July 2009

Anne joins us

On Wednesday 17 June we motored the 9 miles from our anchorage on Salamis to Zea Marina, adjacent to the port of Piraeus. The shortest route was straight through the ship anchorage, where dozens of ships of all types were waiting their turn to enter the port. We had to be alert to the possibility that any of them might get under way, and that we would have to take avoiding action. Notwithstanding the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (usually known simply as "the Collision Regs"), it is virtually unknown for big vessels to give way to little ones, no matter who theoretically has right of way. In most cases it's not because they can't, though this is true of very big vessels like supertankers, but just because the Law of the Jungle rules, and the biggest and fastest always wins.

We had to pay a lot for the privilege of squeezing into a tight berth in this posh marina on the doorstep of Athens, then hurried off by bus to meet Anne from the train. We decided that Anne ought to have the opportunity of a visit to the centre of Athens before we left Zea, so next day she and Kay spent the morning in town. While they were gone, Peter got the weather forecasts from the Internet, filled the water tanks and made two trips to the supermarket, returning heavily-laden with food and drink for several days.

Through the Canal

Shortly after midday, the boat was ready for sea, the ladies were back on board, and we set off for the anchorage on Salamis. On this trip we actually managed to sail for two of the three hours. Next day it was time for the big adventure of going through the Corinth Canal. This has the reputation of being the most expensive canal per kilometre in the world, setting us back a princely 125 Euros for the 3.2 mile, 35-minute transit. As there was no commercial traffic passing through with us, the passage was quite uneventful, and the experience was much better than we had expected. One odd effect was that, because the strata of the rock through which the canal is cut sloped down away from us, we had the impression of going uphill. It was also impressive for the amount of digging involved: the tops of the walls are 76 metres (250 feet) above water level at their highest point.

In the Windy Gulf

On leaving the canal and arriving in the Gulf of Corinth, we decided to head for an anchorage on the north side of the gulf. This turned out to be an uncomfortable ride, motoring into the wind and waves, and we had to visit a number of supposed anchorages before we found one which offered suitable shelter. The water here, in Ormos Vathi, was the warmest we had swum in so far this year, and we spent an extra day here relaxing before moving further into the gulf.

On 21 June we continued westwards, to the little town of Andikiron. On this day we managed to sail for just over an hour, but had to motor most of the way because the wind was on the nose, as usual, and whichever tack we were on, we didn't seem to be getting much closer to our destination. Although Wild Thyme sails well on most points of sailing, she just doesn't sail very close to the wind. This day was notable because it was the last time we used the sails during Anne's "sailing holiday".

Our next port of call was Itea, where we met the same Port Policeman we had met in August 2006, and had to endure the same pantomime of getting our papers checked that we had then. The main reason for stopping there was to take Anne to Delphi, which was nearly as good on the second visit, especially some of the exhibits in the museum.

While we were at Itea, the Greek National Optimist Championships started. There were over 300 of these boats, only 8 feet long, all sailed by youngsters no older than 15 in very windy and rough conditions. Many retired because of the conditions, but it was amazing to see them out there at all, and most of them coping very well, while we sat in the shelter of the harbour.

When we moved on again after 3 nights there, it was for a short hop across the bay to Galaxidhi for 2 nights, then back into the gulf and westwards again. We had hoped to get to the island of Trizonia, but by midday we were motoring into a Force 6 and accompanying waves, and decided to put into an anchorage 4 miles short. In the afternoon we had to put up with noisy "Thump-a-Bump" disco noise from a bar on the beach, and were relieved when it stopped in the evening and allowed us to sleep. Next day we started early and arrived at Trizonia before the wind got going.

We were at Trizonia for 8 nights. During this time we visited the nearby town of Navpaktos twice, the second time to see Anne off on the bus for Athens. Otherwise we did a few jobs, went for walks on the island, swam, socialised a bit, and just relaxed. The most remarkable occurrence was when we went shopping on the mainland. Terina, the lady from Orca, the boat next-door, found that she had dropped a €50 note on the way to the shop. As it was very windy, she didn't hold out much hope of finding it, but we went back to help her look for it anyway. P found it lying in the middle of the road, and was generously plied with gin and tonic aboard Orca that evening!

Escape from the Windy Gulf

They say that ships and men rot in harbour. In the case of the men, it's probably because of the availability of women and alcohol. However, harbour-rot also affects women, and small boats well-stocked with booze. Still, when the wind is blowing hard from the direction you want to go, there's not a lot you can do about it. Even a pleasant place like Trizonia starts to feel like a prison after a while. Finally, on 6 July, the weather forecast offered us a chance to escape from the strong westerlies which had pinned us in Trizonia for a week. We slipped out early and motored the 37 miles to Messolonghi. Having looked forward to getting out of the Aegean, we were just as relieved to get out of the Gulf of Corinth. We spent 3 nights at Messolonghi, checking out the arrangements for Jenny to join us there in September, and doing various jobs around the boat. We also hosted pre-dinner drinks one evening, when the crews of 3 other boats, including CA members Dave Beane and his partner Sarah, crammed into the cockpit with us.

And into the Ionian

Our schedule at this point required us to get to Corfu, about 110 miles to the north, in time to meet Graham, who was coming out a week later to spend a few days with us. We anchored first in a lovely sheltered bay called Pandelimon, which was only spoilt by an excess of wasps. Next day we moved on to Vlikho Bay on the island of Levkas, enjoying 3 hours of good sailing on the way, the first for nearly 3 weeks! Now that we were in the popular part of the Ionian, the number of boats increased dramatically, as we were now within easy reach of the flotilla and charter fleet bases. Nevertheless, we found a big space to ourselves to anchor in Vlikho, and passed a peaceful night there.

Next morning, 11 July, we had a pleasant surprise when we found Geoff and Sue on Helios anchored nearby as we headed out of the bay. We had spent the winter with them in Kalamata in 2006/7, and stopped for a chat before continuing on our way. We moved north again and through the Levkas Canal (no charge, though they have to stop the traffic and open the swing bridge every hour to let boats through). Once out at sea we had 45 minutes' good sailing before entering the dredged channel to Preveza.

In the Gulf of Amvrakia

Passing Preveza, we continued into the Gulf of Amvrakia. We managed another 50 minutes' sailing before heading for the anchorage near Vonitsa, where we had spent a lot of time in July 2006.

We were delighted to find ourselves anchored next to David and Janet on Nanablu, whom we had met at Dhiaporos in the north Aegean in 2007. Naturally we got together for drinks that evening and exchanged news. The following day we left the anchorage with the intention of moving back to Preveza, but were put off by the size of the waves outside in the gulf. Having worked out that we had enough provisions to last another day, we returned to the anchorage. We were joined in the anchorage by Peter and Bridget on White Rose, who had been at Marmaris with us, and we visited them for tea in the afternoon.

We had anchored close to the western shore to shelter from the strong westerly wind, but in the evening the wind turned and we found ourselves in dangerously shallow water. We weighed anchor and moved across the bay to a safer spot, just before it got dark. This supposedly idyllic lifestyle is not entirely trouble-free!

On 1 July we really did move to Preveza, where we shopped, connected to the Internet, filled up with water, and K did some laundry. We had to endure a lot of noise from cafés on the town quay, and were glad to leave next morning and head back out to sea.

And back into the Ionian

As there was no wind, we motored 29 miles north to an anchorage at Ormos Ay Ioannou, a peaceful spot which we shared with one other boat and a lot of wasps.