We endured two uncomfortable days of battering from gale force southerlies whilst tied up in the Marina at Brindisi and the long range forecast was still for strong winds. We needed a moderate wind to leave for Corfu, a 115 mile trip that we planned to do in two parts. Firstly 85 miles to the island of Erikoussa, one of the Diapondan isles just north of Corfu and then 30 miles down to Corfu town on the eastern side of the island.

 

As the two days of gales abated late on Friday 17^th June, an immediate window of opportunity presented itself with light north easterlies forecast for the next 24-hours before the next wave of strong winds. We left Brindisi at 6am on Saturday 18^th June and motored out into a glassy sea, setting a south easterly course for Erikoussa. During the 14 hour trip we motored for 7 hours and sailed for 7 hours on a fast broad reach, where the boat was making hull speed and more as she surfed down waves. We arrived in the bay to drop our anchor as the last vestiges of light were receding. A long trip behind us, we enjoyed a quick convenience supper (camping ready meal suggested by Tom!) and bed although the rolling sea did not afford much sleep! Up early on Sunday 19^th June, we set off in dark threatening skies, but once inside the narrow strait between Corfu and Albania, the weather brightened and calmed. We ended up with a gentle sail into Gouvia Marina and tied up ready to check into Greece.

This formality had to wait until the Port Police arrived on Monday morning, and even then was only partly completed because the authorities had run out of cruising permits. We had to make do with a letter from the Corfu Police to vouch for our arrival and fee having been paid!

Noticeably hotter and more crowded in Corfu, we spent our time boat cleaning, refilling the water tanks, shopping and making use of the very welcome swimming pool at the Marina. We took the bus into Corfu town to get a data SIM card for our ipad. We queued for ages in the Cosmote store only to be told that they had run out of them but there would be arriving tomorrow. The mobile phone shops here are chaos with every assistant doing everything. Some customers take an age buying a new phone whilst other just want to pay a €5 bill and get very angry. We did lots of sightseeing in Corfu when we last visited in 2012, so check our blog here for more photos and maybe a bit of history.

We made our departure on Wednesday and sailed to an anchorage just south of the castle in Corfu town. Our intention was to return to the phone shop the next morning and get the SIM card. This we did after another very rolly night only to find unsurprisingly that the promised cards had not arrived. We defaulted to Vodaphone who at least had some. Greece is going to be a very different experience to Croatia!

It soon became clear that there are not very many deep sheltered places to go around Corfu and there is hot competition for the best anchorage positions and harbour spaces, especially if there is adverse weather forecast which is what we were soon to discover.

We set off south for a few days and visited Garista Bay, off Corfu town, Platarias town on the mainland coast and Mourtos village, again on the mainland coast with the small Sivoti islands offshore and the quiet anchorage of Valtou just north of the busy port of Igoumenitsa. The anchorage here beyond a raft of fish farms was very remote and beautiful, spoilt only by its proximity to a mosquito breeding swamp! We went ashore here and walked over the hill to see a wide beach looking across to the busy port of Igounimista. One calm night was followed by strong winds that made the anchorage very uncomfortable and our anchor dragged. We quickly re anchored with lots more chain out.

Our hopes of getting to Paxos on this excursion were thwarted by strong southerlies followed by strong north westerlies, making Paxos a bad choice of destination as there is limited shelter there, so it will wait for a week and we will try again. The promise of calm Ionian sailing seems like a myth at the moment and we have joined the throngs of sailors jockeying for shelter! Returning north for a couple of days to meet up with friends Colin and Sandra Baxter who are holidaying on the island. Thursday 30^th June we are in Gouvia Marina having the rigging checked, revitalling, having high hopes of the laundry getting done in spite of frequent power cuts!

For those of you non sailors who follow our blog, apologies for constant references to the weather, but sailors will understand that this drives our days, our thinking and our plans. The forces of nature are huge and need to be treated with great respect. Life on the boat is very simple and subsistent. We depend on the elements, worry about where the wind is coming from and how much of it there is, where we can get water (and wine) and the next loaf of bread. After the sailing, reprovisioning and doing the laundry are major tasks in our day. We read kindles in daylight and sleep in the dark. We are truly distanced from manmade troubles of the world as our exposure to the media is limited to quick fire bursts of internet time on our ipads in cafes sporting wifi, and the priority is always weather forecasts and emails from family and friends. The news takes second place in our sea faring world.

Since leaving in early May, we have had very unstable weather conditions and not more than 2 days of settled weather in a row in which to make carefree passages. Writing this from Brindisi on June 17^th we are rolling around in the Marina with gale force winds relentlessly buffeting us and they are not forecast to abate any time soon. We may be holed up here for a while, so time to tell the story of our time in Italy so far.

