Our friends Brian and Michele arrived late on Monday 15th September, but they did not take long unpacking and settling into Greek life aboard Deja Vu. They have sailed with us many times and have given us unstinting help with pre-launch chores on more than one occasion, so they know their way around the boat.

We set off early the next day and had our first excitement unwrapping our anchor from our Italian neighbours, who had laid across our anchor when mooring up. After our unsuccessful efforts to shake their anchor, the Italians had to ship lines and come out to raise their anchor to free ours. Just as well we started early as we were later leaving than planned!

Modest sailing and some motoring took us to Poros for a pleasant overnight stay then choices presented to weather the next couple of days in shelter from some strong Easterly winds forecast. Decision making was tricky, but ultimately Ithaca prevailed and we moored on the north quay in Big Vathi for 2 nights. We explored the town together and managed a hard won BBQ on the quay just as the wind came up to make it difficult.

We enjoyed their good company and the time flew by visiting Sivota, Vliho and Port Athene before heading off to Paleros from where they disembarked for a taxi ride to the airport and home. The advantage of Paleros was avoiding delays at the Levkas Bridge. Actually the refurbished floating bridge had been towed back to Levkas the day before and was quickly reinstated. Paleros below in evening light, the sunset and the interesting wall art we discovered on the town walls.

Our final week took us to Varko and Porto Spilia where we enjoyed Babis’ hospitality although we were shocked to find there are now harbour charges due to the local authority! Babis was complaining that it was his lazy lines and his water and electricity but they didn’t give him any of the money. Nigel celebrated his birthday in the sunshine with a lovely swim, a beer or two and a hard walk up to Spartakori to get Peter H his Greek mugs. Happy Birthday Nigel!

The weather was in decline and storms forecast ahead so we booked into Cleopatra Marina for a couple of nights prior to lifting out. The storm came through early and we took shelter in Varko Bay which was fine apart from the late arrival of a charter catamaran whose anchoring technique was very suspect. This resulted in us both being awake at 3am when the winds came up, swinging very close to each other. Fortunately we did not hit and in the morning we both left.

We had chosen to delay our trip north due to strong winds that were forecast, but rain also entered the equation. The forecast was for the rain to end by midday, so we delayed to the 2pm bridge opening. The trip up to the bridge ended up being very wet and windy, fortunately from behind us. Full wet gear was needed along with lifejackets. North of the Bridge the wind was most fickle, gusting from nothing to 20kt and back again, and shifting direction by 45 degrees frequently. This was a measure of the unsettled weather we were in. Fortunately the berth we were allocated in Cleopatra marina was sheltered and we were grateful to get out of the torrential rain that had been falling. Happy to be moored up in Cleopatra Marina just prior to our lift out on 30th September.

We have sailed about 1200 miles this season, a record for our time in Greece and we have had pretty good weather right up until the last few days, so we are not complaining.

October 2^nd and stormy skies over the yard as we set about the laying up jobs . Biblical rain and strong winds lashed the boat all night  and by morning the yard was awash. The cover was due to be put on and it was touch and go in between rainbows, showers and sunny intervals to get it on in time, but we made it with plenty of hired help!

October 3^rd we set off after lunch, in the rain, for our road trip to explore the southern flank of the Pindus mountains.  We took the easy route on the motorway to Ioannina where we had reserved some boutique accommodation.

We stayed just beside the lake and the castle walls, it was a great central location and enabled us to explore the old town streets with our umbrella to hand! Plenty of cafés to amuse us and we enjoyed a lucky find of a rather nice restaurant close to our hotel.

Next day was much brighter and we continued on our motorway route, retracing our steps to Meteora before dropping down to Trikala which was to be our springboard into the southern Pindus mountains.

It was serendipitous that we booked a hotel in an outlying village in the mountains, en-route to the ski area. We were away from the town and found ourselves surrounded by stunning scenery.

