03 September 2014 Jenny and I left Auckland NZ on Malaysian Airlines for a direct flight to Ian and Jenny-May's home in Kuala Lumpur. Ian and Jenny-May being my brother and sister in law.
07 September 2014 We left Kuala Lumpur again with Malaysian for another direct flight straight through to London arriving late at night. We had to wait a long time to clear immigration, I am sure that by now Jenny was looking like a wicked terrorist, judging by her expression, so no wonder there was some delay there. Our bags were eventually released and we made our way out to find my Son, Chris and Daughter in Law Marsha, waiting to deliver us into the City. We were delivered to Liyo's place in Holburn, right in the middle of London CBD. Liyo is Chris's friend that has a B & B and he had very kindly offered us a bed for the two nights that we would be there. We crashed into bed and slept the sleep of the just.. Just arrived in London that is!


09 September 0400 we got into a taxi and returned to Heathrow to fly out to Preveza (Greece) by way of Vienna.

This was all a bit of a strain due to Chris, Marsha and Liyo doing a number on us the night before and poisoning us with copious amounts of booze and a seafood delight that one could die for and probably would getting to bed at 0130 in the morning with just a couple of hours up our sleeves! Arrived in Vienna to be told that our flight had been changed and we would have to sprint through the airport now to connect with the next plane to Preveza, there being only the one that day. Well we made it just in time by que jumping and apologising profusely to the many Germans that had been queuing ahead of us. But needs be and SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) was not about to be thwarted.. whatever that might mean but it seems that the Europeans are really into it!

09 September 1430 we arrived in Preveza only to find that all our luggage had taken a detour to Prague! Perhaps for the Viennese baggage handlers Prague sounds a lot like Preveza. We still had our limited carry on gear but essentials like ships papers and minor stuff like that was now in the blue yonder. Took a Taxi the 5km to our waiting Elixir. She looked just as we had left her in 2013 up on the hard with covers in place. I climbed the ladder and stumbled over the life lines and into the cockpit. While fumbling in my bag for the key I decided to whip the cover off the instrument panel only to find that in the last 12 months a nasty swarm of wasps had made a very large nest therein. They were not happy to be woken in such a fashion. I made a quick retreat head over heels back down the ladder. Oh yes SWMBO's expression had now changed to one of overwhelming amusement that I thought was most unbecoming and inappropriate. A quick trip to the marina store to buy a large can of fly spray was in order taking the opportunity to buy some milk and fresh bread as well. Well you should have seen me tentatively reaching up over the top of the gunnel while emptying the can of fly spray ahead of me. I made it into the cabin without getting stung. Found a paper rubbish bag and slipped it over the wasp nest. The nest was at least a foot wide and 8 inches deep. I cut it off the stainless binnacle with a knife and tied the top of the bag quickly depositing it overboard to the ground. Challenge solved Elixir crew 1, wasps nil!
10 September 0600 up early to clean the boat and prepare it to be relaunched the following day. We had noticed, last year, that we had been losing water from our fresh water tanks and it was one of my jobs this year to find the leak and fix it before launching. Well I found it alright.. our hot water cylinder had packed a bit of a sad and had corroded around the element. Thinking that we had struck a major maintenance problem that could cause us days of delay I shot down to the Marina Engineers as soon as they opened at 0800 to see what could be done. Lots of trips backwards and forwards all day taking measurements and assessing what would be required the Engineers announced that they had a brand new one actually in stock, only the one. We were delighted to find that it would, with some modification, fit in the same place that the other had to be extracted from.

New hot water cylinder on the floor and me calmly checking out the bill trying not to have heart failure. Bang goes the budget!

The day ended with everything got ready for the booked launching at 1100 hours next morning but the new hot water had yet to finish being installed. Needless to say it was hard to get a nights sleep as I tossed and turned and tried to calm my anxiety down. Rum and a good dinner at the Cleopatra Taverna helped a little.
11 September 2014 1100hrs and the travel lift came trundling down to pick up our precious Elixir and deliver her to the briny. The engineers who were fitting the cylinder were still working inside, so they were were chucked out during the 150 metre drive to the splash.



