Made our way across the short stretch of water from Sarande in Albania to the first port of entry into Greece. Corfu! Jacqui and I were here last year except going the other way and there were very few tourists around. Covid! Now the place is packed.

We stopped outside of the port and got checked into Greece and then around to the bay where it was easy access to shore and the old town. Had to say goodbye to Kevin and Cathy after their 4 weeks with us as we came down the coast. Dropped them off first thing in the morning with no loss of bags over or wet feet and I am sure Kevin was relieved to have his feet on firm ground permanently.

Headed down to Notos beach after Pete and Deb picked up their guests for the week. Notos beach was very quiet and turned into a good stop for swimming and dinner at the local Taverna. Jacs and I walked into Petriti for some groceries and found the trail back which turned our 45 minute walk there into a 10 minute walk back. Insert more swimming from the boat. Water has been like bath water since we have been here. Have not seen a drop of rain and it has been 30 plus degrees the whole time.

Checked out a small bay on the mainland side which turned into a wasps nest. Spent the one night there and came back to Corfu. Pete and Deb needed to get into the Gouvia Marina and we anchored outside the marina. We had to say goodbye to them so that they could head back to England for a funeral. They will leave their boat in the marina and come back after a week or so and start doing some much needed repairs. Unfortunately we won’t be sailing with them again this season but will pick it up again beginning of next season.

We came back down again to Notos but instead anchored outside of Petriti before heading over to Plataria. What we didn’t realize is that there was a one day festival going on that went on until 5 in the morning. The music sounded like folk music. Next stop was Lakka where we had stopped last year which is a very busy anchorage. Even last year with Covid we were on the outside but this year we got a better spot but it still turned out to be a very busy anchorage.

Mongonissi was a better anchorage, very quiet until later in the day when all the charter boats start showing up. We anchored for the afternoon and then thought we better get a spot for the stern-to tie-up. We have only done this a couple other times but managed a pretty good tie-up this time. Swam out and released the lines from the rocks in the morning and got pulled back to the boat. Great way to start the day.

Parga next, busy anchorage as the day went on with all the tourist boats pulling tubes and water skiers very close to the boat. A few para-gliders as well. Took a trip up the castle which is in ruins. Thankfully didn’t have to pay. Very nice little town and well worth another visit.

From there it was Preveza where we stopped for 4 days. The stern-to with the anchor was done very well. Had every link of chain go down (80 metres) and just made it to the dock. Pulled up a couple metres to make it tight. Did the oil change on the boat. Pump out all the old oil. Change the filters, and the impeller. Bleed the fuel, start it up and it ran like a charm. Job well done!

Caught up with some new found kiwi friends Dave and Di on board a 40 ft Sun Odyssey “Mon Iles”. Jacs and I set off for a fort explore but didn’t find anything other than some abandoned fortresses that were closed to the public. Good walk though.

Stayed an extra couple days while Helen found a dentist. One of the problems with travelling like this is that you need to be able to seek out medical/dental facilities in a strange environment. Figured we could spend a few days away from the town quay as it was stinking hot having the boat stern-to tied to the dock with no breeze. We will have to come back here in a few days for the follow up appointment.

Set out for the Lefkas Canal and the anchorages on the other side. After getting through the Lefkas canal the worst of the worst happened … the engine failed. Well I guess it could have been worse. We could have been in the canal. Hoisted the sails while we figured out what went wrong. Turns out the glass bowl on the diesel fuel filter smashed. Glass everywhere and thankfully the fuel stopped pumping through as the engine just died. Only had a small amount of fuel in the bilge. Asked a couple of passers by where we could anchor the boat under sail and headed towards Nydri. As we were going Mike flagged down a passing motor boat and he agreed to a tow. Dropped the anchor and disaster was avoided. Mike and I hopped in the dinghy and found the chandlery that had a replacement fuel filter. Future is going to be looking a bit different. Spares for everything. The fuel filter probably broke because of over-tensioning.

So, we have a new fuel filter installed. Engine is humming along and we get to enjoy a couple days here in Nydri.

Back to Preveza for a 2 prong visit.

1) so Lenny could get to her next dental appointment and

2) to pick up our next guest, Nicole. Nicole had been spending time with her friends around Croatia, Montenegro and Albania and after some delays we got to enjoy her company for a few days in Greece.

As we were waiting for Nic to arrive a storm rocked through and started tossing boats around. One of the boats had pulled up someone else’s anchor and in trying to free it using the dinghy the guy in the dinghy was knocked into the water. He managed to swim to shore and we helped him onto the dock. Quite entertaining and could have been a disaster.

Mike and Helen decided that they would stay in Preveza until Lenny’s next appointment. So with Nic in hand we headed back through the Lefkas canal. Becoming quite the experts in navigating this canal. Found a good anchorage that would protect us in the Northernly. Fun time swatting wasps and swimming. Nic certainly enjoyed herself swimming taking full advantage of it.

Had trouble with the windlass quitting and then starting again. Never under load and was not consistent in the times when it would quit. Came back in Nydri and the windlass quit again but this time it would not start again. so we had to throw the anchor over. And when I say throw it over that is literally what happened. Get 40 metres onto the deck and then just throw it over the bowsprit. Figured it had to be the remote so Jac’s went into the chandlery and picked up another one. Got it installed and it worked fine.

Had to decide on a place where we could get Nic onto a plane for her flight out of Athens so decided on Sami. Before we got to Sami we stopped over at Ormos Antisamos. Clear water anchorage and again went to put the anchor down and the windlass quit … again! Threw the anchor over and thought we would be bringing it up by hand but it came up okay.

Got to Sami and it was a nice stop over with more cats than we care to discuss. Jacqui and Nic got their cat fixes in.

Said goodbye to Nicole such a fleeting visiting hope we packed in enough to have some good memories, you are welcome back anytime a delight to have on board. Jacqui and I headed for Agia Efimia where we had arranged to meet up with Mike and Helen again. They managed to thumb a ride down with the new found Kiwi friends Dave and Di.

When we go to set the anchor the windlass crapped out again. Threw the anchor down in the little bay so we could diagnose what was happening, nothing like going back to the manual anchoring techniques and always a way around the mod cons that fail now and again, but our anchor is 33kg Rockna it would have taken Noel and I both to haul that sucker up and assure you the muscles would be feeling it, luckily Noel figured out a wire was shorting out on the bolts holding the windlass in place. Insulation had burned through and the bare wire was touching the bolt. That’s why the problem was so sporadic. Fixed wire and did our stern-to onto the dock. Problem solved! Love it when you can get a win and it doesn’t cost anything. Stayed on the dock as a storm passed over. Our first bit of rain in quite some time.

We have Mike and Helen back with us now and we will be heading toward the Gulf of Corinth in order to go through the canal. Looking forward to that.

We have one more guest due to visit towards the end of September, note to Michelle you had better get on that booking, Nik went away feeling 5 years younger so I can guarantee for us it takes 20 years off, ha!