Tuesday 02 October

Wall Bay to Goçek

A short trip to Goçek from Wall Bay to D Mariin, a marina a short distance out of town in lovely surroundings and a proper beach.  We decided to spend the afternoon on the beach   for the first time in four weeks.  Goçek had a very 'end of season' air about it but it had everything we would need for a return trip with family next year.
 

Sequel in D Marin, Goçek

Wednesday 03 

Goçek to Fethiye

Another fairly short trip to have a look at Fethiye.  The marina here was nowhere near so  well cared for, needing some refurbishment, but the old town was very close by and very lively in the evening.  Fethiye is enormous though and we hardly scratched the surface.

Fethiye

Thursday 04

Fethiye back to Ekiniçik Limani and My Marina

A five hour trip back to My Marina as we knew we liked it here. We have had the best meals we have eaten anywhere in Greece or Turkey in the restaurant here. It is set high up in the hillside on a huge terrace which is decked out with all types of ropes and baskets and sailing equipment and is, believe it or not, very tastefully done.   The downside is that it caters only for the boats in the marina, many of which as I have mentioned are flotillas consisting of many people, and they are on large tables.  Consequently a table with only two people, although served very efficiently, are then completely ignored. Last night we were surrounded by Russian flotilla guests and in fear for my life I will  say no  more.

Friday 05

Ekiniçik Limani to Marmaris for the winter

Now in Yat Marin where Sequel is to spend the winter. She will come out of the water on Monday and we have a taxi booked for our flight at 21-45hrs arriving at Garwick at 5 minutes after midnight on Tuesday.
 

Saturday 29 September

Melting in Marmaris

Okay I am now complaining - I am so hot that I think I am going to melt. There is no respite on the boat and very little breeze.  In fact the coolest place on the boat is in our cabin which is 27 degrees. We are just having our black tank emptied - there are new laws in Turkey about dumping any waste products and dirty water into the sea, especially any detergents. This is very difficult for us as our 'grey' waste water i.e. shower, washing up water, etc. goes straight out of the boat and this is strictly speaking not allowed - although like most laws they are made for breaking and there are ways around the 'grey' water problem but not the black.

Marmaris
 

After having the black tank emptied we went for a walk around Marmaris, which is a very big place and we only touched on a small section.  There were more restaurants along the water's edge than we have seen anywhere and packed full of tables.  I thought they would never fill them in the evening but I was wrong again and when we went out to eat most places were full.  We 'people watched' from a roof top restaurant, a slightly alarming experience.  And then spent most of the night awake listening to a cacophony of truly awful and very loud music coming from all the bars until 3 a.m.  However, the Captain was very happy to learn from Ross that the mighty Spurs had won at Old Trafford for the first time since 1989.  

 

Sunday 30 September

Marmaris to Ekinçik Limani

We left Marmaris by noon and headed for a stop for the night in a pretty bay with the best small privately owned marina, My Marina, that we have visited since Meganissi. We spent a while talking to a young German couple who had four children on board, including 18 months old twin boys, and who had been sailing since the beginning of May starting in Slovenia. Amazing.

 

Monday 01 October

Ekiniçik Limani  to Wall Bay, Skopea Limani, near to Goçek

I have had a busy day.  We left My Marina at about 10 a.m. and within half an hour we had dropped the anchor to investigate a loud knocking noise from the starboard stabiliser.  This meant that I had to swim round the boat to see if there was a line caught around it or something similar.  There wasn't. But an ominous oil leak in the engine room only around the starboard stabiliser.  So continued without stabilisers on, which is easy when there is little wind and no swell. Not looking forward to when there is.

Wall Bay

We then decided to spend the night in one of the numerous bays in the gulf of Skopea and I had to row ashore with a line to attach to a bollard (very kindly provided - as opposed to a rock or a tree).  I may have to practise my rowing - I was trying to look cool but not sure I pulled it off.  And then we were treated to a huge thunder storm with some hail thrown in for good measure.  It has actually stopped now and seems very quiet and the boat is at last clean, including the dinghy which the Captain is convinced has been used by a cat. Naturally he decided to row (no, not swim - he doesn't seem to do swimming - a bit like me and jumping) around to the stabiliser just in case I had missed anything - don't you love it when they do that.

