Grand Slam

Where to next? ..erm ..erm ...erm

...erm  ...erm  ermioni. Ermioni!!!!

Now the less navigationally challenged amongst you may realise (if you have been paying attention that is) that the way to get to Turkey (as per plan 14x Rev2) is to turn left at Poros and head east. Ermioni is a hard right after Poros and totally in the wrong direction. So here we are in Poros turning hard right!!! Looks like plan 15a then!

Yes, after a lot of hard thought we have decided to give Turkey a miss, at least for this year. You see we have received so good news and some good news. Firstly the good news. We have a contract signed to sell our house in Scotland. Secondly the other good news, we have been told we will have the planning consent on the new house next week. This all means it will be full speed ahead in early July so we have to get the boat tied up somewhere safe by end of June latest. We thought Messolonghi would be the best bet as we can then drive out later in the year if we can get a break from the house building. ......and it's cheap.

The advantage of this plan is that we spend the next 5 weeks just pottering around this part of Greece without the need to make any passages and get lots more practise in for our "watching the world go by" gold medal. So next stop is Ermioni, 20 miles down the Peloponese coast.

Our last night in Poros (Thursday) was a bit blowy, so much so that we didn't get back up to the snail restaurant - but we will be back. It turned out the wind died around 10 ish so no problem. Next time I think we will try and get on the north quay rather than the pontoon. Overall an 8/10 for Poros. I liked it.

Friday we left for a 20 mile motor down to Ermioni and arrived around 2 ish. No wind to speak off unfortunately. We parked next to Pyxis who had spent the previous night in Hydra with tale of woe. Ermioni is a tight squeeze to get in but very solid once you are on the west side of the quay. Nice town. Not too expensive but not cheap either. No contenders for the best pub in the world here then! Or the mankiest moggy in the world although there were the odd one who might have ended up in the top 10.

We had heard various stories of Hydra - an island just south of Ermioni. It' s claim to fame is that it has no cars. Just Ponies. Nothing motorised in fact. No motorbikes, scooters, 4WDs, zip! A couple of boats had said don't even think about going in there. Pyxis had, and had had a very stressful night. Instead we chose to take the hydrofoil over from Ermioni at a cost of 40€ for the two of us and went over on Saturday. Now maybe a holiday weekend Saturday was not the best choice of day to go - it was mobbed. There is not much space for yachts and what there is is a bit dodgy. Ballast coming out from the wall. Big chains littering the bottom. A northerly wind sending a dangerous swell in and on top of that boats double and triple parking stern to. No way. I think we made the best choice.

Hydra was really worth making the effort to see though. Very touristy but if you got off the sea front area it was a real gem walking round the old town. Tourist prices but worth doing.

Sunday we had a day of rest and didn't do a lot as it was the holiday weekend and there really isnt a lot to do in Ermioni. I will give the place a 6/10 - there's nothing there. We did meet up with Jane and Steve on Castaway. They were from Aberdeen and we got talking in one of the restaurants. The following day we helped them sort out the spinnaker on their boat - they had just bought the boat but were still finding bits a pieces all the time.

Monday morning we left to head round the corner to head up towards Navpilo but decided to stop to anchor for the night on the way. Accordingly we left later than normal to wait for some wind which started around noon ish. We actually managed to sail for 3 hrs in a total journey of 5 hours. I'll let you know where we got to in the next post.

At last, some Greek food Pam likes - Thursday 20th May

........Snails, that well known Greek delicacy!!!!! Yes, Pam actually found some food yesterday she thought was great. In a restaurant called Karavolos (which translated could mean Snails). Any way, I am getting ahead of myself. Back to the story so far.

If you remember we were in Methana riding out what was to be a F7 overnight wind. It never really appeared so on Wednesday morning we set off for the short hop over to the Island of Poros about 5 miles away. We upped anchor at 11am which was a bit of a relief as we were worried it might have fouled in the marina on the many mooring chains on the bottom. The harbour master had been very specific where we should drop our anchor to avoid the chains but you never know.I do have all the diving kit but the water in the marina was a cloudy white with a visibility measured in inches. It is a spa town and the marina water has a lot of volcanic effluent in it!!!!. Diving to find an anchor even though it was only 3 metres deep would have been a pain.

Overall I would give Methana an 8/10. We really liked the place and Pam particularly liked the spa pool we sat in the day before. I would certainly go back there.

