01-06-19: Today we are finally leaving Licata and we are sailing to a place called Porto Palo. It is an 11 hour journey but we will find something to do. On the way we put up the hammocks and sat in them for a while. We took them down when Mummy and Daddy put the sail up. After that I sat at the front of the boat and put my feet over the edge. If I was lucky there would be a wave that would come right up to my feet and it would get them wet. When I was sitting there a wave came that we went into and I got my legs wet. I then went and changed into a swimming costume in case it happened again. When I got back I put my feet over the edge again and I kept getting wet. At one point I got really wet so I’m glad I changed! I love it when we are sailing and not sitting in a marina. I find it nice to be on the boat for a long time. It is a nice calm day today but there was enough wind to have the sails out. Daddy came up the front with Libby and I. We found out how to do a magic trick and we worked it out by our selves. It didn’t really feel like a long time on the boat as we found something to do. If you have a really long sail on a boat then all you have to do to make the time go past is find something to do. As we arrived the sun was setting and it was nice to arrive to a sun set. We arrived in one place but there was swell coming in and we didn’t want to sleep in it so we went one hour extra to get to Porto Palo. After dinner all of us played brag until it got too dark to play any more.
02-06-19: In the morning we put up our hammock chairs which are chairs that you can sit in and it is like a hammock. What we do with them is we put them up on a halyard and then we put them over the railing and we swing along side Arctic. It is really fun and when the wind got up I could turn sideways and the wind would fill up my top piece that is dangling over my head and it worked like a parachute. When I jumped out it filled with wind and I got pushed back. When we got out we watched an old film and then we watched a new film called Animal Crackers. It was very good and I would recommend it to you.
03-06-19: In the morning straight after breakfast we decided that we are going to move today from here Porto Palo to Siracusa. Today it isn’t really a long sail only a 5 hour sail today. We thought that we could sail all the way as we motored sail for 11 hours last time. In the beginning we weren’t going very fast but as the wind got up we started to go faster and faster. We usually do about 6 knots but with only the sails up we were doing about 7-8 knots. When we arrived we had to radio the marina office to see if we were allowed to anchor.
04-06-19: This morning we are going to Lidl’s here in Siracusa. As we were going there we asked if some of our friends wanted to come with us, their names are Ingmar and Elvira and their boat is called Songbird. They said that they would come and they told us where to go for Lidl as they have been here before. When we got ashore we saw that it was a beautiful town. We wanted to walk around it but they needed Lidl’s too. They said that we could firstly go around the small market. We went to the food part and I liked it but there was loads of pistachios and cashews which I’m very allergic to. When we finally got to Lidl’s it was very hot and it was very long to walk. On the way there was a very dodgy road that had no path. After shopping we came out with a tub of ice cream and we ate it with our spoons in Daddy’s backpack. Ingmar and Elvira ate it with us. When we finally got back to the boat Libby and I played in the hammock chairs but Libby played in our swing.
05-06-19: Nooooo we are doing school today! It is actually fun as it is boat school. As we were doing it the wind started to get up and we kept an eye on the anchor watch and also had the keys in the ignition ready if we dragged. When we had finished our home school we played in our swings and it was really fun as the wind blew Libby and I right down to the back of the boat from the front. Trying to get back up to the front though was tricky as every time we jumped to get there we got blown back but we managed it in the end. After that we had our dinner and relaxed.
06-06-19: Siracusa was a nice bay but we had to move on. Today we are travelling to a place called Brucoli and it isn’t very far. As we were getting closer to Brucoli we could start to see Mount Etna and she is meant to be erupting! When we anchored we could still see Mount Etna so we decided to stay up tonight and see if she would spark just a little. So tonight we stayed up and played cards whilst watching Etna but a little before that Libby and I played in the green swing. As I was putting away the swing I saw a little lava bubble. Then when we sat down to play cards I saw it again whilst daddy was dealing. After that I didn’t see it any more. After playing from 7:00 to 9:00 nothing happened with Etna so we went to bed.
