Tom arrived on time from Piraeus having been travelling for 18 hours and missing a night’s sleep. Hungry we hit a delightful restaurant, Posiedon, on the north quay and sated all the needs before a much needed night’s sleep.

Refreshed, we left Poros on 29^th May and had a good sail north, even though we were beating! It was Monday and most of the charter boats that had descended into Poros from their charter bases in Athens were heading south, returning north later in the week. These fleets will continue to affect our decision making as there is always hot competition for mooring places.

Our first stop in the Saronic Gulf was a small harbour on the north coast of the island of Angistri. It was fairly shallow and there were not many berthing options, but we went side to a pontoon in front of a live-aboard cruising boat. Unfortunately not a lot of pontoon space and Déjà vu protruded a third of her length. As it was forecast to be calm overnight we decided to stay and enjoyed a walk around the small local village, a beer at the bar overlooking the harbour and then supper on board.

Culture beckoned the next day and we set off after breakfast to Palaia Epidavros without the wind as we knew mooring options would be fiercely contested. 

Mooring alongside the quay there we were bounced by the afternoon breeze, but happy all was well, we got in a taxi and went up to the ancient site of Epidavros, which includes one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres. The acoustics in it are legendary. Apparently the angle of incline of the theatre around 26:5:1 provides the optimum angle for soundwaves to reach the top row of seats without significant reduction in strength. In addition to the theatre were remains of the town beside it, famed as a place of healing, and the museum held many interesting finds including a set of medical instruments which rather resembled objects of torture!

Tom was in for a cloudy and windless few days with the sun making occasional appearances, which we now suspect the Saronic is famous for. We had to motor to our next stop Korfos where we anchored in the bay and enjoyed a swim, dinghying ashore for a Fix beer and cooking on board. Shots around Korfos below.

The charter boats were heading back up toward Athens and Tom needed to be able to get a ferry to Piraeus himself, so the island of Aegina became the target for us and them!

A small amount of sailing at 5 knots before the engine was on again, but we tied up in the tiny fishing hamlet of Perdika on the south west coast of the island around lunchtime.  The afternoon’s entertainment in a fresh breeze, was watching boat after boat seek a mooring, some successfully, others less fortunate. It is a place almost guaranteed to get crossed anchors as mooring was not easy and it was a shame that there were so many catamarans amongst the charter fleet taking up all the space in the deeper water that should have been the providence of the monohulls.

Tom departed this afternoon, Friday 2^nd June from Aegina Town where the ferry ride to Piraeus is only 45 minutes. We all went up the coast in a taxi as the reputation of the harbour being a crazy place to take a boat was evident for us to see when we arrived.  Yachts were moored on quays together or amongst fishing boats in a relatively small harbour shared with the Flying Dolphin and High speed ferries, ensuring a constant wash of water.  Unfortunately it rained quite heavily, was certainly cold, but we enjoyed a last Greek meal together washed down by a jug of rose wine. It was great to have had Tom on board for the all too short 5 days. We enjoyed his very good company and miss him already.

Ever onwards the remaining crew on board, Nigel and Mo, will cross 25 miles to the mainland peninsular tomorrow, hopefully in a good sailing breeze. Not sure about sunshine yet, so we may still be in long sleeves and wet gear! From there we are set to leave Déjà Vu in Olympic Marina as we hop home for a quick 4 day visit, returning on 9^th June.

We left Kalamata on Monday 22^nd May.  All of our contingency time had been taken up with waiting for adverse weather to pass through so we were on a mission to have an uninterrupted journey forward!  This we did and arrived in Poros on Saturday 27^th May for a crew change.  Peter could depart to Athens by fast ferry on 28^th and Tom could arrive from Athens later in the same day.

The journey along the southern tips of the Peloponnese was a mixture of motoring in no wind, sailing in some wind and motoring into too much wind.  Sometimes cloudy, sometimes sunny and hot, often cool but importantly we did manage to avoid the rain which was ever-nearby and often threatening.

