The Peloponnese Mainland and Into the Cyclades

Hi all Sue here

We have had a fantastic time sailing around the Peloponnese and have now reached the Cylclades Islands.

We hired a scooter to go visit Olympia, which was an adventure in itself, and also managed to stock up on provisions which was useful. Olympia was very impressive and very hot!! Although we visited late afternoon it was still quite a challenge walking around it in the heat. The museum was amazing and you couldn’t help being in awe at some of the things they managed to build and design.

The main site is huge and covers a vast area with all the buildings and the arena, very impressive when you see it for yourself. The quality of the information in the museum was excellent and they could do with doing some work in this area on the main site since information boards are very few and far between with only minimal info, although most people visit the site as part of an organised tour with a guide so they probably get more info. Although they have re-erected some sections of the buildings to give you some idea of the scale the main site is still mainly a pile of old columns, facades and rocks, still you do get an idea of the huge scale of the construction and the quality of the workmanship that went into it. 

Statuary in The Olympia Museum	Part of The Olympia Site

Pilos was a nice bay where we spent a few nights but the mosquitoes were a problem here. We went ashore for a few walks and found a strange wooden church which looked quite new but it was in the middle of nowhere. It was furnished inside so we presume it must be used at sometime. Pilos town was a very busy place with lots of cafe/bars.

The little wooden church was built right next to another small stone church that also looked as if it was still being used occasionally. They were both on the deserted Island of Sfaktiria and were probably built to commemorate the dead of the Naval Battle of Navarinon in 1827 between the Turko-Egyptian Fleet and the Greeks.

The Approach to Pilos and Gulf of Navarino	Wooden Church, Sfaktiria, Near Pilos

Chris insisted that we had to hike up to the Venetian Castle where the views were stunning. We walked along the castle walls where he assured me would then lead on to the living quarters. I always believe him and am in awe of how much he seems to know as I thought the wall looked as if it just came to an end. Guess what it did come to an end and we had to turn around and go back!! His answer was that you would have thought it would lead to the living quarters!! The views were well worth the hike though so I let him off.

We climbed back down the North Side of the Island past Nestors Cave and around the beautiful horseshoe bay of Voidhokoilia that we had tried to get into by boat the day before but the swell was too much.

Palaiokastro Venetian Castle	Voidhokoilia Bay From The Castle

As we prepared to leave Ormos Navarinou we watched one poor boat pull part of a ships funnel up with his anchor. It took quite a while for him to free it. We then moved on to Methoni where there was yet another castle. Here we met up with Steve and Tracy off At Last and spent a few very pleasant evenings with them before they set sail for Ragusa and we moved on towards Finakounda. Unfortunately we never made it there owing to the weather and carried on around to Koroni.

 

Neighbours Catching a Ships Funnel on Their Anchor	Turkish Tower at the Approach to Methoni

It was while we were in Koroni that my sister decided she could fit in another little visit to Nimrod and so we made our way to Petalidhion to meet her there. Petalidhion was very quiet and it looked as if the summer season had already finished there. Once we had picked Caroline up we then headed across the bay to Kardamila where we anchored for the night. This was to give us an easy sail around to Diros the next morning to visit the famous caves.

Sunset Over the Kardamila Anchorage	Caroline and Sue, Couldn’t Find a Picture Without Glasses in Hand

If you are ever in this area these caves are well worth a visit. Small boats take you around and it takes about 30 minutes and then there is a further 10 minute walk through the caves back to the outside.

The Spectacular Caves at Diros	Another View Inside the Caves

We then sailed back across to Koroni to sit out some windy and rainy weather that was due the next day. As you can see from the photos the forecast was right. It was quite a spectacular storm that blew up in minutes, we went from a flat calm anchorage to big waves rolling in. It did clean the boat though so that was good!! After about an hour normal weather was resumed.

Approaching Storm at Koroni	35-40knts Thunderstorm in Koroni Harbour

After spending a lovely week with Caroline it was time to say goodbye and we sailed to Porto Kayio, which is a very small but very friendly village. Here we met up with Ragusa friends John and Vanessa off Nostromo and met some new friends Sooty and James off Sempre Decanter who were anchored next to us in the storm in Koroni. We spent a couple of nights ashore here in the friendly Tavernas watching the usual anchor antics at the end of the day.