Well Elixir got lowered into the water but we could not run our motor, due to the dismantled cooling water system that feeds the hot water to the heat exchanger in the cylinder so we ignominiously got warped to the side wharf where the work of the engineers could continue.
1400 and we have all shipshape , we fire up the engine and motor over to Preveza town pier where we are to pick up our sails from the sailmaker. By the time we had moored ourselves at Preveza we had hot water in the taps and no leaks.. all was good with the world. SWMBO and I trundled up to the where we thought we could remember the sailmaker's loft was and we located it without fail. Our sails had all been thoroughly gone over with stitching replaced as needed as was any chafed panels found. The sailmaker kindly delivered them down to Elixir and helped us put them on board. All we had to do now was enjoy the disco music on the waterfront..not! while we waited for our lost baggage to appear in order to enable us to clear port. Which baggage finally appeared by taxi from the airport the next day and all the legals were able to be tidied away. All was now good to go and I found myself relaxing for the first time since leaving New Zealand.




13 September 2014 1100 and we cast off, just Elixir and she and me. We make our way out of the Gulf and into the Ionian Sea heading north. Our destination was Two Rock Bay 25 miles away where we indeed arrived in due course having had to put up with light winds and a fair amount of motoring to get there.


It was picture perfect in the bay and we had a very comfortable first night out.


14 September 0800 retrieved the anchor and made our way 21 miles north to Syvota where we stayed overnight, eating at a Taverna ashore.



15 September after buying fresh fruit and vegies and other supplies needed for comfortable living we got away at 1100 and sailed north again logging 12 miles to Mullet Bay where we found there was only about three other boats. Mullet Bay is a secluded Bay with several fish farms at the entrance but no town and as such is sheltered and peaceful, only the frequent splash of a jumping mullet to break the silence. The odd mosquito found SWMBO to their liking but largely left me alone.

16 September. Leaving Mullet Bay behind we sailed and motored further north to Gouvia Bay, a good anchorage and Marina located, handily, just north of Corfu City. This was a short day trip being only 16 miles. We waited, laying at anchor, in Gouvia Bay for Chris and Liyo to arrive from London. We spent the time doing simple maintenance and taking a day trip into the City. Shopping was apparently not going to get a holiday. Chris Eventually arrived.. without Liyo.. who had been working to his own timetable and had thus missed the plane.





We wasted no time in getting our climbing hero Chris to the top of the mast to rerun an errant topping lift and the spare genoa halyard which halyard had been accidentally let go by a very experienced skipper who should have known better, it had crashed down to the deck when it was not being used. We do not like to go too far without a spare as that could be the forbearer of a rather uncomfortable sail, with no headsail, should the good No1 halyard give way.
It took a couple of hours to sort out the lines to the mast top so Jenny and I were most grateful to have Chris to do the monkey work.





I confined myself to the exhausting job of looking inside the mast using a torch in order to locate the lines as they were lowered inside by Chris. The whole thing is a bit tricky due to the mast inner being shared with navigation instruments, riding lights, radar and all their associated electrical cabling. A mess up here could prove expensive so, it had to be done right.



Liyo finally turned up a couple of days late so by then we were all chomping at the bit, being board with Gouvia and thus immediately set sail for Kassopeto Bay which is up around and through the straights between Corfu and Albania and along the North Eastern coast of Corfu.







We did have a lovely night there under the shadow of the castle, setting sail the next day over to the Albanian Coast.




Liyo on the helm while Chris and I stick with giving sage advice!


Well somebody has to clean up the mess!

