ISLAND DRIFTER, AUTUMN CRUISE 2023

 

BLOG 4

AUTUMN CRUISE IN THE IONIAN CRUISE – 2023

(13 Sep – 11 Nov)

 

We are now back in the UK having completed a 2-month Autumn Cruise in the Ionian Sea. This, our last Blog for 2023, is the only Blog on our Autumn cruise. It includes brief details of pre-cruise activities during the summer.  

SUMMER IN THE UK 2023

Apart from exercising daily, we spent a relatively quiet summer, by our standards, at our beach chalet in Calshot. During that period we were joined by Emmy, our 8-year-old granddaughter, for two separate weeks. Among other activities she went on an ‘Introduction to Dinghy Sailing’ Course at Calshot Activity Centre, which she took to like the proverbial duck.

Emmy about to be launched within an hour of starting an Introduction to Dinghy Sailing course at Calshot Activity Centre

During her second week with us, Emmy at last managed to climb ‘the pole’, a rite of passage for all children at the beach.

Emmy climbing ‘the Calshot pole’

During our time at the chalet, we enjoyed watching the start of the Rolex Fastnet 50^th Race, Cowes Week and the start of the Ocean Globe Race which celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of the original Whitbread Round the World Race and was comprised of boats and equipment only from that era.

Soon after the start of the 50^th Fastnet Race, 

many boats retired after having bashed head to wind in a SW8–9

In August we replaced and upgraded the beach chalet’s solar system. (The chalets do not have mains electricity.) We’d put in the original system some 15 years ago. Our new system now has three 380 Ah solar panels which through two regulators charge a new lithium battery (equivalent to six 110 Ah leisure batteries). The battery powers the 12v lighting system and a new 12v ‘retro’ Swan fridge/freezer. In addition, through a 1000w inverter, it runs the 240v water heater and power circuit. The new system is dramatically superior to the old one. Technology has clearly moved on.

Lithium battery cupboard which also houses two 12v regulators, a 1000w inverter and the outboard for Mike’s Wayfarer

The new ‘retro’ Swan 12v fridge/freezer

During our remaining days at Calshot we settled into the beach’s usual social scene with enthusiasm.

Lunch with Calshot friends in our beach chalet

AUTUMN CRUISE 2023

By this stage, we had reached several conclusions about sailing in Greece and the Ionian Sea in particular, namely:

• ·       The 104-mile-long North Ionian sailing area between Corfu to the north and Zakinthos to the south is a ‘Playground’ as compared to the longer-distance sailing options in the Aegean Sea.
• ·       It is, however, a very pleasant playground, but nevertheless a small, mainly windless one. As a consequence, most people end up motor-sailing on the majority of passages.
• ·       The Ionian Sea has become increasingly popular with charter fleets which dominate ports and anchorages and dramatically affect local prices.
• ·       Having said that, it is a beautiful area well worth visiting.

We decided to live with the area’s limitations in the short term, enjoy what it has to offer, and this Autumn restrict our cruising area to the Inland Sea south of Preveza – an area only 40 miles long.

Chart of Inland Sea showing locations referred to in this Blog

We therefore returned to ID in Aktio Marina’s boatyard in mid-September. When we’d left ID on the hard in July, we recognised that we would have only a limited time available for an Autumn Cruise, since the Ionian sailing season ends a month earlier than the Aegean’s. Indeed, commercial flights from Preveza Aktion airport ended on 29 October this year. We’d therefore significantly simplified our summer decommissioning procedures to enable us to launch quickly when we returned in September.

Hydraulic sledge picking up ID for launch. Note boats packed in like sardines!

We planned our Autumn Cruise around our need to effect, after launch, some repairs and replacements on ID (never easy in Greece due to the difficulties of importing and getting spares) before our friends Alan and Lynn’s proposed visit in October.