Elati was an interesting mountain village, where life seemed based entirely on subsistence and simplicity, which was refreshing and humbling. The recommended restaurant was very good and the atmosphere in the town was great. The main product on sale was the most delicious local honey! Elati images below.

We had to return to the boat on the next day, Sunday, and the real tour began as we took the A905 route across the backbone of this part of the Greek mainland.  It was challenging driving for Nigel with fast rising roads, plenty of hairpin bends, debris on the road from landslips almost everywhere, yet nevertheless moderately good road surfaces most of the way (Surrey residents eat your hearts out). The scenery along the whole route was absolutely stunning and well worth visiting.

All in all we travelled nearly 500km in 2 days and we feel blessed to have experienced the wondrous scenery, occasional mountain villages and the wonderful medieval bridges which are so typical of the whole region.

Glad to be back to Preveza and the boat yard, we have the final jobs to do as we close down the boat for the winter season. The weather has definitely turned in, we had storms and torrential rain all night, we could actually see for the first time how the cover leaks! Also a significant drop in temperature, enough to acclimatise ourselves for going home. Time to go, we fly on October 7th and we have left Deja Vu as winterised as possible until next year.

We enjoyed a morning sail across from the Peloponnese to Zakynthos, a close reach averaging 6 knots; it was fast, comfortable and fun.

We lost the wind as we approached the island coast, so motored round the entrance buoys and tied up on the west side of the harbour quay where Alex, the local mooring agent, greeted us warmly. This was to be our base for the next four days, so worthy of an individual entry.

Just  before we left Katacolo we discovered that our nephew James and all his family; Catherine, Thomas and Ben plus his girlfriend Ruby, were all spending a week’s holiday on the island and within striking distance of the port! We were thrilled to meet up with them the day we arrived and enjoyed a beer on board and a meal in the town. Life is full of coincidences, this was a lovely one.

Zakynthos town is a major tourist trap with many bars, not very authentic “Greek” restaurants, burger bars, fast food places, overpriced cocktail bars and endless shops selling tourist trinkets.  It is lively in the evenings but not as bad as some.  It still manages to retain some charm despite the hustle and bustle.   Fortunately there is an accessible beach a short walk from the harbour which provided the opportunity for a cooling swim.

We hired a car for two days, one to explore the south of the island and the coast that straddles the nature reserve, set aside for the annual turtle pilgrimage, and the other to visit our friends Babs and Makis in the north.

The south had some lovely bits, but far outweighed by the ‘strips’;  row after row of ghastly bars and burger outlets that were the townships of Kalamaki and Lagana, set inland from the crowded beaches.  We were lucky to find a super tavern above a beautiful sandy beach where we rested a while in the shade, swam and had a good lunch.

The afternoon drive took us up into the low mountains that run north to south through the island. The evidence of recent August fires was all too stark, burnt trees and acres of wasted scrubland.

It was useful having a car to visit the supermarket so we were able to revittal for the week ahead.

The second day of our car hire was to drive north, again through the mountain villages to Babs and Makis beautiful hidden away home high on a hill with views across to Kefalonia. It was nothing short of stunning. Makis had built his home in the 80’s and it carried a very Greek farmhouse, rustic feel, solidly built in local materials with the influence of Babs on all the plantings and furnishings. It was an oasis of charm. They entertained us to a delicious lunch and supper, (best Moussaka ever!!), a tour of Makis’ extensive workshops that Nigel coveted, took us sightseeing to the family olive groves and then down to the local port of Agios Nicholaos, which was quite an education.

The port was rustic too, not overly well equipped for visiting yachts and fairly exposed to weather, a no go area in any sort of Easterly. We were regaled with tales of family competition around the port, not much has changed over the years it seems.

All a delightful experience and we were waved goodbye to drive back to the boat before nightfall with armfuls of grapes and stuffed peppers for our next lunch!  There is no doubt that for us visiting it was an idyll! Thank you Babs and Makis for your warm hospitality.

