David
03/25/2009, Ionian/Adriatic

BEATING UP TO BARI 98



My Kelsall 39 tri Aqua Blue is based at Preveza Marine on the Aktion shore of the entrance to the Gulf of Amvrakia. It's most convenient for cruising the Ionian sea, especially if you can catch a flight to the local airport, which is not easy in the summer. In fact this year I booked flights to Corfu (overnight as usual), and crossed the Corfu channel by ferry at dawn. After three hours trying to snooze on a park bench in Igoumenitsa, I took the bus to Preveza and was on board by early afternoon.
Rapid fitting out in the 99F heat was pretty wearing and I began to think I was past it as my legs wobbled whilst carrying the 45lb CQR up a ladder! I had to start taking the rehydration salts available in any chem
Three days later the yard's Dutch hydraulic trailer was sliding Aqua Blue effortlessly into the warm water. There is a Travelhoist as well now for those who prefer them! The Prout cat "Ocelot" had just arrived from Italy with Colin on board who had recently helped deliver "Super Rose" from Gib to the UK with the owner Mike Butterfield for the RBR.
After a chat with a few yachties who had visited Croatia I headed straight for the Levkas canal, where a large Greek schooner was hard aground by Sta Maura fort. Once through the swing bridge, I managed to tie alongside the causeway singlehanded in the now fresh sea breeze and just made it to Levkas Marine by 2pm. Theo had managed to repair the large hole in the Narwhal inflatable at a very reasonable price, and one of his staff ran it back to Aqua Blue precariously balanced on the back of a scooter.
I then motored through the canal and on past Nidri, to gently run Aqua Blue aground on the mud in the narrows between Nidri and Vliho
I had crew to meet in Corfu so retransited the canal heading north on the last day in July, spending the following evening anchored in Parga bay. An Outremer 50 cat followed me in making a fine sight as it tacked up the coast at good speed, with a constant fine spray off it's leeward bow . It had a huge rig , four crew and a dog on board. The skipper later told me he kept his boat in Monastir, and was headed for southern Italy and Sicily before returning to Tunisia.
It was along day motorsailing up to Corfu town, although there was some wind as I tacked round AK Sidhero into Gouvia bay. I passed a large day sailing tri and noted a large American warship at anchor. Closing Gouvia I watched someone repeatedly trying to right a capsized Laser. I diverted towards the dinghy, which was crewed transom door!
An hour later Aqua Blue was tied to a pontoon in Gouvia marina. Italian powerboats were pouring in and their half naked crews were showering almost on the starboard float. The marina has undergone a huge expansion and the charges are quite moderate. There is no surcharge for multihulls but there is a surcharge for mooring alonside, which I did being singlehanded. In August 98 a twelve mtr yacht paid 5600Drachma/day or 682,700Dr/year. Security is much improved and the marina is now surrounded by a wire fence leaving just two guarded exits into Kondokali, where I had a reasonable meal in Harris (sic) bar. I had been slightly surprised by the number of boats coming south through the north Corfu channel, since until recentlly the Foreign office website was warning British yachts to avoid the area. Local opinion seems to be that is
The following night I spent at Corfu airport waiting for my crew. How the reps do it several times a week I don't know. I eventually arrived back at the boat at 7.00am with Stella, my seven yr old daughter Louise and regular crew Humphrey. With the temps still in the high nineties we spent the later morning in an airconditioned supermarket and the afternoon by a pool just outside theby one Otto Schein. The owner keeps it near Venice (expensively) and told me that visiting North Croatia was fine, you can even pay for your transit log by credit card! I had been hearing many conflicting stories about Croatia, especially the variable amount being paid by different yachts for the transit log.
We refuelled easily in the morning noting an elderly Piver Nimble being refitted ashore. we anchored in the calm south bay at Erikoussa, not far from the beach and a small Italian tri.
I rose early and guiltily motored away from the attractive beach before Louise was up, but after a morning's motoring west I cut the engine so she could swim , (at the end of a lifeline with a bouyancy aid of course!). Within minutes a northerly arrived and after speeding over the smooth Adriatic for a few more hours, we entered the hot and crowded harbour of Otranto at the bottom of the heel of Italy. You have to anchor right under the walls of the old town to avoid the large mooring buoys used by the freque
We revisited the cathedral in the morning to decipher the mosaic "tree of life" and in the market bought delicious sun dried tomatoes, ideal for chewing in the cockpit. By early afternoon we were slowly sailing up the coast in a light northeasterly, but Poe south of the town, about the only thing clearly visible there being no moon. As we passed through the outer breakwaters onto the smooth sea within, the boat immediately accelerated from seven to nine knots, dramatically demonstrating how much only moderately rough conditions slow you down. The harbour is huge and we sailed for some time, only rounding up to take down sails when we could just see into the narrow channel leading into the inner harbour. No sooner had we entered this, than we were loudly hailed by a pilot vessel who gesticulated at g the end of the Appian way. Brindisi was a busy port two thousand years ago!
Again we toured the cathedral and found the market. There were eight yachts moored near us , all waiting for the fresh north westerlies to decrease. The German Dufour 31 behind us, who was also based at Preveza Marine, inquired about the conditions outside since the anchorage is some distance inland, and seemed surprised we had slogged up the coast. We left them at the quay and motored down to the e could nearly sail parrallel to the coast so I gave it half an hour and as we pulled away from Brindisi the conditions started to ease, just as Portishead had promised. Within a few hours we had sped nearly twenty miles up the coast and located the tiny port of Villanova. The harbour is very full of permanent moorings and we struggled to find a spot to anchor on a very short scope in only seven feet of water. At least Louise could swim. Before our cockpit meal we were bothered by two scruffy teenagers in a battered rowing boat with "paillot" crudely written on the side. They asked for 40,000 lire but eventually settled for 25,000 which I am sure did not find it's way to the harbourmaster. You have find these incidents amusing in southern Italy, otherwise you won'y enjoy your visit. Rain then sent us in to dine below!
The grey m. Especially when we would have to pay for the Croatian transit log for only a few days there. I did draw a line across the Adriatic to see where our port tack would take us , and it wasn't yet Croatia. By teatime we were coming back to the coast and later entered Monopoli, which is a large virtually empty harbour with clean water. I calculated that we had sailed 49miles to make 17 up the coast!! Aqua Blue will point up reasonably well but the leeway in stronger conditions kills the VMG. A crew discussion over aperatifs in the cocn make reasonable progress in the "wrong direction", but S
We had a day of R@R in Monopoli which has an interesting old quarter and a good restaurant "Arena" with a balcony overlooking the harbour. The following day we continued on to Bari, where we found the Porto Vecchio had a new outer mole, inside which we could conveniently anchor near some steps. The recommended north mole seemed to be the local nude sunbathing area. As the sun sank we walked to the huge Norman Basilica where we were surprised to find the bones of Santa Claus in the crypt.! Apparently some seamen from Bari had nicked them from Lycia in 1081. We walked round the old and new town for some time before finding a very good redtaurant "Sotto in Sopra", where we enjoyed excellent spaghett
Whilst Stella and Louise went in search of the nearest Salumeria, Humphrey and I lugged the water carriers to the ubiquitous "cast iron dispenser" so often mentioned in the pilot books for the Med. You often have to nip in between fisherman washing their catch before they display it nearby. We ran back down the coast for most of the day with the weather much improved and everyone on deck for the first time. Eventually we entered tiny Savelletri, not as crowded as Villanova but very shallow, ideal for a multi in settled weather really. We warped the stern towards the breakwater and could walk round the
We easily returned to Brindisi in an increasing northeasterly, passing a red cat flyng the Stars and Stripes on the way. And again tied up near the ferry stop although our previous eight companions had all gone. The quay is Via Admiraglio Millo just past the sailors monument, and above the nearby steps is a residential area with a smart cafe La Capannina and a clean playground with tree shade. From the top of the steps you can view half the Italian navy moored further up the harbour, and there are plenty of flights into the nearby airfield. I was roused from my bunk at midnight by three young Italians who clumped down to sit in the
We left relatively early and passed a US Frigate refuelling in the outer harbour. After motoring over a flat calm for a while a southerly headwind arrived and we had to slowly beat down the coast for the rest of the day , often tacking right on the beach for the slight lift. We finally anchored in Otranto again by 8.00pm, just in time to eat on the beach. The town was a blaze of lights, the 14th August being a "Ferie". We strolled through the crowds in the heat for a while before succumbing to tiredness, but were all up again at 1.00am to watch a huge fireworks display. At least Louise can watch them now (with her hands over her ears!).
Outside the entrance in the morning we refound the southerly F4, and after heading offshore for an hour I decided to recross the Adriatic back to Greece rather than continue south to Sta Maria de Leuca, which we've passed by on several occasions already. We'll get there one day. Some may find this flexieaded straight for Erikoussa. It was very hot and humid and we were glad of the newly installed Bimini top. I slipped on the damp cockpit floor in the evening and hurt my foot , I curse Interdeck everytime it happens. It should be called Slip Paint. Louise administered to my bleeding toenail as I gazed at the forbiddinever seen a single high speed power boat. There was no moon as mist descended and we had to strain our eyes to enter and anchor at Erikoussa again after un uneventful crossing.
I rose late and dived over the side to wake up. We spent the morning on the beach for Louise's benefit which is empty till the tripper boats arrive from Corfu. It's a great spot at the northern limit of Ionian cruising. After lunch we ran along the north coast of Corfu and inside Serpa reef where the water gets light enough to make even a multihuller grip the wheel tightly, to spend the night in Ay Stephanossual good meal now has a beach shower and a water tap which easily filled our tanks in the morning.
We tacked slowly south to Corfu town passing "Aerosol" a fast looking Austrian F31. After the wind died we droned on as far as Petriti whose shallow sheltered beach anchorage I'm quite fond of. You can almost walk ashore, although there is a fishng mole you can use when the trawlers depart at dusk. It has been a flotilla base but seems too quiet now for it's three restaurants. It's hard to believe Kavos is only a few miles away.
After retrieving Louise from the beach we broad reached in the northwesterly which returns as soon as you leave the Corfu channel, across to Paxos and then ran down to Anti-Paxos which I'd never visited before not least due to the lack of pilotage information. We just nosed our waGaios or Parga, although we tore back to Mongonisi on Paxos in the fresh breeze, where I've several times had anchoring foul ups since the holding doesn't seem to be very good. This time however I motored past the mono's with the centreboard up and anchored on a shortish scope at the shallow end. When the wind dropped we warped the stern to the shore, gingerly avoiding the many sea urchins. Charter yachts poured in after us, some of whose crews seemed bent on aquiring all over tans, as they tried to winch olive trees out of the hillside. The last entrant was another Outremer cat who just anchored in the centre for the night.
In the morning I motored round through the vera few hours. Later we motored round the top end of Paxos and managed to drift across to anchor in Parga bay. Thunderstorms were forecast by navtex and one arrived shortly after we did. We could see the rolling cloud ccoming down the mountain and the first blast drove us back a hundred yards dragging the 35lb CQR. When it was over we laid the 45lber nearer the beach restaurant where Humprey had Octopus and Calamares, and afterwards walked overis a water taxi for those who don't inflate their dinghies.
All hands were required on the foredeck to recover "Big Bertha" in the morning calm and we moved round to spend an hour anchored off the town quay, although the port police will shoo you away if you get too close. It's in constant use by the ferries to Paxos. Incidentally this anchorage is on the cover of Paul Theroux's "The Pillars of Hercules". We then motorsailed up the coast in company with Rebogen, last seen in Gouvia, to anchor inside the island off Mourtos for lunch. While swimming with Louise I found the Italian tri seen in Erikoussa. The couple on board were from Milan but kept their boat in Otranto. They said it was a French copy of a Farrier which seems a bit cheeky, but there are quite a few examples of imitation and flattery around in the multihull world. I'll leave you to think of your own examples!
We started tacking northwest in the afternoon breeze which that day was fresh in the Cle to wind down the centreboard, which we usually have swept back somewhat , to slightly forward of vertical to rebalance the helm. I could hardly believe I'd learnt something new about Aqua Blue after 22yrs!! Eventually starboard tack took us back to Petriti for dinner on board, where we were kept awake by a visiting flotilla celebrating well into the early hours.
In the morning calm we motored up to Benitses to anchor just north of the small harbour, off a taverna with a shell museum above. I've always avoided this part of Corfu due to it's previous reputation but we found it surprisingly quiet. I thinsts she must visit this year. We took them out for a short trip next day and had a good cheap meal at the Bella Louisa. There's a clean pool and bar at the Fountain hotel. When we returned from the villa the following afternoon we found an Italian cat closely examining Aqua Blue. We motored up to anchor off Corfu town near another Outremer cat, they are good looking. Later a German Dehler moored stern to the outside the NAOK quay and a passing ferry boat wake smashed his transom against the wall. Be warned and anchor off.
After a very sloppy night the engine wouldn't start. The battery was OK, I was sure and I started to clean the terminals, but Humphrey quickly found a corroded cable at the solenoid. We made up a new connection with two lighter tezy day in a beautiful spot. Stella and Louise were packing as we returned to Corfu town. After a reasonable meal on a hotel verandah overlooking the town gardens we dozed on board for a few hours before taking a taxi to the airport at 2.00am. I stayed till 5.00am before returning to the boat from where I watched their plane pull away over the town. I managed two hours sleep before the Navtex awoke me, apparently someone had fallen out of a glider!!
Singlehanded now ,I motored down the Corfu channel until a light headwind had me slowly beating towards Mourtos . A high speed Minoan ferry came charging out of Igoumenitsa and passed very close. After admiring the very long bulb bow I spied the the wake, a good five feet high but not steep fortunatelin. I think he was listening to the blues on the cockpit speakers! I anchored in the NW corner of Parga bay for the third time that summer, very near the beach although Louise was not there to enjoy it. I didn't go ashore.
The night was so still I slept right through and missed the Navtex fcst again due to the bleepinder sail in the afternoon heat, eating chilled fruit washed down with very cold white wine. Demestica is OK! In fact I had to hand the reacher and unroll the genoa before I ran up the channel to drop sail off the Aktion shore. I managed to pick up the last buoy at the first attempt with the rusty Star mooring hook. I only use it twice a year but wouldn't be without it. Kettle on, holiday over!