So around an hour later we arrived in Poros and parked ourselves "stern to" on the east side of the pontoon on the north side. It's obvious if you look at a chart, although I don't think the pontoon is marked on any of the charts yet! By some aberration, I only managed to drop 25 metres of chain. More on that later (that's two things to watch out for so pay attention!). We were snuggly wedged in between Pyxis and a bit Cat so it was quite cosy.

The town looked quite nice. A bit touristy so prices are a bit higher than where we have been but not overly so. We found the laundry so took our stuff in the following day. Wednesday evening we went out for a meal and found the Karavolos restaurant up the hill away from the expensive sea front. Go right at the end of the pontoon (the land end silly) and walk until you get to the motorbike rental place. It's just up the hill behind there. Their speciality was Snails. Pam gave it 10/10. We are going back for more tonight.

Thursday dawned with a bit of wind from the north east. Pyxis were heading off down to Hydra so after 2 weeks of travelling together we would now be on our own. 10 minutes after they had gone, a 35knt gust of wind broadside on - and our anchor dragged. It had been fine with two boats around us but 25 metres of chain was not going to hack it. We upped anchor and then relaid it with 40 metres out this time. It seems a bit more solid (he said touching the table). There is a F5 forecast tonight so we will see. I think the big problem with the anchor was that it was laid in 3 m of water but the boat on the pontoon was in 8 m of water - hence we were pulling it down hill. Very difficult for it to set properly again if it broke out. (For the geographically challenged of you - I would skip this bit). Our plan is to leave in the morning and wind permitting head down towards Hydra.

After the trauma of having to re-lay the anchor we went out for a wee spot of practise for our Olympic class - "Watching the world go by, mixed doubles, alcohol included" although I am not sure today's counts 'cause Pam only had an ice cream (and half of mine). Priority now is for Pam to have another lot of snails tonight!

The mooring options for boats in Poros are quite extensive with space for hundreds of boats. There is water in most places but only lecky on the north quay and not on the pontoon. Today is relatively quiet with only around 15 boats - yesterday there was a sailing holidays delivery flotilla with 24 boats. So it's off tomorrow towards Hydra.

Methana - Tuesday May 18th

By Sunday we had spent 5 nights in Epidhavros and nice the place was, it was time to move on. Once more we managed not to be on the boat at the time the ever so nice Port Policeman walked past asking skippers to go up to the office to register. I don't think we would have found their office anyway – as this one was hidden away never to be found only by the most intrepid explorer. We just happened to be on the quay talking to Karen from Pyxis as he walked past. “No – not a clue who is on that boat!”.

We set off early on Monday – around 9.30am – to make the 18 mile sail round to Methana. We were heading there as the forecast for the next two nights was F6-7 from the northwest and Poros, the next place we were aiming for is a bit open to that direction. Methana, we had heard was a busy place and an early arrival was needed. We motored for the first hour but then managed to get the sails up and working for a good 30 mins before the wind died. Really good sailing once again. Pyxis were again with us and we got into the yacht marina in Methana around 12 ish. As predicted it was packed with long term boats but we managed to both shoe horn ourselves in with the help of the harbour manager.

No wonder the place is popular for boats. The marina is €700 per year for a 12m boat!!!!!!!! ...or €5 per night. …..and it is really well protected. Water and lecky were also very cheap.

Methana is one of those weird Greek places. You either love it or hate it. It is a spa town with the remnants of a volcano bubbling it's sulphurous gasses into a couple of very smelly pools. We were berthed out of the wind from these pools it was no problem. Pyxis however were not quite so lucky. We had a good wander round town – had the obligatory “watch the world go by” session “with alcohol” to get our necessary practice in and then a chill out on the boat. The town is quite small although it does have a big ferry quay for the ferries that go back and forth to the Athens side. In the evening we went out with Karen and Richard for another very cheap meal (only €15 for the two of us – it's getting cheaper).

Tuesday was another day off as the forecast was F7 for Tuesday night so this was a safe place to be. Pam and I took a stroll up the coast to find a spa that we had been told about around 15 mins walk north from the marina. It was brilliant. A small (3 ft diameter) pool edged with concrete on the sea shore with a hot spring bubbling into it. The water was fresh and around 50 ish deg C. We sat on the edge and paddled our feet in it for at least and hour – and practised watching the world go by – we must be a good bet for this gold medal …...although there was no alcohol in sight....so we can't count this in our official practise hours. Once again the sun was shinning but there were dark clouds on the horizon!!

