Of Birthdays, Wind Squalls, and Goodbyes
10 October 2016 | Preveza
Chris and Francis

Sunday 2 October
We’re anchored in ‘One-House Bay’ in Atokos (with the beautiful rock face) and greeted by another stunning sun rise. The katabatic winds from the mountains around the bay had had their fun for a couple of hours last night, with the help of its friend the swell. Our crew obviously is by now well adjusted to Clio’s motions as everyone seemed to have had a good night’s sleep. After the usual day-starters of hot lemon drinks, tea, coffee and breakfast, and enjoying some sun, we are off to Ithaca today, back to the lovely bay of Filiatro Bay, only 7 NM to the SW. We had a bit of wind and got a bit of a sail in before the midday lull sent us back to the iron horse. Arriving in Filiatro Bay Laurel and Neil enjoyed the crystal clear water, with Laurel taking a 60 m floating line which enabled her to go all the way to the beach and then explore the pebbly shore. Neil did some exploring of the fantastic layered rock-faces on his own and started to look like a happy beach comber. But there was more wind predicted that night, so after a lovely lunch and swim we moved around the corner into the port of Vathi and anchored for the night.
Monday 3 October
After a very quiet night with good sleeps, we decided to move Clio on to the quay to allow the crew to explore the throbbing metropolis of Vathi. We used the opportunity to replenish some of our larder and also more wine. The crew liked Vathi and opted to stay one more night.
Tuesday 4 October
We moved on to Fiskardo, on Kephalonia, today catching a little wind for a short sail. When rounding the Northern-most part of Ithaca, a 20 kts WNW wind hit us straight on the nose and gave our crew a bit of a rocky ride experience. They took that in their stride, happily reading a book or playing with their tablet or electronic books or enjoying the very interesting landscapes that the Ithaca Strait has to offer.
We still remembered the mad clambering for a spot the last time we arrived in Fiskardo, so we made sure we arrived around noon to secure a place at the pontoon. It’s Margret’s birthday tomorrow and we need to be in a nice place with good restaurants to celebrate. Fiskardo definitely fits that bill.
After we tied to the pontoon, Chris went off to check out the ruins on the headland and reported back to the crew that it is a nice easy walk and well worth it. So they headed off while Chris took advantage of the sunny afternoon to take a swim, possibly nearly the last for the season as the weather and water is starting to get a bit cooler.
Wednesday 5 October
Today is Margaret's birthday and Clio wanted to join in by producing a celebratory banner (bottom-left photo). We indulged in a not-so-dietitian-recommended breakfast ashore to begin the day's celebrations. Neil, Laurel and Margaret hired a car to explore the biggest island of the Ionian and in the meantime Chris and Francis caught up on blogging and chores on Clio. When they returned, we all enjoyed a very nice dinner-with-champagne ashore to top off the birthday celebrations.
Thursday 6 October
Time to start making our way back to Preveza as our crew will leave us on Monday. So we managed to sail our way to the very pretty bay of Sivota on the southern end of Lefkas Island. Its port is well hidden behind a dog-leg entrance and looked like a very safe harbor. The villas glued to the hill at the entrance looked very luxurious and the first impression of the town was the same. Not a backpacker’s destination by the looks of it. We are expecting some wind to come through tomorrow so we decide to stay here for two nights. Our Crew took the opportunity to sniff up a bit more of the ‘couleur locale’, followed by drinks and lunch at a local restaurant.
Friday 7th October
After a very lazy morning we all headed out for lunch before the weather turned in the afternoon. By 4.00 pm the sky had blackened and rain started to bucket down. Then the 40+ knots wind on our port side arrived from exactly the opposite side than expected (an Ionian speciality it seems) and it was action stations! Clio was pushed to her starboard side with her stern corner against the quay, not helped by the fact that our neighbour’s boat was also pushing against her. So skipper was standing on Clio's stern armed with our largest fender and the motor running to hold Clio off the quay along with our neighbours all doing the same. Chris got to run out on deck to fetch said fender and to remove the anchor-lock, so we could haul in some chain if needed (with the chance of dislodging the anchor). This exercise justified the need for new wet-weather gear as the old jacket completely failed to keep her dry and she was soaked through.
Meantime another yacht had decided its best to get off the quay and after moving out in front of us was then unable to bring up their anchor without possibly dislodging the rest of our anchors. Luckily he got himself far enough away from us and was able to sit out the storm without causing any harm.
The strong winds only lasted for about 25 minutes, but everybody was pretty happy when they decreased to a mere 20 kts. Another story for the grandkids around the campfire.
Our crew did a great job of staying below out of harm’s way, keeping calm and dry. Unfortunately things had happened so quickly it was not until some time after the storm had hit that Chris became aware that our cabin top hatch had not been secured and had blown open in the wind, consequence: one very wet bed and doonah.
After a salad dinner and hot cups of tea, we managed to make temporary bedding from the cockpit cushions and after feeling assured that the storm was not coming back, got a good night’s sleep in our cubby house made of cushions.
Saturday 8th October
A beautiful sunny day with clear skies, this morning. We headed out of the bay to make our way to Lefkas, as soon as we had put on the headsail the wind dropped, of course. So back on motor we went. As we headed towards the channel that leads to Lefkas port, we motored directly into 20+knot winds on the nose, slowing us down to about 5 kts. Finally we made it through the narrow canal to Lefkas and pulled into the marina for the night, after October 1 it is ½ price and we could do with a hot shower.
The crew headed out to the marina restaurant for dinner and Chris, who had succumbed to a dose of flu, possibly aided by the soaking experience the day before, headed for bed.
Sunday 9th October
After enjoying the luxury of onshore hot showers and the crew wandering about for a final look, we lined up again in the canal waiting for the floating bridge to open and let us pass. This time we chose to try for 2.00p.m. and right on the hour the siren blasted and we were through after only waiting for 10 minutes.
Prevezza quay beckoned 45 minutes later and we tied up in a perfect (in the absence of wind) stern-to manoeuvre. We were sufficiently far away from the sewerage outfall we experienced before we left, but close enough to the café that has the best Wi-Fi in Greece, allowing us to do some updates and downloads. It was not only the final destination of our Crew, but also for us for this year. The crew again went ashore to enjoy their last dinner of the trip. That afternoon we had the now famous Clio photo session with our Crew, resulting (amongst others) in the top-left photo
Monday 10th October
Rainy day today as our crew pack their bags. Francis went off trying to find a taxi who would dare to defy the rules and drive to Clio to collect our crew on the quay. The quay is a traffic free zone and €250 fines apply, so you can understand the reluctance of taxi drivers to run the risk. Luckily he found a sympathetic driver who was willing to take a chance and our crew was transferred safely and almost dry from Clio to a very new and snazzy Merc taxi. We figured that the taxi driver was pretty safe as the port police were not likely to appear in such wet weather.
So we say farewell to our last Crew of the season, we enjoyed having you on board and thanks for joining us. Enjoy your travels in Greece, Italy and Croatia.