07-06-19: Goodbye Brucoli. We are moving to a place called Naxos today on Sicily still. As we are going along Daddy, Libby and I played Top Trumps at the front of the boat. When we had finished Libby went and got her little solar powered row boat that she had to make. When she had finished we put it in the sun and it worked really good. When we had finished making that we came back and saw that we were nearly there. We decided to put the sails up and sail as we thought that there was 6 knots of wind… When we switched the engine off there was actually no wind as we were creating it so we decided to put out the big blue. When we had got her up we had gone even slower as the wind had completely gone. So we switched the engine back on and motored again. When we arrived there was a “Feeling” sailboat in the bay which is what we used to have. We told them that we used to have one and they were surprised. It took a little while to find a spot to anchor but we manager to anchor luckily. We found a protected spot and it was nice and calm. As my dinner was being dished up grandma called and I answered it. I showed her where we were and showed her Mount Etna smoking. As we could see Mount Etna better here we decided to try again but nothing happened at all.
08-06-19: Finally we have stopped moving for today. Before breakfast we went ashore. Daddy rowed us ashore and stayed with the dinghy whilst we went to the fruit and veg store. After breakfast we blew up the paddle board and Libby and I went paddle boarding around the boat. When we had got the just of it we got Libby’s row boat and tried him but we then saw that he was sinking so Libby tried to get him but couldn’t reach so she jumped of the paddle board and rescued her little boat as she did so she was scrambling to get on the paddle board as the water was freezing! As it got into the afternoon the wind started to get up and the other boats had moved to the other side of the bay. Mummy and I said what do they know that we don’t. They knew that the wind was going to get up and come into the bay but we dint know that.. When that wind came the American boat next to us dragged very fast. When he got his anchor up he moved to the other side of the bay as well. We decided to do the same so we had to get the dinghy up, the paddle board up and deflate it and also pull the anchor up. We managed to all of this really quickly as we have already done it on a different occasion. When we were on the way people on jet skis came flying past and they were being silly as it was really rough. When we got there there wasn’t very many spaces left to anchor so we had to anchor in 8 meters of water. Getting towards dinner time lots of the little boats left and the bay was almost empty.
09-06-19: I woke up to the chain being lifted up. I realised that we were off again and instead of moving up the coast we were moving to the south of Italy. It was going to be a long hop but we left early for a reason because there was going to be lots of wing through the Messina straights and had come to the crossing. Half way a huge tanker was coming towards us and we were sailing… We decided that he had got too close and that we had to put the engine on. After dodging that one there was another one that was coming. About 10 minutes later that one had come to us and we were going to miss him no doubt. When we had got past that the wind died down from 24 knots of wind to 6 knots of wind and from 7 knots to 3 knots. It went like that because we had gone behind the land and the land was blocking the wind. When we finally arrived it was getting on and it was becoming cool. Libby got in the water after being there for only 2 minutes and she said that it was warmer than it was. As a top had come off I threw it in the water and she went and got it and gave it back to me. After doing that Daddy then asked her to check the anchor. When she had done that she got out and Daddy and Libby had a shower on the back of the boat.
09-06-19: Goodbye Sicily! Hello Italy! The trip today is from Sicily to Italy. I hope that it will be a nice sail. Indeed I thought correctly when we got out there it was a lovely day. The sail is amazing as it is an amazing day. When we arrived Livvy jumped in the water and went for a swim. I had found that one of our tops had come of and I threw it in the water as mummy said to but Livvy found it floating and gave it to me. I then threw it into the water again and she collected it. In the end we ended up playing fetch and it was fun for both of us.
10-06-19: Again we are moving and we aren’t going to have a rest until we get to Corfu (Greece). As we were sailing Daddy gave us permission to go in our swings whilst we were moving! Livvy did it first but after she let me try it I put mine up. It was really fun and when I looked down at the water when I was swinging to the back of the boat, it looked like I wasn’t really moving, but then when I looked up I was about to hit the side of the boat so I put my legs out to stop myself. On the way to the front it was different. As I looked down at the water then it looked like I was going very fast so I looked up when I thought I was at the front I wasn’t I was only half way there so looking at the water confused me. After getting there I dipped my foot in the water and it was getting warmer getting warm enough to just jump in that is.
11-06-19: Sorry lovely bay we have to go. Here we go again moving. Oh I can’t wait until we get to Corfu then we can finally stop moving for a little bit. Mummy and Daddy let us put our swings up again today. It was really fun like yesterday. As we arrived a little bit late mummy put the dinner on as soon as we had got into the bay. After dinner I felt the water and it is definitely getting warmer.