Now if anyone wants to find this spa, walk north along the prom from the marina, go past the last hotel and keep walking. You will see a tennis court ahead. Go past this, then the basket ball court, and then keep going 'till you get just past the church. A few yards ahead do a sharp right by the wonky lampost (honest) towards the sea and there it is. If you blink you will miss it!! I suspect in the summer you won't get near it for tourists. We had it to ourselves!! Not a sole in sight.

We wandered back to town and had a late lunch at a restaurant with an unpronounceable name (starting with the greek letter that looks like a trident and sounds like – psi). Any way I raise this as it could be the start of another worldwide competition. Yes – the “mankiest cat in the world competition”. Now don't get me wrong, I do like all these wild cats as they keep those things away that begin with an “R” and an “M” (that we are not allowed to mention). But in this restaurant we saw what had to be the mankiest moggy in the world. It was manky! As we can't pronounce the restaurant's name, it hitheto will be know as the manky cat restaurant (in the great June/Piper fashion – you know, the tablecloth restaurant, the music restaurant, the restaurant where you can't get served etc – it is an “in” joke). Anyway the the manky cat restaurant is now in the lead for the Mankiest cat in the world award. Believe me it was manky. Restaurant prices were very cheap but not quite up to the best bar in the world prices, but not far off.Did I say we saw a manky cat?

By the time we had finished eating, the wind had got up to 20knts, it had gone grey (shock horror!!!) and it had even got a bit cold. We therefore retreated to the boat and gave up our Olympic practise for the day. The plan tomorrow is to head down to Poros once the wind dies down a bit and then thereafter all this windy weather should have passed. It won't be an early start though. Poros is on only 5 miles away. We may even try and sail all the way! No port police to worry about here but I will need to find the nice man who will want to collect our marina fees.

By the way, is there anyone reading this know if "Marina" the dog in Messolonghi has had her puppies yet? She looked due to explode when we left a few weeks ago. More to follow tomorrow.

Epidhavros still..... Sunday 16th May

Well it didn't take long before we got "stuck" somewhere - did it? Shades of Spartahori last year! We are leaving soon - honest! We arrived on Tuesday with the idea of staying maybe 3 nights but as it is such a nice place and the weather this weekend has been a bit over the top, we are still here.

Epidhavros' biggest claim to fame is it's ancient Theatre. It's about 15 miles away so the only real option is to go by taxi. We joined forces with Pyxis and so it was €20 per couple. The taxi takes you there and drops you for an hour then brings you back. It turned out that an hour was not really long enough as in addition to the theatre there are a lot of ruins to look round and a small museum. Well worth the trip though. We went on Wednesday and it was not too busy with only a handful of coaches bringing the day trippers in.

Back on the town quay it was relatively quiet with ourselves, Pyxis and a Sunsail lead boat (with the 3 crew). This place is a turnaround spot for Sunsail so there are boats permanently here in the summer but as it is early in the season there are few takers. By evening the quay had filled up. Most left the following morning and so the cycle continued. The only problem was on Friday when a flotilla of 15 Polish boats turned up. We had a rather noisy night but thankfully they disappeared the following morning.

The quay is littered with bars and restaurants. Some are charging €3 for a large beer but if you pick your spot, it is a lot cheaper. We have been using a bar which I think translated mean the anchor. If you walk directly west from the "sticky out " pier (ie towards the shore) it is the bar directly ahead with cream coloured tables. I think it is the only one without tables across the road (you will understand it you come here). 2 large beers and quarter of wine for €5. The food is pretty cheap as well. We have spent a few hours in here watching the world go by. We are getting quite good at it. In fact - I am thinking of trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympics for the watching the world go by, mixed doubles, alcohol included class. I understand the amount of training needed for Olympic events but I think we are just up to it. I'm just not sure we will get the blue sky and sunshine in London though!

We've eaten in a couple of other places which have also been cheap and very good food so I won't give all the credit to the "Anchor". It is a small town with a couple of expensive little supermarkets and a big one 5Km out of town. There are plenty of bakeries and a couple of butchers and fish shops and a cash machine. There is also lecky and water on the quay. The lecky is cheap but the water is €1.50 per 100 litres - all done by high tech cards.