Monday 15^th September has dawned, sunny again, and we spent the day preparing the boat for the arrival of our new guests, friends Brian and Michele, joining us for a week to sail north. Their flight has been delayed so we expect to see them late in the day which is not so good for the early start we have planned for them tomorrow!

More on that in the next blog.

We arrived at the boat early enough in the evening of the 31^st August to reassemble the floor and table after the work that had been done to clean out the port fuel tank. This was for the second time and we paid for the privilege so we were pleased to see it pristine. All fuel tanks will have bio residue, which we had and it will, in time, develop into bio diesel bug if left idle. Our mission will be to leave the tanks as low as possible at the end of the season, especially on the starboard side as this will need to be cleaned again as well! With the advent of bio diesel, vigilance and cleaning will become yet another part of the annual maintenance routine.

We launched and went across to Preveza for a couple of days to get supplies and, importantly, to await the arrival of a new anchor controller as the old one finally gave up the ghost.

Whilst there we visited some favourite haunts and met up with friends, old and new, which is always a joy. We will hopefully keep in touch with Maria and Harry from Bonnie Ellen, another Sunbeam, and who live close to us in UK!

The Levkas canal has been a headache as it had been closed to shipping for some long time in the summer. Fortunately a ferry has been installed to allow cars to cross continuously and it moves out of position into the harbour to allow boat traffic to transit at prescribed times during the day.

We sailed down to Lefkas, made the transit along with a fleet of other boats, overnighted in Vliho Bay and sailed down to Sivota to a warm welcome from the Stavros team and a fun evening. Photos below show northern tip of Kefalonia, and a more rugged view of the terrain, half way down the northern part.

Efimia next, met up with Makis the harbourmaster, then on to Poros where we anchored off the beach for a very welcome swim before heading into the harbour for the night.  Had an excellent meal in a restaurant overlooking the beach to the north and out to sea in the East.  Watched a spectacular lightening display over the mountains of the Peloponnese as we ate our fish. Poros photos below.

Our target destination was Katakolon as we decided we would like to revisit Olympia. We decided on a long day at sea on Monday 8^th September with only part sailing, the majority under motor.  43 miles later we were tied up on the quay at Katakolon.

From the quayside in Katakolon we joined the wee train across the car park the next day and had a super day in Olympia, visiting the archaeological site and the two excellent museums there, photos below to illustrate our visit.

Our next stop will be Zakinthos Town, where amazingly we have a rendezvous with nephew James and his wife Catherine, who just happen to be revisiting the island 28 years after their honeymoon destination! Thereafter we have plans to meet up with our native friends Babs and Makis who have a home in the north (as well as in Sussex) and then, on Monday, our friends Brian and Michele fly in to spend a week on board to travel north with us on our return. More in the next blog!

I am writing this in our last week before lifting the boat out at Cleopatra yard on Thursday 3rd July. We are under the much talked about heat dome which is sitting over most of Europe, and we are lying low as temperatures flirt just below 40 degrees centigrade. It is simply much too hot and these next few days will be at anchor seeking out any breeze around and drinking copious amounts of water to keep hydrated

But back to our schedule. The last blog had us waiting in Poros in the Aegean for Peter Hornsby, our trusty regular crew and good friend from Farnham, to arrive.

On time, but with a noticeable stiff neck, he arrived somewhat gingerly looking forward to sailing!

Mo dished out the exercises for releasing neck stresses, offered therapeutic pillows and kept him off pulling duties for the first couple of days. He soon looked better, managed a fair amount of swimming and all sympathy was kept in check!

We were heading back to base at Preveza via the Gulf of Corinth once again. We had successive long journeys of around 40 miles each to reach the Corinth Canal and then well into the Gulf of Corinth and the delightful port of Galaxidi. We transited the canal early morning at 7.30am and had it to ourselves, quite a unique and privileged experience. Not a huge amount of wind on either passage, so the engine charged the batteries and the sails went up for short periods when the wind blew.