 

Looking forward to our evening meal, again courtesy of M&H, and not fried calamari - I may have had enough fried calamari.

Treated to another storm in the night.

Wednesday 26

Luna Begonvil Yacht Club - Orhaniye, Keçi Bükü

We spent one night in Datça which was quite enough.  Whereas it had been lovely and peaceful when we arrived by the evening it was completely full of boats and the nearby bars were competing with each other to play the loudest and cheesiest music.  It did stop at midnight which was a relief.

Kuruca Bükü

We moved on down the coast to Kuruca Bükü, a bay recommended by our neighbours in Symi, and it was very peaceful. Even though a number of boats came in it was large enough for no one to be too close to us and the Captain even managed a swim off the back of the boat.  I was slightly put off earlier when we spotted an enormous turtle come up for air and then disappear again and then again a couple of times.

Today we moved further up the gulf which separates the Datca and Bozburun peninsulas and we are now tied up on a pontoon which belongs to a restaurant (see above) with electricity, water and wifi all for nothing.  We just have to eat there tonight.  Perfect. Weather is fantastic, if a little hot at 30+ degrees, but we are coping. Later: except that it wasn't perfect and the bill did include a fee for the boat - although nominal.

Luna  Begonvil Yacht Club

Thursday 27

Selimiye

We headed for Selimiye which took just less than 2 hours.  There was a great extended pontoon with electricity and water which was the 'town quay'.  Quite a pretty place but the shopping was poor and it was unbelievably hot - now 32 degrees and no respite.  We did, however, find a much better restaurant for dinnner.

This is the plan at the moment -  we are underway and looking for wifi, hopefully from the dongle as we head round the end of the Bozburun peninsula which is very close to Symi and therefore we should get Cosmote again.  We are plannning to reach Ciftlik which is on the way to Marmaris.  We are planning to spend a couple of nights here in the town (and not in the marina which is our final destination) and then go further down the coast to Goçek and Fethiye before heading back again by the end of next week.

Monday 24 

TURKEY 

Symi  to Datça

We had two lovely days in Symi. It is a very pretty harbour but extremely busy every day with at least four massive ferries arriving and then after their departure at about 4 p.m. all the super yachts and numerous other sailing boats would start arriving for the evening and it was pandemonium. It was also very entertaining and we sat on the front of Sequel watching it all going on feeling very smug that we were safely in our spot.  It started again in the morning when everyone started to leave and all the anchors had got crossed over each other

Ferries in Symi harbour

Symi harbour from the top of the hill

 

We walked both days to the top of the opposite hillside and on Sunday down the other side to another bay. Both feeling the need for exercise after far too many meals out - but having walked back up the hill from the other side we managed to find a taverna right at the top just to fill up again.

And now after a very short crossing of about an hour we are in Turkey! We decided to head for Datça in order to 'check in' which is a bit of a rigmarole as you have to check in with the Police, Port Police and the Harbour Master in order to buy visas (as at the airport in Turkey) and a transit log but we are all now paid up and legal. We have reached the destination we set out for from Lymington in 2010 so another excuse to go out tonight and celebrate.

Changing the courtesy flag

Wednesday 19 

Kos

We discovered last night that Kos Town has dedicated cycle lanes and everyone was busy cycling to and fro so we got the bikes out and cycled into town in the morning, enjoyed wandering through the town, which was very busy with many tourists, and found a secluded taverna for lunch away from the main squares - there are a few squares.  We cycled back in the evening and found an even more secluded taverna but right in the middle of the town, in what appeared to be someone's back garden, and ate some really delicious Greek dishes. We have been offered a 'digestif' at the end of meals in most places which is really not drinkable (I would rather have Gaviscon) and hardly anyone does drink it, but here we were given Ouzo.  This time we felt obliged to drink it but it is truly horrible - fortunately we were seated close to a small flower bed.

Thursday 20

Another lovely day so a cycle ride to the Castle of the Knights built in the 14th century, lunch in same taverna and some chores. They had to be done.

Friday 21

Kos to Symi 

An early start for a six hour trip to Symi and lovely calm sea conditions before more strong winds forecast for next two days.  Symi is lovely.  We are on the town quay at €20 regardless of how many days although electricity and water extra if anyone turns up for payment. Many ferries and day trippers from Rhodes but apparently they disappear in the evening and we have already spotted the recommended seafood restaurant.