One reason for our stopping here was the weather forecast for this weekend. On Wednesday, meteo Gr was giving a F9!!!!! That was later reduced to an F7 and then later to an F6. It certainly did pick up yesterday but this is a very sheltered spot. We have had very little wind - mainly and easterly in the afternoon which does bring in an annoying chop which bounces the boat, but it dies in the evening. Yesterday it got up to 25-30knts but from the land so apart from blowing half a tonne of pine needles in the boat, it was fine. The forecast for the next 3 days is 20knts of westerly so we need to start heading east a bit. I think down to Poros or Methana  probably early tomorrow and then do a couple of nights there until the wind settles later in the week. We are certainly not in the summer wind patterns yet. There is an F7 forecast for Monday night (north westerly) so we need somewhere protected.

So our last day here then. A few jobs to do on the boat and then a bit of practice for the Olympics. Looks like the Anchor is almost on pole for the best bar in the world title. To the Mermaid (in Andikiron)- you should be worried.

Epidhavros - Tuesday 11th May

Sorry about the formatting on that last post!! As we didn't have a brilliant internet connection, I wrote the post in a word processor programme, pasted it to an email and then sent it to the auto publish function. High tech I know so of course it doesn't work well. Anyway, we are back to a decent internet connection here so I'll try it again the normal way.

Sunday night was nice and quiet in Korfos but as we were tied up to a Taverna quay, we decided to slip the ropes and go and anchor 100m away in the bay. The bay is very protected and the advantage of anchoring - rather than on the Taverna quay - was that we didnt get the constant slap slap from the wavelets hitting the stern. The depths were all around 10 metres so we dropped the anchor and dug in first time. Pyxis did the same. Pam and I went ashore for a lunchtime meal and a sit and watch the world go by in the glorious blue sky again.

Korfos is a really nice little town but not much there. There is a small supermarket but not a lot else. Certainly worth a stop if you are coming down from the canal and want to avoid the bustle of Aegina.

We had a very settled night on Monday and then got up at 9 ish to sail the boat down to Epidhavros, a long 9 mile sail. There was however zero wind so we had to motor all the way. Epidhavros had been our first planned place to stop but we knew there was a Neilson's flottila in here on the Monday night hence the 2 days in Korfos. We arrived in Epidhavros around 12.30pm to see most of the Neilson's boats sailing out and moored "stern to" on the main quay. Pyxis followed us in.

Epidhavros seems a much more tourist type town. Lots of bars and tavernas catering for the loads of coaches heading for the big ancient theatre about 20 miles away. We spent an afternoon walking around the town and then entertained a couple from Swansea who were on the boat next to us - Escapade - on their way from Turkey  back to the UK. They gave us some useful info on places to stop but told us of the bad weather they had experienced all the way from Turkey. We had decided to stop in Epidhavros for at least 3 nights as we wanted to go to the ancient theatre and the weather forecast for the weekend looked a bit iffy to say the least. There was a forecast of  a force 7 on Saturday and then swinging 180 degrees so any hope of going across to the first Aegean island was not an option. It looked like we could go down to Poros on Friday and sit out the strong winds there.

Late afternoon quite a "slop" had set up bouncing the boat a bit. The harbour is open to the east and that is the direction the afternoon sea breeze is. We only had 10 knts or so but was still a bit of a bounce. By late evening it had dropped and we had a very quiet night. More from Epidhavros tomorrow.

Out of the Gulf of Corinth - Sunday May 9th

Saturday morning, still in Andikiron
with Pam talking to me again – just. Easterlies were forecast so we
were staying the day and then heading down for the Corinth Canal on
Sunday. The wind had died down from the previous day and we had
another gorgeous day in the sun.

I suppose we had better start the "best
pub in the world competition" again – as I'm sure you are all dying
to know where it is (not). If you have been keeping up with the plot
over the past 2 years, you will remember the British Pub in Lisbon
was the 2008 winner but I haven't the foggiest who I gave it to last
year. I think it might have been Lazy Jacks in Lagos on the strength
of their happy hour pricing all day but I am not always right.
Usually but not always.

Anyway, we went to a bar lunchtime for
a beer and a wine and a chill out looking out over the waterfront
(there's a surprise then) – well it was Saturday! Two big Amstells
and ½ litre of wine were 5.10 Euros!!! The Amstell was 1.70 a bottle
– that's cheap. We ate there that night with Karen and Richard and
it was around 10 Euros a head. The place I think was called the
Mermaid (but most of the bar names were undecipherable with the Greek
spellings) so look for the one with the blue and yellow tartan type
table cloths about 200 yards to the left of the pier. The mermaid is
now in pole position. After eating we all went back to Grand Slam to
polish off a bottle of Ouzo. At this point someone may raise a
question of accuracy. I definitely remember polishing off a bottle of
Ouzo with Karen and Richard in Andikiron but perhaps the exact day of
the week escapes me!