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David
03/24/2009, Ionian/Aegean

PELOPONNESE TOUR 96


Aqua Blue my Kelsall 39 tri was lifted out at Preveza
Marine on the west coast of Greece just above the Levkas canal.
This is one of not many yards in the Med that will make light
work of hauling a multihull exceeding 7mtrs beam. There are
frequent summer charter flights to nearby Levkas/Preveza
airport,which early this summer had a crashed Nato AWAC on the
beach at the end of the runway!! This necessitated a detour to
Argostoli on Cephalonia from where a hastily arranged coach and
ferry brought me to Nidri on Levkas in the early hours of Tuesday
morning. I eventually squeezed into a taxi with all my luggage on
top of me, along with four other yachties who were late for a
charter in Levkas town. A further few miles with the seemingly
kamikaze driver, who I think was trying to stay awake by driving
at high speed on the wrong side of the road, eventually deposited
me outside the gates of the boatyard. Nearly 48hrs after leaving
Brighton since I had already spent one delayed night at Gatwick!.
Danny Keane amazed me by stepping out of the shadows and picking
up my bags. He'd been expecting me telepathically and had risen
from his bunk on Moody Magic.

This was Aqua Blue's first winter out of the water since
leaving Brighton in '89 so I spent two weeks on much needed
maintenance below the waterline, as well as fitting a new log and
wind instruments.In particular Danny helped me refit the
overweight centreboard in it's rather tight slot. My regular crew
Humphrey and his partner Nicola arrived just as the boat was
being launched from the blistering heat of the yard onto the
relatively cooler sea, where we filled up with water and backed
out to pick up one of the few buoys. We then sailed down the few
miles to Levkas town to have the Isotherm fridge compressor
refilled with freon (arranged by Theo at the Levkas Marine Centre
on the front with 24hrs notice), and to stock up in an air
conditioned supermarket. While we were there I became concerned
about a small water leak coming through under the shaft log which
was necessitating frequent pumping. Danny and Sue drove down to
see us and when he'd inspected the leak Danny kindly offered to
seal it with underwater epoxy since he has scuba equipment . So
we returned to Aktion the following day and he successfully
reduced the inflow to a managable trickle, celebrated with now
ice cold retsina!! We followed this with a trip into the gulf of
Amvrakia with Moody Magic for a barbeque near Vonitsa, whose
fort we visited in the morning, mainly for some photos of Aqua
Blue through the battlements. It's a very pleasant spot with
just enough development to make it enjoyable and more passing
yachts should detour into the gulf. We had a good beat back
against the prevailing northwesterly, keeping an eye on the echo
sounder since much of the gulf is very shallow, and I was able to
feel the benefit of the freshly antifouled hull.

