11th October: On my own again, I left Lefkada marina and sailed down to Vlicho and anchored. It wasn't long before I was joined by the President of the Dromor Appreciation Club on his gorgeous Discovery 3200. Over a beer, we decided that a race over to Paleros the next day would be fun. We both left early, and our sails were up and engines off once clear of Nidri. I took what i thought would be the best route and headed straight across, the Pres went further up the Lefkas coast then headed across. It looked like I was well in front when we next saw each other. But I was being blown further South with the fickle winds, at one stage I was heading for Kalamos!. I ended up putting in long tacks to make Paleros, while the Pres virtually could set the course. The wind died as we were passing Vounaki, so we motored the last mile. He graciously called it a draw, but my tactics had been flawed and the typical winds let me down. We had a great time ashore that night. Next day I was heading back to Vlicho, while he headed to Lefkada and his yacht being lifted out.
I spent the next 6 days there at anchor. Missing out on my swimming because the huge numbers of jelly fish in the bay. They had been here for two months now, and no sign of them leaving. I had a phone call from Vernon, and arranged to be on the IBA pontoon, to receive my new push bike, sent out by my sister.

20th October, I'm on the IBA pontoon early, what a change from the summer when it was packed. Plenty of space to choose from, and i went stern onto the jetty. Vernon soon arrived and dropped off my bike, in a much heavier and bigger carton than expected. Tearing into it, revealed my sister had sent me out some goodies. The bike was soon assembled and taken for a test ride into town. It's as good as i expected, and will be a great asset in Messolonghi for the winter.
I spent the next 5 days back at anchor in Vlicho, it was chill out time again.
A meeting with David, Melody and there dog Rugby, who I had last seen in Messolonghi, and we decided that a trip to Sivota would be in order. We ended up spending three gorgeous days there, the weather was that good. It was pretty empty, and most tavernas were closed, but it's one of my favorite harbours. A chance meeting with Peter and Thomy from Messolonghi on a friends Amel, and I mentioned that I was thinking of getting a dog. I had been chatting to everybody i had met with a dog during the summer, trying to find out the pros and cons. The main outcome was, get a dog you would never regret it!
Well, Peter mentioned that some puppies had been dumped at the marina gates and there was one going spare, and it could be mine. So, i told him I would have it. The next morning, he confirmed it would be waiting for me when I arrived at Messolonghi, and was being taken care of by another couple Johanne and Asbjorn until I arrived. Result.
A storm had been forecast, for the weekend and we discussed where to ride it out. I decided that for me Lefkada marina would be my safest option. I motored up and spent the next 3 days up there. The winds and rain were howling, i even put out extra ropes. A phone call from David and Melody and they were sitting in complete calm all the time i was getting bashed. A walk into town and along the harbour wall, showed just how bad some people leave there yachts. It was a very strong Easterly wind and pushing most yachts back against the wall. Not everyone had done a good job with fenders and ropes, there was quite a bit of damage being done to unattended boats. One 45ft yacht was just smacking it's stern on the jetty, where the small stern fender had popped. I wondered if I should climb onboard, and try to pull the bow anchor in a bit. But, what if it just kept coming in without biting, the option of taking a fender off the side was nil as he only had two each side. All i could do was just walk on by, and wonder what type of guy leaves a £80,000 yacht like that! The good thing being in Lefkada was having Daltons on my doorstep, and the huge gyros they made.