Sunday was an early start. We actually
got up at 6am and headed off just before 7am heading south east
towards Corinth. The forecast was up to force 5 behind us but we only
found up to a 3 until we got to Corinth at noon ish when it then
obligingly picked up to 15-18 knots to keep us amused while we waited
to be called to go through the canal. We had to wait an hour and a
half in a lot of swell and thanfull that we called just as the wind
was picking up to 20 knots – driving a heavy swell in from the
west.

The transit of the canal was uneventful
and we tied up the other end in 20knts of wind to pay our 160 Euros –
what a rip off. That's about 50 Euros a mile – and they wouldn't
take plastic. Only cash!!! We cleared the canal around 3pm and headed
south west towards Korfos about 18 miles away. To start with it was
headsail only out and drifted along with 20knts up our backside but
typical – this died after a few miles to leave us no wind. We were
fortunate that it picked up to around 15knts and we were able to get
the main up and the full jenny out for an hour with the wind on our
back quarter. The first decent sail since Portugal. Perfect. We were
still in convoy with Pyxis who just ran their headsail so we ended up
a bit ahead of them.

We got into Korfos at 6 ish and tied up
at one of the Taverna quays – a 12 hour day. I was knackered to say
the least. Tidied the boat up, had a beer then we went to eat in the
Taverna with Karen and Richard then collapsed in bed. A hard days
work but at least we are out of the Gulf of Corinth into what on
first impressions looks a great sailing area. As there is bad weather
forecast next weekend, we may be here longer than we intended.
Tomorrow Monday is going to be a day off – Pam has decided!

I did mention in a previous post a
problem we had had with our Gori prop. When we lifted the boat in Mid
April to antifoul, I noticed the prop seemed to have excess play in
it. With the help of Steve from Piper, we managed to get the 3 blade
gori folding prop off. It was difficult to tell what was wrong but we
suspected the plastic bush inside had degraded. Given it was
impossible to get an new part before re-launch a day later, I elected
to put the original 2 blade prop that had come with the boat when
new. I was a bit apprehensive 'cause it looked a bit small – was it
man enough for the job? Well, I shouldn't have worried. It moves the
boat forward around 5% faster for a given revs and it revs a lot
higher than the Gori did. I can now do 8 knots under power. I always
thought the Gori was pretty poor at motoring even if it did fold when
the motor was off. I can now keep up 6 knts at 1800 revs and the
prop kick in reverse is no different. Unless this one falls off, I
don't think the Gori will be going back on again until we start
racing again which is when the next ice age hits hell – according
to Pam. By the way, Pam is talking to me again as it is very pleasant
here in Korfos.

The leaving of Galaxidi - Friday 7th May

...where was I, Oh yes 7.30am, 5 miles out from Galaxidi being bounced up and down in 25knts of wind like an Alton Towers ride. Pam was not a happy bunny! "I don't like this" she shouted. Well that is not exactly what she shouted. It had a lot of words in that I can't write here but I think you get the drift. Possibly I need to backtrack a little to explain (like they do in all the good TV programmes - well at least what they do in "Lost")

(18 hours earlier)

Around 2 ish on Thursday, we were sat in a waterfront bar looking out on the empty harbour (apart from the 4 or 5 boats that were in there) as one does, drinking a cold one in the sunshine when all of a sudden IT came into view. I think I now know the feeling of what it was like hundreds of years ago when a pirate ship rounded the headland. Well this one didn't have a pirate flag, just and orange foresail cover! - Yes a Neilsons flotilla boat. I had promised Pam we would not see a Neilsons flotilla where we were going. Things got even worse when I spoke to the lead skipper and he told me 25 boats were in the flotilla, moving them from Nidri round to the north of the Agean. 3 hours later, not a space in the harbour!! Noisy or what. Pam was not happy ....but the beer was still cold. Did I mention it was sunny again?

