So arriving in this part of the world was a great relief. Time to relax for a bit……well except for the stresses of living on the boat. She is lovely to live aboard but the maintenance can be hard. It was time to try and fix the puncture in the dinghy especially as our good friends had let us borrow their dinghy whilst they went back to the UK for a few days. Thank you Cuffysark again for your help. The dinghy is essential especially when you are at anchor a lot as obviously it’s the main method to get to shore to explorer and fill up with supplies. So as I write this it’s now the 30 June and the dinghy repair seems impossible. The UV heats the dinghy too much and had melted the original glue along the seams. After the orignal fix, I noticed a huge bubble along the seam, so all the original work I had done had to be undone and it was Caroline’s turn to do a proper job. A few days later this was done and then we had air escaping next to seat where there is a handle. An almost impossible area to repair. We are still trying but are sure that it’s a write off. We thought that buying something that is made by Honda would last a little longer, but hey. We are now searching what’s the best replacement to buy…. And as you can imagine it all depends on how much money you have….. Anything decent seems to be more than double what we paid for ours originally. We will let you know what happens in the end.
So a few days at anchor we travelled a few miles to another bay so that we can go to Lidls to stock up on cheap coke that we have now acquired the taste of. At this point the windlass (the thing that pulls up the anchor) started to not sound perfect. The following day, when we went to anchor in Corfu old town to give back the borrowed tender, the windlass died. So back we went to anchor in Gouvia to try and sort out the problem. Gouvia is the best place to get parts etc. So Anchoring now had to be done by hand like the good old days. The only trouble with this is that we bought the heaviest anchor we could for the boat and we was dropping in heavy mud which meant it didn’t hold brilliantly when the boat turned and when you pull it up it is hugely heavy with so much mud stuck to it. That night when the wind turned, we realised that we were dragging and it had to be pulled up by hand. After a short discussion with the wife it was clear we were going into the marina. It was dark and we got in around 10’ish (pm) I believe. The marina’s are expensive so the next day we went out to anchor again using our other light weight anchor, our fortress. The downside is that we set it using rope rather than chain. This requires further rope out than you would use with chain and also once set the angle into the water is significantly less meaning that there is more chance of passing tourist boats getting stuck on it. After we watch one come too close and was sure they were going to snag we decided to return to the marina again until the windlass was repaired. On the positive side there was an excellent swimming pool for the girls. The windlass issue did make us reflect on the trip as whole as it makes you think of the safety of the whole family but walking down the road has its risk.
We took the windlass apart ourselves and found that the key that locks the motor to the gearbox had come out and damaged a lot of the mechanics. We ordered a new key which took two days to arrive. In this time we got to know the local community a bit better and I am always surprised to meet couples that live in the same village as ourselves in a parallel street. In addition, just one hour before the part arrived, we met 2 guys that were mechanic engineers and experts in fitting our bit. After discussions with them they had fully explained what the problem was and then proceeded to refit everything back together. Thank you so much Terry and Jeromy. Our knights in shining armour.
This trip never seems to surprise us that when times get low and tough and we have problems, like a miracle, someone arrives with generosity that blows you away. This has happened so many times and puts real faith in humanity. Ian from Cuffysark had also waited in Corfu to help fit the part once arrived so a big thank you. Again a relief to have good people around you.
22-6-2019 So now that was working again we set off straight away going south and meet Cuffysark in Petretis. We arrived late at 19:20 after a 19 mile sail. This bay was beautiful anchoring in around 3m’s of clear water. A welcome relief.
23-6-19 We left 08:20 the next morning heading for Preveza, some 51 miles away. This meant skipping the lovely islands of Paxos and anti Paxos and also the bay of Parga where you drive your boat up the beach, jump off the front to set the bow anchor in the sand. We knew the southern Islands were better protected and a little greener. The flotilla season is soon approaching where the area is flooded with many newbee’s at sailing whom charter large boats they can’t handle. That’s far from the truth but is the case in some cases. The 51 mile sail was a unique sail in respect that the wind just continually kept changing strength and direction. Cuffysark behind once was steering the exact same course as us but had all his sails out the opposite side. i.e. the wind blowing 180 degrees from the opposite side. We had no wind, then 20 + knots, then nothing, left, right, left… I must have pulled out our genoa and put it away again around 15 times (slight exaggeration). Preveza was the first time as a family we had to do stern to moorings with our anchor which is very common in this part of the world. This means someone has to drop the anchor at the front and let it out whilst at the back of the boat the crew has to be ready with two lines to tie lines ashore and once done the anchor line is then pulled in tight. In addition to the stress of all that, you also have to make sure you don’t drop your anchor someone else’s. This is a very common thing that happens. If it does it is great fun trying to get them apart…. Luckily we got in perfectly, with no incidents looking like pro’s. My crew is the best you can get.
Now it’s a bit of a small world because whilst being berthed in the spot the two boats either side of us were people we had met before in the years we have now been sailing. Great to see old friends. I must admit I’m not very good at remembering some people but for some reason they hadn’t forgotten me…. Preveza was a really nice place.
25-6-2019 – Preveza to Nidri via the Lefkas Canal. So this trip involves getting to Lefkas and waiting for a bridge to swing open to pass through a canal which is the entrance to the Southern Ionian. So we set off knowing the bridge doesn’t open for long but opens on the hour every hour. We decided that a slow sail there from Preveza should get us there approximately 15 mins early. We set the genoa and it didn’t take long before we were travelling too fast, we had to put away most of the sail and we were still doing 5 knots. Something that most days we would have been happy with if we had all the sails up. We got to the bridge 35 minutes early and the wind had got up to 30 knots, white horses everywhere. The waiting area is very small and hazardous with sandbanks all around. We decided to go back out into the sea and wait out there in very bouncy seas. When we turned to come back in at the due time, we had no sails up, the engine at 1,200 rpm (just above tick over) and we managed 6.1 knots….. we then held station for 3 minutes in a horrible sea until it opened. Keeping a boat perfectly still in 30 knots is a test. No room to move at all. I could feel the wife’s tension all the time….but it opened and through we went with Cuffysark right behind us.
We were the first through the lock and headed down the canal into the Southern Ionian. It was so different with lovely weather, very hot and no wind. We arrived in a bay in Nidri which was stunning and was met by many friends. 7 boats we knew were in the anchorage and made us feel very welcome. CopyCat (Ronny and Karen), We-Dun-It (Dave and Vicki), Songbird (Ingma and Elvyra), Ula (Andy and Clare), Viking (Shelly and Andy), Miss Molly, Lady Eleanor (Emily and Luke) – stern2sailing and of course Cuffysark sailed in with us (Ian and Lorraine).
Emily and Luke are a young couple we had met the previous year on our way down to Gibraltar and run a small Charter company in Nidri. They come from Bury St Edmunds our home town and truly are another example of meeting just truly fantastic individuals. They helped us last year and again their hospitality and kindness goes beyond compare. Thank you so much Luke and Emily for being great friends. As mentioned we meet so many but these 2 get the award for being the youngest and so full of energy. Their drive to make a great business is also admirable. Stern2sailing is their company if you ever need a great sailing experience. Highly recommended.
So at the moment we have sailed off to the Island of Meganisi and back again to Nidri but our focus at present is sourcing a new dinghy. We can then start off again to explore all the Islands. By the way did I tell you how hot it is…….too hot…..I’ll write again soon unless Caroline takes over…