In the evening we rejoined the Keanes in Preveza for the
annual sardine festival and ate in a fishermans restaurant which
only serves sardines and retsina. No menu required! On Sunday
4th August I taxied to the airport to pick up Stella and our
five year old daughter Louise. Surprisingly they were only 2hrs
late!!

In the morning a large Brown Searunner "Lady Jolliboy"
moored nearby. After lunch we said our goodbyes and motored out
of the fast flowing channel, with the fan belt suddenly
screaching as we crabbed past the channel buoys. Once clear of
the shallows we hoisted sail and reached down to Sta.Maura fort
in up to 20kts of the prevailing northwesterly. The bridge opened
wide for our 25ft beam thankfully, we always give the operator an
enthusiastic wave to encourage him. With the fresh wind blowing
past Levkas town we were able to motorsail right through the
canal to the lighter winds beyond. In the early evening we
dropped the hook off Elena's restaurant in Vliho bay, much
quieter and cleaner than Nidri, and a great place to unwind.
Anchored nearby was the 50ft Freebird "Victory of Melfort" (RORC)
and the yellow Prout Quest "Sundown II".

We returned to Nidri for shopping in the morning and promptly
left for Ithaca. We motorsailed down the Meganisi channel and
picked up the northwesterly which blows quite strongly near
Ithaca. In fact it got up to 26kts as we close reached at good
speed past Frikes and Kioni which are hard to identify from
seaward, and on past Port Vathi to anchor in the indifferent lee
of Pera Pighadi island on the southeast coast. Once we'd laid two
anchors Louise demanded the beach and we whiled away the rest of
the day here. In the evening our cockpit dinner was interrupted
by the arrival of a nudist Scandinavian yacht beating into the
bay. Stella played Prokofiev to suit the rocky grandeur of our
anchorage below the "Raven's Rock". I slept only fitfully since
the gusty wind didn't die till dawn.

We rose early and started motoring south down the east coast
of Cephallonia. Eventually a light northwesterly carried us
across to Zakynthos, where in the late afternoon we anchored off
the beach just north of the harbour entrance for clean swimming.
Later moving on to the shallow south end of the town harbour,
near some broad steps,the best spot for a multi.

Humphrey and I bought diesel in the adjacent garage whilst
Stella and Nicola shopped, before we headed along to Porto Vroma
at the NE tip of Zante for a lunch stop. Afterwards we left the
Ionian islands for the Peloponnese. Five hours of motor sailing
and drifting brought us to sleepy Katakolon. Commercial traffic
seemed to be non existent and we joined a few other yachts on the
harbour wall. A large modern cruising tri coming up from the
south preceeded us in and anchored over the acres of shallow
ground here. A taxi driver immediately accosted us since this is
the port for Olympia, before we had a meal ashore in one of the
many summer restaurants on the front.

Up reasonably early for shopping (fresh or frozen meat was
becoming de riguer with a functioning fridge), we headed south.
It wasn't till nearly midday that we raised the ghoster and
silenced the engine in a light westerly that was forecast to
increase. With the sunshade still over the boom we were managing
4kts in 8kts apparent wind. At the end of a long day, with a good
Thai chicken by Stella inside us , we passed inside Nisos Pilos
and motored past the rather open town harbour to the newly
constructed marina at the south end of Navarino bay.

In the rather cloudy morning we went ashore and paid our
respects at Admiral Codrington's statue. There were no facilities
in the marina, so we motored round to the town quay and managed
to fill several water containers before we were shooed away by a
port official. Backing out again we sailed through the anchored
fleet of freighters to anchor at the north end of Navarino, just
off the isthmus connecting Nisos Sfaktiria to the mainland. The
large Australian yacht "Bianca" was here as well as the French
yacht "Kerguelen". Bianca's skipper told us he was six years into
a four year circumnavigation, and by his own reckoning not yet
half way round! After our lunch stop we had to tack down to
Methoni in a southwesterly and came round the Turkish tower on Ak
Soukouli, to anchor off the beach under the imposing Venetian
fort. Including ourselves there were eight yachts in this
beautiful spot.

With high pressure from Poland to Libya the night was
relatively cool, and in the morning we toured the fort and tower
before iced coffees in a taverna on the beach. When the wind
returned at noon we ran southeast to Ak Akritas and turned north
into the Gulf of Messinia to anchor off the thankfully shady
beach at Koroni ("the second eye of the Venetian republic"). A
swimmer asked me if Aqua Blue was a seaplane!!! He'd obviously
never seen a trimaran before. We moved across to the rather open
harbour in the evening to facilitate eating ashore, which we did
in a tiny taverna serving small traditional kebabs. Louise was
fascinated by a family of housemartins right over our table. We
didn't have time to explore the even bigger Venetian castle here.
On starting the Seagull for the dinghy trip back to the boat, the
ripcord did not release from the flywheel and span rapping my
knuckles, whilst I stared stupyfied at it to the amusement of the
tables above us. A northerly blew into the harbour all night
keeping me in that irritating state,between sleep and imaginary
anchor watch.

The wind died at dawn again and we motorsailed and drifted
across the gulf towards the impressive mountains of the Mani. I
spent half the crossing checking electrical connections with
Humphrey's help, since the weatherfax printer had run down the
instrument battery enough to stop the GPS. We spent a much calmer
night in the completely open anchorage of Limeni. There was no
other visiting yacht here, although one on a summer mooring. We
didn't go ashore.

I was woken in the night twice by the Navtex though. The
first time it was a speedboat missing off Gozo, and the second
was a Mistral warning for Corsica from Toulouse! We pottered down
the coast diverting into Diros to see the cave entrance. Then on
beneath the 800ft Capo Grosso to pause in the heat for
photography at Cape Matapan, the most southerly point of
mainland Greece, only Tarifa in Spain is further south. There was
wind in the Gulf of Lakonika and we close hauled up to Porto
Kayio for the night. There were camper vans and motor bikes on
the beach since this is the end of the road, and a few motor
yachts stern to the primitive quay.

With good weather in this rather exposed area I pressed on
in the morning and crossed the gulf to anchor off a beautiful
beach in Ormos Frangos on Nisos Elafonisos. We were surprised by
the number of people, how did they all get here? In the early
evening we motored over to Neapolis on the mainland and tied to
the unprotected town quay, which would be untenable in the
slightest sea. However good fresh water is available by hose for
a small charge. I was summoned by the port police and had to wait
30mins in an office to pay 1770 Drachmas, although these charges
are rarely levied normally. We had a good meal on the front
despite a rare language difficulty, since Neapolis is not a
tourist resort, but the main town for this part of the
Peloponnese. In the morning we explored the town up to the church
where we listened in the courtyard for a while to sung Mass, it
being the Feast of the Assumption.

We now left for Ak Maleas to enter the Aegean Sea and I was
mentally prepared to do battle with the Meltemi! In fact it took
several hours on the wind with a reef in the main, in company
with a large Scandinavian yacht "Windfall" from Jacobstadt, to
even reach Ak Maleas. Whereupon the wind dropped and we motored
most of the way to Monemvasia. There was no room in the tiny
marina, so we anchored in the shallow water just off the fishing
harbour. There is a mole on the north side of the Isthmus as
well, where Windfall had backed up. Monemvasia is well worth a
visit and we stayed a whole day for sightseeing on the peninsula
which is like a miniature Gibraltar only much more tasteful!! We
had our first experience of the strong evening katabatic wind
which can blow off the eastern Peloponnese whilst at anchor here
and six other yachts joined our anchorage. Fortunately it was
dying off somewhat by the time we went ashore for dinner, since I
was about to cancel the shore excursion! When we do go ashore I'm
always keen to find a restaurant with a view of Aqua Blue at
anchor. I find I enjoy my meal more that way! On our return to
the boat we found the oven hot blast had returned (or at least
seemed stronger after the shelter of the restaurant). And it was
90F in the cabin till 4.00am, during which time Humphrey and I
were up and down checking the holding, as well as the arrival of
hungry mosquitoes.

