After an 8 day stopover in Messolonghi, Nigel had recovered from Covid and a dental emergency, the sail was returned to us professionally repaired, so all was looking good. We had made quite a few contacts in Messolonghi but none so helpful as Dimitris, proprietor of the marina bar/restaurant. There was nothing he could not help with as he had a brilliant network of really useful people at his fingertips.
Another fortuitous meeting was with two couples on boats in Messalonghi who were there to complete their application for temporary residence. They were most helpful in putting us in touch with the relevant police office where Mo is now corresponding with an aim to get her residency later in the year. This will avoid the limitations imposed by Brexit on the length of stay in the EU. One of the many downsides of the foolish policy.
Friday June 24th was leaving day and we sailed, well reefed in a lively force 5/6 on the beam, around to Limini Petalis to enjoy a night free at anchor. Oh what joy! From there we headed north to Kalamos for a couple of days. George is still very much in control there but he seems to have lost access to half the harbour, due to the influx of tripper boats. He showed how creative he could be mooring up dozens more extra boats where there seemed to be no room. Luckily it was a quiet night so no problem, but it could have been mayhem had there been a late night katabatic blast.
With temperatures rising, it became a priority to seek anchorages for swimming to keep cool. We spent time in Mitika, Varko, Spartakahori and Ithaka before heading across to Eufemia on Kefalonia. Always a pleasure to be welcomed by Makis the harbourmaster there. Over these last few day there was either no wind or too much which is quite frustrating. Keeping cool has definitely become a priority, but strong winds are building for later in the week as pay back for the hot and windless days just gone.
We are noticing a huge increase in the number of large motor boats everywhere, so that together with the catamarans is cluttering up the anchorages and harbours. We have met some lovely folk this year in various locations; Declan & Linda aboard Longshot, Andy & Sue aboard Polly and Adrian & Babs aboard Alchemia. Maybe our paths will cross again, we hope so.
Spartakahori, Vliho Bay, Port Athene, Vathi, Ithaca, Kefalonia all gave us shelter with some good lively sails in between. The best was a 30 mile trip from Sami to Vliho Bay which comprised a 10 mile beat north with a couple of reefs, in the notorious steep sided channel between Kefalonia and Ithaka and then a bouncy beam reach across from Kefalonia to Lefkas. That was definitely one way to become exhausted! We anchored in Vliho hopeful for a meal ashore, but it was not to be. The wind had not finished with us and a chunky evening katabatic blow set up in the bay throwing 30 knot gusts at us. Many boats dragged anchor, including ourselves which was a first in this Bay. We re-anchored successfully, but ate on board and sat up until the wind abated around midnight.
Funny how the first half of our trip was windless and now we have plenty!
We have tales of losing things this trip. First to go was a hatch cover, torn off in Varko Bay, never to be seen again! Next to fly was the cover to the sail peep hole on the bimini. It was ripped off in strong winds in Ithaka. We did search for that but to no avail, we are sure it found the bottom of the sea quite quickly! Mo left her hat on a wall in Eufemia and Nigel left a shirt on a beach chair in Vathi. Careless or what? Not sure what this says about us, but maybe it is time to go home and get some respite from the heat. We have found out though that we are returning to unseasonally high temperatures in the UK, so at least we will be acclimatized. We are back in Preveza as I write on 12th July; jobs to do, lift out Friday and a flight home the same evening. We have been dogged by a noisy seal on the propeller shaft which has been vibrating at high pitch most of our trip. It should not be doing this and does potentially represent a risk to the boat. We have arranged with the yard to inspect this on Thursday and hopefully by the time we get back in September it will be fixed.
So we finish on a high, jobs to be done in our absence, but we are due back at the end of August to sail in September and hopefully get Mo a residency permit that will allow us to stay here for more than that current 90 day allowance under Brexit rules. We are looking forward to seeing friends and family when we get home soon.
Deja Vu 
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