12-06-19: Ha ha finally we are doing a little hop instead of all day ones so we can actually have some time to rest. As I have hurt my knee swinging I am not putting up my swing and neither is Livvy as she would like a rest from the swings. This bay is a nice bay like the rest of them.
13-06-19: As we did a little hop yesterday we now have to do a huge hop today and we had to get up really early but that is only mummy and daddy but we woke up when mummy pulled the anchor up with the windless. Only right near the end did we properly sail as there wasn’t enough wind to sail the hole way so we had to motor sail. When we arrived there wasn’t much space but we managed to find a space and it was a little close to another boat.
14-06-19: Woo hoo we are now sailing from Italy to Greece but guess what it is not Corfu that we are sailing to it is an island called Othoni but it is close to Corfu and the protected bay that is on Corfu which we are going to anchor in. Now today we have to wake up early again by this time Livvy and I didn’t wake up and we managed to stay asleep. When we woke up we thought that it would be very grim all the way as we woke up to a grim morning. As it got into the afternoon it got really hot and we had to put up the umbrella to shade up top. I went downstairs and Livvy followed as it was too hot for us. Once we had settled in (in the bay) the wind got up just when we got comfortable.
15-06-19: I’m even more happy today as we are finally going to Corfu (in the sheltered bay)! As we were coming down the coast we could see the bottom in 100+ meters of water! As we passed a bay daddy looked into it with the binoculars and he saw that it was a nice bay and that there was a catamaran in it and it looked like Cuffysark (a boat that we are really good friends with and the owners are called Ian and Lorraine). As we passed it the catamaran came out and we saw that it was Cuffysark! They surprised us and we knew that it was them because Daddy had just asked Lorraine a question on messenger and she responded and said that they could see us! We then stayed with them until we got to the bay where we pulled in front of them to get a spot in the bay. When we had anchored we asked if they wanted to raft up with us (as in they throw us their ropes and we tie them on our boat and then we are next to each other). After sitting with them Ian asked us if we wanted to go in for a swim and we said that we would Jon him as he was too hot just like us. The water was lovely and warm when we got in. You would have to feel it before you jump otherwise you could gasp at how cold it is. The best thing to do is instead of walking in and then pushing off from the ladder is to just jump and then you are in. After them leaving for a different bay just half an hour away we went ashore to go to the shops. When we finished shopping and went back to the dinghy to go back mummy and daddy said that they would take us out to dinner. When we sat down at the table a waiter came straight to us and gave us the menu. The funny thing was that we had to ask him how to say thank you in Greek! I would tell you but I don’t know how to spell it! When we had finished I kept saying thank you thank you thank you.
16-06-19: Happy Fathers Day Daddy! We said this as we gave him his cards. He had no idea that it was Father’s Day and he was surprised. After his breakfast and ours daddy and I went ashore whilst mummy and Livvy stayed here to fix the dinghy. When we went ashore I told daddy that I would stay in the dinghy and hold on and he could go get our Dekpa done (the thing to let you sail in the Greek waters). As daddy was just about to go another dinghy came in and I let them moor next to the ladder and they got out we made friends with them and they went to put their rubbish in the bins and when they came back they told me that there was a swimming pool here how cool is that! I said thank you to them as they went to the swimming pool. When daddy got back I told him and he was surprised just like I was. As we got back to the boat we saw that some other of our friends were on board (their boat name is Viking and their names are Shelly and Andy). As it was really hot after lunch daddy, Livvy and I all got in the water and we cleaned the bottom of the boat. When all of us came to the back of the boat to catch our breath from diving down, we saw that mummy had got in the water as well which was a surprise. When we got out of the water dinner was ready and after that we watch some films called A dogs purpose and another one called Absolutely Anything which were really good films.
17-06-19: As we are running low on provisions we decided to find a bigger and better shop than the one that we had found as it was very expensive. We bought lots of things and we also bought ice cream and some spoons and ate it out of the tub again. As we were walking back we found the swimming pool and as we had bought our stuff with us mummy, Livvy and I stayed whilst daddy took the shopping back. When he got back we played together and we asked a girl if she wanted to play and she did. Her name was Vera and she had a brother. We played quite a lot until we had to go.
