After checking the weather at a local Internet cafe (the marina told us that their WiFi didn’t work) it became apparent that we would have to change plans as any attempt to reach Malta (Matts’ departure point) in the following week would be bordering suicidal in a small boat. While the conditions remained stable we [...]
Matt and I left Roccella Ionica in high spirits, it was great to be moving again and while the sea was still boisterous, the winds were favourable. Our destination? Siracusa Sicily, just under 110 NM away on a heading of approximately 212°. Upon departure we said our goodbyes (en passant) to our new French friends [...]
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks improving my weather by sms service for the Mediterranean and East Atlantic (Including E Atlantic islands and the mainland from the bay of Biscay to Cape Verde). Here is the latest on how to use it. Send a text message from your mobile phone like so: wf:38,08 to [...]
In the light of the following day, it was apparent that we had seen this yacht before (anchored out in the bay at Argostoli, Chephalonia). Curious I went to chat with the owners, a gregarious French couple who were more than happy to recount their ordeal at sea. When I asked how they had managed [...]
By 11pm on day two (we still hadn’t caught a fish but I did manage to loose my newly acquired lure), the VHF started spurting gale warnings and I was getting worried. Roccella Ionica (our destination) is not an all weather port (Crotone more than 70 miles distant was the nearest), and easterly winds breed [...]
Matt and I had started making a habit of night passages (sleeping in shifts) because; apart from enjoying it, we had more time to explore our destinations. Looking back over the weeks adventures, it was difficult to believe we had only spent a single night in most ports. Argostoli was a welcome sight after a [...]
A dawn departure saw us speeding along with the 2kt current under the new suspension bridge connecting Rion with Andirrion (the Peloponnese with the mainland). Would you believe it was necessary to call traffic control on VHF channel 14 for permission to transit the bridge? The radio operator asked for my yachts dimensions and couldn’t [...]
Navpaktos (also known as Lepanto), with its small medieval harbor, extended fortifications, and Venetian castle overlooking the town is a must see. However there is space for perhaps only two or three visiting yachts of diminutive dimensions. Everything was reasonably priced and close at hand, (provisions, fuel, entertainment), so we made the most of it. [...]
Departing Aigina at sunrise, Matt and I motored westward toward the Corinthian canal entrance. By 1:30pm we lay moored by the canal authorities control tower where I paid the 95 Euro transit fee. Several boats were on route from the western end, and as they approached I moved off the quay to avoid their wash. [...]
With continuing fair weather we set sail for Aigina near Athens, skirting the south of Sifnos and west of Serifos. The sailing was uneventful, and only the port of Aigina is worth a special mention. Warning! This is a quaint but expensive tourist trap! To be avoided, unless you don’t mind paying 3.50 for a [...]
By early afternoon we arrived at the anchorage of Ormos Kolitzani for a swim and I was able to fulfill a promise I had made to myself more than fifteen years earlier, to return here in my own boat. I had briefly worked on the Island, carting alcohol around for the local tavernas in the [...]
Approaching Thira at dawn, I found myself desperately dodging all manner of shipping intent on running Eileen of Avoca down. Matt attempted to sleep, feet wedged into the “trotter box”, in a position that would inspire any contortionist. The distinct smell of sulfur tainted the air as we sailed by the impressive cliffs. Had we [...]
Sunday the 13th of September. Checking the weather (my new found obsession) on my laptop from the boat (one hour passwords for Internet Wi-Fi access were available at the marina cafe at no charge), I was pleased to see that several calm days were forecast for the Cyclades. Good weather appears to have been a [...]
Two days in Herakleion (11th to the 13th of September) Arriving in the busy port of Herakleion (Gr: Iraklion or ancient Candia [the real land of Candy]), I made my way past several super cruise ships and a crumbling Venetian fort, to the small boat marina. Herakleion is busy, bustling, noisy, and architecturally uninspiring but [...]
On the 10th of September Vathi finally let us leave and I set a course for Herakleion via the island of Anafi (where I stopped briefly to quieten an empty grumbling stomach). The SE end of the island is very dramatic and the quiet anchorage near a tiny chapel, quintessentially Greek. It would have been [...]
