We had returned home to the UK to escape the heat and the crowds in July and August but, this year, most of Europe and the UK have been experiencing a heatwave with drought conditions causing concern. So we have sweltered in the UK in over 30 degrees, watched our garden go brown, and have had little respite from hot weather! We return to the boat on 28th August, looking forward to a temperate September.

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 24^th 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 12^th 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.

A wave of stormy weather sat over us after the family went home, lucky they missed it. However it did freshen the air and we were relieved to have some respite from the mid 30s temperatures that they enjoyed and endured!  The Greeks have a new warning system for impending dire weather that they ping on mobile networks and we received one on Thursday evening 9^th June, forewarning us of weather on Friday 10^th June. Perhaps that is the reason our next visitors’ flight was cancelled for Friday evening, and we had to wait around another day. It was a day to cycle to the beach and only the hardy went into the waves fanned by a stiff onshore breeze for a swim.

Peter and Irene finally arrived on Saturday 11^th June, late in the evening so there was little time for them to acclimatize to the boat before we set off at 10am on Sunday 12^th to start our sailing trip with them.

First stop was a favourite, Varko Bay, for a lunchtime swim and lunch, then a sail down to Sivota for a fun night there. Our plan had always been to head into the Gulf of Corinth with them and deposit them in Galaxhidi, from where they had made plans to stay in Athens and then tour parts of the Peleponnese before returning to the UK and then their home in Portugal. They were round the world (well nearly) sailors so well accustomed to boat life and the heat, no problems there!  We started to head west from Lefkas, stopping over, long-lining to the rocks in One House Bay on the island of Astokos for a welcome midday swim and lunch before sailing on to the quiet anchorage on the mainland at Limini Petalis for a meal on board.

Messolonghi Marina was next at the gateway to the Gulf of Corinth and, en route, Nigel was pleased to dust off the cruising chute and get it hoisted for several miles before a squall threatened. It was at this point that Mo confessed to having overshot the course and we had to turn and beat back a couple of miles. At least Peter and Irene had a complete sailing experience that day. However Peter was getting increasingly unwell and it was only after we had made the trip under the Rion bridge to the island of Trizonia, that the light dawned and we asked him to do a Covid test. His health was giving us serious cause for concern. All of our visitors bring good cheer and good company. Peter and Irene also had a different sort of gift, the very unwelcome sort.  Covid had arrived, Peter was certainly afflicted and Nigel caught it from him.

A new plan was needed, back to Messolonghi , where  medical resources were available if needed and there were facilities of the Marina, crucial to endure an isolation period.

On the way to Trizonia the repair to the mainsail outhaul done last year started to fail.  Nigel contacted sailmakers in Athens to organize a proper repair.  It is a high tech sail and the repair was beyond the capability of the local sailmakers.  Elvstrom came up trumps and the sail was duly taken down and shipped off to Athens for a speedy turnaround. We suddenly had time on our hands.

Not much more to put into the log from this point. Peter and Irene decamped to Athens as they preferred isolation in a hotel and the proximity of private hospitals. Unsurprisingly Irene also contracted Covid, but we are pleased to say their messages declare they are coping and slowly improving.

We remain on board Déjà vu, which has been cleaned scrupulously from top to bottom, to sit out the 5 day isolation for Nigel during which time he has had a few ups and downs.  Mo thankfully seems to have escaped infection, probably due to having increased immunity from a bout of it the Christmas before.

We have had a few stormy days, quite an odd weather pattern for Greece, with big swings in the barometric pressure. Mo has been doing all the chores, the cooking and the errands and so far it looks like we are on the road to recovery for Nigel and the promise of going sailing again in a few days. Today is 21st June, our mainsail is due back tomorrow and our fingers are crossed.

Guy, Faye, Rose and Martha arrived eventually, about 3 hours late after a gruelling journey with delays at Gatwick, in flight and again when trying to find a taxi at Preveza Airport at 1030pm. The delightful Greek taxi driver who, unusually, did not speak any English, did not know the location we had tried to describe where the boat was moored up. I am not sure the family appreciated a sightseeing tour of the town at that time of night!  A drink and some food later the excited girls fell into sleep without any more to do, followed swiftly by the adults. The unpacking had to wait until the morrow but it was a joy to have everyone safely on board.