Three 7kg Tuna Caught all at Once Across the Lakonikos Gulf (Alice Sylvia and Delilah maybe!!)	All Filleted Ready for BBQ and Freezer, Enough for about 60 Portions

It was time to set sail again, this time to Elafonisos. It was going to be a long sail so Chris put our three fishing lines out. I couldn’t believe it when they all went off at once but Mr Cool Chris dealt with them all very calmly and in no time at all we had two 7 kilo fish and one 6 kilo fish on board. My big yellow washing buckets came in very handy!! They were then all filleted and ready for the freezer. We had sailed in company with Nostromo so a BBQ was planned for that evening over the radio. When we got to the anchorage our friends off Sempre Decanter were there as well so they were also invited to share our small catch!! We had a great night and much wine was drunk to toast the catch of the day.

Tuna BBQ With Old and New Friends, Elafonisos Island	The Infamous Cape Maleas and Monastery, SE Peloponnese

It was then off to Monemvasia, along with Nostromo and Sempre Decanter, where we intended to sit out some strong winds that were forecast.

Monemvasia Island From The Harbour	Narrow Stone Streets of the Lower Town, Monemvasia

Another hike was with planned with John and Vanessa to visit the old village and then behind the village to the summit to reach Ayia Sofia. It was breathtaking when you reached the top in more ways than one!!On our way back down we stopped in the village for a much deserved beer and also the most expensive one but the views were worth the extra cost.

Church of Ayhia Sofia on the Top of the Island	Looking Down Over the Lower Town

Onwards we must go and next stop was Kiparissi where we just stayed the one night to break our journey to Porto Kheli. With the weather that was forecast we decided not to wait around here and to make our way into the Cyclades. So onwards again and after a 10 hour sail (yes SAIL!!) we are now in Serifos. Our plan was to make it to Loutra, Kithnos but never mind perhaps next time.

The Village of Kiparissi, Argolic Gulf	Approaching Livadi on the Island of Serifos in the Cyclades

We are now in Levadi, Serifos – no way to make Loutra without a 15nm tack to the North!!  We sailed all the way here with the wind at 50deg apparent all the way across, Sea state was pretty messy, not big waves but all short and choppy, also the course for Loutra was nearly straight into the seas and was just too uncomfortable for 50nm, the course to Levadi was much better but still a bit bumpy. So that’s where we are up to now where we once again wait for some strong winds to blow over. Our next stop should be Paros.

As usual for the Med we have not managed to do as much sailing as we would like, quite a few times the weather forecast has looked perfect for sailing only to find the wind was not as much as forecast so we end up motor sailing. Even around the notorious headland of Cape Maleas we only had 15 – 18 knts of wind even though it did seem to come from all directions over the space of a couple of miles and then settled pretty much on the nose for the 10nm up to Monemvasia. Still that is much better than the conditions that all the Pilot Books warn about and that some boats encountered a couple of days later, one 50’ boat came in with a shredded headsail looking very battered so it is definitely a place to be wary of.

We are safely tied up on the South side of the town quay here in Levadi with 20 – 25knts from the North forecast for the next 2 days, the S side of the quay is packed and we are now watching the fun as boats try and drop their anchors and reverse on to the N side of the quay with the wind blowing them straight onto it and their anchors failing to bite in the poor quality bottom. Very glad we managed to find a safe space when we got in yesterday, although just after we got tied up a couple of British boats came to say they were just about to move from the other side of the quay to the space we had used!! After a bit of juggling we managed to find room for them both anyway so everybody was happy in the end.

So we will now spend a gentle month working our way through the Cyclades Islands and over to the Dodecanese where we meet our friends Jean and John in Rhodes towards the end of October. We are looking forward to their visit and we also need to use the shopping opportunities of Rhodes to stock the boat up for our winter in Turkey where most alcohol is expensive and pork is not easily found because it is a mainly muslim country.

More Travels Around The Ionian

Hi all Sue here

Well after a lovely but hectic week back in the UK looking after my mum I arrived back to a nice welcome from our friends off Awake and Scrabbler.  We then just chilled for a few days around Kephalonia before heading to Ithaca to do some exploring. Chris is renowned for leaping into the Dinghy when the rest of us just climb in gracefully but he had a shock in Argostoli when the sea in there was particularly bouncy one night, he leapt into the dinghy and ended up going straight out the other side!! I was with Francis and Erica and we tried to be very concerned and help him out but we couldn’t help laughing. In fact Erica said every time she thinks of it she has to laugh, poor Chris he lost his new sunglasses as well.

