Messalonghi

After the beautiful stay at Kioni we made our way out of the Ionian and into the Gulf of Patras to the town of Messalonghi. We managed to sail most of the way but the wind strengthened as we approached the channel to enter the town so we were pleased to arrive. The entrance is lined with old fishermen’s shacks, many of which have been converted into holiday homes.

 

The marina has been fully developed and now charges to stay so we decided to anchor in 7 metres on thick mud. Soon after we arrived a fire broke out on the shore and quickly spread – the fire engines were called and it was soon under control.

The holding was very good and although the rain came down and the wind blew we managed to get a reasonable night’s sleep. The following day the forecast was for thunderstorms so we decided to stay put – we launched the dinghy and went ashore for some provisions and had lunch in the town. It really has a good feel to it once you get past the concrete exterior.

 

The following day the sun was shining and the forecast had changed from thunderstorms so we decided to risk the passage along the Gulf to Trizonia. For the first couple of hours we had a wonderful sail with the wind pretty much behind us. In the distance behind us we could see storm clouds building over the Southern Ionian and they seemed to be coming our way! We stowed the genoa, leaving up the main sail and motor sailed as fast as we could away from the storm. There was much thunder and lightning in the distance and as it approached, we were joined alongside by a massive Sunseeker Powerboat who was also running from the storm. It all still seemed pretty calm but Justin decided to take down the mainsail and continue under motor alone. Just as he was doing this the Sunseeker stopped suddenly within 200 metres of us and we wondered exactly what he was doing. Then the storm hit us out of nowhere!  We have never been in a squall like this before. Justin had just got the main down and returned to the cockpit when the rain came down and we were hit with 40 knot winds across the beam. It was just like being on a film set. The Sunseeker disappeared from sight and we really struggled to get the boat into the wind. We managed it eventually and just sat it out – you could see the storm on the radar, a solid block of yellow some 6 miles across and we were right in the centre!. We were OK but what was really frightening was that we couldn’t see the Sunseeker or the two ferries which had also stopped and were sounding their horns continuously! Anyway it went almost a quickly as it arrived and within an hour we returned to our course and gingerly motored after the storm. What an experience – not to be repeated in a hurry we hope! Never mind, Belle Helene coped brilliantly and no one got hurt!

The sun soon came out and we motored under the bridge linking the mainland and the Peloponnese and made our way to the island of Trizonia.

 

What a lovely spot. There is a small harbour to the North of the island where many yachts are left by their owners over the winter period. As you can see from the photos, some fair better than others!

  

We took a stroll into the small village and had a beer in this fantastic waterside taverna – very ‘Shirley Valentine’!

  

We checked the forecast and decided to head for Itea the following day for our visit to Delphi……

Kioni

From Sami we sailed some and motored some around the base of Cephalonia and up the east coast of Ithaca to a little harbour called Kioni. About 5 miles from Kioni we had a slight crisis as the alternator warning on the engine panel sounded. No panic though Justin simply got out his tools and fixed it, he didn’t even have to phone Gramps for help – amazing he’s now my hero!

Kioni is an idyllic little spot with room for about 20 boats on the town quay, and a harbour wall on the other side with nasty rocks in front of it. Boats can anchor in front of the rocks as long as they take a long line ashore to the wall. We had managed to secure ourselves on one of the last spots on the town quay, and had walked round to the other side. We saw several boats trying to get moored on the rocky side and came perilously close to running aground. After watching this for some time Justin ended up diving in to the water and swimming to bring their lines ashore, as they were obviously getting into difficulty. It was very funny really, and the people were very grateful – although why they couldn’t have swum ashore with a line beats me! Anyway Justin is now their hero too, and they gave him some beers as a ‘thank you’. (always very welcome!). We ended up having a couple of nights in Kioni and thoroughly enjoyed watching the comings and goings. At one point there must have been about 50 yachts trying to squeeze into 20 places; a flotilla arrived and rafted up 8 boats deep on the end of the peer – amazing!

Justin also found time to wash the decks and get his tools out again and extended the gang plank!

We will be sorry to leave the Ionian, it is a fabulous place and we have only scratched the surface, but we must start heading towards the Gulf of Corinth and the canal. We will definitely be back though – so tomorrow Messalonghi on the mainland and the gulf of Patras!…….

Sami

After leaving the beautiful town of Fiskardho we made our way South along the coast to the town of Sami.

The town was very badly damaged during the earthquake in 1953 and a bit of a frontier town feel to the way it has been rebuilt. Nearby there are some spectacular caves and we cycled to the closest one and had a boat ride on an underground lake.

 

We spent a couple of nights in Sami because strong winds were forecast and made friends with Mike and Annie on ‘Kandeed’, the boat moored next door. Annie had to fly home to attend a course, so we invited Mike on board for supper and he told us about a place in Crete where he intends to winter. It sounds great, and is certainly something we are considering. We have emailed them to enquire if they have a berth and to get a quote. It would be great to stay in Greece, an EU country, especially as Turkey is in the process of changing all of its visa regulations so that you can only stay for 90 days.

 

Whilst in Sami, Justin did a few jobs, cleaning the sticky stuff off the dinghy where the UV had started to degrade the rubber, Mike had given him the tip of using acetone which really did the trick. We also invested in some springs for the mooring lines to stop the ‘snatching’ as the wash from the ferries rocks the boat about. Helen did some washing and put it all out to dry on coat hangers on deck. A large gust blew her favourite t-shirt into the water and it quickly sank! Justin was sent into the water again to retrieve it!

We went for a walk and Helen managed to find some ruins although they weren’t very spectacular!

We also saw this amazing super yacht again, having first seen it in Paxos. Apparently it has a famous designer and cost over 60 million Euros. Note the other fantastic design icons in the foreground! Oh to have some gears though!

Fiskardho on Cephalonia

After leaving ‘rat bay’ we came through the straits of Meganissi, a beautiful channel between Lefkas and Meganissi, heading towards Cephalonia. The wind picked up to slightly more than a stiff breeze and we enjoyed a cracking sail to the port of Fiskardho.

 

We managed to find a great mooring on the town quay in this beautiful town where captain Corelli’s Mandolin was filmed. It is the only town which wasn’t destroyed during the earthquake of 1953. What a spot! During the day there was much commotion on the quayside as boats were moved to try to make space for a 50 metre superyacht which had engine trouble.

We decided to treat ourselves to a meal ashore and enjoyed a cocktail on the balcony of ‘Theodora’s Bar’ before eating traditional Greek food at a restaurant on the quayside. A brilliant evening.

The following morning we took a stroll around the headland to the Venetian lighthouse and the ruins of a Norman Church. Fiskardho really is a beautiful place, one of the nicest places we have visited so far.

Tomorrow Ithaca – Homeland of Odysseus!…..