Sunday 16 September

Mykonos to Naxos

We were sad to see Matt and Heather leave us soon after 11 a.m. for their flight home and we waited for the wind, which hadn't been forecast, to drop.  By 2 p.m. we decided to stop waiting and head for Naxos about a three hour trip away.  Despite the fact that the wind was behind us the sea was quite agitated and we had an uncomfortable trip, sometimes surfing the waves and other times rolling over them.  We were very glad to see Naxos but in the way of famous last words - when I was fretting about there being somewhere to moor the Captain said 'we haven't been let down yet in Greece' - the harbour was packed. Fortunately a very enthusiastic Harbour Master helped us to raft up against a yacht at the end of the pontoon.  The whole thing went very smoothly until we realised that the anchor hadn't held at all and worse still it had managed to pick up a disused mooring line.  But we had lines going everywhere; on to the yacht and to the end of the pontoon and actually the anchor was holding us very nicely on the mooring line.

Buying bread in Naxos

Monday 17

Naxos to  Amorgos

Naxos town is a very busy port but we really liked it.  It had similar windy narrow streets to Mykonos but nowhere near as trendy and therefore more charming and we would have stayed longer but it was quite hot in the harbour and a bit like being in a goldfish bowl so we decided to move on. 

Amorgos from the boat

We had a lovely smooth five hour trip to Amorgos, a small island south of Naxos and en route to Kos. We decided to drop the anchor in the bay as it was a lovely still evening with a light breeze and we had dinner on board courtesy of Matt & Heather's previously made bolognaise and thought we would have an early night ready for an early start in the morning. But Sequel had a party all on her own and rocked and rolled all night and we were reminded why we prefer to find a town quay.

Tuesday 18

Amorgos to Kos

A long ten hour trip to Kos but safely tucked up in reputedly one of the best marinas in Greece and Turkey is so close it feels like you could reach out and touch it and looking forwards to a good night's sleep.

 

Saturday 15 September

Visit to  Delos - can  you imagine?

We visited Mykonos town for dinner on Friday night - an amazing place full of very narrow streets with white washed buildings everywhere and the well known row of windmills.  Very pretty and absolutely heaving with all ages, nationalities, sexualitiies  etc.  Around the sea front the tavernas were full and noisy so Matt (aka Wally) lead us down a maze of alley ways to find a taverna recommended in the Lonely Planet - think this book may need to change its name as this particular part of the planet was anything but lonely.

Mykonos

On Saturday we decided it was time to seek out some culture again and took a boat trip (seems a bit odd having to visit somewhere on a different boat) to Delos.

The Cyclades, fulfil their collective name (kyklos-circle) by encircling the sacred island of Delos. The  island is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece and is the mythical birth place of the twins Apollo and Artemis. It was first inhabited in the 3rd millenium BC.

We were accosted as soon as we landed by a Greek guide and along with three other people decided to take her up on her tour of the site but it wasn't long before we decided we wished we hadnt.  She was very knowledgeable but also had a slightly ear-piercing, monotonous delivery. Can you imagine?  We did try to lose her at one stage but she found us. The site is quite run down but nonetheless very impressive and we enjoyed the three hours we spent there (the guided tour lasted a little over an hour). It was also very hot in the sunshine - a typical case of mad dogs and Englishmen.

Ancient Delos

Wednesday 12 September

The (northern) Cyclades - Kea

Finally the wind dropped and after a morning of filling up with water and fuel we left Olymic Marina for Kea, a small island about 15 nautical miles away.  Unfortunately  the sea was still very stirred up after four days of meltemi and it was not particularly comfortable.  However, it was a fairly short trip of about two hours so bearable.  We moored at the town quay in Vourkari which was ideal and within a short walk of a small beach where we were able to have an early evening swim.

Sunset at Kea

For our evening meal  we decided to set off on foot  for  a taverna we had seen advertised cooking typical Greek home food.  We had to walk up a very dark road and just as we were deciding to turn back a woman arrived on a scooter and ushered us along giving us some light for a '10 minute' walk to her restaurant.  She tried to persuade Heather to get on the scooter but Heather wasn't having any of it. We were able to choose our food which was displayed in their kitchen and the whole lot arrived at the same time including Matt's  very evil looking sausage - and it certainly proved to be the next day.  We decided that 'typical Greek home food' was food which could have been cooked about a week ago. The best bit of the whole evening though was the lift the proprietor gave us in her van.  I sat in the front and the others sat on stools and an upturned crate in the back.  

