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!

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.