Given the unsettled nature of the weather we chose our departure from Lastovo carefully to try and miss the frequent storms and southerly winds that had featured through the whole of May. The 4^th June appeared to be our best bet as light winds were forecast from the Northwest.

We checked out early morning with the Police and were on our way heading to Vieste in Italy some 58 miles away. We motored for three hours and then some wind arrived, giving us a broad reach. We sailed slowly and then put up the dreaded cruising chute which gave another knot. The wind lasted only a couple of hours and then we had dead calm. Motoring on we arrived in Vieste at 6pm to moor up on Caterina’s pier in the harbour.

Vieste is a busy holiday resort with a large well populated beach and both new and old towns. The old town occupies the limestone cliff area to the south of the new town and is very attractive. By contrast the harbour area is quite messy and has many tripper boats coming and going to take tourists to the Tremeti Islands some 10 miles away. There is a new marina in the harbour built with EU money but never finished (the money ran away apparently) so most boats moor on the old piers on the opposite side.

This was our second trip to Vieste with our first visit to the old town well documented in our blog for 2013. This time instead of taking the camera we took shopping bags to reprovision before our friends Sharon and Peter Matthews joined us for 6 days with the hope of a ride to Bari! Vieste has an excellent street market where we bought 2 litres of very drinkable wine for 5 euros and the best olives we have ever tasted in addition to lovely fresh fruit and vegetables.

This week ahead was plagued with thunderstorms. We had to choose our passages carefully and dodge the worst of the storms that were all around.

We did the 60 miles to Bari in two hops.

Our first port of call, 40 miles south of Vieste, was the delightful harbour of Trani. The marina sits inside the harbour which is flanked on all sides by the old town with its many fine and interesting buildings. Towering above all is the magnificent cathedral with a simple pious atmosphere and mosaics and frescoes to see in the crypt. After our sightseeing we decided to dress smart and go to a recommended restaurant, that of Corteinfiore, where we enjoyed a superb meal and wine in the most delightful surroundings. www.conteinfiore.it

Perfect sailing with a 20 mile beam reach from Trani got us to Bari just in front of a thunderstorm and we did well to tie up at Marina Ranieri just before the deluge. Needless to say the afternoon saw a long lunch and a siesta! From Bari we planned a few days to explore inland.

It should have been a clue when we discovered the excess on the car insurance policy doubles for driving around Southern Italy. Cars drove at us from all directions, junctions were random and chaotic and parking was haphazard. Apart from having to drive on one’s mettle, it was a significant challenge to find any form of signposting and directions from the scant tourist information we had were woefully misleading! Southern Italy has some unique and beautiful historic sites that are kept well hidden and a secret from tourists!

Our first destination out of Bari was to Castel del Monte, a massive octagonal castle with Gothic corner towers and noted for its harmony of proportions, which crowned an isolated peak in the low plain south of Barletta. Our eagerness to explore the castle built in 1240 was thwarted by a local power cut, so it was not open the public.

We drove on the Matera further south, just in time to have a quick lunch and explore the fringe of this lovely old town before a massive storm hit overhead and we were forced to shelter in shop doorways before finally making a break for the car. Yes we did get soaked and disappointed the local traders trying very hard to sell us all umbrellas.

Alberobello is a beautiful village and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. We found a huge concentration of Trulli houses in a village that could have passed for Hobbiton and saved Peter Jackson a fortune in creating a film set in New Zealand!

The story goes that these small strange circular buildings of whitewashed dry stones with cone shaped roofs boasting pinnacles of various shapes and sizes, were built to avoid a building tax back in the 15^th century. The King of Naples at the time levied a tax on mortar buildings, so the then count of Alberobello gave the order to build trulli ‘a secco’or ‘without mortar’, so that they could be easily dismantled in case of royal inspection. Once Alberobello obtained independence in 1797, trulli and subsequent houses were built using mortar becoming the dwellings we saw.

Finally time in Bari to explore the old town, the centrepiece of which is the famous Basilica of Saint Nicholas, which again is documented in our 2013 blog. Whilst enjoying a cool drink in a cafe here we literally bumped into friends from Farnham, who were on a one week South Italy sightseeing holiday! We have constant reminders how very small the world sometimes seems.

We said farewell to Peter and Sharon on Sunday 12^th June having had a good week with them.

We continued our journey south to the new and very plush Casa Ponte Marina on the outskirts of the charming cliff top village of Polignano. By courtesy of a tuc tuc style taxi into the village we explored the narrow streets, bought pistachio nuts in the street market and enjoyed a beer as we watched the festival festivities get underway with brass bands regaled in different colours assembling in the main square. A purple capped cleric arrived at the cathedral to great rejoicing and later he was to hold a ceremony at sea accompanied apparently by a sacred statue of St Vito, the patron saint of Polignano, to bless the boats! We were amused by the female police presence, very cool! A wonderful firework display rounded off a fun visit.