 

Thursday 13

Siros

Siros town square - and Heather scattering pigeons

Had a great trip to Siros with perfect sea conditions. Siros is the capital of the Cyclades and the harbour was quite busy.  We found a great place on the town quay but within less than 5 minutes of tying up a ferry came in, did a 180º turn and sent a wave towards the quay which had us rocking and rolling all over the place.  Within another 5 minutes we had left the town quay for a marina across the harbour which reminded us very much of Trizonia, the graveyard marina. It was an example of what we have experienced a few times now in Greece of projects not being completed and left to decay and possibly a sign of the economic times - or are they just not bothered?

Friday 14

Mykonos

We left Siros this morning despite the fact that a southerly wind this time had been forecast and headed for Mykonos from where Matt & Heather are due to fly home on Sunday.  We have found a mooring in the 'new' marina and, despite the fact that no-one else seems to have any, we have found a supply of electricity and water - for the time being at least.  And for the first time since we arrived in the Greek islands in May it is now overcast and there have been a few spots of rain.  Matt & Heather have gone to the beach anyway and the Captain is having a lovely time washing salt and dust off the boat and playing with the lines.  We intend to head into the town this evening which has quite a reputation for being a very lively spot.

Monday 10 September
Olympic Marina - Lavrion - still

Matt and Heather arrived safely and by 3.30 p.m. on Friday afternoon in time for the wind to really start to pick up and by Sunday it was blowing up to nearly 30knts - force 6/7 gusting 8 - so too windy for us to go anywhere. But the sun is still shining and it is plus 25 degrees.

 

Visited Lavrio on Saturday for a frappé and lunch and on Sunday afternoon Matt & Heather got out the bikes to find a beach, which they did and it helped make up for not being able to go anywhere.

 

Today we decided to visit Athens and the Acropolis and went by taxi to the metro and the metro into the centre -  and then had to stop for coffee before we climbed up to the Acropolis.  Fortunately the wind, although nowhere near as strong, had come with us and made the 29 degrees bearable.  Really pleased we made the effort although I was slightly more in awe of the whole of Athens sprawling around us.  

At the Acropolis

Back on Sequel relaxing and then one more day of wind forecast for tomorrow before we can set off to our first stop on Wednesday which is a small island only 25 nautical miles away called Kea.  

 

Matt and Heather sharing frozen yoghurt.

Friday 07 September

Olympic Marina - Lavrion

Arrived at Athens airport at 8 p.m. Greek time on Wednesday evening and spent the night in the Sofiitel Hotel 50 metres from the exit door of the terminal. It was actually very nice and much better than the last hotel we stayed in before we returned home in June - which wasnt difficult - and possibly the best buffet breakfast I have seen anywhere.  We had the 'express' breakfast which meant orange juice, some bread and croissants and coffee so a little wasted on us.

 

Sequel  back in the water by 11.30 a.m. yesterday  and all appears to be well  so far. Except while we are sitting here relaxing waiting for Matt & Heather to arrive in just over an  hour the wind is already on its way to being a force 5 and is forecast for 6 to 7 near gale, possibly 8 over the weekend and lasting for almost all of next week.  We may have to hire a car and go sightseeing - at least we will have Matt here to organise us otherwise we would probably sit here doing nothing until it stops blowing.  It is still hot and sunny though. Feel  really disappointed for M&H as we had such great plans for all the small islands in between here and Mykonos.  

 

We stocked up on food this morning all the same and went to Effie's very own shop - MyMarket. So  we can always just enjoy the warm sunshine and eat lots.

Monday 25 June
Olympic Marina - Lavrion

It really is our last day on board now and various cleaning tasks have to be undertaken - the wind is still blowing relentlessly so at least it isnt too hot doing our chores. We did manage a cycle ride into the town of Lavrion earlier as, apart from venturing out to watch the footie last night, we were beginning to feel a little stir crazy.  Although the football match made me feel something other than stir crazy and no mojito this time to help it along. Believe it or not I drank water!