We   stopped overnight in Mezapos on the western end of the Mani Peninsular.  This proved to be a surprisingly good anchorage with the boat held firm in strong offshore winds.  We did not venture ashore but there is reported to be a tavern and a smart hotel.  We then travelled around Capo Grosso, a huge lump of rock and the tip of Mani in the cool, early morning calm and sailed 20 miles east into the southern bay of the island of Elafonisos. This was a pleasant stop in crystal clear blue water off the sandy beach.  Good holding despite the swells that continued through the afternoon but as the wind died in the evening a peaceful night.

Pictures of Mezapo, Mani, Maleas and Elafonisos below

We had a superb stopover in the lovely Monemvaisa,  home to an ancient and fascinating Byzantine town, after rounding the infamous Cape Maleas (dubbed the Mediterranean Cape Horn). The redoubtable restauranteur and unofficial harbourmaster, Mateo, helped us find a berth in the harbour which is still under reconstruction.  It will be great when finished.  In the afternoon we took Peter to the old town which was as interesting as the last time we visited.  Well worth the effort of getting there and there are many really attractive places to stay.

The next day we headed north, again in virtually no wind, so under motor.  The lack of wind and common sense prevailed and we shortened the planned trip to stop at Kiparissi, anchoring in the south part of the bay and from there we all managed our first swim in Greek waters! 

We then crossed to the eastern most part of the Peloponnese and overnighted in Ermioni having abandoned plan A which was to spend the night in an anchorage on the island of Dhokos.  Nigel had a premonition that the wind would strengthen from the north overnight, making the anchorage unsafe.  As it turned out he was right and we were glad of the quiet night and good meal in Ermioni. The next day lived up to and exceeded the forecast with a very strong and gusty northerly wind.  Attempts at sailing were abandoned as the wind gusted so hard and we ended up motoring  to Poros, a bit of a copout but everyone was happy and the boat was not over stressed.  This experienced proved that it is not all plain sailing in Greece.

Poros is pretty and very busy. There is a huge waterfront able to accommodate lots of boats and it fills up every day.  There has been a fresh wind blowing all day making mooring up challenging for anyone but especially for the new charter boat skippers fresh out of Athens.

We waved Peter off on his ferry at lunchtime today having enjoyed having his company, expertise and good humour with us for the last 10 days, travelling about 200 miles together.  He is off to explore Athens meeting up with his wife Irene.  We are waiting for Tom, watching the weather to decide on where to sail with him but it looks like north and west for the few days he is with us. We shall see.

We spent 3 days in all in Kiparissia as it was decided to be the best option for shelter from the gales due Sunday and Monday. Sunday 14th was a sultry day, Monday saw the wind.

Had this account been written on Tuesday, the language would have been very colourful, but now, a few days later, it can be given a more objective perspective.

After the event everyone was safe and the boats were unscathed. The real takeaway from what was a very unpleasant experience was the camaraderie and pulling together of all the crews similarly battered whilst sheltering in the harbour.  We made some friends in those adverse moments and the caring and concerned attitude of all nationalities was truly uplifting.

The wind strengthened from 3pm with the forecast 25knots. Anchored out and lying back against the quay,  our anchor jumped as the wind exceeded 30knots causing our boat to drop back onto the quay, protected, thankfully by a raft of fenders we had deployed for that eventuality. Fortunately our anchor retook as we hauled it in, so we only lost 10 metres of chain from the 60 metres we had laid. 30knots became 35 knots and the committee decision of the 4 boats in the same position as us was to link them with a line to the quay to take some pressure off all the anchors. This together with keeping engines on and motoring forward kept us in the battle with the wind. The core wind was about 35knots but there were frequent gusts of 45knots and around midnight, it topped 50-55knots, almost certainly due to the topography of the backdrop of mountains. Unrelenting, the forces of nature were totally humbling and quite terrifying.  We took it in shifts to take watch and get eye closure; sleep was a long way off. Finally at 3am the massive winds abated and we fell into a fitful sleep.