We had decided to leave the following morning at the crack of dawn (ie 7ish) to head down to the Corinth canal to get through in the afternoon with favourable winds behind us although the meteo greece forecast was saying F6/7 but all other forecasts 4/5 behind us. We found out the flotilla was going also to Corinth of Friday but staying in Corinth itself and doing the canal on Saturday morning. No chance then of us getting through Saturday if we were delayed. We managed to persuade the lead skipper not to park any boats in front of us for an early get away. It looked like there were 4 skipper boats and all of them knew Tom Bradshaw (Scotland) - they say hello Tom if you are reading - who used to race with us and had done some of the early long passages on the way down to Portugal.

The wind howled a bit in the night but otherwise the boat hardly moved. A very safe harbour. We got up with the alarm at 6.30am to no wind and cast off - getting the anchor up without pranging any of the surrounding boats. We motored out of the bay with 5knts gently wafting across the deck as I pulled up the main with 2 reefs and a handkerchief for a headsail - why? The bank of white horse 200m away was a clue. Half an hour later we were bombing along at 7 knots with the wind and waves broadside on to us. I am sure we could have been doing 8.5knts with a bit more sail but Pam was having none of it. Pam was having none of anything. Like Neilson' foltillas I had promised her not to go out in bad weather.

Plan 14x rev2 did however have a backup (I hope you are all keeping up with these revisions). It was 38 miles to Corinth so at this speed we would have been there soon after noon, but the sea did get a bit rough. The backup was to go round the headland and up to Andikiron. By 9am we were at the headland, the wind was gusting 35knts and the sea was getting more than a bit rough but at least it was behind us. I had been talking by phone to Richard and Karen (Pyxis) who were in Andikiron and planning to head down to Corinth to meet us to go through the canal but they had decided not to go because of the wind. Instead I told them to keep us a space as we were going up there to meet them. The wind continued to blow at 30 knts for the next hour as we sailed up the gulf northwards to Andikiron.

We got there about 10 ish and rafted up next to Pyxis as there was not a lot of room. The wind gods were great as the wind died to nothing for an hour to let us tie up but then it was back to 30-40knts for the rest of the day. We were luckily on the west side of the pier so although we got a lot of slap from the wind driven wave we didn't get the swell that the east side of the pier was seeing. A washing machine couldn't have been more efficient. If you come here - don't park on the east side.

By this time Pam had calmed down a bit - not a lot!!! I was trying to hide in places she couldn't find me. At least though we had made it safely and the boat performed faultlessly. Time then for a sleep (as we did get up at 6.30) ready for a night on the town. More about Andikiron later.

Galaxidi - time for a relax!

The wind had been blowing hard for the two nights we had spent in Trizonia so we figured to try and use it to work our way east rather than use the engine. We left bright and early (not) on Monday morning - actually it was more like 10 O'clock. Pyxis had already gone - although they were off to Itea - we instead were heading for the small harbour at Galaxidi.

We had driven to Galaxidi when we had the car in Greece over the winter and liked it a lot. A very well protected harbour with lecky and water and lots of really nice waterfront Tavernas. The bonus was it was less than 20 miles to sail. We set off in 20knts of wind and unfurled the headsail rather than struggle with the main. The first 2 hours were uneventful drifting along at 6 knots ....but then ....the wind died....surprise. Er NO. On with the engine and the remainder of the sail was under engine with zero wind. We arrived in Galaxidi around 1 ish and moored stern-to in a rather deserted harbour. We were met by an old guy who took our ropes and plugged in the lecky and then demanded 5 Euros!

It is a nice place. Water and electric are relatively expensive- 5 Euro a day for the power and 5 Euro for a fill of water. Still, I don't begrudge it as it meant we could go back into holiday mode and put the computer on all the time - coupled with a very fast internet connection via our Vodaphone dongle - we were able to continue to get TV. On day 2 here however ( I think that was Tuesday) we were accosted by a very nice port police guy who suggested ever so nicely that we should visit him in his office to register. Well that is the first time since Argostoli 9 months ago. 'Be nice to get another stamp in our cruising log! 18 Euros lighter and we now have been stamped in and out. I said we were leaving Wednesday but it is now Thursday and no sign of us leaving today. Maybe he won't come back.

The weather in the Gulf of Corinth looks a bit iffy this week so the plan is to set off on Friday to head for Corinth and through the canal with the forecasted F6/7 behind us. Most forecasts are showing 4's and 5's. I am hoping the 7's are for west of here. Still it will be behind us.