To compensate Aqua Blue was in the shade of Monemvasia
peninsula for a cooler early morning. After a photography session
from on board we headed north and found a pleasant lunch spot in
the SE corner of Kiparissi bay, by a tiny chapel on an old
fishing quay.We pressed on and raised the spinny in a freshening
southerly to make good progress with the sun awning still up, my
favourite rig! The wind reached 21kts true by Ak Yeoryios and we
dropped the spinny in our usual ham fisted way (we just don't get
enough practice). We dropped the hook in 50ft in tiny Leonhidion
but later moved to the wall after a whistle from the port
captain. I've been trying the Turkish method where you drop the
bow anchor and run over plenty of scope to go bows to, picking up
the cable from the stern with the boathook. Although in summer I
may dive in to a clean harbour and attach another shorter line to
the anchor cable and bring it up to the stern and a winch.After
dinner on board we strolled ashore for the usual ice creams but
soon returned to our bunks. The inevitable nightclub music wasn't
too loud, but I was woken in the early hours by fireworks so loud
as to resemble gunshots!

In the morning I obtained the key of the nearby water tap
from the port police and much washing of hair and bedding ensued.
When you gain access to fresh water in the Med you make good use
of it! We motored north with the decks festooned with drying
washing and by midday had the spinny up again for a fast run up
the length of the Argolic gulf. In fact we had to drop it again
at 20kts true. The sock won't pull down at this windspeed without
releasing the sheets on one side and there were a few warm
fingers before we had acomplished it. I'm not so sure about the
suitability of a full size masthead spinny for a family crew in
the Med, where the wind can quickly increase from 5 to 20kts.
We paused for clean swimming in Ormos Karathona, and then motored
round to the very smelly harbour at Navplion, where there were
only a few yachts tied to the wall, conveniently close to the old
town and restaurants.

Up early for sightseeing we reached Tiryns by taxi at 9.00am
and spent some time admiring the huge walls with
grumbling Louise. The city apparently outlasted much larger
Mycenae and a few archeologists believe it was the home of the
"sea peoples" whose piratical raids are recorded on Egyptian
hieroglyphs. It wasn't long before the heat drove us back to the
shelter of a bar in the old quarter, not far from the boat.
Sauntering in the narrow shaded streets we found a good family
restaurant "Old Mansion" for the evening. After a short siesta we
took a taxi up to Palamidhi, the huge Venetian fort above the
town with it's commanding views of the Argolic gulf. We could see
Aqua Blue in miniature below us and also the spreading stain of
sewage from the town drain! We descended the 800 steps past a
fitness fanatic who was running up!!!! Humphrey and Nicola had
managed the climb at a slower pace, as I myself had in 1971!
After a pony and trap ride for Louise we did indeed have a good
meal in the Old Mansion whose English speaking owner told us he
was open all year round. We were pinned to the quay by a
thunderstorm in the early hours which sent the holidaymakers
scurrying home, leaving a quieter night for us. On the second
morning we spent an hour in the town museum which has a suit of
very striking bronze armour over three thousand years old!

After recovering our ropes without dropping them in the evil
water we motored round past Tolo, a pleasant little fishing
harbour fast becoming a tourist resort, and on to anchor in fjord
like Khaidari. It's a sleepy place with a few Brits at anchor.
Twenty five years ago I looked down on a Piver Victress wintering
here, from the wheel of my TR2. A defining moment, from then on I
had to build a trimaran, a decision which was to lead me to Derek
Kelsall's house in Sandwich, and four years work on Aqua Blue.

Outside Khaidari the fresh afternoon southeasterly had
returned and we had a good thrash to windward with a reef in the
main. Later tacking into the entrance of the broad shallow
fishing harbour of Koiladhia, where there were only two other
yachts on the 20th of August. After a very quiet even cool night
we motored round to nearby beautiful Korakonisia island for a
"swimming lunch". A brief siesta was followed by another beat
down to Spetsai island where we entered crowded Balitza creek,
and anchored just off the boatyard where Tim Severin's replica of
a bronze age galley was built. In fact a half submerged caique
was being soaked alongside us. Ashore we had a good meal on a
balcony overlooking the anchorage and a tour of this part of the
island by "Gharry" seeing many new villas in construction In fact
there was not a derilict building in sight. Back on board we
found a Gin palace too close for comfort and we realised we were
now at the end of the milk run from Athens.

On the landscaped east side of Balitza Louise was entertained
by the metal animal sculptures before we motorsailed to Dhokos
island to laze away the afternoon to the sound of goat bells. We
continued east to Idhra and entered the crowded town harbour just
to photograph the delightful setting, before moving on to much
quieter Mandraki bay to anchor in 30ft off the beach hotel. My
attention was caught by an Italian yacht named "Valium" and
Louise's by another with a large Dalmation on board. We hoped
they appreciated some Bach on the cockpit speakers,during
"retsina hour". After a morning stroll ashore we motored under an
initially overcast sky through the Poros channel past the busy
town, to spend the afternoon off the beach in Neorion bay, not
far from Villa Gallini where Henry Miller wrote the "Colossus of
Maroussi". Humphrey and Nicola easily visited Poros by bus whilst
Louise amused herself on the beach, where as well as some
essential tree shade there were several reasonable restaurants.

We visited sulphurous Methana the next morning where I
dallied on a very short scope whilst the others went shopping. I
improvised a game of cricket down below along the length of the
galley and saloon to amuse Louise. In the corner of the harbour
was a hideous trimaran, the sort of boat that gives multihulls a
bad name! Later we paused to swim at Moni island before entering
the newish outer harbour at Aegina and moorng bow to the rough
stone breakwater,with Humphrey acrobatically tying huge bowlines
to the boulders. I was surprised how little the waterfront had
changed since my last visit on a Piver Lodestar in 1980. Despite
it's proximity to Athens we had a good cheap meal ashore. A lot
of charterers make it their first stop. In the morning after
recovering our lines, we motored round to see the large temple
above the cliffs at Aghia Marina on the east coast of the island.
A very good bathing beach here although the anchorage gets a
little choppy in the afternoons. Stella had a plane to catch, so
we sailed up to the mainland coast in the afternoon sea breeze.
After passing a futuristic looking, possibly a Dazcat, "Cloud
Nine", we anchored in the northeast corner of Vouliagmeni bay by
a small private harbour and the sea was flat by dinner time.
Ashore I managed to find a taxi rank and even book one for the
early morning.

True to his word the driver was waiting for us in the dark at
5.30am! We had some difficulty locating the "new' charter
terminal, but Stella and Louise successfully checked in. And
after a Kamikaze taxi ride back I was trying to wake Humphrey
from the quay and was back on board by 8.30am. We soon motored
out and by mid morning were sailing past the distant Athens
skyline. Later we tacked through nearly thirty ships anchored
east of Salamis. I discovered while reading the pilot that the
Corinth canal was shut for maintenance every Tuesday so we
pressed on using the engine to keep up speed. By teatime I was
talking to Stella in Brighton, I suppose the cost of the mobile
is worth it! There is almost no provision for visiting yachts at
Isthmia and we eventually tied to a rusting barge in the tiny
harbour and I had to row across the canal entrance to pay (cash
only) a hefty sum to the authorities. The sight of two cruise
liners emerging from the cliffs like corks from a bottle was
quite extraordinary. After a wait of several hours we finally
transited in the dark ahead of a Russian freighter. I was glad
Danny's work on the fuel pump meant we could maintain 5 knots. We
managed to find our way into Corinth harbour in the pich black
and found a space on the end of the wall outside a surprised
German yacht. A very long day!

I was only awoken by a bump as the yacht ahead left. We
found a supermarket ashore but no fuel or water within reasonable
distance. I suspect this harbour had more facilities two thousand
years ago! There was little wind in the gulf of Corinth and we
motorsailed under various rigs through another long day till we
arrived at Trizonia island in the early hours, pottering past the
weak light to anchor under Lizzie's yacht club. In the morning we
were surprised by the new concrete marina, used by several
passagemakers, so we motored in to try the local shop, but
Lizzie's will have to wait for another visit. The Prout cat
"Veligunda" was in, as well as "Tequila Sunrise" a Moody from
Southampton. No fuel, but a tap at the mini-market. It's very
sheltered although rather remote spot, a good place to write a
novel one winter!

