Spilia Bay, Meganisi

Saturday 29^th. May 2010

We left Vlikho Bay and sailed past Skorpios, a smallish island owned by the Onassis family. Aristole and Jackie (nee Kennedy) got married on the island and are now buried there together with Christina and her brother. Local rumour has it armed guards patrol the island but whether that’s a myth perpetuated by the family or reality who knows. On the south-west corner of the island is a small beach house built in Mykanos style which is, apparently, where Jackie bathed on a small private beach but as it’s quite visible it’s hard to imagine any privacy from paps with long lenses.

We passed the island and headed for Spilia Bay on Meganisi (pics above and below). It’s a wonderfully secluded bay with a view to die for.... although I'm sure that was not the reason for the demise of the four aforementioned Onassis family members. Jerry and Steve run the taverna and moorings. All very unhurried and friendly. Jerry holds out the lazy line as you drift in to the mooring. He later takes your order in the taverna. One nice touch is that they take bread orders for the following morning which saves a serious hike over the hill to the bakers at Spartahori. It’s all very Greek; unhurried, friendly, a bit shambolic and you’d never guess they were in the middle of the worst economic crisis to hit the country for generations. Hospitality is generous or a cynic might think it's just good marketing but after every meals there are 'freebies'. Ours consisted of a free pichet of wine - which considering we'd consumed two glasses and a pichet risked putting up into the high risk category as we teetered along the jetty. We spotted some fellow cruisers we'd seen at another stop and shared the free wine with them. They were delighted, we remained more of less sober and no one ended in the drink because of the drink. This is one of our favourite stops, and not just because of the freebies. We will return....many times.

Maritime Graveyard

Friday 28th. May

From Lefkas to Vlikho, a sheltered bay which seems to be a giant boat park for ex pat Brits. There are two Prout Quest cats here and some Greek rust buckets! Sadly the bay is a dumping ground for boats that have reached the end of their lives. The boat yards to the north of the bay seem active, if a little primitive, but every boating area needs its workshops.

This was one of the quietest moorings of the entire trip. The water is not as clear as elsewhere but that's because of the muddy bottom and, I suspect, it's a result of not being 'flushed' by any tides. Although the view over Rust Mountain was less than enchanting the rest of the bay was picture-postcard fodder. Not surprising, therefore, that there's quite a community of ex-pat Brits here. Red dusters fluttered in all parts of the bay. The mooring is free, it's quiet, the flotilla plague rarely breaks out in these waters and the tavernas and shops are only a few minutes away in the dinghy.

If you find yourself in the Ionian don't be put off by the maritime graveyard. It's only a small part of the bay and Vlikho is well worth a visit.

South from Gouvia

Wednesday 26^th. May 2010

Yesterday we stocked the boat. Waitrose is not under threat. From Corfu we sailed south to Lakka on Paxos…lovely picturesque bay on a stunning island (see pic). Excellent WiFi courtesy of the local council. We anchor in the bay and the water is an unreal turquoise – it looks as if someone has overdone the colour settings on Photoshop but it’s real, it’s natural, this is how it really is.

Thursday 27^th. May 2010

From Paxos we sailed south to Lefkas via the canal. It’s almost impossible to find the canal entrance. Without GPS and a couple of other boats going the same way I’m not sure we’d have found it. It didn’t help that since the pilot was published they’ve build a harbour wall and added a light so it looks nothing like the photo!

Nice, if expensive , night in Lefkas. £40 mooring for the night…which is about twice what we’d pay in Cowes! Ah, so that’s why Zorba and his missus were smiling.

Health and Safety? I don’t think so.

One of the refreshing things about Greece is that the Health and Safety Police have yet to descend like a blight on the country. Common sense seems to prevail and if someone does something stupid they have only themselves to blame.

We saw some hair raising electrical installations – see picture. The exposed junction box (top right) was at the foot of a power pole and carried 440volts. All the terminals were exposed to prodding fingers and a jolt from that would quickly empty your bilges. But the Greeks are not stupid and refrain from stuffing a digit into lethal electrics. The consumer units (bottom pic) were in Preveza where there seems to be a flexible approach to electricity distribution systems. We saw more than one apparently illicit tap into the public electricity supply. The picture (top left) was also in Preveza, at the marina, where an irate Greek told me that a visiting yacht had approached the jetty in a rather spirited manner and taken out his services post. This did not stop it being used. Power and water flowed despite the post being all but demolished. Who said water and electricity don’t mix?