We headed off early from Preveza town quay for the Lefkas Canal. The half term holiday was about to begin and Crew James was ready for action! 

The weather for their whole trip was hot and more hot so swimming opportunities and as much breeze as possible was the order of the day, which we achieved most of the time anchoring off lovely beaches and jumping overboard into the cool azure blue water. But there were some occasions when we struggled, breathless under a baking hot sun, and needed to flee the boat for a shady bar beside a paddling beach.

We visited Varga bay, Sivota, Golden Beach on Ithaca, then the North Quay at Vathi, Babis’ quay in Spartakahori on the top of Meganissi. Our penultimate day was longlining in Abelike Bay which proved to be ideal for swimming and dinghying.  Rose and Martha embraced the swimming with Rose mastering the art of snorkeling and Martha inventing the art of snoodling! 

We all had a lot of fun racing around the boat and playing all manner of watery games. We enjoyed some great meals in and out, especially at Stavros’ at Sivota, a family favourite and later in Dimitris at Vathi, where we met up with Farnham friends Roger and Vicky who were half way through their Greek holiday on Ithaca. It is quite surreal meeting friends out of the usual context, but we had a lovely evening and Vicky entertained Rose the entire time, much to Rose’s great delight.

It was in Sivota that we held our very own Jubilee celebration, decking the boat with bunting and toasting our Queen, alongside another couple of other British boats doing likewise.

On board, Rose and Martha enjoyed hours of treasure map making, writing stories, helping with the navigation, the  ropes and the helming as well as sitting out on the deck for short periods with legs dangling. When it was all too much Faye and Guy produced a screen for them to watch a program to unwind or nap as required!

This small selection of pictures tells the story of much laughter, clear blue seas, various beaches and very happy times. We have many more to show you another time!

The time went in a flash and the last day came all too soon. It was time to pack up and say goodbye to our fun and lively crew. We finished up on the new charter boat pontoons in Lefkas town, which served us brilliantly, as we had facilities for shopping and laundry to sort the boat out when they had gone.  Now it is quiet, we miss them all, but hold many memories and hope they had as good a time as we did and managed to recharge their batteries before returning to the rigours of work at home.

Today Thursday 9^th June, the weather has turned. The pressure dropped over 5 points in less than 48 hours, the temperature has gone down several degrees and it is blowing a Force 6.  A storm is promised tomorrow as we standby to welcome our friends Peter and Irene for a week. Let’s hope we don’t all get too wet and the normal pattern of weather re-establishes again soon!

Going to Paris in springtime delayed the start of our trip to Greece, but it was well worth it as we had a brilliant time exploring a city we had not visited for about 20 years and, most importantly, we celebrated the coming of a new decade with our very good French friend, other friends and his family. It was a happy and memorable occasion which we were delighted to be a part of.

Early on May 24^th we left home with carry-on bags, took the train to Gatwick, boarded our midday flight and then sat on the tarmac for 2 hours waiting for storms to clear from the east before we were able to take off. Arriving late into Preveza we were unable to start the long list of jobs that evening, but it was great to be reacquainted with Déjà Vu, looking forlorn and dusty in the yard.

We worked long and hard for the next three days in temperatures around 30^oC, sanding, antifouling, polishing and plenty of other tasks necessary before launching.  Unfortunately none of this is documented in pictures as when togged up in a work suit with hood, goggles, mask and rubber gloves there is no place for a phone. In spite of full protection, Mo still managed to paint her face, hands, arms and hair not to mention completely destroying the paintbrush. Nigel did not fare much better, smattering any exposed skin with flecks from the roller. But job done, and cleaned up from antifouling, we then balanced on a 3m high scaffold tower with cloths, grinding paste, polish and a polisher. It was true team work and much concentration from Mo not to lose balance that we were able to transform the topsides into a mirror finish, gleaming state, ready for the new season.

We launched on Saturday 28^th May much earlier than was planned as the yard guys wanted to make sure they finished early. We were grateful to be in the water at last.   We planned to stay a couple of nights in the Marina to clean the inside of the boat and complete the wiring jobs that Nigel started in his March trip.  Our first night was rudely interrupted at 4am when we both woke independently to the sound of feet, or so we thought. Worried that we were being boarded, we shot up to investigate. Nothing. We then thought about a four legged intruder, maybe a cat or worse still a rat. We continued to investigate. Nothing. Giving up and settling down to resume some sleep, the noise came again. This time Nigel was looking out of the back porthole to see dozens of small fish shipped onto our back step and wriggling furiously to get back into the water. Clearly there was a larger predator after them! This explanation had to be seen to be believed!