By lunch time we had sailed up to the entrance of Navpaktos
but I decided against entering the tiny harbour with a SE4
blowing straight in, despite our need for fuel and water. We took
photographs and ran on under genoa alone. Approaching the narrows
at Andirrion we saw a band of white water across the straits, and
indeed we surfed through with up to 30kts behind us, I was glad
the main wasn't up. Two hours later we drifted round Ak Evinos in
very light airs and commenced motor sailing to find the buoys
marking the long channel into Mesalongion. We motored in gawping
at the stilted houses many with flowers on their balconies and
eventually tied to the wall in the distinctly whiffy commercial
town harbour. For only the second time I had to pay modest
harbour dues, but outside the port police was a tap watering the
shrubs, so Humphrey and I staggered there and back with a couple
of jerry cans. Ahead of us was an Italian yacht with two
Windbuggers on the transom and an expensive Italian windvane ,
not to mention three cats and a dog. We had a good meal ashore at
one of the street cafes in the unassuming little town. There was
virtually no sign that Byron had died here.
A quiet night although in the early hours someone seemed to be
apologising for falling into the filthy water! We retraced our
steps down the channel and started motorsailing west into a lght
headwind until we exited the Gulf of Patras by passing inside
Oxia island, which was in a tranquil mood although I understand
it can be a windy place. The wind gradually died until we were
creeping through between Kouneli and Makronisos islands. Later in
the early evening a light nortwesterly returned and we hoisted
the lightweight MPG. However as we approached the lee of Kastos
island I could see a small flotilla heeling towards us. We were
shortly hit a katabatic blast off the island and I was soon
holding the sheet in my hand. The flying headsail was sagging off
several feet and when the anemometer indicated 28 kts and the
leefloat was porpoising along the surface I let go, and we dashed
forward to jump on the multicoloured flogging sail. When we
regained the cockpit I was surprised to see Aqua Blue was still
maintaining 7kts under the small main only

We dropped that too and motored into the small harbour to compete
with the Dutch flotilla and a few English charterers for
anchoring space. As soon as several of the flustered skippers
managed to sort themselves out the wind dropped. That's sailing!
I burnt a bag of mini sausages for dinner and drank too much. It
was nice to be back in the Ionian sea. In the morning we walked
round to the tower on the headland and found a new stone bar
serving fried breakfasts to the Dutch crews. We limited ourselves
to coffee and orange juice, I don't know why. The friendly owner
spends the winters in Patras and he was quite surprised my
previous visit had been in '83. We beat quickly in the southerly
back down to the SW tip of Kastos and then ran slowly north under
a cloudy sky. We drifted the length of the west coast of Meganisi
passing the "submarine cave" and anchored just inside the
Meganisi channel in one of the few shallow spots, rather too
close to the shore. Humphrey went snorkelling but something made
me stay on board, thankfully Nicola did as well. I was at the
chart table when I thought I heard a distant shout of "help".
Back in the cockpit I could see Humphrey happily swimming and my
attention was drawn to a stationary yacht out in the channel from
where the shout seemed to have come. Looking beyond this yacht to
the steep slopes of Levkas I saw dark clouds descending and white
water below them, and indeed the more distant yachts were heeling
towards us.

I shouted to Nicola to start taking in the anchor cable and
reached for the starter button, praying the diesel would fire
immediately. Thankfully it did and I raced to the foredeck to
find Nicola on her own had the chain fairly spinning over the bow
roller. I hauled behind her and as soon as the anchor broke the
surface I left her to cleat it off, and scuttled back to the
cockpit to engage gear. I opened the throttle with the bows
already turning towards the rocky beach and after a few leg
weakening seconds Aqua Blue moved forward and I could turn away
from the shore. Humphrey was barely aware of all the excitement
and we had to shout to him to swim out to where we were circling
waiting for him. He was glad he was wearing a facemask as the
onshore waves were already building, and it was several minutes
before he gained the boarding ladder. Nicola was very pleased to
see him reach the deck.

We then motored over to the stationary yacht in absolutely
torrential rain (in fact we could no longer see the islands).
They were still slowly drifting with a capsized dinghy astern but
the crew in the cockpit refused to respond to our shouts of "are
you OK?", so receiving no acknowledgement of our questioning
thumbs up we left them to it, and slowly pursued a compass
bearing towards Nidri, as the visibility slowly improved and the
lightning lessened. It was the only time that summer we wore even
oilskin tops.

Passing Tranquil Bay we noted the Iroquois "Indigo Ray" and
entering Vliho we passed again the 50ft Freebird "Victory of
Melfort". I enquired of a crew member in the cockpit if they'd
been out since we saw them nearly a month before, and he replied
they hadn't. Vliho does have a few long term residents. Also in
harbour was the Australian steel yacht "Bianca" whom we'd last
seen in Pylos. We anchored in 5ft off Elena's restaurant again.

After pausing in Nidri we entered the Levkas canal and the fan
belt promptly started screaching again. Humphrey had to steer
through under sail whilst I feverishly tightened the belt. We
only ran aground once but the centreboard saved us as usual! As
a finale our last anchorage off Aktion was strobe lit by the
flashes of another Mediterranean thunderstorm.

Comments [0]

David
03/23/2009, Tyrrhenian/Ionian

TORNADO ALLEY 95

Corsica to Zakynthos

During mid July in Campoloro where Aqua Blue has spent three
winters, I compressed a year's fitting out into a week, with the
help of my parents who were holidaying in Corsica. A long overdue
job for the Med was the cream and white non slip with which we
covered the original grey, under which the deck had been reaching
alarming temperatures in the midday sun.

My crew Matthew arrived in Ajaccio on the 23rd of July so my
father and I crossed over the mountains to collect him. The
return trip in the dark avoiding the locals and their farm
animals was not for the faint hearted. My parents departed at
midnight for the ferry to Marseilles and with Matthew keen to
start sailing we set off in the morning for Greece.

A light sea breeze slowly drew us down the coast to
Solenzara where we tied bows to the wall alongside the Sunsail
fleet, one of which was an Oceanis 440! The club forecast was for
light winds for the next two days. We did have to motorsail down
past the beautiful anchorages on this coast to Pta. de la
Chiappa, before crossing the Straits of Bonifacio in a SE4. We
entered Italian waters as we bore away slightly for the Moneta
Passage between Isola Maddalena and Isola Caprera, and fast
reached down to Porto Garibaldi to anchor off the Club Med, for a
quiet night despite the disco.

We spent the morning hull cleaning using plastic windscreen
scrapers. Matthew even attempted the "dark side" of the offset
centreboard. I installed the log transducer whilst Matthew sealed
the hole from the outside with a kitchen plunger. It does work!
We only now inflated the dinghy although we didn't visit the
Club. The sailing school was very active and we had a couple of
near misses! After lunch we left the shelter of the island and
found a fresh southeasterly outside which surprised me by getting
up to 33kts as we reefed and beat down the East side of Caprera.
In fact I abandoned our original destination of Porto Cervo and
we eased sheets to blast into the Golfe di Arzachena at 10kts
despite carrying our maximum possible load of fuel and water. A
relatively clean bottom makes a big difference! We anchored in
the heat off the quay at Cannigione and the wind died by 7.00pm.
Sea breezes at certain locations in the Med really can be gale
force! Although normally in the Bonifacio Straits the wind is
westerly. Still there is a very good pizza restaurant in
Cannigione and a real ice cream parlour selling "gelati
artigiani". In the small marina there was even a large new
trimaran with alloy beams and high angled floats not unlike Aqua
Blue. I always new Derek Kelsall was ahead of his time.

With another good forecast we motored past Capo Ferro the
most northeasterly point of Sardinia and out into the Tyrrhenian
sea. No visit to the millionaires playground (Porto Cervo) this
time. I wanted to get away from the coast before the "sea breeze"
reached yesterday's strength! Matthew sunbathed on the starboard
float whilst I listened to the UK Maritime Mobile Net on
headphones in the cockpit. I was experimenting with the new Lowe
HF150M which seemed to work well. In fact that morning I listened
to the French VHF 8.45-9.10am, Italian VHF 9.35-10.00am, UKMM Net
10.00-11.00am, and was trying to receive Hamburg weatherfax
11.00-12.15pm and Rome wefax 12.15-13.00pm, followed by the BBC
World Service news 13.00pm onwards. All local time. My real need
is for a crew who will scan
the horizon whilst I scan the airwaves!

By midday the southeasterly had returned at up to 19kts and
we put a reef in the main to lighten the steering as we made good
progress to windward. In the early evening the wind started to
lighten and veer towards the south as the sea went down again. We
opened a large tin of Cous-Cous from the ship's stores and
decided the night watches. The engine came on in the early hours
although it didn't deter a large school of dolphins at 7.00am as
I came on watch. I was unable to start the Loran in the morning
and apparently the system is no longer functioning in the Med.
When the temp reached 90F we stopped for a swim and lunch which
gave us the energy to hoist the flying headsail or "multipurpose
genoa" as Crusader Sails call them. We motorsailed through the
rest of the very hot afternoon and evening and made our
destination of Isla Ponza,to anchor among the visiting fleet just
after dusk.