Most of the crews were decided to stay put another day. We left in heavy rain with another 3 boats to make more distance south whilst the wind forecast was very much lighter. Needless to say the sea state was confused and Mo had to resort to sea bands to cope. We anchored up at Methoni and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Although sheltered  from the prevailing westerly wind, the anchorage suffered a huge swell and took the adage of ‘being rocked to sleep’ to a whole new level which was most uncomfortable and not at all conducive to sleep!

Wednesday started as day broke to move to calmer waters and we covered 40 miles into Kalamata Bay, sailing past Koroni and up to the beach resort of Petalhidion. The first part of the sail was brisk and bumpy with the residual sea from the storm still running but around the corner and into flat water with a good wind on the beam we were hammering along at over 8 knots.  Sadly a few miles north of Koroni the wind died altogether and it was back to motoring. We anchored in deep sand off the beach at Petalidion in a strong off shore wind which heralded a heavy rain storm accompanied by thunder and lightning. The wind eventually dropped and at last we had a peaceful, calm night and both slept very well.

Thursday into Kalamata Marina where we have moored up for a few days as there are Easterly gales forecast where we want to go next. Peter arrived safely and together we have explored the old town on bikes, blitzed the nearby AB supermarket who delivered to the boat, tried out most of the immediate restaurants and generally caught up on life in Portugal and Britain.

Saturday evening turned into a treat when Graham and Marsha the brother of Farnham friends Elisabeth and Paul, journeyed up from their home on the Mani peninsular to meet us for dinner. We had met Graham very briefly last year but other than that we needed to get to know each other. No difficulties on that front. Graham and Marsha were delightful company. We exchanged tales of olives and vines, sailing and putting the world to right over a lovely fish meal, I hasten to add, in the rain!

We are suffering a succession of low pressure systems and the forecasts change daily. This makes it frustrating and difficult to plan the next leg of the journey around the two most southerly arms of the Peloponnese. The current plan is to leave Monday 22^nd May as the gales have given way to calmer winds, but not always in the most desirable direction. We suspect the trip will be one of compromises.

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 13^th 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 8^th 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. 

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 8^th 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.

It is May 2nd and we are frenetically getting packed up to fly off to Preveza tomorrow. The usual round of maintenance awaits us: antifouling and polishing: shopping and stowing before we launch Deja Vu on Monday 8th. We are missing the King’s coronation but hope to see some of it on one screen or another from Cleopatra Yard.

We hope to set off south immediately,weather permitting, as our mission this year is to sail around the Peleponnese west to east, stopping in Kalamata to meet up with friend Peter, who is joining us for the leg to Athens. Once there, Tom is joining us for a few days in his half term holiday. Lots to look forward to! It will be fairly non stop but we hope for fair winds from a northerly direction and will post at regular intervals on the trip.

An early visit to Greece this year had been demanded by the need to eliminate the diesel bugs that had contaminated both of our diesel tanks, or so we thought! The contamination had been identified on the pre-filters during the winter service in October 2022 and it was agreed that the engineers who service our engine would book a couple of days in March to come and ‘deal with it’. To gain access to both service hatches in each tank, the table and floor needed to be carefully removed, so Nigel insisted on being around to do this easy part! Hence our trip to Preveza.

We decided to make a bit of a holiday of it and our friends Brian and Michele flew with us to Thessaloniki in the middle of March. We enjoyed an interesting drive of about 4 hours, over the snow-capped mountains to get to Preveza. We were startled to find the quay in a complete state of rebuild, so no boats at all could moor here. The locals reckoned the work may be complete by the end of May, but that seemed optimistic.

Here we rented apartment Oikia owned by a charming and helpful local Greek lady, Dora. It was ideally positioned next to one of our favourite restaurants, The Mermaid, in a street just behind the quay. Sadly for us The Mermaid was closed, but we found plenty of good places to eat and we had some fun evenings together. We made daily excursions to Cleopatra Marina to do a few jobs on Deja Vu including treating rust on the keel, servicing all the winches, fitting more electrical points and more. Nigel and Brian stripped the main cabin in preparation for the diesel tank work and the nasty job was duly completed with less mess than Mo had anticipated and a declaration that only one tank had in fact been contaminated, thank goodness.