Sailing south we stayed about 500 metres off the Albanian Shore, amusing ourselves by counting the many machine gun emplacements. These are concrete enclosures of a 1.5metre high semi diameter round football appearance with a slot in the front to poke a gun out of. However we didn't see any guns, soldiers, goats or donkeys. Only the odd fish farm and its associated basic accommodation.





We anchored for the afternoon in Ftelia Bay, through which the International Boarder runs and Chris, being Chris, went for a walk in Albania. I worried that they would think him a spy and either arrest or shoot him. He saw not a soul and returned to the boat a couple of hours later with great tales of hardship to impart.

I decided it best to quietly sail off from that area before any naval gunboats showed up to ruin our stay.

We sailed further south to return to Mullet Bay which of course Chris and Liyo had not seen and Jenny and I thought that we wanted to share its peace and tranquillity with them. This time it was Liyo that attracted the mosquitoes and kept them off the rest of us. Jenny eventually took pity on him and appealed for a more isolated anchorage away from any foliage and thus pests, never mind that he was great mosquito bait.



I motored Elixir right out into the middle of the bay and anchored there in 4 metres of water. It was a very magic moonlight night without a breath of wind. The water sparkled and the mullets jumped all night long. Everyone agreed that it was a superb place to spend the night.

Back now to Corfu to pick up Adrian and Jill Payne who are coming to spend a fortnight with us. We had already decided that we would front the expense of a marina berth to allow for settling in with baggage, groceries, water and eating out. Of course the use of the marina pool was an added advantage. Jenny acted as guide and took Adrian and Jill shopping and sightseeing in Corfu city leaving me to enjoy Elixir to myself. Chris and Liyo having also headed into town to enjoy the history and cosmopolitan nature of this island.


Jill and Adrian help Jenny with ah.. shopping..






The pace of life here is not that great. One could grow accustomed to this place quite easily.



23 September. Sail away from Corfu with Chris, Liyo, Adrian, Jill, Jenny and myself on board. I always wonder at these times if we will ever get the chance to visit there again, our destination at this time though is to get Jill and Adrian down to the bottom of Agostolie. Agostolie is a sea port that has an international airport nearby and it is located at the bottom end of Kefallinia some 130 miles to the south of Corfu.



We sat overnight at Syvota and everyone disappeared next morning apparently for more shopping while I relegated myself to minding the boat as we were moored stern to and I was worried about the wake from passing boats banging us back on to the pier. A local restaurateur took pity on my plight and plied me with beers and snacks. Life sure can be tough being a skipper left without waiters, but I was good for the job and very politely, as befitting a man in my position, I did not turn down his generosity as one would not want to upset the locals, would one.


The day started with light airs but Jill was to get the best sailing of the cruise later in the afternoon on this leg.

24 September 1400 we set sail for Lakki, a small harbour and town at the top end of Paxoi (or Paxos to the uninitiated). We started out by motoring for about an hour then the wind came at us with a rush and we powered across the bay doing between 10 and twelve knots on a reach with cracked sheets. Life was good. Jill had been placed as helmswoman for the day and she had a smile from ear to ear, it was so lovely to see and in the end only relinquished the helm when the time came to furl sails and enter the tiny harbour. By now our crew all knew each other well and a great time was had by all. After a joyful happy hour the motor was attached onto the rubber ducky and we all went ashore for a great local taverna meal. No lies were told.


25 September it dawned very wet with quite torrential rain. We moved down the coast to Gaios (remember the rat!) and went stern-to at the town pier for a few hours. Chris left Elixir here to take a ferry back to Corfu where he was due to fly back to London to return to work. As in the past we would miss him greatly over the rest of the cruise. We decided to leave Gaios at 1500 because SWMBO was not about to spend a night there. We decided that the best course would take us back across the bay to the Greek Coast with an anchorage planned late in the day at Two Rock Bay. Two Rock Bay had a nasty swell left over from the afternoon wind and as such was going to lead to a very uncomfortable night. So we did not even attempt to anchor but headed on south for Preveza, the next feasible safe anchorage.



