Part 1: Navpaktos to Preveza


Key:
1=Navpaktos
2=Rion Bridge
3=Ormos Oxia
4=Kandilas/Mytikas
5=Preveza

Oct. 1-2, 2023
Navpaktos, Greece
38º23.496'N,21º49.932'E

We left Itéa after one night, continuing toward Preveza, where we would clear out of Greece, and which would be a good staging point to take advantage of a future weather window for our eventual overnight hop to Tivat. We motored 42 miles to Navpaktos, a neat little town built inside an old Venetian fortress. Even its small boat harbor is enclosed within the thick stone walls.


Navpaktos and its walls

We opted to anchor just outside of the walls, but we took our dinghy inside, and after tying it up, walked along the narrow, cobblestoned streets looking for a little restaurant named Mexican Bulldog, that people on Navily and NoForeignLand had raved about.

We found it, and scored a table upstairs on a little balcony overlooking the street. The food was really good - different kinds of marinated meats, grilled with veggies and put into a wrap or bowl. We enjoyed our dinner while watching the goings-on in the busy street below. After dinner, we wandered around the town for awhile. It's a charming place.



We left Navpaktos after we finished our morning coffee. As soon as our anchor was up, I called the nearby Rion Bridge on VHF 14 to request passage through one of the three navigable lanes beneath the bridge. The bridge control operator asked for Awildian's mast height (23 meters), and based on that assigned us the north lane or, as he described it, "one pylon to starboard, three to port."



The Rion Bridge spans the narrow gap between the towns of Rion (or Rio), on the south shore, and Antirrion (Antirrio), on the north shore.



Two ferries that predate the building of the bridge still ply the water between the two towns, leaving on the hour and half hour. As we made our way to the bridge, and then under it, we watched out for the ferries as they crossed. It's like playing a slow-motion, real-life version of Pong.





Oct. 2-3, 2023
Ormos Oxia, Greece
38º20.190'N,21º07.228'E

We motored west along the Gulf of Patras (the same body of water that's called the Gulf of Corinth to the east of the Rion Bridge), until we reached the Ionian Sea. There we turned right (north) and headed for our next destination, an anchorage called Ormos Oxia, a small bay with a pretty sand beach that fronts the wetlands of the Achelous River.

Almost as soon as Obama was dug into the sandy bottom, I launched our kayak and paddled to shore, where I had a marvelous time walking along the sandy spit that separated the beach from the wetlands.








This translates to "keep the space clean"

Meanwhile, Eric took the opportunity to play his bass out loud while I wasn't around.


Leaving the anchorage the next morning, we discovered that the Achelous deposited sand much farther beyond the river's mouth, than our navigational charts would imply. Using the water color as our guide, we diverted farther and farther and farther away from land, before turning the corner and heading north, to make sure that we kept a good bit of water under Awildian's hulls.

Oct. 3-4, 2023
Kandilas/Mytikas, Greece
38º40.56'N,20º55.95'E

Our next overnight stop was an anchorage called Kandilas, near the town of Mytikas. Though we'd chosen this anchorage because it was in the right place for us, it also turned out to be very scenic - steep, granite mountains rising up just beyond the beach (like anchoring in Yosemite);



a tiny old church perched on the rocky shore;



herds of goats wandering the dry hillsides, their bells tinkling softly in the breeze - though there was also a fish farm in one end of the cove, for balance.




Oct. 4-9, 2023
Preveza anchorage, Greece
38º58.05'N,20º45.54'E


The anchorage at Preveza


A lone Greek fisherman

We like Preveza, and we had a great time, meeting new friends, enjoying time with current friends, stocking up on supplies, and looking for upcoming weather windows that we might take to Montenegro.

We met new friends when, one day, we decided to visit the people on the pretty, dark blue boat Elysia, that was flying an OCC burgee and was anchored at the edge of the anchorage. Jim & Mandy (from Scotland, with that lovely accent!) invited us aboard for coffee, and during our chat we learned that we have friends in common - fellow Scots Stuart and Anne from sv Time Bandit, whom we met in the South Pacific!

We had some nice meals with our friends from Porto Montenegro, Seb & Suzanne from sv Racoon 2, who have an annual contract in the Preveza Marina. We also ran into Dani & Renan, a young Israeli couple whom we also knew from Porto Montenegro. They were getting their boat, Romema, ready to be hauled out, so they could return to Israel. (Sadly, the war between Israel and Hamas began only days later, potentially putting a damper on their plans.)

Part 2: Preveza to Kerasiá


Key:
5=Preveza
6=Two Rocks Bay
7=Kerasiá



Oct. 9-10, 2023
Two Rocks Bay, Greece
39º12.641'N,20º29.508'E

While we were chatting with Dani & Renan, they'd suggested an anchorage a few hours north of Preveza, that we might like. Named Two Rocks Bay, it was absolutely gorgeous, with clear, turquoise water populated with colorful fish, surrounded by rocky cliffs topped by fragrant pines and a small tavern.