The principal issue on ID was that our 25-year-old Force 10 oven and hob had reached its sell-by date, in that the oven and two out of three burners no longer worked. We had already decided that since we hardly ever used the oven, all we needed as a replacement was a 2-burner gas hob with grill. We settled on a Tasman 4500 hob supplied by Camper Interiors in the UK. They arranged shipping with UPS who dealt with Greek Customs, VAT and delivery to the boatyard within 5 days of purchase. We were impressed.

Our new Tasman gas hob and grill

CRUISE WITH FRIENDS

We returned to the outside of Aktio boatyard’s launching dock to await the arrival of our friends Alan and Lynn [A&L] who were flying into the nearby airport. We’d first met them when we were cruising, and they were chartering, in the Caribbean in 2000. We’ve remained in touch; they have sailed with us in the Netherlands, Norway, and the Canaries, and we have sailed with them on their boat in France.

They caught a taxi from the airport directly to the launch dock, where they arrived in holiday mode.

Alan and Lynn in suitable holiday mode!

After they’d unpacked and had a reorientation tour of ID, we walked the short distance to Panos Taverna, the local (and only!) taverna where we enjoyed our first Greek lunch together, followed by a lazy evening since A&L had been travelling since dawn.

The first Greek lunch for Al & Lynn in Panos Taverna

We prepared for sea and left next morning once we saw yachts leaving Preveza town quay a mile away. On the way we updated A&L on ID’s current operating procedures at sea. Given the strong current flowing out of the Gulf and a crosswind, Mike elected, for the first time, to ‘Turkish moor’, thereby successfully reducing the distance required to go astern – which as any Countess yacht owner knows is a challenge in itself!

Preveza’s recently refurbished town quay and promenade

That evening we took a walk around Preveza. It is a large, affluent working town, that, unlike many others in tourist centres, does not become depopulated in the winter. We had hoped to visit the Nikopolis museum, which documents Octavian’s defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in the naval battle of Aktio, that fundamentally changed the course of Roman history. Murphy’s Law: the museum closes on a Tuesday! We therefore revised our plan and proceeded into the Gulf of Amvrakikos.

A&L helmed and navigated into the Gulf to Rougas Bay. We anchored close to the beach and rowed ashore for lunch at the taverna. Before doing so, however, we had a quick swim off the boat. 

Swimming off boat in Rougas Bay. Note small boatyard in background

We now know that the taverna and its motorhome site remain open all year and, as the owner explained, he’ll serve anybody at any time!

View of ID from Rougas Bay taverna

Next day, our 54^th Wedding Anniversary, A&L again navigated us over to Koronisia where we cautiously berthed on the inside of the new outer breakwater, with zero centimetres showing under the keel, before going to Gar Oida prawn restaurant (yet again)! This time we did not allow the waiter anywhere near the camera and the photo taken by a fellow diner and cruiser at least included us in the picture!

Previous interesting attempt in June (by waiter) to photograph us with our prawns!

Prawns again, this time grilled

The hamlet is not only renowned for its prawns (thanks to James Bond who ordered Preveza prawns in the movie For Your Eyes Only, which was filmed in Corfu) but also for its Byzantine church which, in view of the value of the icons contained therein, was (and usually is) closed to visitors.

Byzantine church in Koronisia

We couldn’t go south without introducing A&L to the quay at Santa Maura where we enjoyed a swim, a lunch in the nearby kantina, a dinghy ride down the canal to Lefkhada, and a tour of the ancient fort. 

Quay and Santa Maura fort photographed from a drone [courtesy of sk_photography36]

ID alongside the Santa Maura quay photographed from the same drone

On our way south the next day down the east coast of Lefkas we could hardly go past Vlikho Bay, the island’s hurricane hole and major sailing centre, without popping in. Regrettably we had to keep well clear of our friends Rolf and Roz who were anchored in the bay, since they were both down with Covid, which Roz had caught on a recent flight back from the UK.

Looking south to the head of Vlikho Bay from ID at anchor next morning

That evening we watched the final knock-out stages of the Rugby World Cup when Argentina beat Japan to progress to the Quarter Finals.