A new anchor chain has been ordered and the Captain is about to email a list of jobs for the boatyard to carry out while we are away, including the delights of cleaning out the 'poo' tank - we thought it was the sewer outlet in Patras but feeling a little anxious now that maybe it was us.

 

We are booked into a nearby hotel for tomorrow night -  which is supposed to be 5* - for a hopefully relaxing afternoon and evening before heading for Athens airport on Wednesday and an endless journey home - really hoping it wont be quite as painful as the last time when we managed to catch quite the slowest train from Clapham Junction to Brockenhurst that has ever been on the SW Trains network.

View from the back of the boat at Olympic Marina, Lavrio

Friday 22 June
Olympic Marina, Lavrio

We stayed five nights at anchor in the end in Poros as those sailing boats didnt decide to leave that pontoon until this morning - when we left too. And the water held out.  

View from the beach

The first three hours of our crossing were good and then at about midday the wind kicked in and after that it was very much a 'Gordy' situation with the spray going right over the top of the boat to the aft deck.  We are now safely in the marina but it is still blowing (5.45. p.m. here) at about force 6 and the Captain is disgruntled - it is his turn after all. Not least because somehow the black water tank is coming back up into the engine room - the Captain has changed his name to the T(h)urd Man. I think it has to be time to come home now!  

Leaving Poros Friday a.m.

Sequel comes out of the water on Tuesday 26 and we fly home on Wednesday.  We are looking forward to coming home although we have had many reports of bad weather. Despite the howling gale here it is still hot. 

Tuesday 19 June
Poros

We decided to leave Old Epidavros on Sunday afternoon despite the wind forecast, if anything the wind had dropped.  We were a bit late in making the decision but attempted to leave at about 1.30 p.m. only to find we were firmly stuck by two lines which had crossed our anchor chain.  We had heard about this happening in various places, usually when a flotilla is in port, but had hoped we would avoid it.  Fortunately the rep from the Sailing Holidays boat that was one of the culprits was on hand in his dinghy to help out and he also managed to remove the chain and anchor of a fishing boat which we believe another flotilla boat had carelessly dropped over our anchor chain after they had disengaged it from theirs!  The whole thing took just over half an hour and was all very exciting. 

Crossed anchors

It then took just under 3 hours to get to Poros, a small island just off the Peloponnese, which again we had been told was lovely and that we would prefer it to Epidavros.  There was loads of room on the town quay but unfortunately our anchor chain is not very long and it was too deep close to the quay for us to anchor there - there is a pontoon where we could have gone alongside but it was, and still is, occupied by sailing boats that do not seem to want to go anywhere so we had no alternative but to drop our anchor in a small bay opposite Poros Town where it is shallower. And it is lovely.  We have been here for three nights now and they have been the quietest and darkest we have experienced.  The Captain has got the dinghy out and he rowed us over to the town yesterday morning - because we didnt have any fuel for the engine, not because he was keeping fit - we found the fuel man on the pontoon (and those sailing boats not going anywhere - in fact we have hardly seen any sailing boats with their sails up even when it is windy - and when it is windy they all seem to scared to go out - what is that all about?) and we decided we much preferred it where we are at anchor as it is so noisy in the town and very crowded with tavernas and tourists.  We came back to the boat and rowed across to a small beach and had a lovely afternoon lying on sunbeds and actually swimming in the sea. We were even more adventurous last night and went out in the dinghy in the evening to a taverna, supposedly for a meal, but really because the Captain was anxious to watch the footie - again.

On the pontoon at Poros Town for a coffee and shopping trip

Forecast still for very strong winds so think we will now be here until Saturday - we are taking very quick showers to make the water last - start practising Matt & Heather!

At anchor in quiet, sheltered bay opposite Poros Town

Sunday 17 June
Paille Epidhauros, Peloponnese

Corinth Canal and into the Aegean Sea

We left Galaxidhi just after 6 a.m. on Friday morning heading for the Corinth Canal which is the most expensive canal in the world to sail through and like a lot of other things in Greece in disrepair.  We made very good time to the canal and then had to wait for two hours at anchor to pass through.  It is very impressive and incredible to think that it was originally dug out by the French in the 1890s and is 90M at its highest point.