We were fortunate to get the last space on the quay in Galaxidi, so we were able to show Peter around the pretty town and walk over to the beaches for a welcome swim. We did not linger long and set off for the island of Trizonia the next day, where we spent 3 nights on the quay waiting for the wind to moderate and turn into the east for the next long leg down the Gulf. We met some nice French, German and Italian people on adjacent boats, and shared some good humour, especially when Mo caused great entertainment by very unceremoniously evicting a stray cat from the boat whilst everyone was preparing a bbq meal. Mo was dubbed a ‘mad woman’ when the water got thrown at the cat to French cries of ‘ no not water, ouzo!!’

Poor Nigel damaged a toe when he took a fall on the foredeck trying to carry a running hose and a bucket of water and it did limit his ability to walk any distance. Mo strapped his two toes together which helped, but it is still a little sore.

We set off from Trizonia in an easterly 4 to 5, heading for Messalonghi. As we approached the beautiful Rion bridge, the wind was accelerating in the narrow gap, gusting force 7, and the sea was the liveliest we have seen there. With just a jib flying we were making 7, at times 8 knots and reached our destination in record time.

We anchored near the town and went ashore for a meal in one of the waterside restaurants there. The next day we headed on to Oxia, for fish in the beach restaurant, we were doing pretty well. Pictured below.

We had a great sail next day to Kalamos where we found George, the de facto harbourmaster/restaurenteur, dismayed with the rebuilding of the quay and the 25% reduction of his restaurant’s takings. Not so many yachts this year or a boycott? We’re not sure, as everywhere else seems busy!

George is an icon and has made Kalamos a safe and pleasant destination. It seems his jurisdiction is being taken away and we all fear for what may or may not replace his experience and skill. We will keep a close eye on developments here.  In Greece these changes rarely work out well.  We note that the new marina in Nidri, completed last spring is still not open.

Our lovely meal at George’s restaurant was spoiled by the swarm of wasps that invaded our table, but the late night cafe we found later made up for earlier disappointment. A charming couple running the cafe played excellent music and could not have been more helpful providing excellent Greek coffee and creating for Mo a perfect real mint tea!

Peter had a flight to catch so Wednesday 25th June we sailed up to Palairos, via Mitikas for a swim stop. We moored successfully in the harbour at Palairos, enjoyed the local beach for a cooling swim, and went out to Thanassos’ ‘Tomorrow’ restaurant for a good, although expensive meal together. Scenes below.

Peter left at 10am next morning for his return flight and we went a short way round the coast to our favourite spot Varko Bay. It was busy and it was hotting up. We had to anchor a couple of times after it dragged in the weed during the afternoon katabatic winds, but we eventually found some sand and it dug in well. We spent a couple of nights here swimming to keep cool, deploying the wind scoop to catch every breath going. It was still hot! We moved location on Saturday to Vliho bay and had an unexpected blast of a sail to get us there. 8 knots through the water with 20 knots on the beam!

We are here to visit Nidri on Monday for some laying up supplies and then we’ll head up through the Lefkas channel to Preveza on Tuesday. Vliho photos above taken when we walked ashore to see some of the changes being made to the quay; still plenty to do with occasional sunken boats! We enjoyed a good meal out at Elena’s, one of our favourite tavernas.

Shots below from Ligia, at the southern point of the Lefkas Channel.

Our lift out is scheduled for Thursday at 1330 and we fly home on Saturday. With temperatures still close to 40degrees Nigel has booked an air conditioned appartment in the yard to keep Mo happy. Actually it is essential for both of us, especially after we have done the necessary cleaning and clearing to leave the boat for a couple of months.

We have travelled about 700 miles this trip and feel we achieved our ambition of reaching and enjoying a bit more of the Cyclades island chain. We have had pretty good weather throughout on the whole and most importantly we have enjoyed the good fun company of all our guests. We continue to count our many blessings.