In the calm early morning I was able to admire alonside the
British flagged "Spirit of Carib", a beautiful wooden ketch with
a long graceful counter. I recovered the anchor and followed a
catamaran out into the morning mist. I had been woken in the
night by a bell operated by the Navtex which told me of a dinghy
missing in Greek waters! This was the last we heared from Kerkyra
till we were south of Corfu. I understand the Italian Navtex
stations will start in '96. They are needed to supplement the
VHF. We motored nearly all day, just raising the MPG for the last
few hours running down to Isla Procida in a NW4, to tie stern to
the outside wall in the pretty little port of Chiaolella. A
quayside restaurant with a view of your own boat at anchor,is I
always find, a pleasant place to spend the evening. We weren't
driven out of our bunks quite so early in the morning since,
unusually, the boat was in the shade of some trees. After our
visit ashore for provisions it was midday before we were motoring
south across the Bay of Naples. A considerable wash was
created by the many Neapolitans heading for Sunday lunch on
Ischia! We arrived off our original destination of Edwardian
Sorrento rather early, so decided to continue on through the
Capri Channel towards Capo Palinuro. The VHF forecast was for
N-NW3 to continue although there had been a fall in pressure from
1019 to 1013mb over the previous 48hrs

A large cat. was rapidly beating into the popply channel as
we started reaching southeast across the Gulf of Salerno in a
light westerly. We listened to Dominic Cork bowling a hat trick
against the West Indies on the World Service as the sun went down
and the horizon was lit briefly by distant thunderclouds. Later
thunderstorms were forecast on the VHF,and indeed were visible
most of the night. We alternately motored and sailed, once in a
brisk easterly, as we passed through them. Capo Palinuro light
was visible in the early hours. At 7.30am a headwind arrived and
we started beating against the 18kt southerly, although a
thunderstorm was overtaking us from the northwest. As it
approached the lightning strikes were so close I unplugged the
radio aerial.

I got Matthew up from his bunk against the chainplates and
as he emerged into the cockpit in his oilies two waterspouts
formed under a nearby very low cloud. We were impressed, although
they didn't last long as they contorted away southeast. But then
quite a large area of this cloud came down to the sea and formed
a really huge waterspout- more like a mini tornado!!! It didn't
seem wise to continue beating towards it so I bore away and
reached northwest at about 8kts. Matthew wanted to photograph
this monster, but I soon realised the bloody thing was moving
north and gaining on us! On went the engine as well and I opened
the throttle despite the sailing speed and got aqua Blue up to
10.5kts. The spout however remained on a constant bearing as the
wind got up further and we had a good view of the revolving wall
of water. We put on harnesses in case we were overtaken. I then
jibed northeast in a brief lull to put the wind on our starboard
beam, to treat it as though it was a tropical revolving storm,
and thankfully the bearing started to change. Soon after the
monster collapsed and I crossed myself for the first time in
thirty years! We were still left in a strong southerly with
torrential rain and frequent lightning on both sides of the boat.
One strike was so close I saw steam rise from the surface! After
about another hour of reaching east and sheltering in the
companionway from the stream of water off the main, the skies
started to clear from the west. Although Matthew was happy to
continue beating south, I decided to continue towards the
mainland and we entered Camerota at 15.00 for some R&R!!

We caught up on sleep after tying to the wall outside the
fishing boats. In the evening we ate ashore and rang home, more
for our benefit than our relatives. An English sailing couple who
were heading north introduced themselves and when I recounted our
day's experience the husband said "don't tell my wife that,
she'll never go to sea again!" He also told us that this
thunderstorm field now extended from the Balearics to Greece and
was not expected to clear for some time. I hit the sack rather
depressed and my mood was not improved by more gigantic
thunderstorms seemingly just outside the harbour wall in the
early hours. We dragged of course and had to rise and lay out
"Big Bertha" the 45lb CQR as well.

The English couple on "Lucky Lady" left in the morning and
it seemed clear enough. There'd even been a slight rise in
pressure. The forecast was SW-W 3 with thunderstorms! We followed
them out and sailed slowly south in an easterly off the land. At
one point in the early afternoon I counted five large
thunderclouds stretching from Capo Palinuro across the Golfo di
Policastro and inland. I now call this area "Tornado Alley"!

Later In the afternoon the wind gradually veered round to
the forecast SW remaining light and we could lay the Messina
Straits on starboard tack. After a chicken curry dinner and just
before dusk we slowly came to a stop with the sails still
pulling. Matthew realised we were towing a long drift net which
was trailing from the centreboard. We quickly dropped the sails
on deck and I jumped in with the boathook and found it quite easy
to push the net off the bottom of the half raised board. As we
rehoisted the MPG two small landbirds circled us several times
but only one them secured a footing on the wet foredeck, from
where he repeatedly called plaintively for his missing mate.

The waxing moon set in the early hours to reveal a most
brilliant night sky, one of the real pleasures of sailing. The
wind continued freeing and lightening and I pointed up somewhat
towards the the light just visible on Strombolichio to keep
sailing. This was the third time in three years Aqua Blue was to
pass through what Rod Heikell calls the "Aeolian Triangle". Later
we had a close encounter with quite a large freighter whose
lights had led me to believe she was travelling west across our
path, when I suddenly realised she was travelling north almost
head on! These experiences certainly maintain your resolve to
keep a good lookout! The sea was very smooth and the MPG was
pulling us along at up to 5kts in only 8 to 9kts of apparent
wind. And I thought Aqua Blue's days of sailing at half wind
speed were over! A good light weather sail really pays for
itself. As I went off watch at 4.00am I could see the occasional
red glow from the summit of Stromboli as well as the lights on
the mainland at Capo Vaticano.

Back on watch just after 7.00am I was listening to the 40mtr
band and heard a guy on holiday near Nice talking to someone in
Brisbane Australia. Despite this he was complaining that the
extensive lightning over the western Med. was causing a lot of
radio interference. And indeed I was having trouble receiving and
printing weatherfax charts, so much so that they were not much
use on this trip. The Italian VHF was occasionally late or weak
and I several times received the first day's forecast from the
UKMM net who were receiving it from Rome themselves!

After breakfast we were overtaken by another small
thunderstorm and I called Matthew to lower the MPG which refused
to roll up at the crucial moment. The wind did not exceed 22kts
and there were only two nearby lightning strikes, a mere toy of a
storm! At midday we approached Capo Peloro in thunder and rain but
little wind, to enter the Straits and motorsail over popply
Charybdis. As we approached Reggio Calabria dodging the many
ferries the sun came out and brouht with it a freshening
northeasterly, so that we had a fast reach right round the toe of
Italy to enter Saline Joniche. This industrial harbour now has a
"marina" consisting of a pontoon cantilevered out from the sea
wall.

With the wind behind us I was glad of the powerful reverse
gear
to hold the bows off, whilst Matthew struggled with the laid
lines. They are always awkward to pass round the floats of a
trimaran, and the skipper invariably wants it done quickly to
save the paintwork! However there's no point in putting your
blood pressure up, it's easy enough to apply some paint and
filler in the winter. As George White of the Westell tri
"Swingalong" told me years ago "Buy plenty of fenders and develop
a sense of humour". And we had to contain our mirth when the next
yacht in firmly rammed the pontoon bending their pulpit.
Fortunately the foredeck crew had the sense to stop fending
off,and hang on at the last moment. In August 95 this harbour had
almost no facilities. The water is undrinkable -contaminated with
some chemical, although we took a few gallons on board for
showering. The fuel pumps were not yet connected but there is a
shower block and a phone, which we used with the staff's help to
order some pizzas. The attendant was helpful but charged us
double for a multi. It's still better than dirty Reggio Calabria
harbour and no doubt there'll be a summer restaurant soon.

We were back outside the harbour at 8.30am the next morning
to find a light southeasterly again. We started motor sailing
northeast along the coast in company with a German Dehler 30, and
rounded Capo Spartivento (yet another one) the most southerly
point of mainland Italy.. We kept pace with each other all
through the hot sunny day until in the evening they pulled in
towards Rocella Ionica. We continued since I knew that a nightime
northerly regularly blew out of Golfo di Squillace and at 11.20pm
it arrived suddenly. By 00.30am I had reefed the main and we were
soon half way across the gulf in up to 20kts of wind, and we
reached Capo Colonne at dawn. I had sailed above the rhumb line
to Corfu so we had the option of entering Crotone if we needed
fuel, but the fresh northerly returned after a brief lull so we
continued across the Golfo di Taranto.