On Sunday a storm was forecast and to the minute it arrived with a vengeance. The rain and wind were of biblical proportions so we did have to batten down the hatches. Fortunately the boat remained watertight above and below the waterline, although in the height of the storm that distinction became blurred.

With cooler, refreshing temperatures we are nearly ready to go sailing! Tomorrow is a shopping trip to get supplies and a trip to the internet shop to kit up with sim cards, then we are setting off for a night or two before our family arrive for a one week holiday. We are looking forward to welcoming Guy, Faye, Rose and Martha on Wednesday and to having some adventures with them.

I completely forgot to mention in the last blog that we saw a seal for the first time in the Mediterranean!  We were not quick enough to get a photo, but it was a memorable sight to behold, snuffling as it swam casually towards the beach late in the day.  We had been just leaving the anchorage on Ithaca and there she was rolling on the waves heading into shore.  Having investigated ‘Mediterranean seals’ this sighting was almost certainly of a female Monk seal, being brown grey in colour. The males are black.  These seals were once found regularly throughout the Med, but now are quite rare. The Greeks, however, do pride themselves on having been successful at protecting the species and removing them from the ‘critically endangered’ world marine animals list. Ancient Greeks apparently treasured the seals even believing they were protected by gods Poseidon and Apollo because of their love for the sea and their seeming worship of the sun!

Back to our itinerary, we sailed up the steep sided channel between Ithaca and Kefalonia passing many tiny bays indented on the Kefalonia East coast. We called into one of the uncharted bays, found some sand and dropped the anchor for a swim.  It was absolutely beautiful, deserted, apart from a couple of goats tripping along under the pine trees that stood behind the olive grove at the back of the beach.  Peering through the binoculars at the beach I found a sign declaring this to be a site used in the famous film Captain Corelli’s Mandolin! We may have to watch the film again to see if we can spot it!

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The weather was on the change; the week ahead was looking unsettled, cloudier, cooler and windier. From Kefalonia we arrived in Vliho Bay late in the day so we anchored and had supper ashore in Dimitri’s Taverna. We had been sole visitors earlier in the season and this occasion was not much different.

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A good sail across the top of Meganissi took us to Port Atheni, a favourite anchorage and here we contemplated sitting out the F6 north westerly’s promised for the next day. In the end we decided against that idea and headed back to the safe anchorage of Vliho where the mud sucks the anchor fast. Good job as we stayed on board and clocked a regular 30knots over the deck.

Our last night in the Inland Sea had to be Varko Bay and after the windy night in Vliho Bay came a bright and warmer day. We had a good sail across to Varko, anchored swam and enjoyed a magical evening with boat lights, distant town lights and stars above twinkling all around us.

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We are now in Preveza doing the jobs; engine has been serviced; decks have been treated with preservative and fungicide; the jib is down and bagged up; the cleaning underway. We have explored the town a bit more, walked to the local sandy beach adjacent to the town quay and enjoyed the days. Unfortunately the nightlife on the quay has been far too noisy for us; we had to decamp to the front berth to get any sleep!

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September 26^th is a Big Day. Nigel celebrates and commiserates his big O birthday. We did manage a couple of hours on the beach and had a very welcome swim.

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 Then tomorrow on Monday 27^th we lift out, pack up, winterize the engine, cover Déjà Vu and fly home on Thursday 30^th.

 I have calculated that we have travelled 741 miles this year all around the Ionian from Corfu to the Gulf of Corinth and much in between. It’s been great, memorably hot and noticeably more busy as September has drawn to a close. Where next in 2022?

It took a couple of days to refresh from the family visit; do the laundry, recalibrate and decide where to go. We stayed an extra couple of days in the marina at Lefkas to sit out some strong winds and in this time we did some new exploring. We put our bikes together and cycled out to the beach one day and explored, more thoroughly, the backstreets of the town itself. We found the most enchanting Cuban bar and took one of the few remaining pavement tables. The hostess was dressed in Cuban style and was even seen smoking a rather large Havana cigar when she finally sat down for a break! At 9.30pm live music erupted from inside the bar and the colourful performer sang Caribbean songs brilliantly, made very mysterious by the fact that we could not actually see her! Nigel stepped inside to peek a view.

