Ionian 2007 - part two - 12:54 PM, Jun. 7, 2007

Thursday May 10 Pera Pigadhi – Sivota (Lefkas)

For reasons I no longer remember, had an early start, cast off by 8:15. Weather at 09:00 said NNW 4/5, which would have meant a bit of a beat, but what we got was more variable 1/2, so most of the trip was done with the engine and Georges, our faithful autopilot.. Didn’t really have the time to get bored, since we arrived in Sivota  at 13:00, where we were kept entertained by the arrival of a Sunsail flotilla, among whom were the Queen Mother, Mr + Mrs Lobster….We were moored at the outside of the quay, in front of a café which appeared closed, until sometime in the evening, when it turned out the be “the place to be” in Sivota. At least it was Greek music that kept going until 5 in the morning.

Friday May 11 Sivota - Meganisi

Managed to sail most of the way from Sivota to Skorpios (Onassis island), where we anchored for lunch and a swim. “Keep out” signs in prominent positions, but since the sea belongs to the state a swimmer can “land” up to the high water mark, effectively to mid calf level. We kind of expected the family to send a launch over to invite us to lunch, but no luck. After lunch, carried on to Porto Splilia, where we got a very warm welcome as “returning customers”. Was amused by the arrival of more flotilla boats, heavily reliant on the assistance of pontoon staff, and even more by one which looked like a Sunsail from a distance, so pontoon peeps go into assistance mode – turns out he flew the blue ensign, and was rather peeved to have been mistaken for a Sunsail

Skorpios - "Onassis island" - blob in the middle is Popeye:

Island of Meganisi - looking down to Porto Spilia :

Saturday May 12 Meganisi – Lefkas marina

We had been warned against Lefkas marina, but our choice was that or Preveza (no way) or Parga, which sounded grim in the pilot book. Anchored again at Skorpios for lunch, and attempted a spot of fishing. I reckon fish must have a high IQ, since when you throw bit of bread / pizza etc, they fight each other in hundreds but as soon as you put out a line and hook, they take the bait from the hook then disappear. Arrived Lefkas 17:00, filled fuel tank, then entered one of the most soulless marinas I’ve ever seen. Shelter was not fantastic, berthing fee EUR 47,60, showers extra! Lefkas town was nice enough, but the Lighthouse restaurant (picked from our guide book) not the best we’ve been to.

Sunday May 13 Lefkas – Gaios (Paxos)

Cast off in time for the opening of the bridge at 10:00 – it opened on time this time. Only, since there were few boats in the queue, and no big ones, they only raised the small section on the side, instead of swinging the whole bridge. The space was quite narrow, with a sharp bend, and not overly deep – scary! The rest of the day was almost boring – no wind. Tried the sails for 20 minutes just for something to do. Moored up in Gaios next to a Sunsail skipper, his flotilla was having a “free sail day”, and were in another harbour. Interesting guy – born on a boat, of Belgian father and Irish mother, brought up in Brazil! Said he felt he’d done his job if, at the end of 2 weeks charter, all the clients still have all their fingers and toes!

Monday May 14 Gaios - Mourtos

Quote from the pilot book “Crossed anchors are a fact of life here….. remain calm and use some muscle”. Well, we got one, and stayed relatively calm. Anchored for lunch in End bay (at 3^rd go – lots of weed, but am beginning to grasp this anchoring lark), close to a Neilson water activity base. No time for a swim, since Popeye wanted to get into Mourtos before the flotillas. Plenty of space when we got there. Went to the ice cream parlour for the banana split Popeye’s been hankering after for days. Sailing Holidays flotilla skipper puts olive oil down neighbours’ heads. Said it tightens up the joints and can maybe avoid major surgery. We try it too – seems OK.

Mourtos:

Tuesday May 15 – Mourtos  - Platarias

Did some shopping – great supermarket on the east side of the harbour – samples of home made biscuits, uncle’s wine, cheapest beer we’ve seen yet , and we discover that the wine bottles with a “K” are returnable, deposit 35 cents. How many have we thrown away?

Left at 11:00 – second crossed anchor!

Anchorage for lunch between the islands of Sivota and Nikolaos, arrived in Platarias around 16:00. 40 minutes to get tied up. Pilot book said good shelter, but the most sheltered side was taken up by liveaboards, we had a nasty cross wind, so it was the most challenging “Med moor” of the whole trip. During the evening, the lady harbour official stops by to welcome us, offering water and elec (declined), and asking us how long we planned to stay. As if!

Maybe it’s due to the proximity of Albania, but the town seemed somehow seedy and rather depressing. Olga’s restaurant wasn’t one of the best either.

Wednesday May 16 – Platarias - Agni

On leaving Platarias in the morning, picked up our 3^rd crossed anchor – this one belonging to an uninhabited charter yacht. Dutch neighbour rightly points out that the yacht concerned is now touching the quay, and that its our duty to put things right. Consider re-anchoring to go fix the problem, but not enthusiastic, given yesterday’s performance. Were about to go alongside the Dutch neighbours’ boat when the magnanimously offered to take care of it.

Note that they were 6 on board, and note also that the “unanchored” boat in question belonged to a Dutch charter company – can’t help wondering if they would have reacted for any other boat.

Mostly motored back to Corfu, for dinner at Nikolas’ tavern. Much busier now than 3 weeks ago. Pontoon was full of mobo’s when we got there, so decided to anchor. Were at our third attempt at getting through the weed, when we noticed that the pontoon was now free, so we tied up there. Evening saw the arrival of 4 boatloads of trippers from neighbouring bays

Thursday May 17 – Agni -Gouvia

Got back into Gouvia early afternoon, hired a car, messed around, dropped Patsy at the airport

Friday May 18 – flying visit of Corfu

 Packed up, checked out and set off for Corfu’s highest mountain, Mt Pandokrator, famous for its stunning views – only it was in the clouds, so didn’t see much. Inland Corfu is much more attractive that the tourist ghettos on the coast, although some of the roads were too narrow and bendy for my liking. Dropped car off at airport (no car-hire desk, just leave the key under the mat!), and all too soon , back home. That’s it until October then – sniff!