We waited in Poros for a depression to pass by and serendipitously Chris and Liz Jones, our very good friends from long ago, delayed their arrival to allow Chris to get over a virus.

Whilst waiting for them Nigel got to know the chandlery owner Spiros and managed to negotiate the delivery of a new fridge to the boat the next day! Incredible service; it arrived from Athens on the ferry and was duly delivered to the boat on the back of Spiros’ son’s motorbike!  It was blowing hard, the boats were bucking around, but we got the large package down below safely at about 8pm. By 6am the next morning we were up to install the fridge before the lively weather came back. It is just brilliant to have an upright fridge to supplement the good old chest fridge and we can now make ice cubes in the freezer. This model seems much better than the original one we had and runs on less power, so a win all round. Nigel’s engineering/DIY skills continue to impress!

Chris and LIz arrived with sunshine and light winds in their luggage to make a significant change to our weather outlook. We had a window of opportunity, without the threat of the Meltemi which famously blows in this north south corridor, to spend the next week in at least a part of the Cyclades. This is a central group of islands in the Aegean divided into a northern area, central and southern. We picked off the western most islands catching some from each of the groups.

 It was great to welcome Chris and Liz on board. They had not sailed with us in Greece before, having last visited the boat in Croatia in 2016 just prior to our leaving, but it was not long before they both remembered the ‘ropes’. We visited lovely places enjoying their good company, unfortunately motoring more than sailing, but feeling fortunate to be able to explore these Aegean islands in unusually calm conditions.

The pictures tell the story, but we started on Kythnos, which we visited in 2023, anchoring in the same bay as we did last time, then 25 miles south to Serifos, another 25 miles south again to Sifnos and finally 20 miles to Milos, from where Chris and Liz needed to depart by ferry to get their flight back from Athens.

Essentially the northern islands are volcanic, barren and rocky with few small settlements and little tourism, but the white buildings are a typical feature of the Aegean islands, unlike the Ionian. In the middle Cyclades, on Serifos,  more white houses were visible in the villages and lots of evidence of a bygone iron ore mining industry. Similarly on Sifnos, where a little more tourism was evident in Kamares, the port, and Vathi, the lovely bay we anchored in. Being time limited we only spent one night on each island, at anchor, but we made full use of the chance to swim in beautiful clear water, surrounded by stunning scenery and enough in the village to provide supper on more than one occasion. Finally we had a good sail down to Milos, arriving in the comparatively bustling port of Adhamas where we moored on a pontoon in the well run harbour.   Unfortunately the ferries approach the town fast and push a tremendous wash towards the harbour which sets all the boats there rocking frantically.  We had to take care that our mast was not lined up with our neighbour as boats have been known the damage their rig during the periods of wash.

Pictures below of Kythnos, Sifnos and Serifos

Milos is an ancient volcano which long ago erupted and scooped out a giant bay. The circular mountain ridge surrounding the bay is mostly barren but shows scars of open cast mining of alum, sulphur, barium and kaolin.  In past times the large sheltered bay gave Milos a unique and much contested asset, so there are many tales of conquests since the Hellenistic period. In World War 1, it was a British Naval base!   Many tiny pretty villages are scattered around the shoreline, most famously Klina with the coloured fisherman’s cottages. Pictures below taken inside the large natural bay.

We arrived at the head of the bay in the town of Adhamas, picture below.

Pictures blow of our day trip inland to Plaka, Trypiti and the Catacombs.

We had a spare day before Chris and Liz departed so we took a taxi to the village of Plaka right at the top of the island.  A walk uphill from the town towards the castle afforded magnificent 360^o views of the island and out to sea.  The walk was thirsty business so lunch and a couple of beers was in order to aid recovery.
After lunch we walked downhill to the next village of Trypiti and further down to visit the catacombs which were unfortunately closed when we arrived.  We called a taxi to rescue us and return us to the port. That night we dined, courtesy of and a big thank you to Chris and Liz, in a superb restaurant, Mikros Apoplous, recommended by a local we met on the quayside. We were told it is where all the locals ate, and for very good reason!