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Finally leaving Lefkas we made a pit stop in Sivota, another in Vathi on Ithaca then in a lone anchorage at Limin Petalis on the mainland coast before heading east into the Gulf of Corinth. Bad weather was forecast, so we headed up to the Marina in Messolongi, some 20 miles into the Gulf , lying amongst the salt marshes on the north side. We had been here before when we did the trip through the Corinth Canal, but at that time the Marina was closed due to administrative difficulties and we anchored at the head of the Messolongi canal for the night. This time we had the Marina to afford shelter and to serve as a base for exploring the town.

The approach to Messolongi is through a canal that has some interesting fishermen’s houses, called Pelades, standing on stilts in the shallow water, looking like something out of SE Asia. The huts are now mostly used as holiday homes.

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In the event we were located in the most exposed place in the Marina, in spite of our protestations and we endured a very uncomfortable time running extra lines to secure the boat! Apart from that we found the Marina and restaurant staff all very friendly.

We took a bike ride into the town and enjoyed a coffee in the Square, Nigel had a haircut at a local barber and we visited the Garden of Heroes.  We saw some interesting churches and a mixture of architectural styles with the old being replaced by the new in most places. The garden of Heroes was particularly peaceful and reflective with dozens of statues scattered amid tall trees with country flags flying, presumably to acknowledge the ‘heroes’ connections. Unfortunately there was not a word of English anywhere, so we had to be content with the visual and only imagine the information! We searched for Byron, who actually died in this place, but we are not sure if he was represented there.

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We had a fun evening exploring the waterside of Mesolonghi, see below.

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Much as we wanted to continue into the Gulf and revisit Trezonia and Galaxidi, time eluded us as we have only 2 weeks remaining. The distances east are long and fine with a following wind, but we had to be mindful of the uphill sailing required to return, so the plan was canned and we headed back west and enjoyed a cracking sail.

Another night in the anchorage of Limin Petalis where there is nothing but sea and sky, we decided to visit the town of Astakos on the mainland coast, a town we had not ever visited before. We tied up to the town quay getting beaten around by the strong afternoon sea breeze.  We enjoyed a pleasant evening in the company of an Englishman and a Frenchman, both sailing solo, who had many tales to tell. Peter and Paul were great company and phone numbers were exchanged!

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Next day we had a windless day and motored to Ithaca, but our trip to Kefalonia the next day was all under sail, although it did take a long time! We had time to stop off for a swim on the coast of Ithaca.

We were thrilled to arrive in Efemia  on Kefalonia to be greeted by the old harbour master Makis, who has been brought out of retirement to manage the harbour once again. He really is an old school gem and we all feel much safer with him around. He reminded us that this day 17^th September last year was the day the medicane hit. The harbour wall took 9m waves, boats were sunk and he declared that in all his life, he had never experienced anything like it before.

Southerly winds are promised for a few days which means light rain and much cloud. We are due to go north so that is the good news, but it looks like we will miss out on the blue skies. Thoughts are turning to going home – we have one more week to go.

The plan had been to spend a full week with Faye, Guy and the girls on board, 28th August – 5th September, but Nigel had been laid low with a virus at home and we had to delay our departure to allow him as full a recovery as possible. In the event the family travelled ahead of us and secured a very nice apartment in the centre of Preveza town for the three nights it took us to get to Déjà Vu, prepare the boat and get her launched. By Tuesday 31st August, we were ready to welcome everyone on board.

We set off from Preveza down to the Lefkas bridge and canal and visited Vathi and then Port Atheni on Megannissi, Sivota and Vliho Bay on Lefkas before returning to Lefkas Marina where the family had to depart.

Our very special time together was quite predictably child centric and we had a wonderful few days sailing, swimming, rowing, messing about, eating and sleeping.  It was action packed with Nigel and I hardly remembering where the time went to! On board the girls had to learn how to move around the boat safely and make up their very popular pirate beds. They rewarded us with full night sleeps, such was their level of exhaustion! And ours!