Busy Fishing Harbour at Astokos on the Mainland	Ice Clear Water at Pigades Bay, Ithaca

Pigades Bay has the most beautiful water we have seen anywhere in Greece so far. We spent a couple of days here just swimming and relaxing. We then headed back to Ay Eufimia, Kephalonia to meet up with Mel and Carl off Thala and we also met Wim and Jacqueline off Zephyr. There was a festival on that night so we had drinks on Thala before heading off to try some Greek Dancing and local cuisine.

Calm Sunset Near Argostoli	Approaching Assos

The following day we went to Anti Sami Bay and spent a day swimming with Mel and Carl and then had a BBQ at night on Nimrod. The wind picked up in the evening and just as we were going to start the BBQ we noticed a big Catamaran that was anchored by us making it’s way slowly out to sea with no one on board!! The owners who were ashore noticed it and gave frantic chase in their dinghy. Then whilst attempting to re anchor it we noticed their dinghy sailing by!! So Chris jumped in our dinghy and gave chase, they were very grateful he managed to catch it.

Venetian Fort at Assos	Stunning Views From Around the Fort

The west coast of Cephalonia is generally quite high cliffs but there are some lovely beaches between the rocks and a few small harbours. Unfortunately this coast is wide open to the prevailing NW winds so is not visited by very many yachts because the wind and waves make most of the harbours and anchorages untenable. However if the weather is calm and settled then it is well worth making the effort to explore this side of the Island.

Sue Checking Out the Prison Buildings	Looking Down Into Assos Harbour. Nimrod is just to the right of the super yacht.

Assos Harbour  is a beautiful place in a stunning setting with a Venetian Fort built on the high peninsula overlooking the town from the West but the normal summer winds make it a pretty uncomfortable place to stop, even downright dangerous if the wind picks up. You need really calm weather and we were lucky to find the right time to go there as it is a very beautiful place.

We took an early stroll up to the Fort but it was still a very hot climb.  The Greeks have spent a huge amount of money (probably EU money) on the road up to the fort and have also restored some of the old prison buildings, presumably to become a visitor centre or museum. Unfortunately the money has run out so the project is not finished and there is no information anywhere on the site to tell you what it is all about – a great shame because it could be a very interesting place. Regardless of that the views from the top and around the peninsula are really impressive and more than make up for the lack of info about the fort.

Superyachts at Fiskardo, Cephalonia	Part of Vathi Harbour, Ithaca

After Assos we headed back to Fiskardo for a few days, this must be one of the busiest harbours in the Ionian and every boat seems to have to visit at least once.  It is also the place of choice for many of the Superyachts so you can sit on your own deck and watch how the other half live, all very entertaining.  The downside of all the Superyachts is that Fiskardo does seem to be one of the most expensive places for eating, drinking and shopping.

Very Small Church Just Outside Vathi	Don’t Think This is Going To Sea Again

The weather forecast was quite settled for the next few days so we left Fiskardo to explore the East side of Ithaca, this is known as one of the windiest areas of the Ionian and last time we were here we had winds up to 40knts.  This time the weather was kind and we explored Frikes and Vathi before spending a couple of days in Sarakinko Cove, all very nice places in the warm calm sunshine.

We then headed back South to Zakynthos to meet up with Claire and Eddy as well as seeing Zephyr again. We had a good sail from the south of Cephalonia all the way down to Zakynthos Town where we anchored outside the harbour before heading around to the very South of the Island and the anchorage at Keri.

Exploring the Caves, Marathonisi Island, Keri, Zakynthos	More of the Caves

Opposite Keri is Marathonisi Island that has some impressive caves and lovely sandy beaches that the Loggerhead Turtles use as nesting sites. We did see turtles last time we were here but so far they have not shown themselves this time.

We are having a few lazy days here in Keri before we head across to the mainland Peloponnese and continue our travels South and East into the Aegean. We are not in too much of a rush to get into the Aegean because it is very windy at the moment with the infamous Meltemi wind blowing at F6 – F9 almost constantly, we don’t need to be anywhere near that!!  The Meltemi generally starts to ease around mid to late September and we can then head slowly across the Aegean towards our winter destination of Finike, Turkey.