I called Crotone on the VHF to enquire about the late
weather forecast to be told it had not yet arrived from Rome.
Shortly after I was receiving the Ionian forecast from G4FRN in
Surrey on 14303 KHz. We rocked along all morning with the seas
running about six feet with the long fetch out of the Gulf, and
after a very simple lunch, instead of unreefing the main I raised
the little used staysail in the slot since we were on a close
reach. The ride immediately became a lot less wild and the
Autohelm was coping much better. We were still maintaing up to
8kts in 18kts of wind over quite a bumpy sea. There was no shade
in the very hot cockpit during the afternoon with the stern
facing west and the solar panel on the rear cabin was pushing
over two amps into the instrument battery. I sheltered below and
kept watch through the slightly open forehatch. Matthew was
unconcious- I wish I could sleep like him. In fact he had to move
to the lee berth since the seas were quite steep. As the sun
gradually pulled round I found a bit of shade under the mast and
sat there for an hour watching the lee float bow. As the main
hull drops down the back of a wave it pulls the float's fine bow
right through the crest. As the float drives into the next sea
the CLR moves forward and the weather helm increases. The
staysail instead of the unreefed main keeps the centre of sail
effort further forward and helps to counteract this tendency to
point up,making life easier for the Autohelm. The staysail
also causes less heeling than the full main, and the cutter rig
seems to be a lot easier to balance than the modern higher rigs
with their big roach mains.

We were passing the heel of Italy, still going like a train,
during the evening. I opened a rather old tin of canneloni and
livened it up with garlic and cracked pepper. It was too bumpy to
sleep properly and as we emerged into the entrance to the
Adriatic we were met by a British warship who was interrogating
passing merchantmen as to the nature of their cargoes! The wind
veered and increased somewhat and was pushing us south of the
desired track for a while. I had fitted a new Lewmar 30ST on
the mast and was able to tighten the staysail halyard enough to
carry the cutter rig hard on the wind for the first time. A
bright orange moon which had been lying on it's side over the
western horizon set, and it seemed very dark as we rushed towards
the rocky plateau to the northwest of Corfu. As the wind freed
again but increased further, we were really bouncing over the
seas and I eventually called Mathew and we lowered the main
completely, to cut our speed whilst I concentrated on navigating
through the hazards between Othoni and Corfu. I used the GPS to
hit the previously selected waypoint between the islands after
exactly 200mls. Crosschecked with a running fix on the single
light on Othoni of course!

In the early hours we emerged on the east side of Othoni and
avoided the unlit Mathraki, again using the small GPS plotter.
The wind did not pick up again as we cleared the islands' lee and
the engine had to come on after all the excitement. I watched a
fantastic red/orange orb rise out of the Albanian mountains at
dawn, and shortly afterwards went to sleep standing up and banged
my neck on the coachroof. Matthew and I had to change watch every
hour during the early morning so we could catch up on sleep. At
10.00am we were motoring past the little port of Kassiopi on a
calm sea towards Nisos Peristerai or the "Albanian Battleship" as
we call it from our previous trip. Just 50hrs from Saline Joniche
I was giving Il Serpa reef a good berth and Matthew was already
packing, as we pulled into the anchorage of Ay Stephanos. "Moody
Magic" was waiting for us and as we tied alongside, Matthew's
mother Carolyn came out to meet us and reassure herself he was
still alive. Danny and Sue on Moody Magic made me very welcome
and it was rewarding to see them all again in the sun to the
sound of Cicadas.
I swam, ate and slept.

Aqua Blue spent six days in this pleasant spot. I collected
Stella and our daughter Louise from Corfu airport and they
settled in on board. A day by the pool at Peter and Carolyn's
villa washed the salt away. One night there were ten yachts in
this anchorage including the British Catalac "Pond Skater".

On Friday 11th August we left the Goodmans to continue their
civilised holiday and the three of us headed south. In Gouvia Bay
was the British aicraft carrier RD5 with Harriers parked on deck.
By early evening we were anchored off the beach at Petriti, a
quiet resort although it is the base for a flotilla. Louise
enjoyed an hour on the sandy beach before clouds formed over the
island and the wind increased. It came to nothing, although I did
read up the entrance to Igoumenitsa "just in case". It seemed to
be change over night for the flotilla crews, several of them
Australian. The local taverna's had adapted and one offered "turf
and surf". I tried it once in Queensland and couldn't eat it.
Back on board after dinner the rival Tavernas were playing
different versions of "Zorba the Greek". The lyric begins " One
day my son, the tourists will come, and pay £30 for two slices
off the back end of a swordfish". Louise was unconcious and indeed
always sleeps better on board than back at home in Brighton.

We were back ashore shopping in the hot morning sunlight. It
still surprises me how easy it is to ring home from a bar phone.
I motored away from Petriti with the sun awning and the windscoop
rigged, most unseamanlike. In the Corfu channel there was a light
westerly so we unrolled the genoa and sailed gradually down the
mainland coast to Parga. The hook went down at the western end of
Ormos Valtou along with the other yachts. There's a good beach
here and a few restaurants, although most crews use the water
taxis in the evening to go round to Parga town. I had been
intrigued by a couple of Italian yachts dissappearing around the
Venetian castle, so in the morning we followed them. And indeed
it is possible to anchor either side of the ferry mole in
Ay.Athanasiou. The east side is shallower and a multi could spend
the night here on a short scope. We went ashore for an hour's
sightseeing in this busy little resort. The anchorage is shown to
good effect on the dust jacket of Paul Theroux's "The Pillars of
Hercules".

We motored out and soon met a rising SSW wind. I had to put
a reef in the main and tack down the coast which surprised me.
Stella and Louise retired in the afternoon, leaving me to once
again experiment with the staysail whilst listening to jazz on
the world service. Two yachts passed us motoring north in a good
following wind. It makes you wonder why they don't buy
motorboats. Later we passed an unmarked wreck at N39.05 E20.38.
The mast was sticking out of the water at an angle and from a
distance it looks like a yacht beating towards you. Slowly the
wind veered and we bore away towards the buoyed channel into
Preveza. We were being chased in by a huge Freydis 52 cat "Vol au
Vent" and both of us anchored off Preveza Marine on the Aktion
shoreline.

In the morning I introduced myself to George Tsiligiris the
owner of Preveza Marine, with whom I had been communicating by
fax in the spring. He kindly came out in the dinghy and reassured
me that his hydraulic trailer could lift Aqua Blue in two weeks
time. There aren't that many places in the Med where a multihull
exceeding 7mtrs beam can be easily lifted. Many yards with 8mtrs
travelhoists still only have 7mtrs docks. After lunch we ran down
to the Levkas canal entrance in an hour and anchored on a short
scope off Sta.Maura fort to await the hourly opening of the swing
bridge. We passed by Levkas Town and it took an hour to motor
through the canal with the wind and current against us. The wash
created by some of the large Italian powerboats is positively
dangerous as they overtake with only feet to spare. They don't
care of course despite our rude Anglo Saxon gestures. By 8.00pm
we were motoring past Nidri and found "Felix" a Crowther cat
anchored in Tranquil Bay. We pressed on through the bottleneck
into Vliho to anchor off the restaurants on the East side.
"Byzance" a Lagoon cat last seen in Menorca was here, and also
the Iroquois "Cheshire Cat" and the Allegro tri "Windrose", bows
to the restaurant patios. We had a good cheap meal in Dimitris
Taverna which like the others has a cluster of dinghys alongside.
The Navtex had come back to life despite Vliho behing surrounded
by mountains and there was a thundery low over southern Italy, no
doubt explaining the southwesterlies of the previous few days

We awoke to thunder and lightning and torrential rain. After
some shopping in the few stores in Vliho we motored over to
Skorpios the Onassis island where I snoozed on the beach whilst
Louise played. The return of the northwesterly breeze woke me up
as Aqua Blue swung towards the shore, and we returned to anchor
off Nidri this time,to save the long row from Tranquil Bay which
is also pretty crowded in season. However the smell of the town
sewer seems to attract the mosquitoes here.

Jim on "Felix" the Crowther Spindrift recognised us from
Alghero in Sardinia the year before, and we exchanged greetings
before heading south again. We motored down the Meganisi Channel
and found a beach for Louise to swim off, before running down to
Vathi on Ithaca at good speed in a fresh westerly. As we entered
a Swiss Fountaine Pajot cat "Blue 11" was leaving. The wind blew
into the harbour till well past dusk making our trip ashore
slightly awkward and no sooner had we hauled the dinghy onto the
pavement there was a power failure,so we returned to the boat
before long. I think it's best to spend the night in the
northeast corner of the harbour where there are a couple of
tavernas. I was up at 2.00am for another spectacular
thunderstorm.

