I left Preveza halfway through April. The successive gales had ceased and summer weather had made a tentative appearance so I made my way south through the Levkas Canal to anchor in Tranquil Bay, Nidri, which is an anchorage that I have used on many occasions. My main reason for going there was to replace all the windows on ‘Salara’ with a completely new set which had been sent from UK. I did not want to linger any longer in Preveza paying mooring fees and Tranquil Bay was a safe and secure anchorage where I could do the job with easy access to the shops and chandlery in Nidri town.
The renewal of these windows was long overdue as they were leaking badly when ‘Salara’ was returning across the Atlantic from the Caribbean in 2008. It was expensive to renew five pairs of windows, all different and requiring to be specially made so I kept shelving the job year by year until eventually it became urgent.
I worked hard for two weeks carefully removing the old windows, cleaning up and making good the apertures then installing the new ones. When all five pairs of windows were in place I was well pleased with the result. Now there was nothing to hold me back and I could now go sailing.
Since I returned to Greece I had been trying to make up my mind whether to leave Greek waters and head west for Siracusa, Sicily. It was a hard decision to make as I have grown to like Greece very much. The sailing is pleasant and there are numerous anchorages and small harbours to visit, mostly free of any charge. However all good things must come to an end so I reluctantly decided to leave.
I loaded ‘Salara’ with fuel, freshwater and food and at dawn on 8 May left the anchorage to cross the Ionion Sea to Siracusa, Sicily 280 miles to the west. It had been some years since I had made a trip of that duration and I wondered if I could still cope. In these cases the only way to find out is to do it.
The wind was blowing from the northwest at 15 knots which meant it was on ‘Salara’s beam with, of course, a beam sea as well which did not make for a comfortable ride. ‘Salara‘ was being steered by the Hydrovane and I had even rigged the towed generator to provide power, a long time since I have done that but it was a long passage and I had time to play.
During the first night as I kept watch I was surprised at the lack of shipping, I saw none. What a lonely bit of sea this is, no problem having
‘ power naps’ here.
‘Salara’ made good progress until the wind fell very light during the evening of the second day reducing her speed to two knots and she fell south of her course line for Siracusa. During the night she sailed ever so slowly in the general direction of Sicily and I just let her follow what little breeze there was.
In the morning she was almost becalmed so I started the engine and made directly for Siracusa which was 75 miles away. ‘Salara’ plodded along over a calm sea making 5 knots. After some time I noticed that the engine panel lights were telling me strange things from which I deduced that the main engine fuse had blown. That meant that if I stopped the engine I would not be able to restart it until I had rectified the fault, if any, and replaced the fuse. Something best tackled in harbour. As we approached the coast a light breeze began to blow from the south and so for the last couple of hours of the passage, closely accompanied by a welcoming pod of dolphins, ‘Salara’ motor sailed and entered Grand Harbour Siracusa just before dusk.
Once securely at anchor I stopped the engine manually as the engine stop button now had no power on it, I could find no actual fault but replaced the fuse and all was OK once more. Strange!
I cooked a meal, drank a beer and contemplated the fact that I am once again in Italy and felt rather glad that I had made the effort to move. New places, new adventures and huge motor yachts. I shall try to forget that ’Salara’ has been here before. I have also proved to myself that I am not too old and doddery to cope with a long passage successfully.