Cruising The Ionian Islands

Hi All Sue here

Well my sister and Richard arrived on June 1st and our first trip was to Lidl to stock up for the next three weeks!! We then spent one night in the bay of Corfu Town and the next morning sat out a major thunder storm. Unfortunately Summertime and Nostromo, two of our friends boats, got struck by lightning but luckily there wasn’t too much damage and they can continue sailing and get repairs done along the way. We then made a run for it across to Mourtos with more thunder and rain rolling behind us but it didn’t catch us up. In Mourtos we had the best steaks ever in a restaurant simply known as The Steak House, would definitely recommend it to anyone going there.

North of Gouvia, Corfu, with Summertime	Igoumenista Creek on the Mainland

The weather was pretty mixed for the first few days of June but then someone turned the temperature gauge up and all of a sudden we were in the high thirties in the shade and no breeze!! It was even too hot for Caroline and me some days!! So we spent a lot of our time in the water and swimming around the boat or to shore, all good exercise and of course we rewarded our efforts with lots of little drinkies!!

Sue and Caroline - Sundowners	Pretty Little Church, Vonista

Going through the Lefkas canal was fun, you have to go in single file for a couple of miles and somehow we ended up in front and had about twenty, mostly charter, boats behind us. They looked like our little ducklings following us.

Midday Traffic Jam Down the Levkas Canal	It’s a Hard Life !!

We went to so many islands with Caroline and Richard and they are all so different and beautiful in their own way. Even the local food dishes are different according to which Island you visit. Most places we anchored and tied up back to the shore or you could go on the town quays. That used to be very entertaining some nights watching all the charter boats coming in. Total carnage sometimes!! When we tie back to anywhere now we have made rat guards for our lines as our friends off Nostromo have had a rat on board. In fact it was in bed with them!! Aaaagh don’t want to even think about it!!

Strange Clouds Over Meganissi	Abelike Bay, Meganisis, Tied to the Shore

Richard worked very hard for his keep, scrubbing the bottom of the boat and swimming ashore with the lines but he was rewarded for all his hard work and was allowed total charge of Nimrod for two days. When we eventually do the Atlantic crossing he is aiming to come with us so is very keen to learn everything, which is a great help to me!! At the moment Caroline says she’s not doing it but it’s a long way of so never say never!!

Richard Working for his Holiday	Shiny Props Ready to go Back on

There are many boat trips to visit the Blue Caves but if you go early enough you can anchor by them and take your own dinghy in before all the trippers arrive. The time went so quickly with Caroline and Richard and we had such a great time with them. Richard flew home on the 19th June and their daughter Kathryn then arrived on the same flight so Caroline got to stay for another week.

Anchored Outside the Blue Caves, Zakynthos	More Caves

The same applies to Shipwreck bay, get there early before the trip boats and you can get in close to take some lovely photos.

Shipwreck Bay, Zakynthos	Deserted Anchorage, Pessada, Cephalonia

We have found many deserted bays, some with holiday apartments built and all left to ruin. One bay we found had three holiday villages on it and nobody there. One restaurant owner said this was the quietest summer in 25 years. Good for us wanting quiet anchorages but not for the Greeks.

Peaceful Anchorages Even in June	Ormos Polis, West Coast of Ithaca

Whilst Richard was with us Chris and him used to set of on their hikes returning some time later covered in scratches!! I prefer to stick to the paths so it’s great when Richard is here to go off on adventures with Chris into the undergrowth!!

Looking Across the Ithaca Straight to Cephalonia	Richard Practising his Golf in a Hidden Valley above Ormos Polis

Port Leone is a village that was destroyed in the 1953 earthquake and most of the villagers moved to the mainland as their water supply was destroyed. Every Sunday some people from Kalamos village visit the church still there and clean it and replace the oil in the lamps left burning there and put fresh flowers on the altar.