Each day we sailed and anchored, launched the dinghy for trips to the beach and we all enjoyed much hilarity swimming in the sea with buoyancy aids and noodles. Nigel devised some important tasks for the girls to do whilst on board to earn a sailing certificate from Grandpa’s Academy of Sailing. Martha successfully learned to manage the steps down into the cabin from the cockpit and she learned some boating terms, notably bow and stern. Rose managed to tie a bowline, helm, use the winch handle and more! They both took turns to help drop the anchor.

We did have a couple of boat concerns along the way which required some troubleshooting and remedial action. Nigel was extremely grateful for Guy’s help at sourcing problems and then helping, hands on, to rectify them. Ah, the joys of boating life, it is not all romantic!

We hope  the ensuing photos tell the story of our busy half a week. Plenty of happy faces describe very accurately our holiday together. Thanks to both Faye and Guy for supplying most of the excellent photos! We hope everyone had as brilliant a time as we did. We miss you, come again soon.

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On Friday 23rd July we anchored off the end of the Lefkas Canal at Lygia, primarily for a swim before heading into the Marina ready to meet friend Peter. However there was a yearning for sardines, so we jumped into the dinghy and went ashore for a Greek salad and a plate of delicious grilled sardines. As we delayed our entry to the marina as long as possible to avoid the busyness and the heat, we watched an incredible exodus of yachts from the Inland sea. It was Friday and the end of the charter yachting week! We lost count of the dozens of catamarans converging on the canal like wasps to a honey pot; they all seemed to be racing to be first. When we eventually joined in and arrived at the marina, we understood why. Each boat needed to refuel before handing it back and the fuel jetty was manic with boats jostling for the next space. Fortunately, having booked our berth for the night, we went straight into our allotted place and got tied up without any problems.

It was great to welcome Peter from his late landing flight from Gatwick. He arrived in the relative cool of the evening, so began his acclimatisation the easy way. He came bearing bubbles, most welcome! various boat parts Nigel has ordered from the UK, and very importantly Peter gifted us a new red ensign. The previous one, faded like the status of the UK in the EU, was quickly replaced by this bright new one. Thank you Peter!

We were all anxious to depart Lefkas, so after essential housekeeping chores which included filling with water, we set off soon after 10am the next morning. The week was set fair with light winds and plenty of heat, so it became a mission to set the itinerary to find some afternoon wind. On day one, our destination being Sivota, 20 miles south of Lefkas town, we found far too much of it on the nose, (where else?) south of Meganissi. Our usual stopover in Sivota is Stavros’ pontoon. It was 5pm and we fetched up as only one of two boats on it; having never seen the place so empty. We concluded it was too soon for the charter boats, but later that evening several catamarans tied up, so the restaurant was full. We enjoyed a superb fish between the three of us and slept happy.

Other stops included Vathi North Quay on Ithaca, where once again we had a very agressive afternoon wind that made for lively approaches and mooring up.

Ithaca to Kastos via the island of Atacos, half way between the two and on which we had planned a lunchtime stopover. It was not to be; the small anchorage available was full to bursting, so we sailed on to find an anchorage spot off the entrance at Kastos. It took over an hour to get the anchor set as the holding was very patchy, but we , like the many other boats doing the same thing, achieved it eventually. It is noticeably busier. Many more charter boats are out and many European owned boats are all vying for the same spaces. This was a reminder of why we usually spend mid July to end August in UK. That and the increasing heat with daytime temperatures once again climbing towards 40, 41 degrees. Much too hot. We enjoyed Margeritas at the cocktail bar on Kastos followed by a very enterprising BBQ aboard.

Port Atheni next where Peter had to fix up the internet access for their AAA investment club meeting, followed by a night of star gazing from Varko Bay where there is little light pollution. We all saw an amazing shooting star which veritably ‘exploded and cascaded’ before our eyes.

Peter was great crew and took all his duties very seriously; giving Mo some time off from time to time! Peter swims like a fish and enjoyed daily swims of marathon proportions which put Nigel and Mo’s daily efforts to shame!

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The need to go to Preveza for Covid PCR tests came all too soon, but we were rewarded with a great sail north from Lefkas before hitting the heat of the town. With the tests behind us but with the risks of Covid from packed bars an ever present possibility, we enjoyed the backstreet cafes of Preveza, choosing to sit only in the least crowded places.