A great relief to have this job completed, we took a day off to go sightseeing around Preveza, seeing a new port under construction just north between Preveza and Parga, and visiting the interesting ruins at Nikopoli. Sadly the main exhibits had closed when we finally got there but we saw plenty of evidence of what had been a remarkable Roman city in its day.

We were ready to leave the Gulf of Corinth but our decision to delay our departure to allow the strong easterly winds to give way to more moderate southerlies proved to be the wrong one. We should have taken the opportunity the easterlies presented to shoot us west before turning north to the safe anchorage at Limini Petalis. In the event we enjoyed an hour of fresh fast running before we lost the wind for a couple of hours during which time it changed direction.

We did have a great sail north for the last five miles with the promised southerly, but we had to use the engine in between to cover the 25 mile journey. Liminis Petalis was unusually calm at 5pm when we arrived and it was the most idyllic evening at anchor, swimming before the sun went down behind the tall hills on which we could hear the goats bleating to signal the end of the day.

We had been warned of a possible Medicane scenario manifesting again off the foot of Italy and bouncing across to the Ionian but thankfully the pressure systems collapsed and this particular threat faded. Notwithstanding that it was clear there was bad weather ahead as a strong southerly stream was getting established and looked set to last for over a week.

We headed north, overnighting in Sivota on our favourite Stavros pontoon and then fetching up to anchor in Vliho Bay to celebrate Nigel’s birthday on 26^th. He did well having a morning swim after which we had a good sail north to Lefkas where we moored on the Charter pontoons.  The evening brought a drink on board followed by  dinner in a very nice fish restaurant and then cocktails and cabaret at the Lefkas Cuban bar where we were royally entertained by Santana style music, it was great fun.

We spent Tuesday to Thursday on the charter pontoons, watching storms and heavy rainstorms go by. We had the engine serviced on Wednesday which was a regular end of season event, but bad news hit when the engineer discovered the dreaded diesel bug in our fuel tanks. Both tanks are contaminated; it is a hazard of bio diesel and only using our boat for part of the year. The black bio mass was a rotten sight and we have major expense ahead to drain the tanks, dispose of the diesel and chemically clean tanks and fuel lines.  Ah! the joys of boat ownership.

As ever when moored up you get to meet your neighbours.  On one side we had a couple of Israeli gentlemen who were there having their boat repaired after a lightning strike earlier in the year off Corfu.  On the other side an Argentinean couple who we shared an evening with.  They had just purchased their boat from the charter company and planned to spend a few years sailing on Greece in the summer and Argentina the rest of the year.  Quite an interesting pair and it was great to hear about the comparative challenges of sailing in South America.

Thursday dawned and we slipped lines to head up to Preveza for a night in Cleopatra marina prior to our lift out of Friday 30^th.

We did well to get the jib down and folded in between rain showers and to make a start of the end of season boat cleaning operation and routine maintenance.

There was very good news amongst this bad weather that Mo had been granted Greek residency, so we spent some time planning another trip to Agrinio to get the documents. We fixed our flights home for Friday October 7^th and decided to make use of our time and a rental car to go north to visit the monasteries of Meteora, which by all accounts are an amazing sight. We will include a blog entry on that alone before the end of 2022 sailing season blogs.

As far as the boat is concerned in 2022 we have travelled 821 miles, 357 of them in September alone. It has been fun and we have enjoyed our visitors and stretching our sailing legs into the Gulf once again. Who knows where we will sail next year, but at least time will be less of a problem now that we have found a way round the post Brexit travel restrictions! Hooray for that!

We hired a car for the next trip to Agrinio where Mo had more admin to do. The journey there, just 38km was surprisingly dramatic through a lovely gorge.

The business concluded we decided to take the causeway parallel to the canal we had transited to get to the Marina at Messalonghi. It was a fascinating 4km drive and we were rewarded with magnificent views across the salt flats, sightings of many flamingoes busy feeding, pelicans in the distance, egrets and many other seabirds, not to mention the oddity of cars parked on narrow tracks branching off the causeway at various intervals.

At the end we found the beach, well protected from the sea beyond by a breakwater which provided safe bathing as well as the services of a lifeguard in a California style lookout.