Deserted Village, Port Leone, Kalamos	Another View of Port Leone

There are lots of buggy type things out here, flying, jumping and crawling. The jumping ones are the worst as they jump on your shoulder as you are walking, even make it as far as your ear!! Chris says they are more frightened of me than I am of them but I can’t quite agree with that. It’s alright for him as he is taller and they can’t jump that high. The wasps and the mosquitoes seem to have some sort of shift thing going on. The wasps are on duty from 8 am until 8 pm then the mosquitoes take over. It’s hard to decide what time to have your evening meal, before eight it’s a very jumpy affair and after eight it turns more into a slapping time!!

Looking from Kastos to Kalamos and the Inland Sea Beyond	One House Bay, Astokos (Also now known to Nostromo as One Rat Bay!!)

We are now anchored in One House Bay but with no lines ashore as the rat that John killed might still have many friends ashore who would like to come aboard!!  Our plans are then to visit the Dhragonera and Echinades islands and then make way back to Cephalonia for the 16th July when I fly home for a week to look after my mum.

Seems like Sue has pretty much covered it all so not much for me to say!!!

Although everyone warned us that the Ionian gets very busy with all the charter boats from July onwards, so far it has not been too bad. The popular spots are certainly busier than a few weeks ago but if you wait until about 6pm then most of them head back to port to tie up to a town quay and you are left in the anchorage with only a few other boats. One House Bay, where we are now was very quiet last night with only 4 boats staying overnight, at midday there are now over 20 boats here and more still arriving – it is getting a bit full now and boats are trying to anchor far too close to others, all very entertaining.

There are many beautiful spots around that are not much visited by the charter boats so it is still very easy to get away from all the madness. However if we do decide we want to go into a harbour and use the town quay then we try and make sure we get in around early afternoon before all the others arrive, it is then much easier to find a space. Also most of the harbours seem to have a local taverna owner who will help you tie up, give you any info you want and hope that you use his place later on – all very nice and pleasant with no pressure, only a friendly smiling face to greet you.

It is great to find so many places to go within a few miles of each other because you really do not do very much sailing around the Ionian, it is mainly motoring unless you wait for the afternoon sea breeze to fill in. Then you get 10-15knts from around the NW from around 4pm till 8pm, then it dies down again to give you a quiet night and mirror calm waters in the morning. You need to be a bit careful in some places because the sea breeze gets accelerated around headlands and over the steep hills of some Islands and can increase to 25+ in no time at all. We found this out at Vathi on Ithaca where there was close to 40knts blowing down the mountains, a quick U turn and a mile south found us in a great calm anchorage with only 15knt gusts every now and then. Friends who were in Vathi at the time said it was pretty horrible in the harbour so we think we made the right decision. The other great thing about the Ionian is that the sea never builds to anything like rough so you can be sailing in 20knts of wind, 30 deg C and practically flat seas, just about ideal really!!!

We have a week to potter around before Sue heads back to Oswestry for a week so we are heading to some of the quieter spots for a few days then over to Argostoli, Cephalonia where we should bump into quite a few friends from Ragusa since everyone seems to be depositing or collecting guests at Argostoli about the same time.

Nimrod Sets Sail For 2013

Hi all Sue here

Well after a wonderful winter in Marina di Ragusa we have finally cast off our lines and sailed to Greece. We had such an amazing winter and met so many new friends it was quite sad to leave but the good thing is there are 22 boats from here all cruising around the Ionian for the summer months then heading to Finike in Turkey for the winter so I don’t think there will be a shortage of parties along the way!!

Last BBQ At Marina di Ragusa	Farewell Party Onboard Nimrod

My early morning walks with the ladies and keep fit sessions have come to an end and it’s time to start swimming around the boat again. Just wish the water was a bit warmer!!

Summertime Following Nimrod out of Marina di Ragusa	Landfall in Greece 58hrs Later – Mongonisi, Paxos

(Chris) Around mid April everyone was running around trying to get all the last minute jobs done before heading off to new cruising grounds for the summer, the weather was calm and sunny and everyone was planning to leave about a week before the end of April for a nice pleasant start to the summer. As usual though the weather had different ideas for us all and proceeded to blow from the NE / E direction at up to 25knts, since most of us were planning to go East this sort of weather was not what was needed. The locals assured us that Easterly winds never last more than a day or two so everyone was watching the weather forecasts to see when the wind would change back to the normal NW direction. The winds did not listen to the locals and continued to blow from the E for 2 weeks so it was May 6th before the wind changed and we could finally set sail.