So that means 4 nights here and 3 days rest after our arduous 55 miles to get here. Whimps or what! Still we have really enjoyed the restaurants. Best has been one named "Memories of the Port" although the chance of finding it (written in Greek) is about as much as Liverpool wining another footy match. The guy in charge is Costas - a real character. We can't walk past the place without a handshake and a long discussion. Sitting in the waterfront bar at lunchtime in the warm sun drinking a cold one (did I mention it was sunny?) has been something we are just getting used to. Heaven. Hope you are not all working too hard?

Today we met Angelos who sort of looks after the boats here. He offered to do the laundry - pick it up and bring it back plus lots of other services. He even said he can "sort of" reserve a spot for you when it is busy. He monitors Channel 69 and his mobile is 6932 777 600. Worth giving him a shout if you are coming this way.

All the other Messolonghi boats had headed for Itea so we have been on our own and had a really good time looking round the place and particularly the maritime museum. There's been a Parker 31 tied up next to us and Charles and Anne on board have entertained us and vice versa. Must have a look and see what the boat name is.

So it looks like an early start tomorrow - before 7am!!!!!!!!!!! Time for another meal in Costas's before that. More when we get down to Corinth. If we leave early then we may have a chance to get through the canal tomorrow afternoon and avoid a strong easterly that is forecast for Saturday pm. Otherwise we may be stuck in Corinth until Sunday.

Overall then an 8/10 for this place. Would have been 9/10 except for the cost of water and lecky and the "mind your boat" 5 Euros at the start. Overall probably the nicest place we have been to in Greece to date (although it is off season - maybe Kioni would be as nice!).

Messolonghi - au revoir

............now where was I? Oh yes, motoring down the channel out of Messolonghi in pursuit of Pyxis. We were on Plan 14x (rev 2 of course) frantically calling Orpheus who had left without saying goodbye. Dudley and Bernie were heading up to Levkas so we were unlikely to see them for quite while - a real shame as they had been so good helping me with my guitar playing and singing!

Anyway Plan 14x (rev 2) was

- head down the channel

- turn left

- sail for a few days

- and then decide if we go to Turkey or go back to Messi

We turned left. 2 parts of the plan complete then - and we had only been gone 20 mins. Today was Saturday and we were heading east towards the Rion bridge and into the Gulf of Corinth, bound for Trizonia - as sail of about 38.17 miles. In previous weeks we had seen many boats leaving the marina heading for the bridge, only to turn up back in the marina a few hours later due to big seas and 25knts on the nose. We however had planned it right and the wind - what there was of it - was behind us. In fact we motored on a glass like sea for 4 hours to the bridge a couple of hundred yards behind Pyxis. At the bridge, the wind filled in to the forecast level and we then had 20-25knts up the chuff. We pulled out the headsail, turned of the engine and were blown along at 6knots all the way to Trizonia.

We had considered sailing the "outside" route round the Peloponese into the Agean but the wind forecasts for the coming week were akin to the ones we saw in Ireland 2 years ago (4 separate force 8 gales in a week) so we took the whimps way out. June and Steve on Piper had headed down that way two weeks before and had got to Crete but we were not chancing it. So instead we headed east.

Half the Marina had left on Saturday as all the winter contracts were up. Half went north into the Ionian, half went down the Pelopenese and the other half was heading east - maths was never my strong point.

Our overall idea was to head towards Turkey but with quite a short sailing season this year. Over winter we had sorted out our plans for a house and are now in the process of building a new one near Cardiff (in welsh Wales!!). This requires us to be in the UK in July and August so we thought a slow sail to Turkey and then back to the UK in July for 3 months or so then back out to the sun for maybe October / November. Turkey is 400 miles away so that is 10 mile average per day for 6 weeks (ish). Today was to be 38 miles so that then gives us 3 days off!!! (ish). 

So there we were, doing 6 knts under our small headsail down the channel between Trizonia and the mainland avoiding the reef. Pam had been dreading our first docking manouever of the year but even with 20 knts blowing it was a perfect demonstration of alongside parking - despite having a "new" prop (more of that in later posts). We moored up on the outside of the south breakwater - sideways on. There was plenty of room given it was early in the season. We won the race to tie up the boat with Pyxis but we then were invited for a drink with Karen and Richard and then later joined by Stuart and Jane from Alchohoo (also arrived from Messi). Two other Messi boats arrived a couple of hours later and there were another 3 Messi boats on the east breakwater.