The next days with wind on the beam we had a chance to get to Brindisi before the gales arrived during the following night. It turned out to be the fastest sail we have ever done as we averaged 7.5 knots on the 42 mile trip. We were helped by a south going current of around 0.5 knots so at times our speed over the ground exceeded 9 knots. A mental note was made not to use this coast for a northbound passage! We were fortunate to have wind off the land so there was no fetch on the sea to make it uncomfortable, although the gusty wind meant we couldn’t relax. As soon as we got tied up in the Marina in Brinidisi soon after lunch, the winds increased to near gale force and two days later they are still raging.

Mo feels particularly poignant to be here as some 72 or 73 years ago her father was here during the war as Brindisi was a place he talked about often. There is an attractive old town, a lovely cathedral and newly redeveloped main shopping streets and quayside. All in all it is very welcoming, there are contrasts of dirty streets and poor areas beside the cleaner and more affluent ones. Very typical of Southern Italy, and probably everywhere. There is a noticeable population of north African street sellers trying to make some sort of a living, and many of the locals are offering hospitality to the tourists they would like to see more of. Sights in Brindisi below include the beautiful cathedral, one of the many monuments, the quay and finishing with the famous roman Appian steps, marking the end of the Appian Way.

Our first week sailing south behind us, we are setting off south again from Trogir with winds still set firmly in the south, which is tiresome when the prevailing winds should be north westerly! We plan to spend a couple of weeks revisiting and exploring haunts before meeting up with Tom for our few final days in Croatia.

On May 18^th we enjoyed a fine beat from Trogir down to the north coast of Hvar. The pretty port of Stari Grad nestled in a deep inlet on the north coast of Hvar with a regular ferry service to Split, afforded good shelter from the gales threatened for a few days. It was quite exciting getting moored up in a strong crosswind, but we managed without incident and then enjoyed the spectacle of others trying. It was vital to be on board to fend off out of control charter boats but when we had yachts safe on both sides we felt able to go and explore.

The town is celebrating an historic anniversary and there is much development going on to expand the quay on both sides of the harbour. We witnessed the flowers being put up all over the town. We have enjoyed a few days walking around the familiar town, revisiting bars and one particular restaurant which served us an amazing 3 course meal with wine for under £28 for the both of us. The bikes were assembled and we had a great day riding across the Stari Grad Plain to the ports of Vbroska and Jelsa, some 7km away across the peninsular. The rough road took us past the old aerodrome and a fertile valley which is extensively farmed. New potatoes were ready, vines were thriving and all allotment style plots were most carefully attended. A sheer delight for Mo was the brilliant display of wild flowers, Milk Wort, Avens, Vetch, rows and rows of poppies, and many others tossing in the strong wind. It was mostly flat across the plain, but a descent into the ports was countered with a steep climb back on our return route. Fortunately we had the wind behind us for the trip back and we felt healthily tired when we finally got back to Deja Vu, some 20km later. Memories of the bike ride below.

Nigel decided to service the winches whilst quietly at anchor one sunny morning and inadvertently dropped a large screwdriver onto the cockpit floor which managed, against overwhelming odds, to fall vertically down the water drain! The debate concluded that it would indeed have fallen through and onto the sea bed, some 6 metres below. Rising to the challenge of retrieving the screwdriver Nigel braved the cold sea armed with a magnet on a long line. Just before he turned completely blue, he located the screwdriver and very skilfully lowered the magnet, made contact and hauled out the trophy! A job well done!

Our detour to Vis was not a happy one as we caught a south easterly gale followed by a thunderstorm whilst moored on a buoy in the harbour. Space in the harbour was restricted as the main quay was being rebuilt and out of action. Not a lot of sleep that night as we watched the crowded buoyage with boats swinging round in circles and other boats heaving on the quay at Kut, some leaving for safer moorings. We took our chance to leave Vis with a lull in the wind and had an angry sea to encounter as we journeyed up to Milna.

With a couple of settled days promised we set out on a circumnavigation of Brac which became interesting as we had not done this before and we discovered the delights of the eastern end of the island. We passed the famous stone quarries from which the stone to construct the White House in Washingdon DC originated, or so the Croatians are delighted to boast. We moored up in a delightful, sheltered inlet on the north east coast and fell for the temptation of supper at Pipo’s konoba, which was very delicious. We were treated to the sight of a long white cloud streaming across the tall mountains of the mainland which fell dramatically to the coast as we left early in the morning to round the eastern end of Brac.

May 28^th and time to make for Split to meet up with Tom. He arrived on a late EasyJet flight from Manchester, so we took the opportunity to clean the boat and do the shopping, exhausting stuff in very unusual hot temperatures of 28 degrees C. It did not last and as soon as we were ready to go the next morning, normal service had been resumed with 17 degrees C and 25 knot winds for us to beat into.