The forecast looked good with around 15 to 20knts NW winds forecast for our generally Easterly course so everyone was up early and about 15 boats all left the Marina at various times in the morning. We had a great sail down to the SE corner of Sicily with two headsails poled out wing and wing to make the most of the wind almost directly behind us, the sea state was a bit mixed after the long spell of E winds but progress was good. We had already pretty much decided we were going to sail directly to Greece while others were heading up the E coast of Sicily for a stop in Syracuse.  We had a quick radio chat with Summertime and decided the forecast was as good as we were likely to get so we pointed the bows towards Greece and prepared for our longest non-stop passage so far, a total of 325nm and two nights at sea. In the end we sailed 21hrs, motorsailed 28hrs and motored 9hrs – could have been better but it could also have been a lot worse!!!

(Sue) We had a bit of a mixed sail across to Greece. It took 57 hours and the first 24 hours were not very pleasant but I’m sure the captain will fill in all the technical details, all I know is I didn’t feel very well!! But we are here now and it is very beautiful. I think it is going to be a very good summer. We sailed across in the company of two other boats from Ragusa, Summertime and Zimwee, so anchor drinks were called for when we arrived in Mongonisi, Paxos. The following day we also met up with our friends off Scarlett and had a BBQ on board with the Tuna we caught on our way across.

Tied to Town Quay, Gaios, Paxos	Gaios Harbour

Tying up to town quays is the way of life here and it can prove to be very entertaining but so far we have managed okay. Gaios is a very pretty town and it’s so easy being tied to the town quay, no more wet dinghy bums!! We also spent a night in Lakka and had a memorable evening out along with 8 Aussies. Our next trip was to the island of Mourtos where we anchored along with Summertime, we didn’t go ashore here as we plan to spend more time here when my sister and her husband arrive in June. So our next sail was across to Corfu.

Ready for Another BBQ	Scarlett and Wild Goose, Friends from Ragusa

When we reached Corfu we met up with some more Ragusa sailors off Wild Goose who were anchored in Garitsas Bay. So along with Scarlett another BBQ was called for. The men went shopping for steaks and as you can see they could only get small ones!! Chris was also meant to bring some wine back but bought 3 litres of Retsina instead, won’t send him shopping for wine again. We had a lovely evening and Bonaparte knew who to sit by for his steak. The next day Scarlett left for Gouvia but nearly left their dinghy behind so of course Chris had to get a picture of them reversing back for it!!

Bonaparte Checking The BBQ	Scarlett Forget the Dinghy

Our next stop was Stefanos Harbour which was pretty crowded by late afternoon. It was meant to be a very tranquil little place but at 11pm the Greek music started and didn’t finish until 4am. I wouldn’t have minded if we had been ashore joining in but it was the one night we had decided a no alcohol and early night was in order!! Well we have to detox sometimes!!

Venetian Castle off Corfu Town	Ay Stefanos Harbour, NE Corfu

We are now in a very peaceful little bay called Kerasia and we spent last night (Monday) here on our own. Think we will head up as far as Kassiopi tomorrow then just potter around along this coast until my sister and husband arrive on 1st June.

(Chris) As Sue says Greece has been very nice so far, the Greeks are invariably friendly and generally speak very good English and so far as we have seen the economic troubles seem to be having little impact in the Islands we are cruising. The scenery is lovely and there are so many little bays to anchor in that we are spoilt for choice. The town quays so far have all been free and because it is still quite early nowhere has been too busy for us to get where we want to go – no doubt that will all start to change in a few weeks as the Charter holiday season gets under way – we will have to make the best of it before then.

So far Nimrod has behaved wonderfully so all the hard work and jobs that we got done over the winter are paying off. The only downside so far is the amount of motoring we need to do, the wind is generally very light or too strong, however we are finding that the afternoon sea breeze usually gives 10 to 15knts of wind and distances are usually short between stops so we will have to get used to setting off around 2 or 3 in the afternoon to give us the best chance of sailing.

The other good thing we have noticed is that almost everywhere has good wifi signals that we can use from the boat and a lot are open access so we do not even need to go and find a password from the taverna.

We have a few days of Southerly winds forecast from tomorrow so we are going to head for Kassiopi on the N coast of Corfu to explore the town and anchorages until the wind turns back to the more usual NW direction.