Trizonia is a really nice place. We had a meal in one of the harbour restaurants (in the shelter from the 20knts wind) with K, R, S and J and then settled down for the night. The wind continued for 48 hours but as we were being blown off, it was very comfortable. Our first sail of the season completed successfully. Pam refused to budge on Sunday. Mandatory day off. Sat at a waterside bar for lunch watching the world go by. Did I mention it was sunny? Only 25 degrees again.

I was wearing my "Liverpool" T shirt and was acosted by a Man Utd support (Liverpool were playing Chelsea that afternoon and a defeat for Liverpool would mean Utd not winning the league). We all ended up on our boat for the evening with Chris (the Utd supporter ) his wife Louis and a couple of their friends plus K,R,S and J. Great fun.

We decided we should push on on Monday to get the best of the wind to head east so this was our last night in Trizonia. More tomorrow then but I will give Trizonia a good 8/10 - only let down by the longish walk round to the town and no water.

Messolonghi - we are out of here!!

It's Saturday morning, 10 am on the 1st of May. The sky is blue, the sun is shinning and we are drifting down the channel out of Messolonghi Marina. It's great to be out on the water again after 7 Months tied up in the marina!!!!! We are in T shirts and shorts by the way. Sorry guys, but you will have to wait for the next post to find out where we are off to (although as we are not sure - I'm not sure the next post will be much help). I thought instead I would use this post to let you know how the winter went - given it's been 7 months since the last post.

I'll give Messolonghi marina good 8/10 for our stay. We were on the boat 5 out of the seven months (well almost). We stayed for a month in October when we arrived, went home to the UK for a month and then drove the car down to Greece!! Not quite as bad as it sounds, just a weeks meander through France and Italy and then the Ferry over to Greece. We then spent Dec, Jan and Feb in Greece and drove back for a rather cold March in the UK before returning to Messi for April.

Once again we made loads of new friends although it was a different environment to Lagos in Portugal where we did last winter. "Self Help" is probably the best description. Messi is a new marina - being built around an old unfinished one. By October they managed to open some toilets and showers, and connect up the lecky.Over the next 7 months -things have started to take shape. It has been a big effort to leave as it had become home.

The good things. As the marina was a good 20 mins walk from town (and the nearest bar/restaurant) Yannis and Joe (the management) let us convert half the office into a club room. This provided an environment to get to know everyone very well and provide the focus for all the activities (and there were many). Probably the highlight for me was the music sessions - persuading me to buy and learn to play a guitar - and to learn to sing!!!!!! The town was great with little English spoken but really nice people. No tourists!!!!! Having the car was a big bonus and we were able to travel a lot around Greece and see the sights. Favourite was Olympia with Delphi a close second. Oh, and the wi-fi in the marina was the best I have ever seen - but that was self help as well - with Svein setting the router to prioritise video downloads!!!! UK tv on demand and sky via the slingbox.

The bad things. The drainage system for the toilets was a bit 3rd world - in fact it was a lot 3rd world but the new ablutions block opened in April has sorted that. Cold water for the showers however was something that had us all up in arms. It seems to be a Greek thing however given the number of hotels we stayed at while travelling round Greece that didnt have hot water until 5.30pm - and then only for an hour. Just like the UK in the 60's. Quaint. The club room was a big bonus but as we all got to know each other well, the divisions started and a small number of people started to spoil it for the majority. You can't have everything!

Overall then an 8/10. A very safe place to leave a boat both from a weather and a security point of view. And it was very cheap. You won't find cheaper. Would I go back - absolutely - and we  may well do so - that is plan 14z. We are currently on plan 14x.

Steve and June on Piper spent the whole winter there as well and their company was great. We did have two weeks off in the sun in Abu Dahbi with them when they went to visit their son. Wall to wall blue sky and camels. The weather wasn't that brilliant in Greece in Jan and Feb but since being back in April we have hardly had a cloudy day.

So, come the end of April, our winter contract is up and it's time to leave. Ditto for most of the others still left in the marina. Our last music session was on Wednesday night and everyone was getting ready to go last night. Everyone was waiting for the bread van to arrive Saturday at 9am and then leave. Typical Greece, Saturday comes - general strike - no bread van. We all leave without bread!

So there we are floating down the canal - in pursuit of Pyxis who is heading our way and frantically calling Orpheus who did a runner without seeing us - we suspect Bernie might have had a headache after the state she was in when she left our boat 8 hours earlier!!!!!!!!!!!!!