Leaving Corfu and Greece
Mast fitting finished, the boom casting fitted we were ready to leave Corfu Town. Some cloud and 8 -10 knts from the SE had us motor sailing up between Corfu island and the coast of Albania. It is only a mile between them so we had a reasonable look at Albania as we passed. We had the motors off as we passed N. Peristerai a large rock covered in greenery. We anchored at Ormos Imerola on the northern coast of the island. Next morning we had the sails up early and it was a mixed day of motor sailing then sailing then the motors back on. The pole had its debut and there will have to be some modifications to have it working smoothly. But in saying that Gary is pleased with his purchase.
Our last night in Greece was spent tied up in the small harbour at Ormos Ammou on the island of Othoni. A small village of around 100 residents in the off season but swells to 500 + in the summer. Never the less it sports several tavernas around the water. We were pleased to have the protection on the boardwalk as the wind had picked up. Glen has been eyeing off the sea urchins around the shallows for weeks past, having seen some women collecting them into bags at one place. He asked Mr Google how they should be harvested, prepared and eaten, so thinking this his last chance to have a go at them he got some gloves and knives and went gathering. That was the easy part.....preparing them not so easy and with their spikes to deal with and getting them in with the very small amount of flesh, the whole exercise was abandoned when the spikes couldn't be separated. they are served in tavernas but there has to be some expert skills to extract the flesh. We have since found you can buy them in Italy in jars or tins....that's if we want to.


With a long day ahead of us we left the harbour at 0645, motoring until the wind picked up to 11 knts and with one reef in the main and half furled head sail we were doing 8+ knt SOG. At last !!!! around midday the reel went off on the big gear Gary bought in Panama last trip. Now we had to slow the boat down to bring in the catch. A very welcome tuna approx. 10 kgs. It had to an Italian as we were only 13 n.miles off the coast. Last trip we were sure there were no fish in the Med. as we trailed our lures right around without a strike. Now we have some hope of catching more.


Our first night in Italy was spent at Santa Maria di Leuca anchored outside the marina just behind an Australian catamaran called Araldite. To our amusement one hull was marked..Part A the other Part B. We joined them for drinks onboard their yacht before we came back to Panormitis for a delicious grilled tuna and salad dinner. Araldite had left early the next morning for Greece and eventually Turkey where it will be left for the winter. We dinghied ashore and played tourists happy snapping the monumental stone staircase near the harbour built by Mussolini as a ceremonial gateway to Italy. We did climb it to the top and back and found a crew setting up some sound and lighting equipment around the second level of the forecourt. A walk into town along the waters edge and we found the posters for the entertainment on the forecourt. One band starting at 10pm the next @ 11.30pm and the last @ 12.30am so we knew we were in for a noisy night.


The Italians have produced the Claytons beach, you know the one you have when you really don't have a beach. They have built platform decks out over the rocks and covered them with the necessary sun lounges, umbrellas and ashtrays. There are stairs to the water if you want to swim. They are attached to a bar/eatery so it is a good sideline to rent the sunning equipment.