We had a great time with Tom, good sailing and sunnier days. We visited Milna, Vis and ended up in Vela Luka on Korcula where he departed on the ferry back to Split to get his flight home.

From Vela Luka we had a fast beat, yes, again, down to Lastovo. We love this island for its beautiful remoteness and the peace of it is very therapeutic. From here we have to bid farewell to Croatian shores and as we sailed away on Saturday June 4^th, we both looked back with more than a tinge of sadness that we were leaving Croatia behind. New shores beckon for now but we hope to return here in the future. Last night in Croatia, at anchor, below.

 

 

The season started early for Nigel when he flew to Sukosan on the 3rd May. This was to meet up with the sail maker and receive and test our modified sails. In the event he couldn’t come and Gunter from Sunbeam was summoned instead, arriving only on the 10^th. Deja Vu was launched on the morning of the 4^th with assistance from our American friends Geoffrey and Giannina in berthing after the launch.

Nigel then spent the following four days until Mo arrived cleaning and polishing such that Deja Vu looked better than ever. Then it rained leaving a fine deposit of red dust all over the boat. C’est la vie! When Mo arrived we had a beautiful calm morning so we decided to rig the new sails in advance of Gunter arriving. All went well and the changes looked to be a great improvement. We rented a car and did the admin in Zadar and another couple of rounds of shopping to stock up and get the perishables.

During this time we met up with our many sailing friends in Sukosan, including Paul, Jane, Jeremy, Pat and Pete, Mark and Gudrun and Peter and Jess. We will be sad to leave then behind and have enjoyed good times with them.

On the 10^th Gunter arrived and we went out for a test sail to check how the new sails set. It was a perfect day for it with winds of 12-15kt. Deja Vu was put through her paces and the sails pronounced good. Gunter passed on many useful tips on getting the best out of the boat and we enjoyed his company over lunch. Sunbeam have done well by us and their support has been appreciated.

That evening Chris and Liz arrived and our adventures began.

Our friends of over 40 years, Chris and Liz Jones joined us on Tuesday 10^th May for a week to travel south to Split. Their Ryan Air flight was early and they were on board by 10pm. Keen and raring to go sailing, we had to disappoint them on day one and settle for a day sightseeing in the lovely town of Zadar, due to the miserable wet and windy weather, which was forecast to upset the week ahead.

The day was well rewarded with a good lunch at Bruchetta in Zadar, an interesting tour around the Ancient Glass Museum and a final excellent fish supper in Kod Guste back at Sukosan where we had the chance to say goodbye to the lovely family running the restaurant who had always made us so very welcome. Hugs and kisses from Antonia who promised to welcome us again when we returned!  Thursday May 12th we set sail, leaving Sukosan behind for the last time as we head off for new sailing adventures in Greece.

The photos above show the best of our happy week. Unsettled the week turned out to be, but it did not prevent us having some good sailing in between the stormy bits, and we port hopped down through Murter, Kakan, Rozognica, Vinisce and finally to Trogir. It was a changeable week of contrasts. We saw sunshine and showers, the strong southerly Jugo winds, but not the northerly Bura; rough waters to sail in and sometimes smooth; we enjoyed a peaceful night on a buoy in Kakan and a noisy afternoon in Rozognica as workmen were redeveloping the quayside; it was sometimes hot for an hour of sunbathing but often cold for snuggling down below decks for a warm toddy and a game of Bananagrams, but Chris and Liz did get a very quick swim in the frigid sea during one sunny period! On our last night we walked the ancient streets of Trogir and enjoyed a good meal in Konoba Teuta, one of our favourites.  We said goodbye to Chris and Liz and immediately set sail south to spend some time on Hvar before returning to Split to meet Tom on May 28th.

It is only February, and storm Imogen has been ravaging the south of England. With 60 knot winds inland and 95 knot winds recorded at the Needles, we are very glad not to be sailing now! However we have Deja Vu very much in mind and it is helping to get us through a round of DIY home projects that we  have been putting off for too long.

Deja Vu’s sails are with the sailmaker for a recut of the jib and a repair of the main. Not a great outcome for a new boat, but we hope when they come back they will be perfect for this coming season. We are planning to leave our Marina in May and sail south, our destination being Corfu around mid July. We plan to return home for the latter part of July and all of August before returning to explore the northern Ionians in September. Meanwhile we are collecting things to take down to Croatia; additional bedding, a new prop for the outboard, lovely new gadgets we have collected as Christmas presents, almanacs for Greek waters, new head torches to name but a few. We plan to bring back some other things to make room for the new additions though, to keep our inventory under control.