Corinth Canal

We then headed for a small village for the night only to decide it really was too small for us and had to turn back to where we are now which is delightful and there is everything we need here.  Epidhauros is renowned for the Greek theatre about a 15km drive away and we visited the theatre yesterday morning (again with very many American youngsters). 

Greek Theatre

It is very windy and the forecast is for it to remain so until Thursday - we are dithering at the moment whether to go or not - the sailing part is fine - it is the mooring when we get to a destination which is a cause for anxiety and a lot of shouting.  The weekends seem to be change over days for the sailing charter companies and there are two where we are now. So may be better to leave it until tomorrow.................

Old Epidhaurus - not a bad place to have to stay

Thursday 14 June
Galaxidhi, Gulf of Corinth

We left Patras on Tuesday by about noon.  We had enjoyed our three days there and were entertained by Greek dancing in a small ampitheatre just across from the boat and watching all the hundreds of students drinking endless cups of frappé in all the cafes that surrounded us, accompanied every now and then by pungent wafts of sewage.  We were joined on our last night by the very big boat that had made such a mess of mooring in Ay Efimia.  In fact it managed to take up the whole of the other side of the pontoon on which we were on.

Patras from the Fort at the top of (about) 300 steps

We headed for the Gulf of Corinth and a small island called Trizonia which had been recommended to us as being a 'lovely spot'.  I am beginning, belatedly, to get quite suspicious about other peoples' idea of a 'lovely spot'.  We knew that there would be no electricity or water but had no idea that the place was more like a boat graveyard.  The whole marina basin looked like it had been deserted, although there were other boats like us in transit spending the night, and I was very disconcerted to see two masts sticking out of the water from a yacht that had sunk over three years ago now, right in the middle of the basin, and then we were told there were another three that had sunk but were not visible. here was a number of other abandoned boats which must have been there for years and shamefully more than a few had British port names on them. But then surprisingly just on the other side of the island was a lovely little bay with pretty tavernas so the situation was salvaged a little.  

Trizonia

We beat a hasty retreat from there early on Wednesday morning to head for Galaxidhi, where we are now, which is a huge improvement. We were, however, moved off a perfect spot we chose for ourselves as we were told that a large 30M boat was expected - we feel like we are being followed now.  But it is so hot - at the least 36 degrees, possibly 40 and it is impossible to move without being drenched in perspiration. It is also impossible to escape the football as the Greeks love it and it is on in every bar, cafe, taverna.  I was persuaded by the Captain to watch The Netherlands -v- Germany last night in a very modern, trendy bar across from the boat with Frank Sinatra crooning and a large Mojito cocktail - unfortunately the music changed to house/garage/you wouldnt want it in your shed music, Germany won and if I had had another Mojito I would have fallen off the bar stall.

 

Today, despite the heat, we have been to Delphi - the centre of the world according to Greek mythology.  About half an hour away in a taxi from Galaxidhi and not to be missed. Overwhelming - and overwhelmed by American tourists.

The theatre at Delphi with the Temple of Apollo

Tomorrow, finally, we set off for the Corinth Canal and the Aegean Sea.  We have been watching the weather forecast and think we are about to experience our first Meltemi but hope to find somewhere reasonable to sit it out before heading for our final destination just east of Athens before heading home on 27 June.

Tuesday 5 June Fiskardo, Cephalonia 

By the marina, Porto Vathi, Meganissi

We left Meganissi early having had a lovely three days there. We got the bikes out each evening and cycled around the coast to the next port a couple of times and into the centre another night - it was too warm during the day to do so - and the views were fantastic. Really loved it there. It took three hours to reach Fiskardo and we had determined to arrive early here i.e. before noon, as it is a very popular harbour and hard to find a place to moor. And it was almost full even at 11.30 a.m. We finally decided on a spot after the third attempt of reversing into a place with me dropping the anchor each time and then having to bring it up again (not manually!) - which I had never done before - it was exciting to say the least and we are still talking to each other.  We will probably only stay one night as we are on the town quay, practically in a taverna and it is a very public place with no water or electricity. On the plus side only 5 euros to stay here!

