopped in an isolated bay just before it called Port Mitikas. Its large, reasonable depth and good holding. There's nobody living there - just a couple of campers on the beach at the head of the bay. The coast road runs around but its very high and you don't really notice it. Next morning we went into Astakos to do some shopping and pick up water. Pretty reasonable anchoring off the harbour - but great care needed to keep clear of the ferry berth - which is used at least twice a day with one visit in the dead of night. It's not at all obvious - just a slightly raised section of empty quay with some tyres tied below it. We went into the town by dinghy and started with the port police as I needed the DEKPA stamped. They were pleasant enough but the most officious we have ever seen in Greece. Demanded all the usual paperwork plus my certificates of competence and passports. Most unusual. Luckily they accepted the RYA certificates as I think my ICC is out of date!
The town is entirely Greek - little or no English spoken. It's small but has all the necessities - hardware/chandlers, butcher (excellent) fruit&vedge and a supermarket that concentrates on groceries and hardware rather than competing with all the other shops. The water man is very efficient and we filled up in no time after returning to Rosa then backing up to the quay.
We had intended to stick around for a couple of days but the wind changed unexpectedly and we had a good opportunity to get on South without burning lots of diesel.
And so to Nissos Petalas. We've been here before and its great. 100% shelter, loads of good holding and no habitation for miles. We'll stay here till Thursday and then take the promised wind to Missolonghi and then Navpaktos.

Idling in the Ionian

Wild Thyme

Once the family left, we spent a few days in Vliho, saying goodbye to Kay and Peter on Wild Thyme who are giving up sailing and generally re-configuring and re-stocking the boat for two instead of 6. After a great week, it all seemed a bit flat.
Our Plastimo boom tent (made of very light aluminised rip-stop nylon) is on its last legs this year. The fabric has succumbed to UV in only 4 years of occasional use. We hoped to get another year or two out of it but Lucifer, sensing its weakness, has shredded it. So we took the opportunity of an easily accessible sailmaker in Vliho to order a new one. We also arranged for a few parcels to come to the yacht club. So we've been hanging around the Nidri/Vliho area for a couple of weeks while these processes grind through.
We were told about 51 degree bay and spent two days there in clear blue water and rural surroundings. We had never been there before and regretted that we didn't know about it when the family were here. They would have loved it. As our second night approached, a nasty little un-forecast Southerly wind kicked up and we were soon seeing half meter waves. It showed no sign of letting up so as night fell we  decided to abandon and upped sticks to run for Vliho and a comfortable night. The passage was crowded with several other yachts doing the same thing.
After a couple of days, we were getting stir crazy and, reading the Pilot, we realised there are a lot of anchorages on North East Ithaka that we haven't visited so we went off for a few days exploration. Here is a map showing where we went. Ithaka  Map 

N. Arkoudhi - SE bay

Our first night was on Nissos Arkoudhi under the small reef/island on the South East corner. Shelter and holding were surprisingly good although a southerly or easterly would have been unpleasant. After 1900 we had the place entirely to ourselves in lovely surroundings and crystal clear water.
The North East coast of Ithaka is heavily indented. We went into all of the bays. Unfortunately, many are either too deep or too choked with weed to be of much use but we found two excellent and some adequate locations.

O. Nikolaos on Ithaka - from Rosa

First stop was O. Nikolaos under a small island with a chapel on it. Gorgeous scenery with twisted and contorted rocks and lovely clear water. A bit crowded in the day time but thins out at night. We took a line ashore and didn't regret it particularly when we had very heavy wash from large ferries and cruise ships passing close by out to sea.

Windmills on Kioni point

Unfortunately there was no Vodafone or wifi coverage and, as we were expecting heavy winds on Wednesday we needed a new forecast. So next day it was off to Kioni. Fortunately, we nosed in to Frikes and took the opportunity of a decent Vodafone connection to download a new one. After checking out several more bays (most exposed to North which is not good) we tied up against the south-side rocks at Kioni and enjoyed watching this pretty, busy little town fleece the day trippers.Water was available (from a tanker on the road above at only €3 per 50Liters! That would have cost us €30! It is also available from the town quay at "only" €3  for 100L! We gave it a miss. Surprisingly there was no Vodafone coverage so after two days, we decided to head for Vathi to weather the storm.

Vathi harbour

As Vathi is the capital of Ithaka, so we were confident of a good Vodafone internet connection - sadly there was none at all! In the end we went to a cafe and used their wifi to find that the promised winds next day were now not going to happen!