After visiting the bank and shops we motored round to
Skoinos bay for lunch and swimming and it's a very pleasant spot
up till mid afternoon, being completely open to the northwest.
However the day we were there it remained flat calm and we
eventually had to motor all the way down to Poros on Cephalonia.
I managed a ten point turn in the tiny harbour and backed up to
the quay which is open to the north. Fortunately the wind
remained a light southerly all night. We walked up to the
controlled tourist development north of the little port, and I
was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed atmosphere. The complete
abscence of lager louts makes such a difference!

I nipped ashore for bread, ice and some Cephalonia wine.
Stella then recovered the anchor on her own whilst I manoeuvered
past the rocks on the end of the inner breakwater. As we were
motorsailing south again in a light southerly off Ak Kapri the
British cat "Chill Factor" gave us a wave,before I pointed up a
bit to clear Kakova shoal off the southeasterly tip of
Cephalonia. The water was so clear I had to keep checking the
depth sounder to convince myself we really had 20ft clearance.
The MPG slowly pulled us across to Zakynthos through another
brief thunderstorm, and we entered the huge harbour and anchored
with plenty of swinging room in it's shallow southern half not
far from some broad steps. We mounted these after dinner and had
to disagree with Lawrence Durrell's poor opinion of the town's
reconstruction.

We pottered round to Pelouzo island and spent a few hours on
it's tiny beach which had white flowers growing in the sand.
Later we continued past Marathonisi island and anchored outside
the small shallow harbour at Keri where the road from Lagana
resort ends. To Louise's chagrin we saw no turtles, but a piglet
on a spit in one of the tavernas soon attracted her attention. I
ordered some and the chef took a machete to the carcass and
served the pieces with some tired chips. There was only one other
yacht in this quiet spot but we had no trouble ringing home from
one of the mini-markets. In the overcast morning we motored back
and stopped for a swim at Porto Roma. Whilst we were on the beach
we saw people on Aqua Blue so returned to the boat but they were
only using the starboard float as a diving platform. A sudden
squall then came through so we had to hurriedly recover the
anchor and beat back to Zakynthos harbour where the wind promptly
dropped again. Louise was becoming very keen on the Orthodox
churches and there is a very old one near the root of the
breakwater, from where we also took her on a pony and trap ride.
An small open boat with a square sail came in and her very fit
German owner fitted a cover for sleeping and settled down for the
night. I was impressed enough to take several photos of the
smallest cruiser I have ever seen.

We made an early start to our trip north since it's a fair
distance back from Zante. However we motored all day and it was
so hot in the cockpit even under the awning,that I rigged another
over the foredeck where we sat in our deckchairs away from the
noise of the diesel. By 3.00pm we were off Poros again and I was
watching a huge thundercloud over the mainland, when I noticed a
white squall line ahead of us. We just had time to remove both
awnings and were hit by an instantaneous F6 on the nose. I reefed
the main and we then spent a rather laborious 4hrs beating into
the Ithaca channel and on up to Ay Eufemia on Cephalonia. Of
course the sea was fairly flat but about 1ml out of the port we
endured a gust of 38kts which had Aqua Blue seeming to squat in
the water and slowly round up as I wound furiously on the roller
to further reduce sail. I hove to off the entrance and got out
the 45lber, before slowly motoring to the head of the harbour so
Stella could drop it on a patch of sand. A long 12hr sail and I
could see why the flotilla skippers tell their charges not to go
down to Zante! This is the windiest part of the Ionian, and in
retrospect I could have stopped in Ormos Ay Andreas on the
southern tip of Ithaca or even Poros again.

We relaxed on the town beach in the morning after I had
swapped waterspout stories with one of the skippers ashore. After
lunch we spent the afternoon tacking up the Ithaca channel to
Fiskardo where we anchored on the north side of the harbour. It
takes some time to row lines ashore but it's a very pleasant
spot. We had a good meal in restaurant Tassia, and Louise enjoyed
the clean water. We left Cephalonia in the morning and
motorsailed over to Vassiliki on Levkas to anchor off the beach
outside the harbour for Louise' benefit. As the afternoon
northwesterly got up literally hundreds of sailboards appeared
and streaked up and down in the katabatic wind off the westerly
headland like so many gaudy butterflies. When the wind drops
about 7.30pm you can moor stern to in the outer harbour as the
British yacht "Jonban" did. Ashore were the sailboarders and every
restaurant was full. When I was here in '83 it was still pretty,
but quiet but with many fewer facilities.

We motored out of the calm bay in the morning towing the
dinghy with the seagull on the transom, something I rarely do.
The seagull seemed to be responding to regular use and liberal
doses of WD40. It's an ancient rusty thing since it lives in the
starboard float and I've several times threatened it with a
watery grave. However it's enjoying a new lease of life since
it's points were replaced by an electronic chip. We joined a few
other yachts just off the southeasterly point of Thilia island
for lunch, where one of the flotilla boats firmly ran aground.
Clearing the Meganisi channel we made a brief tour of Spartahori
before returning to the shallow spot off the restaurants in
Vliho. 2000 mls came up on a log I had only fitted at the
beginning of the previous season and it undereads!

A southerly forecast sent us to Ormos Kapali on the north
side of Meganisi for a few hours, before running up to the Levkas
canal with the roller genoa and the MPG wing and wing, a proper
trade wind rig, and much easier to control for a short handed
family crew than a large spinnaker. In fact we ran most of the
length of the canal under sail before anchoring and laying stern
to the causeway immediately east of Levkas town. After a good
meal ashore and two churches we were back on board for a
relatively early night again. However I sipped a whisky in the
cockpit and watched yet another large thunderstorm to the north
till my eyes drooped. At 11.00pm I was roused from my bunk by
torrential rain which quickly became horizontal and fiercely
driving, so that we had to screw down every hatch and window. The
rigging then started to really howl and Stella and I stood below
with our eyes fixed on the anemometer which climbed and climbed
only peaking at a staggering 61kts!!! I was waiting for the two
10ml lines holding our stern to the wall to snap and was mentally
calculating how far Aqua Blue would travel across the harbour
before our anchor hopefully snagged on some immovable object.
When the blast subsided I went on deck and recovered the dinghy
from where it was hanging off the forward beam. We had been lucky
that the wind direction had kept us off the wall but I was wary
of another blast from a different direction. So I hauled the
45lber out of the focsle and rowed it out to the southeast, a
fortunate choice since at 1.00am we had 30kts this time from the
east,with more thunder and lightning and the starboard float was
only inches from the wall. In these situations I bring back both
anchor warps to cockpit winches so I can adjust them from the
shelter of the cockpit. At 3.00am I was again awoken by the
American owner of very large gin palace revving up his dinghy
engine whilst trying to release more scope on one of his anchor
chains. It seemed to be jammed and while I watched incredulously
he put his arm up the hawse pipe whilst his skipper operated the
anchor winch. I had barely described their idiocy to Stella
before the owner started screaming his arm was caught and the
skipper was hanging over the bow asking whether he wanted more or
less chain to release him. His arm came out with a lot of chain
that almost sank his dinghy.

After breakfast I glanced out of the forehatch to see the
towering bows of the gin palace right in front of Aqua Blue. They
had recovered both their anchors and despite my Anglo Saxon
protestations they proceeded to relay them quite deliberately
over both our anchor chains. The skipper claimed the boat was
worth four million dollars and he "couldn't take any chances". On
returning from our trip ashore it took Stella and I an hour to
winch both our chains from under theirs, whilst their crew
watched and ignored my request for them to create some slack.
After we'd cleaned the smelly Levkas mud from the foredeck we
proceeded down to the canal bridge, but the operator could only
open the narrow lifting section and waved us away. We tied to the
crumbling wall in the heat and I strolled down to the bridge to
learn that a lightning strike the night before had reduced the
power supply. I paced out the lifting section and estimated 29ft
max. against our 25ft beam,although the hydraulic rams reduced
this figure only a few feet above waterline on one side. We put
all our fenders out to protect both sides and waited for the next
hourly opening. After a flotilla had first passed through from
north to south (and the leader had wagered we wouldn't make it),
I gunned for the gap and just scraped through as Stella hurriedly
removed the seagull from it's collision course with the rams!

Escape from Levkas being accomplished, we sailed north over
a swell left over from the night before and soon ran down the
buoyed channel to anchor again of Preveza Marine, where Danny and
Sue were waiting for us on the shore.

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