Watching the Rugby World Cup

We left early the next morning for Kefalonia where Lynn had worked as a guide for the Ramblers Association during a sixth-form school holiday. On the way, we pulled into Fiskardo, where Al, an architect, was keen to see the old Venetian buildings that had survived the 1953 earthquake, due to being built on clay foundations which withstood the tremors.

Fiskardo’s west quay. 

Note some of the Venetian architecture that survived the 1953 earthquake

From Fiskardo we continued south to the harbour of Ag Efimia, which before the 1953 earthquake was the island’s ferry port. It is now a pleasant low-key tourist area that caters primarily for visiting yachts and lunchtime bus tours. Although the islands were now beginning to close down for the winter, the quay was still full of yachts.

Al on ID in Ag Efimia harbour

On our sail back north, we pulled on to the quay at Vathi in Ithaca. There, by chance, we met up with a rally of Macedonian sailors on chartered yachts, some of whom we’d met on a similar rally in Syros in the Aegean in 2018. At that time, in very strong winds, our anchor broke loose and we were fortunate in being able to raft on to one of the Macedonian boats for the rest of night. We’ve remained in touch with the skipper, Nikola Barakovski, and were delighted to find that he was there with his family.

Vathi quay at night

Chance meeting in Ithaca with Macedonian friends!

The next evening we anchored off Mitikas town and beach and A&L had a final swim off the boat.

Sunset at Mitikas, viewed with a G&T

A&L navigated us back to Aktio Marina’s launching dock. On the way they experienced the chaos that can arise when the Levkas Canal’s floating bridge opens on the hour.

Floating bridge chaos

That night we stayed on the outside of Aktio’s launching dock, prior to A&L’s early departure next morning. During their last evening we watched the first two quarter- finals of the Rugby World Cup. Regrettably, Argentina beat Wales and New Zealand beat Ireland. Fortunately, England just beat Fiji the following night.

Aktio Marina at night

VISITS TO/FROM FRIENDS

After A&L’s departure, we returned south, this time to Sivota Bay at the southern end of Levkas where we met up with Ray and Sue Mead, friends from Calshot, who were staying in a villa in the hills above the bay. We enjoyed a long lunch in Stavros’s taverna, on whose pontoon we were berthed.

Ray and Sue Mead, friends from Calshot, enjoying lunch 

on the balcony of Stavros’s taverna overlooking Sivota bay

After spending the night on the taverna’s quay in Sivota, we returned north to meet for a curry supper on ID with Phil and Norma Heaton (friends who live near us in Yorkshire) who were waiting to be lifted out into Cleopatra boatyard, before their return to the UK. Phil is a Vice Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club. Together we watched South Africa beat England in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup by just one point, scored in the last few minutes. Not bad for a team written off by British media pundits just weeks before.

Watching the Rugby World Cup with Phil and Norma Heaton

Before they left for the winter, we joined friends Merv and Jude for supper on their yacht laid up Cleopatra boatyard for repairs following a lightning strike while they were anchored off Corfu. We’d originally met them in Leros and have remained in touch, albeit that the last few times we met near Preveza it was at 10 paces’ distance as they both had long-term Covid! Fortunately, they were now fully recovered. After ‘doing’ museums in Athens for a couple of days, they are now back home in Australia.

Merv and Jude, Australian friends we first met in Leros in 2019

RETURN TO UK

Preveza/Aktion airport closed for the winter at the end of October, as did most summer tourist facilities and services. Hence, we lifted out of the water into Aktio Marine boatyard at the end of that month and spent the next ten days on board servicing, repairing and decommissioning ID. In the absence of local flights, we had to travel by bus from Aktio to Athens, from where we flew back to LHR.

Incidentally, we enjoyed the 6-hour bus trip via Athens central bus station to the airport. It is a particularly interesting route that runs down the west coast of the Greek mainland, turns east along the north coast of the Gulf of Patras, then crosses over the Antirrio Bridge to the north coast of the Peloponnese, before crossing back to the mainland over the Corinth Canal.

Antirrio Bridge crossing the Gulf of Patras

Corinth Canal

 

We’ll take this early opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas and all the best for the forthcoming year.