Well it stormed and it blew so we had a good sail, although it did get cold and the storms meant that we could not see much of the coastline. It was interesting though to see the radar screen in the darkness of the night tracking the movement of the squalls as the rain would leave quite a trail across the screen so we could pick them coming, gauging their speed to some extent. The odd bit of eyeball visibility was provided by the lightning, both sheet and bolt, coming right out from the squall centres.
26 September early at 0200 we made fast to the Preveza Town wall followed closely by a welcome rum and a good sleep. The rain beat down and the wind howled so did not have to worry about the music! Give me the rain, wind and thunder and rum anytime.



0900 we leave Preveza in beautiful conditions, sunny and warm and sail down the coast to Lefkada where we go through the canal with its swinging road bridge.









This was all new to our crew although Jenny and I had been through quite a few times before. Everyone enjoyed the fun of it all and the proximity of all the other boating traffic. We put into Lefkada Marina for the night and there we were able to leave Elixir to her own devices and walk into town for the evening to find a good place for dinner and to enjoy the festive atmosphere of this busy tourist hotspot.

27 September we sail down to Nidri where washing was delivered to the laundry and all had a day enjoying the comings and goings of all the cruising yachts and ferries.


We spent a day or two in the area and then left Liyo to catch a bus to Athens where he was going to stay with an old friend. So with just Jenny, Jill, Adrian and I we made our way further south to Vasiliki where we found that Elixir draws a bit more than the local boats that were in the town basin and thus quietly went aground. We ran a line to the pier and were able to winch Elixir off with the anchor winch. I decided that this was not a good place for us to stay.



We sailed on further south to Fiscardo on Kefallinia. This is a favourite with Jenny and she was delighted to be able to introduce Jill and Adrian to the wonderful shops and Riviera type atmosphere. This is after all the top spot in the Ionian. As an aside, Fiscardo was one of the only towns left standing on this island after the great earthquakes of the mid 1900s.


Adrian and Jill getting themselves ashore for a walk using an endless line from the dingy.


We spent an extra day here by popular vote.

30 September 0800 we cast off and sail around the top of Kefallinia into a rather uncomfortable head on chop causing seasickness to threaten for the first time in a while. Sails now sheeted in as tight as conditions would allow and still maintain reasonable drive into the choppy sea.



Bashed our way down the north western coast to a welcome break in Atheras Bay. This bay does not feature in the Greek Island Pilot but it is lovely and beautifully sheltered from the uncomfortable wind and swell that we had been subjected to. By the time we had all had a swim, a good lunch and a bit of a nap, the wind had abated and with it the uncomfortable sea had melted away, so we proceeded with good cheer on down the coast.

It needed a bit of pilotage to avoid the shoals and wreck by the entrance to Argostoli but we made it safely enough and were parked stern to at the town pier by nightfall.








01 October 2014. We spent the day exploring the town and after another night said our fond goodbyes to Adrian and Jill as they were due to fly out in the afternoon for Athens and then on to home.


02 October and Jenny and I are alone again at sea.

We had a most pleasant and enjoyable trip back to Preveza up the coast, staying two or three nights along the way at anchorages that we have enjoyed in the past.
Passing a yacht going in the opposite direction to us.


No arguments regarding rights of way here. Definitely bigger is better Elixir peels off in the narrow confines of the canal to give the ungainly, huge barge manoeuvring room, or at least such as was available.


Sometimes helmsmen fail to give way to bigger, and Castles are decidedly BIGGER!

06 October Elixir was lifted and left high and dry for another season. She has treated us well and has earned her place as the boat of my dreams.

We leave by plane the same afternoon as we are lifted out.



Spent some more time with Chris and Marsha at Heathrow before flying back to Kuala Lumpur and on to Auckland. Chris had come straight to Heathrow from work in the Tube to be with us. It is so delightful to have family.