We were sad to say goodbye to our crew, but Chris and Liz had a plane to catch, and we had a weather window to do the 70 mile trip across from Milos to the Peloponnese, which we completed in 13 hours on June 8^th, sailing for half of it, motoring when we lost the wind or it chose to blow the wrong way!  Before we left we re-provisioned the boat at the local supermarket.  It was a ghastly experience, the store was tiny and stuffed with people fighting over the last items of particular foods; the butcher, the only one in town, decided to fulfil a huge order for mincemeat at peak time so the queue grew and grew as she failed to serve anyone.  If ever a town needed a better shop it is Adhamas!
We made landfall in Kiparissi just north of Monemvasia and anchored for a good nights’ sleep before heading north to Astrous for a couple of nights. The fresh northerly winds made our mooring uncomfortable, but our anchor was well dug in and we were not going anywhere. We were most pleased to leave Astrous without any stowaways, as it was here in 2023, that we had a rat visiting our stores!  A beam reach across the Argolic gulf to Kilada was most enjoyable and we were rewarded with a lovely anchorage for the night. Kiparissi and Astrous below; we were reminded just how mountainous the Peleponnese are.

It was time to head west so we set off for Ermioni in little wind but as we approached the island of Dhokos the wind increased to a force 6 on the nose. The little sailing that we did beforehand then gave way to a final motorsail  across a sea of white horses to the welcome shelter of the south quay at Ermioni.

We are now in Poros again. We have come full circle in 2 weeks, travelled just under 300 miles skirting round the western Cyclades and eastern Peloponnese, the Argolic gulf and now back in the Saronic. On Monday we meet up with our final crew on this trip, our good friend Peter from Farnham is joining us here to begin the journey back to the Ionian. We are hoping he will enjoy the Corinth Canal and the Gulf of Corinth this time after his 2023 trip was rudely thwarted due to the inconveniences of Storm Daniel!

We launched on Thursday 8^th May, ahead of schedule, having done the anti-fouling and the usual pre-launch jobs and checks but, alas, without our upright fridge which still had not arrived from Italy. We harboured a hope that we could pick it up in Athens, but as you will read, it is not meant to be. Once in the water we slipped around the pontoons and tied up in Cleopatra’s marina to complete our pre journey preparations.  Great to revisit the restaurants we have become so familiar with around Cleopatra and meet up with friends made in previous years.

Our plan is to go up to Corfu, as 75 mile trip, then return and head south and then east to within reach of  Athens before 26^th May.

Friday 9^th May we headed off early on the easterly wind bound for Corfu sailing half of the distance of 40 miles before we had to do some motoring. Mo had booked a berth on a restaurant pontoon off Sivota on the mainland opposite the bottom of Corfu and we arrived just before the afternoon breeze strengthened into an unpleasant blow. Another boat came alongside us and when the wind increased to over 20 knots on the beam it made for very bouncy conditions and our neighbour’s lazy line breaking. Everyone mucked in to share fenders and lines to keep all the boats safe, it was quite a start to the season!  Interesting to be somewhere new and we enjoyed the visit but will avoid if any strong northerly winds are forecast!

Whilst Britain was basking under a big anticyclone that had lasted many days, weeks in fact, Greece was catching depressions running through the Med. Our weather was unsettled to say the least; colder than usual, often wet with unpredictable winds. We decided to head for the shelter of Plataria the next day to avoid more strong winds and we were joined by new friends Mark and Lisa from Takaria, with whom we spent a very pleasant evening dining chez Babis. As we walked around the town we received friendly waves and greetings from folk we had met on previous visits which made for a very welcoming visit.