18-06-19: Yay the dinghy is fixed and we can now give Ian and Lorraine back there dinghy as they had lent us theirs because they went back to England for a few days. In the afternoon we moved to a bay 30mins away and it was nice there as we went swimming. We went and checked the anchor and came back then we got out as we had cooled of enough. When we were just about 10mins into a film called a hologram for the King the sea got a bit rocky and we didn’t like it so we moved back to the old place called Guvia (the protected bay). When we had anchored safely we watched the end of the film.
19-06-19: Today we are going to go to Corfu Town to anchor look round the town. When we were sailing we met up with Ian and Lorraine again and they were going to Corfu Town as well so we sailed with them. As we got to the entrance Ian and Lorraine dropped behind us and let s go in first. When we got to the anchorage we couldn’t set our anchor as the bottom was weed. When we pulling the anchor up the windless stopped. Daddy had to come up the front to pull the rest of the anchor up by hand. When we got it up we turned around and told Ian that it had broke and that we were going back to Guvia. After putting the anchor down by hand we had managed to get it to sort of set. As I was helping mummy prepare the dinner I heard two splashes and as I came up stairs I saw that Livvy and dad had jumped in! So I asked mummy if it was ok if I could go and swim and stop helping she said that it was ok. Whilst we were in the water Daddy told us how to jump in. At night when Libby and I was asleep the engine started and we woke up. We rushed up stairs as we thought that we were dragging. We weren’t but mummy didn’t like the fact that we were not certain that the anchor had set and we were dragging a little. So once Livvy and I had got some clothes on as it was a Littleton I asked daddy if he could tell us how to jump in. cold we lifted the anchor and went into the marina. As Libby and I were pulling up the fenders mummy was calling the marina to see if they had space for us. Luckily they had some space and they told us to wait for the dinghy to come out to us and lead us to our space in the marina.
20-06-19: Right now we have to go to the chandlery to order parts for the windless. As the chandlery is so close to the laundrette mummy took the washing with us and after ordering the parts that we need we walked to the laundrette and put the washing on. After that Daddy took us to the swimming pool and it was lovely and cool when we jumped in. After swimming for a bit we saw an English family swimming in the pool. They had two girls like us but they where 4 and 5. Georgia was 5 and Scarlet was 4. Even though that they were younger than us they were really fun to play with. They lived on a boat as well and were sailing around the world like us! When we left it was 4:00 and we didn’t realise that we had been there for about 5-6 hours or it could just be 4 but I don’t know.
21-06-19: Mummy and daddy wouldn’t take us to the pool today until we did some school. So I asked mummy if I could help her with the tops instead and she said that that was ok but I still had to do it when we got back from the pool. When we had finished daddy took us to the pool and Georga and Scarlet were there. It was nice to play with them again and daddy could swim alone. When we left I looked at the time and I said that we had been there all afternoon! Oh and I forgot to say that we had got our parts and we were ready to leave because two men came over and helped us put the windless back together.
22-06-19: Finally we can leave after two days in the marina. The best thing is that Ian and Lorraine said that they would wait for us in the bay that we were going to. When we got there it was really late about dinner time and the bay was really nice. It wasn’t quiet but it was nice. I did think about going in swimming but I was too hungry because it was actually 7:00-7:30 and I was really hungry.
23-06-19: This morning we are moving from Corfu to mainland Greece into a place called Preveza. It is a 10 hour journey and it is very hot. As we were sailing Grandma called us and as she did a lovely yacht sailed past. All of us loved that boat and I definitely liked it because it was blue. When we got close we realised that we had to go through a channel and that if you got pushed out of it you would run a ground as all around the channel is shallow water. After being overtaken in the channel we finally made it through and that I can tell you that was a long channel. Here in Preveza it is the first time that we have to drop our anchor and then go back and take our lines ashore and then pull up the anchor until it is tight and it will hold your boat of the pontoon.
24-06-19: After breakfast mummy and I walked down to Ian and Lorraine’s to see if she was going to the shop. As she was we asked if we could go with her as we didn’t know where the shops were. When we got back and had put the shopping away we waited until it was night around 7:00 because that is when dinner is ready at Ian and Lorraine’s. We were having chicken and rice.