Having enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at one of the cafes there we visited the salt museum. 65% of Greek salt is produced here in Messolonghi. The industry has long been a mainstay of the local economy and even now ships come up the canal to the dock during the summer months to load up and distribute to other parts of Greece and beyond. We found out that salt comes in many shapes, sizes and colours but here at Messolonghi, it is pure white and quite crystalline.

Time to move on, we had a westerly wind forecast, so we slipped lines at 730am on Friday 16^th September to head further into the Gulf of Corinth. An uneventful motor to the Rion Bridge was followed by a moderate goose wing sail. It soon became clear we needed to lose the main as the winds were increasing from the Force 4 forecast. Before long we had 25 knots over the stern and soon after that became 30knots. With just the jib, reefed as the wind increased, the boat was surfing down the waves at 9 knots. Nigel did see 10kt on the log very briefly.

We were glad to make Trizonia and find shelter from the hefty sea, but the wind did not lapse and we had an exciting time mooring up side to the concrete quay in the yacht basin. Mo was greatly relieved to see 4 guys on the quay ready to take our lines and help us to moor up.

We stayed on Trizonia for a couple of days whilst the strong winds blew and spent the time exploring paths to take us to the southern tip of the island where we found a great beach and enjoyed a picnic and swim.  That evening we met Dick and Amanda from Thalassa of Ipswich who had berthed at the end of the same pier as us.  It turned out they were on a trip around the Peloponnese before the end of October.   After a “get to know you” beer or two we were invited to join them on their boat for dinner which comprised some of the magnificent Tuna they had caught the day before.  We had a most enjoyable evening with good food, good conversation and wine.

Next stop was Galaxhidi, a pretty port 20miles further into the Gulf that we had visited before in 2018 and from where we had hired a car to visit Delphi. This time it was a stopover to swim and further explore the pretty town. The local museum, claiming to the first museum in Greece(?!), opening in 1928, charted the history of Galaxhidi as a thriving ship building port, responsible for building and commissioning many commercial trade vessels in the 19^th century. Unfortunately, being unable to embrace the change to steel construction and mechanization, the industry ended as the 20^th century unfolded.  The museum is a sympathetic illustration of the struggles the town endured, being razed to the ground on more than one occasion by invading Turkish forces. It also houses ancient archeological remains, an amazing art collection depicting ships built locally and an interesting philatetic collection of universal shipping history from across the world; an eclectic and fascinating display!

Dick and Amanda were moored near to us and we ended up in a café with them, having lunch and watching the funeral of our Queen Elizabeth on 19^th September, on Amanda’s ipad.  In Trizonia we had also met a lovely German couple Hans and Anne, whose life’s philosophies resonated so closely with our own. It is indeed a privilege to share their company in passing.

We are now back in Messalonghi after a 35 mile sail in a lively downwind Force 5/6, with nothing but a partial jib to make record time.

Respite tonight and off again early tomorrow, 23^rd September, to head back into the Ionian for the final week of our sailing this month, indeed, this year.

Michele has a reputation of attracting rain when on holiday and it was not without trepidation that we looked forward to their arrival on Friday 2^nd September. It did indeed rain stair rods before day break and there was a gentle drizzle during the first part of the morning they were due to land. By the time they touched down and arrived at the boat on Preveza Quay the sun was shining and we hoped the rain was behind us.

We enjoyed a brilliant week with our good friends, Brian and Michele, of some 49 years, from near Southampton. For both of our families, grandchildren have arrived to fill our lives with great joy, but it does mean we see less of our old friends. Perhaps we get too tired to make the effort when the family have gone home, but we decided having a week on the boat  was an excellent way to catch up on lost times together.