By early afternoon on Sunday 12^th we were in Corfu’s Gouvia marina to await the fitting of our new sprayhood on the Monday. All went well and we are now the proud owners of a shiny hood and can see through the new windows! The company, Gitras was most impressive and efficient, handling the modifications we requested speedily and professionally. We did a few other maintenance jobs, painting the transom of the dinghy and completing a couple of rounds of shopping at the local AB Supermarket.

We gave ourselves time out on Tuesday to meet up with Peter and Irene in Corfu town for dinner which was lovely. Goodbye to Irene, but Peter then joined us on the following morning for the journey ahead from Corfu to Athens.

We were promised a varied weather set due to many low pressure systems circulating offering up northerly winds one minute and southerly the next. We had had a mixture of motoring and sailing, visited Preveza to shelter from a rain storm, Sivota on Lefkas to enjoy the hospitality offered by Stavros, Oxia on the mainland coast for a night on anchor, Messolonghi to show Peter the town he missed last time round due to Covid and then Galaxhidi for an all too short visit before making for Corinth.  We were on such a roll with the sail from the Rion Bridge to Trizonia that we decided to keep going, skip Trizonia and make Galaxhidi, a run of over 50 miles.  We ran a reefed main for half the distance then reduced sail to just the jib, still making over 6 knots, but more comfortable in a lively bouncy sea.  Galaxhidi is always a joy to visit and we felt especially lucky to squeeze between two boats on the town quay and enjoy the town for just a night.

We transited the Corinth Canal early afternoon on Wednesday 21^st May, slightly ahead of Nigel’s schedule and, as it was late in the day by the time we had stopped to pay for our transit and to refuel , we anchored for the night on the Athens side of the canal close to the oil refinery which was a little smelly! Our plan to take Peter to Alimos marina close to Athens and to take delivery of our new fridge was thwarted due to it, and all other adjacent marinas being full! Not an option we had planned for but we quickly got creative over a new plan.

We anchored off Aegina having had an abortive attempt at getting into Perdika on the south coast of the island, but with northwesterly winds forecast overnight we made the decision to head for the shelter of the mainland coast and ended up anchoring off the beach in Epidavros. Peter explored options of getting to the airport and ended up settling for a comfortable taxi ride with Spirou, at a favourably negotiated price. We enjoyed Peter’s company on this long journey but it was time for him to get back to Portugal and home with Irene.

Peter departed early morning on Friday 24^th and we set off for Poros to get a berth before the next batch of charter boats arrived and in front of the depression promised for Sunday. Quay space in this area is very much at a premium due to the explosion in the number of huge charter catamarans, each taking the space of 2-3 yachts. This is an increasing problem which the charter companies seem loth to address. The result is chaos.

We have achieved our objectives and got close to Athens on a tight schedule. We have done 359 miles to date.

Here we are in Poros and as I write, Sunday 26^th May, it is very grey and a little wet, but the streets are full of people. The local Naval college has let all the cadets out into the town to meet up with their families. They look like a new intake of national service recruits, many with parents proudly walking beside sons in fresh starched uniforms, but there are some solitary figures sitting alone on quay side benches looking as if their worlds have ended. Tough times.

There is fierce competition for boat mooring space, so we are happy to be tied up! Tomorrow is another day and the forecasts are changing by the minute so we have no idea what we will be doing. For today, we have time to do our blog.

We spent a week in Preveza at the beginning of April to work on Deja Vu. Our good friends Brian and Michele elected to join us and we really appreciated their contribution to the work Nigel had planned for us all!

New anchor chain, shiny polished hull, stripping down and cleaning of winches, surfaces prepared for antifouling, repairs and maintenance on bow thruster, keel and prop, plus a host of internal jobs earned us all the satisfaction of knowing we were crashing through Nigel’s job lists. Time went far too quickly, but we also enjoyed great company in the evenings, visited our favourite restaurants in town and branched out to Vonitse for supper one evening. We are lucky to have good friends.

