We rented a car and collected our young visitors, Thomas and Ben, from the airport near Argostoli on Kefalonia and this gave us the chance to visit the island’s south and south west coast as well as traversing the huge mountain range that forms the backbone of the island. It was a good trip and we enjoyed swimming off a south coast beach, which made a change from swimming off the boat!
A post exam holiday for Thomas and Ben, our (great) nephews, the week beginning 5th July was to be one of the hottest. Daily temperatures ranged from 30-35 degrees C and for the first five days there was little wind, just light afternoon sea breezes to bring some mild relief. The only solution was to hit the water, regularly, and this set the pattern for Thomas and Ben’s holiday.
From Kefalonia we visited the islands of Ithaca, Kalymnos, Meganissi and finally Lefkas, stopping also on the mainland coast at Palairos and Kefali.
We stopped regularly in a variety of superb anchorages where the water was crystal clear and a beautiful blue. Swimming was fantastic and lots of fun. It was very busy everywhere but we managed to overnight in small village ports or stayed on anchor in a bay. We enjoyed some meals ashore and some cooked on board.
Thomas and Ben enjoyed our stay at Spartakahori, courtesy of Greek host Babis, as they had the opportunity to climb to the village high up on the cliff and have a drink overlooking the Ionian inland sea.
Wednesday 10th July started with little wind so we dropped them off in Nidri for a fix of town crawling before they rejoined us in Vliho Bay where we had anchored in a freshening wind.
We were well anchored but not so for another boat. Picture the scene. It was 8pm, Mo was taking a shower down below, Nigel and Ben were preparing food for supper in the galley, Thomas was in the cockpit reading. There was an almighty crash and another boat had dragged its anchor, wrapping itself around our bow. All hands to the scene and we managed to prise him away and then we looked at the damage. We sustained mostly superficial gel coat scrapes and scratches, he was worse off. Nigel went to help him re-anchor and exchange details for an insurance claim!
Indeed we had a storm that night with plenty of lightning and wind. Thomas and Ben were a little non-plussed to have their phones placed firmly in the oven, our on board Faraday’s cage! Needless to say a sleepless night ensued for Mo and Nigel as they managed an anchor watch, fearful for a repeat performance of dragging anchors. At 3 am there were three boats circling the bay trying to re-anchor, fortunately we stayed firmly put thanks to Mr. Manson (our anchor).
It was properly windy on Thursday and finally Thomas and Ben enjoyed a proper sail. We did reef the main and the jib as we were on a beat, but still managed over 7 knots as they took it in turns to do the helming and the winching. All of a sudden sailing wasn’t all loafing around sunning yourself, it’s quite hard work!
We ended up in Lefkas Marina and were treated to a lovely Greek meal in the town before Thomas and Ben headed off for the airport on Friday. We had a great time with them and the week together gave us a good opportunity to get to know them both better. They acqitted themselves well and passed out with beginner’s crewing skills. Ben had taken a keen interest in knot tying, but he did have a favourite that he excelled at.
We sailed north in a very bumpy sea but had a great reach, cracking 8 knots. We now have a few days ahead to clean up, lift out, cover up and get ready for our return home Wednesday 17th July.
Deja Vu 
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