 

-almost in the taverna

 

Fiskardo

Friday 01 June
Meganisi

We had five nights in the end at Lefkas. For the first couple of days we were aware that the weather at home was lovely while it wasn't very warm here and apart from the storms on the first day we had rain on Tuesday as well.  By Wednesday things were looking up even though the wind was still quite chilly and now finally the weather is how you would expect it to be, but we were also waiting for six new batteries to arrive from Athens.  We were so impressed with Andreas who found a supplier and organised for the batteries to be delivered, and they were actually with us on Wednesday, and then we waited for the batteries to charge and finally this morning we had five lights! I cannot tell you anything about ampere hours despite the fact that I havent heard about much else for the last few days.

We left for Meganisi at noon today after the Captain had been twice to the Port Police who were not at all friendly and demanded to see again the insurance certificate despite the fact that he had already seen it on Monday - the same official.

Meganisi

And Meganisi is everything we were hoping for - a very small marina run by an English girl from Carlisle - it is very picturesque and we will stay here until Monday and then head for Fiskardo, Cephalonia.  At least that's the plan at the moment - things do seem to have a habit of changing.

Friday 25 May
Syracusa to Roccella Ionica

We left Syracusa at 6.45 a.m. for a 13 hour trip across to the toe of Italy and (sort of) across the Messina straits. For the first 7 hours the sea was quite uncomfortable but at almost 2 p.m. the sea flattened off completely and the rest of the trip was very nice and every so often we were accompanied by dolphins. Roccella Ionica is in the process of being made into a proper marina with help from the Italian government but in the meantime there was very litte there but a spot on the pontoon which was just right for us and very cheap as no electricity or water but we had only the intention of staying the night anyway.

Fishermen leaving Rocella Ionica

Saturday 26 - Sunday 27
Rocella Ionica to Lefkas
 

We could not have been any luckier with the weather as the sea was perfectly calm and it was a beautiful day - if endless. By 9 p.m it was completely dark, which was a little spooky, and my first watch until midnight. Unfortunately the starboard propshaft had started to clatter almost as soon as we left Rocella Ionica so a bit too noisy to sleep in our cabin so the Captain slept on the seat next to me which was comforting. I saw absolutely nothing except a few stars and the path of the moon for a little while but it had gone again by midnight and it was a very long three hours. Then the Captain's turn and apart from the fact that he is incapable of sitting still and he kept getting his torch out to write things down I actually slept too. My turn again and this time I was kept amused by a massive display of lightning going on to the north of us fortunately, and a few ships that crossed our path and we finally made it to Lefkas Town just before 11 a.m. (Greek time so now 2 hours ahead of the UK) and the whole trip took 25 hours - so we were very pleased. Lefkas Marina is enormous and full of charter boats and the town has everything we need. We know the weather at home has been fantastic but we were treated here to a storm shortly after we arrived and then again - but an amazing rainbow at the end of it - and the rain washed all the salt off the boat.

We have decided to worry about the propshaft when we get to Athens for the summer months as we will only do short trips from now on but we have had a visit from an electrician today as problems again with the batteries - we definitely need two new ones, possibly six - at a price. The Captain has decided its the only way so we will wait here until Wednesday as they have to come from Athens. There are worse places to have to wait and then hopefully we will continue to visit some more of the Ionian Islands.

Thursday 24 May
Syracusa - still

Going back into the water on board

At last back on the boat and although the Captain isnt convinced the shipyard did much to solve our problems we are going to carry on to Roccella Ionica on the mainland early tomorrow for a crossing of about 12 hours. We had six nights in a lovely hotel, converted barns which were a farm originally and I dont think we have stayed anywhere where the staff have been so friendly and helpful.So we are very ready to go again. We had an interesting return to the water (and in fact the lift out too) as for the first time ever, and Sequel is now very experienced at being taken in and out, we remained on the boat - strictly against any health and safety regulations. Usually we have to scramble off at the last moment before coming out and vice versa going in - I have to be sure to be wearing shorts otherwise it is very undignified.

 

Kaol Ishka Hotel

 

And after six days on land Sequel is yet again covered in fecking (thank you Mrs Brown) Libyan dust/sand - amazing how it travels so far. So Lady Muck has been busy inside and has also managed to produce a number of very colourful vinklekleins to hang out to dry and the Captain is busy with his hose! We had great fun shopping in the market for provisions this morning and my Italian is coming on very well - seems a bit of a shame that I am going to have to start learning Greek next. But very excited now about next part of the adventure and we hope to cross from mainland Italy to Lefkas on Saturday - about 26 hours.