We headed back to Meganissi in the afternoon, packing up to set sail around 13:30

By the time we came around the headland the wind was up and so was the chop. The wind from the NE made for a close reach all the way up to the Meganissi channel. This was 2 hours of heeling to starboard and bouncing and rolling through and around the chop. It was all rather unpleasant and by the time we entered the channel we were hugely relieved to encounter flat and calm conditions.

We have to be back in Nidri and ready to leave by 16:00 tomorrow and this has left us with a slight dilemma. Do we sail back in the morning or straight back this evening.

The decision was made to sail to Meganissi, have a nice meal at the Rose Garden and then do a night sail back to Nidri Marine's pontoon.

Vathi in Meganissi always feels like arriving home. The friendly welcome of the locals is like that of a long lost Aunt or Uncle. Rather than moor up in Odyseas Marina we opted to sail Ruby onto the town quay as we only planned to stay for a few hours.

The Rose Garden restaurant comes highly recommended. Efi and her husband run the restaurant and the supermarket next door. When there's not a flotilla in Efi has an amazing way of making you feel like family. She joined us at the table, sat down and went through some of the specials and fish of the day. Needless too say the food was great and as she wished us good travels back to the UK she produced a small bottle of Ouzo.

We headed off at around 8:45 a slight mishap at the quay as one of the mooring lines decided not to slip through the mooring ring on the quay which stopped the boat about 6 metres into its journey! 2 fellow sailors sorted it from the quayside and we were on our way.

I was eager to get going. I've done some night sailing, but never in Greece and wanted to get my family back to Nidri before it got too late. The journey across was wonderful. The warmth of the Greek climate, some movement from the chop and the total darkness made for a surreal experience. As we headed into Nidri it was a cautious put put of the engine as we crept in looking for the pontoon. There are many boats anchored here and far too many sit there with no anchor lights making for ghostly silhouettes.

I was thankful for the LED torch I purchased earlier this year. 700 lumens of light output made stern-to mooring in the dark much easier. It also meant the couple who own and run Nidri Marine spotted us as we sailed into the vicinity.

Another great day in this wonderful country. Topped off with a fantastic and incredibly atmospheric night-time sail.