2nd November. The winds have calmed down and I'm out of the marina early. Once out of the channel, it was full sail up and I had a gorgeous sail down to Limin Petala, on my way to Messolonghi. I anchored in 3 metres, finsihed putting up the safety netting around the boat, ready for my new dog, then put up my anchor light and went to sleep. It was a bumpy night, and it's such a dark anchorage your mind can easily play tricks on you. I woke up really early and could see shadows outside through the curtains. It was a good few seconds before I realised that it was my anchor light hanging off my "A" frame casting them.
3rd November: Back to sleep and up at the crack of dawn, to a gorgeous sunrise. It was one of those mornings when you just feel so glad to be alive.
I had a cracking last sail down to Messolonghi, a phone call to Trix there, and she was waiting to take my lines when I reversed into a spot she had saved for me. I hadn't seen her since May, and it was like we had only last met days ago. As soon as Nanjo was safely tied up and my boarding plank down, I went to see my new crew mate.She was staying on Johanne and Asbjorns lovely catamaran. I had been wondering what to call my new friend, and after running through some pretty daft nautical names and doing an internet search for Greek names, I ended up with "Lucy" meaning light of the day. It seemed very apt when I first saw her, a very small bundle of black and white fur, with a beautiful face. It seemed such a shame to be taking her from a life of luxury on a large catamaran, onto the confines of Nanjo. But she seemed happy with me and the choice of boat. That day I met up with Klaus and Marrianne who had taken on Lucys sister and called her Windy, she's brown and white. They had also rescued another puppy found dumped at the gates from another litter, a white dog with a few spots they called Lucky. And Thomy made up the fourth puppy owner with Luckys brother, white with a lot more spots called Spotty. It was great for all the puppies being together, it meant they could play and grow up as a group. My sister had sent me a dog care book, which to be honest, didn't have anything to say about dogs on boats!
Lucy is my first dog, always wanted one. I wasn't prepared for the complete and utter 24/7 effect she would have on my life. Going ashore for the toilet, from day one she's really been very clean, making a noise when wanting to get off Nanjo. The feeding, her getting under my feet and being everywhere I wanted to be. It was a very steep learning curve for me and Lucy as well. I have no idea who her mother and father were, how big she would grow, only time will tell.
Those first days at the marina just seemed to fly by, meeting up with old friends and finding out how there sailing season had gone. My small problems seemed pretty insignificant compared to others. I really like Messolonghi marina and town, it's all a work in progress, and I'm happy that nobody seems to be rushing to finish the work!

9th November: We took all four puppies to the vets for an initial check up and first jab. Lucy weighed in at 3.7kgs, the vet reckoned she will be a big dog and weigh between 20 and 30kgs!!! Omg, I'm going to need a bigger boat if that happens. Life for me at the marina was a simple round of dog walking, I'm getting to become an expert on dog poo ! Enjoying the sunny weather and doing a few minor jobs on Nanjo and a friends yacht. The weeks just seem to drift by, and it wasn't long before December arrived and thoughts of what to do at Christmas and the New Year were all we could chat about in the marina.

1st December and it's dog weigh in time, Lucy had gone up to 5.6kgs. The vet gave her the rabies jab she would need to travel around, I'll get her chipped and neutered as soon as possible. My time with Lucy was becoming a fight of mixed emotions as she was getting bigger and her character was starting to come through. A very independent little lady indeed. I had let her sleep in my back cabin with me from day one, for several reasons. For her comfort, and I was thinking when friends come onboard, she will know that the stern cabin is her place rather than a bed that suddenly a friend needs. Other dog owners in the marina said that I was making a big mistake. Only time will tell i guess.
The weeks of December went very quickly, we had some really gorgeous sunny days, some great Sunday bbq's and a lot of laughs in the marina.
A chance chat with Thomy about getting an dehumidifer, and he said he had one spare. It turned out to be a large household sized one, but I found space for it behind the saloon table. The first night it got over a litre of water out of the air. It changed my life on Nanjo completely, no more waking to a damp and wet boat, the water went up to 1.5 litres every night. I would switch it on at 5pm and off again when I first woke up. The heater has never come out of its box in December.
I went from wanting to hand Lucy over to someone else, to thinking she was the best thing that had happened to me. One day up and the next day really down, I was feeling that everything I had worked for had gone, and the freedom I cherished had been handed over to a small dog! Luckily an evening spent having a great dinner cooked by Trix and Peter on there boat, gave me the chance to talk about how I was feeling towards Lucy. They helped me clear up a lot of doubts in my head. And chatting to Ian and Hilliary who have two dogs on there boat, also gave me the low down on dog ownership.

25th December. Sixteen of us went to Marias for a great Christmas meal at her taverna, it was a brilliant evening, and the weather here was still very sunny. I had a few Christmas presents sent out by friends. My favourite one is a small rug sent out by Ruth with Nanjo embossed in it. We had seen them at the foot of mega yacht gang planks with the boats name on. Nanjo will now stand out when stern on as well. Thanks Ruth.

Looking through my log book for the sailing season and i came away with these stats:
Total distance sailed: 1,298.2 nautical miles.
Engine hours logged: 334
Diesel used: 66 gallons
Miles sailed: 407.3

I will hopefully sail more miles next year, but not cover so many miles either. The engine is running perfectly after it's top end rebuild. The wiring is all behaving itself as well. I've a few jobs to do on Nanjo over the winter. Mainly jobs that were on my list at the start of 2015 !! Nanjo will be staying afloat this year, and will be lifted out next year when I'm back at Messolonghi.
My plans for 2016 are to cruise the Ionion again, meet up with some new and old friends and hopefully have a great time again.

To everybody reading this blog I thank you, for taking the trouble to read it and comment.
Very best wishes to all for 2016, fair winds and calm seas.
Jim & Lucy