Jib on, water filled, shopping stowed, decks clean, we were finally ready for the off. We left Cleopatra Marina soon after 10am on Saturday 29th August. We aimed to catch the 12 noon bridge opening at the north end of the Lefkas canal, so with plenty of time to spare to cover the six miles south, we played around with the sails, more to reacclimatise ourselves with ‘the ropes’ than anything else.
Our canal transit went well until we reached the southern end of the canal when a barrage of police launches declared the canal closed. We had no option but to turn around and retrace out steps. We learned third hand that there was a burst water main under the channel and various vessels were being deployed to fix it.
We contemplated and rejected the idea of a stop in Lefkas Marina and then rapidly assessed the logistics of sailing the full length of Lefkas on the west side. Whereas this had some considerable appeal, because we had not done it before, we decided against setting out on a 25 or 30 mile trip that late in the day. Instead we had a racy fast sail, with the boat, and us, enjoying quite a gallop back to Preveza. We dropped anchor in a 25 knot breeze in Hospital Bay, cooked on board and settled down for an early night with the promise of an early start to do the long sail around Lefkas the next day.
Mo established that the local police knew what was going on with the canal and an early call to them about 8am Sunday morning revealed that the canal was indeed open.
We left Preveza again, transited the canal and sailed to the lovely Varka beach on the south mainland coast in the inland sea. That first swim was magic!
We spent our first couple of days anchored here, enjoying perfect calm mornings. The afternoons threw in the brisk afternoon breeze and unfortunately a chaotic combination of sea breeze and katabatic winds off the steep mountain sides that towered above us, gave for bouncy nights. Always a good plan to invest in a good anchor. Our Mr. Manson, as we call him, looked after us well. Others were not so fortunate and a couple of boats in the same anchorage had to have a few attempts at getting a firm hold. We did however manage a BBQ on the back of the boat during a respite in the wind. We were lucky!
We moved on to Nidri, staying overnight on the IBA pontoon, to do a couple of minor repairs and to reclaim Mo’s residency permit, that was, at last, ready to collect. It was a pleasant stop. We enjoyed the reciprocal relationship the IBA had with an adjacent hotel to use their pool and bar, and we were recommended to eat out at Ola Kala restaurant. Here the friendly Albanian George delivered a first class Greek meal in what we felt to be safe and hygienic surroundings.
Repairs done, fresh bread bought, we sailed across the north coast of Meganissi to Port Atheni. This is a sheltered inlet and usually quite quiet. We had to be creative with our choice of anchorage but we did well and fitted in safely with the other several boats just before the excitement of the afternoon sea breeze. The high temperatures we are getting, well over 30degrees, seem to intensify the sea breeze, so it is always exciting and a good test for the anchor hold. Mr. Manson did well again.
The forecast ahead for the next two days was not so good with particularly strong NW winds promised, so we called ahead to Sivota and booked ourselves a berth on Stavros’ pontoon. We had a delightful goose wing sail down the east coast of Meganissi then headed west to sail only 6 miles to Sivota on Lefkas. The wind soon died, although we were expecting a F4/5.
Looking south through the binoculars we could see the wall of sea with white horses behind heading our way. We did not have long to wait! At the same time we got involved rather peripherally with a distress call some 7 miles to the south. A yacht had had engine failure and a close to German yacht offered to assist by heading to the nearby stricken yacht. We questioned all the anomalies of why the yacht was not sailing, but were soon out of range to catch the dialogue. It did become clear however that the German yacht developed difficulties of its own and could not attend. The next event was a DSC Mayday. We relayed this to Olympia radio who alerted the Hellenic coastguard and there our involvement ceased. We were, by this time, in the teeth of the F5, so we motored into Sivota for some welcome shelter. It is never fun mooring up in 30 knots, but Nigel did a superb job and with the careful assistance of the Stavros crew, we tied up safely. Here we are!
It is one of our favourite villages on Lefkas and as I write this is our secondday here and the wind is still howling. Tomorrow is Saturday 5th September and promises a return to calmer winds, so we may set off then to go further south.
There is no doubt that we are in a bubble on our boat, self contained for most of the time. Our excursions out are cautious, shopping is minimal and we avoid bars with more than a couple of people in. We are outside anyway all of the time. The locals are very friendly and welcoming behind their masks and we do want to try and support their economy and enjoy some good Greek cuisine, which we are doing. This week we have been aware of a lot of charter boats, more than we expected, perhaps all the sailors feel that this is a good way to have a holiday in these times.
Deja Vu 
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