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Once again a trip round to Vonitsa to fill time before Deja Vu was lifted out, the laundry was done and a sort out and clear out completed. We left Cleopatra Marina at 7pm and flew home on a half full Easy Jet flight getting back to Gatwick around 11pm local time. We were glad to find our beds and adjust to new temperatures.

At the end of the first week of July and we decided to head north to revisit some places we had got to know three or four years back. With a light wind we sailed and motored our way from Preveza and decided to stop over in Parga for the night. Parga is a pretty mainland holiday town, opposite the island of Paxos, set high on cliff tops with quaint houses and restaurants set into the cliff. The town straddles a headland with an old castle and fortification. We anchored off the busy umbrella clad beach and were royally rocked about all afternoon until gone 7pm with holidaymakers enjoying high speed thrills on inflatables, water skis and paragliders.

Off to Paxos for a nostalic visit to Lakka Bay on the northern tip of the island. It is still jaw droppingly beautiful with ice blue water and of course, still a magnet for every sailor to visit. We anchored for a couple of nights, enjoyed lots of swims, a walk and even the Euro Cup final late on the Sunday night in a Greek taverna where funnily enough most support seemed to be for the Italians! We had retreated before the bitter end of penalty shoot outs so did not have to contend with jubilant Italians. It was noticeable there are very few British sailors about and now European holiday season has arrived, there are lots of Italians, French, Dutch, Scandinavians and more. Thank goodness for our flag spotting book, we have used it extensively to identify more obscure flags; Bahrain even!

Next stop Petriti, a very good anchorage on the south west coast of Corfu which used to be very quiet. It has been discovered which is good for the on shore tavernas, but now a crowded anchorage; 50 boats instead of 10! We did visit an excellent new taverna, Limanaki, which also had accommodation and we got chatting to the owner. A tale of hard times and his quest to get a pontoon established to encourage yacht crews to visit his restaurant. He needed luck and about 10-20k euros!

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We took the dinghy along the coast to the south and discovered a couple of holiday resorts, one of which, called Panorama, was a fascinating mix of wooded paths, tiny coves, sunbeds in the trees, hammocks along the way, occasional bars serving food and way up, the main building. It looked a bit hedonistic, everyone looking cool and chilled! We stopped for a beer and encountered a wide array of flying insects, so were quite glad to retreat back to the safety of the sea!

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North past Corfu old town, still a stunning sight. There were cruise liners moored up in the commercial port busy going nowhere. We had booked a couple of nights in Gouvia marina and were disappointed to find the Marina suffering from a fairly large diesel spill. We insisted on relocating to minimize the smell, but it seems the marina has a problem that is is not actively dealing with. A chance to get the laundry done, but more importantly some electrical engineers came on board to replace the connectors on our solar panels. We had been unhappy for a while that we were not getting consistent power output from them and knew the connectors were unstable. We are determined to get more solar capacity for next season and will be investigating the various options available to us.

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From Corfu we crossed to the mainland to revisit a quiet anchorage at Valtou, not so charming this time as the fish farming had encroached and tainted the water; it was a bit smelly and not inviting for swimming. On to Platarius where we found they were working on rebuilding the harbour wall so there was limited mooring capacity for boats. We fortunately took one of two berths and enjoyed a secure stay as the fresh sea breeze in the afternoon made the beach anchorage very bumpy. It was good to walk around the small seaside town and be recognised and welcomed by the couple of cafes and restaurant we had supported on our previous visits. They told us of hard times with few visitors so we had to stay for one more beer!

With more westerly winds forecast, our last night on Corfu had to be back in Petriti. Lovely swimming and a meal on board; off to an early start to go south, unfortunately in Southerly winds! We headed again for Parga, this time going ashore to re-aquaint with the superb Italian restaurant, Filomila, we had found in 2017. Still good, but we were uncomfortable in the crowds of this busy place and soon returned to the boat anchored off the beach.

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South again to Preveza, we had a cracking sail once the afternoon breeze kicked in around 1pm. It was a beam reach, could not be better and we clocked up 8 knots surfing down the waves, reaching Preveza Quay by 4pm in time for a cup of tea.

That night we tried out a new restaurant in town, very Greek and most hospitable. Outside there was a profusion of flower baskets and pots along with a wide selection of good, home cooked Greek food.

With 10 days ahead before we return home, we went south to be ready to meet Peter in Lefkas. Peter is joining us for a week around the inland sea. More on that in the next blog.