Alas, there is always something unexpected that happens and this year was no exception. We are fortunate to have two fridges, one with a small freezer section which is a major part of Mo’s meal planning, but sadly this useful one decided the end had come. We switched it on, put some beer cans in to cool for lunch, but we had to content ourselves with warm beer! The upright fridge was extricated and sent for examination. We have subsequently had to re-order another, which in Greece, is on a 4 week delivery. We will be lucky to get it installed for our trips this year, but our fingers are firmly crossed.

A busy cruising schedule is planned. We return on May 6th, launch on the 8th and let the voyage begin!

August 21^st was super early for us to return to Greece as it was still hot and very much a part of the school holidays, so crowded. However we succumbed to a request from Faye, Guy and the girls to spend some time aboard Déjà Vu and this meant, of course, the last week of the school holidays!

We had been advised of a neat package holiday deal and Faye successfully booked a package that included flights to Preveza, transfers to a hotel in Nidri and an air conditioned apartment for one week. At the same time I booked us onto a pontoon barely 300m from the hotel, for the same week, where we could come and go and enjoy power and water on tap.

With all options covered we enjoyed a great week together which included 2 nights out on the boat visiting Karnyios and Porto Spilla respectively for beach afternoons and evening dinners. It was indeed hot and Martha particularly sported a worrying heat rash most of the time, so everyone was working hard to keep her cool. Their apartment pool was a huge asset, not to mention the AC, and whilst on the boat we ran fans, facilitated essential swimming and found as much breeze as possible, although light winds limited the sailing we did. Each evening we dined together and had great fun playing a host of hilarious games, the most memorable being consequences and an attempt to get hypnotized!

It was a great joy to share time with them all, on and off the boat so we felt quite bereft when their week was up and a coach shipped them off to the airport.

We lingered for a few days to let some cloudy weather pass by before heading north to Preveza before setting off further north to Corfu.  The intense heat was beginning to give way to a series of depressions and fierce thunderstorms, so we had to time our sails carefully and plan our destinations accordingly.

It was great to meet up with Peter who joined us mid afternoon on Wednesday June 26^th, but he was distraught at having left a bottle of Moet in the taxi which had been intended to be a celebratory gift for his arrival! 

What he did bring though were the official Irish registration documents for Déjà Vu that Nigel had arranged to be sent to him. Déjà Vu now has a passport style credentials and is back in the EU.  Maybe a wish for the rest of the UK now.

As we prepared the boat for departure early the following morning, a guy turned up clutching the said bottle of Moet. He declared it had been left in his friend’s taxi and as he was visiting Eufemia, he offered to deliver it. A wonderful testament to the Greek character, we were thrilled.

We headed up to Vliho Bay, dined at Taverna Elena, which was a sort of thank you to the staff there for rescuing Peter. He had gone for one of his mega swims, lost sight of the boat amid a busy anchorage, went ashore to reassess his situation and found help there, including the loan of a phone. Phone calls to the UK and then to Nigel’s phone, requesting a rescue, resulted in an RNLI style shout!

We stayed over in Vliho for an extra day to let the strong winds blow through, and then visited Babis in Spartakahori followed by George in Kalamos, spent a night at anchor in Varko, and finally a night at the Karniya tavern just outside Vathi on Meganissey.

We have had a variety of good sailing and excellent swimming, but the week is flashing by all too quickly. Tomorrow we head up to Lefkas to unload Peter who flies home on Thursday 4^th July; election day!

Our final week before lifting out on 11th July, to go home, has no fixed agenda other than to enjoy the boat and eat up the food! It looks like another hot week, so it will need to include a few days at anchor. Ratty has not been seen for 14 days, despite no tempting treats available and nightly traps. We hope he left the same way he came arrived in the first place, but to be sure we will leave him a last supper when we leave the boat. We will look forward to the next trip late August through September.