The "two rocks" of Two Rocks Bay

We wished we could stay longer than the one night we'd be able to, and we made a mental (and physical) note to try to stop in again when we weren't in as much of a hurry.




Oct. 10-12, 2023
Kerasiá, Greece (Corfu Island)
39º45.203'N,19º56.532'E

We left Two Rocks Bay in the morning, heading for the northeast coast of Corfu Island, planning to anchor there for a couple of days until we left for Tivat. We had a lovely motorsail, in the sunny weather, north along the mainland and into the Corfu Strait. Dolphins swam up ahead of us for awhile, and we were treated to a flock of flamingoes(!) flying overhead, their pink feathers glowing in the sunshine. The Strait was very busy with ferries going in all directions, but with our eyes and our AIS, we were able to stay well out of their way.

When we arrived at the anchorage we'd chosen, an indentation in the shoreline called Kaminakia, we had to skirt around a rocky shoal marked with a tower and a cardinal mark, before heading in toward the shore. The water stayed deep for a long way in, and when it was finally shallow enough for us to anchor, all I could see were weeds; none of the numerous sand patches that Navily users had reported. In fact, I saw no sand patches that were a comfortable distance from the rocky shore. Frown. This is always so annoying, especially after a long day of traveling.

After about fifteen minutes of "sniffing around" the anchorage, looking for (but not finding) suitable places to drop Obama, we decided to cut bait and head back down the island, checking out the anchorages that we'd passed on our way to Kaminakia. The first couple we deemed unsuitable as they were deep and choked with weeds, as was another one called Kerasiá. But what Kerasiá had, that the others didn't, was a small taverna on shore. And what this taverna had done was to install three mooring balls which, according to Navily, were free if the boaters visited the taverna. One was free, so we took it.

Later that day, Elysia came into the anchorage and dropped her anchor well out in the deep water (she's a big boat, with a deep draft). We coordinated with Jim & Mandy, and enjoyed dinner together in the taverna that night.



The next day, I put our kayak in the water and went exploring.



I had a nice time paddling along the shore, and then a really nice time walking in the woods.



I saw quite a few birds, including a coal tit (Periparus iter), a new bird for me.

On the way back, I stopped to say hello to the crew of the boat Bajan Blue, that was tied to one of the other mooring balls. From Australia, Donna, Keith, and their daughter, Alice, were also planning to spend the winter in the Bay of Kotor (Porto Novi Marina) and, like us, they were planning to leave the next morning. They joined us for sundowners aboard Awildian for our last night in Greece.




Oct. 12-13, 2023
Kerasiá, Greece (Corfu Island)
39º45.203'N,19º56.532'E
to
Porto Montenegro Marina, Tivat, Montenegro
42º26.154'N,18º41.540

Part 3: Kerasiá, Greece to Tivat, Montenegro


Key:
7=Kerasiá
8=Tivat

We left Kerasiá just after sunup on October 12, and started heading north, for a trip of about 24 hours. Not much wind was forecast, but what was there was, was from the south, which was convenient. During the day, the sun shone in a cloudless sky, turning the water a brilliant cerulean blue.


A passage sunset

At night, the stars were bright in the sky, and reflecting on the dark, silky water, where millions of bioluminescent critters created sparkling constellations of their own. Eric even had the treat of seeing several dolphins swimming and leaping in cascades of glittering bioluminescent light.

It was thrilling to turn the corner into the magnificent Bay of Kotor. Even after living for almost a year surrounded by this spectacular scenery, we never get tired of it. And now, it also feels like home.

It wasn't the distance that made this journey notable - we've done plenty of much longer, open-ocean passages - but rather the feeling that we needed to thread several needles of time (Schengen requirements and the schedule of the Corinth Canal, to name two) and weather (making sure that we didn't encounter autumn storms, the meltemi, or strong, contrary winds) making them all mesh in such a way that allowed us to get from Turkey to Porto Montenegro in a safe, legal, comfortable, and timely way.

And we'd done it! We'd threaded those needles. Three weeks and more than 700 miles after we left the Javelin anchorage in Turkey, to begin our journey back to Porto Montenegro, we were finally there. On the morning of October 13, we tucked Awildian into his winter berth (I05/07) at PM Marina, turned off the Things, and after a brief moment of disorientation at the sudden silence and the lack of motion, we basked in feelings of relief and accomplishment, ready to enjoy life as temporary residents of Montenegro for the next seven months.


Robert & Robyn enjoying being back home in Porto Montenegro