Before recounting the tales of our first week on board Déjà vu this season, it seems a good idea just to remind all readers that, as I write, it is 13th May and we are in Greece, at a latitude of 37 degrees north, on the west coast of the Peloponnese, in the small town harbour of Kiparissia. It is just after noon and the temperature, under a dark cloud-clad sky and in a brisk and cool southerly breeze, with rain just starting, is 15 degrees. It should be 25 and blue skies. This unusually bad weather has actually been the pattern since we launched Déjà Vu on Monday 8th May. It appears that the jet stream has flipped a long way south and is now firing a succession of depressions into Greece instead of the usual track which is further north. Until this shifts back then we may be destined to experience weather a bit like the UK! Not what we came to Greece for. It has been unsettled for a long time and the sea temperature is well down on the normal levels.
Since we got off the plane we have worked non-stop to prepare for our launch. The first day was so wet we had to paddle in mud across the boat yard to get supplies and use the shore facilities.
It was a joy when the second day dawned dry with some sunshine so that we could prepare surfaces for anti-fouling and wash the dusty decks. Even though we were well clad with protective clothing, it still was not possible to escape rings of toxic black dust around goggles and masks. Much showering was required afterwards. Then anti-fouling, then hull polishing making use of the 3 level staging provided for the task.
(Mo looked the same)
It was noticeable that Mo was flagging with these jobs, her usual energy levels sadly depleted as there were frequent needs to sit on the tiny stool under the boat to recharge! It turned out that she was Covid positive, but stoically carried on working during the day and crashing in the evenings. Nigel departed to the fore cabin to sleep and we both kept well away from others until Mo began to feel better. It has been a great relief that Nigel did not succumb to the same fate. Jobs done in spite of everything, we launched on 8th May and headed south.
Great to be afloat and sailing in moderate winds we made Sivota on the south coast of Lefkas where we were warmly greeted by the regular faces on Stavros’, pontoon and there we had our first grilled fish of 2023.
With our intention to get to Athens by the end of May we could not linger and so travelled south to Kefalonia, an overnight stop in Efemia and then on another 30 miles to Zakinthos. Great beam winds but an ugly sea greeted us off the bottom of Kefalonia which made for an uncomfortable ride to Port Zakinthos three quarters of the way down the island on the East facing coast. Uncomfortable although it was the journey was quick with the boat surfing along at over 8 knots for nearly three hours. Hooray for us, it was a new port of entry. We tied up stern to on the north east harbour wall, ably assisted by the local wide gang who gave us forms and took our money. It all seemed to work out well after Nigel had renegotiated the harbour fees to a more sensible level!
The sun came out at last for an enjoyable evening strolling the streets of Zante town, seeing the church of St Nicholas where we were invited to light a candle and make a wish. We are sure to have made the same wish for fair winds and safe sailing as we were peering at forecasts telling of storms and gloom ahead! Pretty back streets, it was an enjoyable visit and we were pleased not to have encountered the lager lout clientele for which this town is infamous. It was obviously too early in the season, too cool, too cloudy and too wet!
On the move again the next day, feeling somewhat jaded when greeted again with 22 knot winds in the harbour. Lifejackets on, we were prepared and set off with a reef in each sail. It didn’t last long and we were becalmed after an hour and had to motor across to Katakolon for our overnight stop on the north coast of the Peloponnese. It was a gloomy and cold day with poor visibility. Katakolon is famously the gateway to Olympia, as this port accommodates huge ocean liners disgorging thousands into the tiny pop up settlement that exists only to serve the tourists. At night when the ships are gone, it takes on the form of a ghost town. Having said that we made the climb up the hill to a bar that had a sublime view out across the harbour into the bay. It was worth the effort. We were moored near another British couple who now live in Weymouth, but had spent many years living in Farnham, Ann from Broomleaf Road and Paul from Crondall Lane! We had a vague sense of Déjà vu about having met them before but couldn’t put a finger on it. We did establish we had mutual friends and acquaintances; always a small world.
Needing to get further south we left Katakolon for Kiparissia , a further 30 miles in the right direction. Once again the wind died on us after an hour of good sailing and we ended up motoring the remainder of the journey. At least this gave us hot water and full batteries. We arrived to be greeted by a couple, Bob and Andrea whom we had met in Zakinthos, and we moored up next to them, ready for a stay here of probably 4 days.
Kiparissia harbour is a reasonable size, quiet and underdeveloped which gives it a certain charm. Most importantly it is sheltered from weather coming from the south. Water is available if we join 2 or 3 hoses together but no shore power so we will rely on our solar power, which if current cloudy conditions persist may be a challenge! We were visited by the most entertaining harbour master soon after we arrived to whom we were happy to pay our harbour dues in return for his inimitable sense of humour. There is big reconstruction of the harbour wall going on and round and about there are long beaches. It is much too cool to be remotely interested in swimming though! The normal working town sits atop the hill and is busy, full of shops, so we will not be lacking in supplies. The forecasts ahead are unbelievably disappointing and will keep us here a while. Strong south easterly winds will blow until next Tuesday so we are making preparations here to be as safe as possible; it will certainly be exciting and we may not get much sleep; but we are in a harbour along with several other sailors of the same intent, and we are all fortunate to have some shelter. We have done about 150 miles so far, averaging a speed of 5/6 knots. We have a rendezvous planned in Pylos, the next port another 30 miles south for May 18th; 5 days hence, where our sailing friend Peter is joining us for the next exciting installment of our ‘Round the Peloponnese’ trip.
Deja Vu 
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