There were constraints on the week as Mo had business to attend to in Agrinio which necessitated a car hire from Lefkas, and coincidentally the boat’s house batteries decided to fail on us around  the same time. It was not unexpected and in the event the timing was good as Nigel was able to get replacement batteries delivered to Lefkas at the same time. We moored side-on in the town on the Charter pontoons and rigged up a superb craning arrangement to get the two 65kg (each) batteries out from under the steps going down into the saloon. It was a photogenic moment and opportunity, but Mo was so busy assisting with guiding the great weight that Nigel had strapped up and Brian was winching, that taking photos was not on the ‘to do’ list! Mission accomplished very satisfactorily when two fit men arrived with the replacements and expertly carried them and lifted them down into place for Nigel to do the wiring up.

None of this impeded our enjoyment of sailing around showing Brian and Michele Varko Bay, Kalamos, Meganissi and various points on Lefkas before heading off to deposit them on Kefalonia. A neat trip around the Ionian meeting old friends George and Babis en route, there was plenty of good fun, sailing, swimming, nice meals and enjoyable conviviality.  It was, however, on this trip that we heard, from Guy, the very sad news of the death of our Queen Elizabeth II only two days after she had invited a new prime minister to form the next government. The opportunity for world affairs discussions was endless although I think we finally agreed we could no longer put the world to right and we had, perhaps unfortunately, missed, or simply not taken the opportunity to get involved in politics when we were younger.

Brian and Michele flew home form Kefalonia on Friday 9^th September and have since reported that had many delays including 3 hours waiting for baggage at Gatwick at 1am whilst the three baggage handlers on duty faced an overwhelming workload!

Nigel and Mo sailed east the very next day stopping at Limini Petalis, a useful anchorage, for the night

There was the most spectacular full moon which made for a very special evening on the boat in the calm of the dark night. Next day was a full sail to Messalonghi arriving on Sunday 11^th ahead of a strong wind forecast on the Monday. We will stay here for a few days so that Mo can continue the business appointments in Agrinio. On Thursday we will hire a car to go there and take the opportunity to shop for a few more boat stores before hopefully heading further into the Gulf of Corinth. Scenes around Messlonghi town below

An easy flight down to Preveza on Sunday 28th August, the plane was only half full and we had the most delightful service from our friend Hazel’s lookalike/soundalike of some 20 years back! We landed around 9pm in the dark, a salutary reminder that the days are shorter, but no less cool as a wall of heat greeted us as we stepped off the plane. We were soon re-aquainted with Deja Vu and just had enough time for a light supper and a beer at Food & More in the Marina restauant.

Monday was a round of maintenance as usual and checking up on the big jobs the yard had done during August. We had to recall one engineer to realign the shaft and another arrived with bottles of descaler to fix the blockages we constantly experienced in the aft heads. Pipes were replaced, cleaning was done and by lunchtime, all was working normally in a much more savoury environment! We mounted our new solar panel and embarked on the wiring which entailed a lot of mousing lines, threading and weaving, We decided to take a break to think about the next more difficult phase of getting to the battery box!

We were three hours from our launch time on Tuesday when we decided to drop the anchor and relabel the various depth marks. That job got done, but in the process revealed a more serious concern with the bow roller parting company with the frame. Quick thinking to the fore, help from a fellow sailor and a passing welder, plus a good pinch of luck we deemed it a a miracle that two hours later it was repaired, reinstalled and we were good to go. We have made a mental note to do more maintenance checks!

Whilst waiting for the launch we were reminded what a superb facility Cleopatra Marina is; here are a few photos taken as we walked with the boat on a tractor to the water. Massive cranes, laundry area, first aid post, admin building, security entrance and marina promenade. All very lovely.

Lauch we did, on time! It turned out to be a good decision to stay one more night in the marina so that we could finish wiring the solar panel the next day, close to a chandlery. Last evening we commented on an eerie lull to the afternoon breeze at about 6pm and looking south, the sky was black. By 630pm there was deafening thunder and a chunky 30 knot wind from the south.

Marina Cleopatra is sheltered from the south, but we looked across to mayhem on Preveza Quay, where we would have been had we left as originally planned! Many boats were leaving to escape the waves attacking the quay. So two lots of luck in one day. Hope we are not using up our quota all up in one go as we have a few weeks ahead yet!

We have a day now to start bit of shopping before our friends Brian and Michele arrive on Friday. We are hoping Michele does not divine to bring rain this trip!