We took the opportunity to go back to the nicest bay we had checked out on the way down - Ormos Lamenia. It's a small double headed bay just south of O.Nikolaos with room for no more than 6 boats. We were in luck and the North beach was free. We put lines ashore and an extra one off the bow to take the strain off the anchor and stayed for two wonderful days. Again no internet connection of course.
We finally got back to Vliho on Friday afternoon after a lovely gentle spinnaker run. Being desperate for water by now we went straight onto the Sailing Holidays quay and donated €5 for a fill - good value.
And then came Saturday - bloody Saturday. We took Rosa the 3 miles up to Nidri, anchored and dinghied in to shop. Half way through, when the dingy was already full of the products of the first shop - the heavens opened with a thunderstorm (first rain all summer). Dinghy and shopping soaked, Hatches left open on Rosa, My kindle in the cockpit and Computer on the saloon seat - below an open hatch, and L nowhere to be seen as she was visiting more shops while I checked that the Orange Juice in the taverna was really fresh.
Eventually we got together - still being pelted with rain - and dinghied over to Rosa. Very fortunately, other than some wet seats and beds, no damage had been done. The dingy had 1/2 inch of water in the bottom so I hauled it around a bit to empty it. Unnoticed, I managed to shear off the deck shower which, unnoticed, emptied all of our fresh water into the sea. Could have been worse - it might have been into the bilges. So we had to go and beg for more water from Sailing Holidays - who were wonderful and let us fill up again even though it was changeover day and they needed the taps themselves to service their flotilla yachts.
To crown it all, L went to collect her washing from Vliho Yacht Club to find that it is trapped in a broken machine and can't be liberated until the man comes on Monday.
We hope to finally pick up the boom tent and liberate L's washing tomorrow and then set off slowly South and East to the Saronic Gulf to pick up our older son and his young lady in September.

Family visit

Well, it's been far too long since I wrote anything. So here's my penance...
We picked up our son and his family from the airport in Corfu. We tried Mandraki yacht club as a pick-up point and it was a great success. A spectacular and well sheltered location right under the castle. A reasonable price and a very friendly reception from Chrissi and the other harbour masters. They even have a tame taxi driver who picked me up at 0330, took me to the airport, picked up the family and returned to Mandraki all for €20.
We had been concerned that Niki and Madison might be seasick on the long passage down to Preveza and tried to find public transport alternatives. Sadly nothing joins up - ferries don't meet buses, buses don't run when you need them, etc. so we gave up.

Kieran & Niki

We started the voyage with a gentle couple of hours down to Petriti all in calm weather and all sheltered from the Adriatic swell by Corfu. Had a great day swimming, dozing and exploring. Next morning we had a gentle trip to Lakka for old time's sake (two years before we visited Paxos with them).

Morgan

Next night, we tucked everyone into bed with seasick tablets. At 0200, Morgan (granddaughter) and I tackled the long open-sea leg from Lakka to Preveza while everyone else slept. By  0730 when we were approaching Preveza and everyone started waking up.

Madison

Although Madison (other granddaughter) was a bit sick it was only for an hour and we anchored behind the marina in Preveza and had another nice relaxed day.










Next day was the Levkas canal and then down to Vliho intending to eat dinner at the yacht club. Unfortunately, the wind blew up strongly and we didn't trust the dinghy so dinner was cobbled together on board. Then it was down to Port Athene on Meganisi. This was one of the highlights.  The night was moonless and - the kids stayed up late. We had brilliant stars above and all swam in fairy dust below as the phosphorescence sparkled around us. Real Magic! If you haven't swum on a dark night in clear Med waters, give it a try. You won't forget it in a hurry.

Desert Island

We decided to spend the last few days in the gulf of Amvritsa where we expected to see turtles, dolphins and a "desert island". Sadly the wildlife seemed to have gone on holiday and we only saw a small pod in the distance and a single large turtle by Preveza town quay when they were getting ready to leave! The desert island was a hit though.

Moran and Madison at the fair.

The final treat for the children was the funfair at Preveza. Alton Towers it wasn't but they were surprisingly nice (for fairground people) and it didn't feel as if they were only out to grab our money.

Getting back to Corfu airport was another logistic nightmare as nobody wanted to go all the way North and then back on Rosa. In the end we hired a car in Preveza and drove them up to meet the ferry at Igoumenitsa - by far the most convenient and least expensive option. Having wheels also allowed us to stock up at Lidle and to fill cans with Diesel at an excellent price
Altogether a very successful visit allowing us all to spend quality time together. Very important when you spend most your life as a sea gypsy.