We were amazed too at how many Greeks you can fit on a motorised scooter. It helps, of course, that none wear helmets or protective clothing and we had to chuckle when we saw several passengers riding pillion and carrying crutches. It did not deter them. As far as the Greeks are concerned scooters were made for multiple occupancy. Three or four on one bike is not unusual. Riding, using a mobile phone and eating an ice cream is pretty normal.

I have to say none look the worse for their lack of H&S. We do love the Greeks.

Ionian - June 2010

Monday 24^th. May 2010

Greece is bust. The Germans have bailed out the Greek economy and the IMF has imposed heavy demands on what the Greek government has to do in return for shed loads of Euros.

However, life goes on and Zorba and his wife still manager a smile as we meet them in the street. Maybe it’s the thought of fresh Euros going through their tills that prompts the smile but somehow I doubt it. The Greeks are a happy tribe and it takes more than a mountain of debt and VAT at 23% (from 1^st. July) to shroud them in gloom. For a nation that built the Pathenon, invented Euclid geometry and taught the Romans a thing or two about celestial navigation then a blip in the economy is no more than a minor pimple on an otherwise impressive complexion.

We arrived in Corfu on Monday, one place where the air traffic controllers didn’t recently go on strike because they knew the island, and many of their friends and relatives, depend upon tourists for a livelihood. We got in at 10.30 local time, 8.30am UK time, so you can imagine what time we left Gatwick and by backwards plotting what time we left home. Suffice it to say we didn’t have any sleep for getting on for 36 hours. Crazy.

We got on the boat, a 31 foot French production number of a certain age. Perfectly sound boat if a little dated. Biggest minus is the lack of hot water which makes washing up a tad more of a chore than it usually is and a shower becomes a right old palaver involving a ’solar shower bag’, basically a black plastic bag which holds water which heats up with the sun. You then stand under the spray. It’s very green, has no CO2 footprint and is about as useless as a chocolate teapot. We hate ‘em.

Big Game Hunting.

As the first rays of sunshine landed on Oxfordshire this week we stirred from the winter hibernation and reminded ourselves that warm weather equals sailing. Well, that’s the theory.

The rise in air temperature was sufficient for us to head south with friends Margie and Steve (Lagoon owners) to resume our search for a big cat. Not the big game hunting you’d expect to find in Africa, although mind you they do produce some fine beasts down there, but no these cats were French, didn’t bite, positively purred with comfort but were no slouches with a breeze up their tail.

We were VIP guests of Fontaine-Pajot keen to show off their new Lipari 41 which we’d seen at Southampton along with half a million others, or so it seemed. After half an hour or so of wandering around (it really is that big), and having run out of cupboards to open, the engines were started and we headed out into the Solent. Not much wind but enough to hoist the sails and check out the light airs performance. She actually did rather well. Six knots through the water for 12 knots true. She tacked well enough and didn’t need the jib to be backed. Under power she was very manoeuvrable, as you’d expect with a couple of 30HP Volvos and variable pitch props. Jo was taken with the galley but lamented the lack of work surfaces. The heads in the guest hull were fine and Jo was very impressed by the washing machine in the starboard forward locker but we thought the shower in the owner’s cabin a bit cheap and bordered on the skinflint! Karen, the helpful F-P agent in the UK, said the shower could be upgraded. The right answer.

We liked the way all lines lead back to the helm position but were not impressed by the lack of vision of the port stern from the helm. When docking that could be embarrassing. The instruments were viewed through the spokes of the wheel and programming the chartplotter was awkward. The autopilot (Furuno) worked a dream and was totally silent unlike the Raymarine kit we had on Starquest. It held the course and impressed. The helm nav kit layout needs some more thought. However, by contrast the internal nav station was one of the best we’ve seen. Not only is it very practical but looks as if it’s actually designed to be used, unlike a lot of chart tables in cats which are token additions, presumably because for the charter market they are not used. The owner’s suite was spacious and the ‘office’ (well desk space, cupboard and shelves) was usable. The guest cabins were sensible doubles with a generous heads.

A large deck locker gobbled up the fenders, anchor chain and warps. It also housed the electric windlass with dual control; from the helm and also from the foredeck.

Engine access seemed good but there was not enough room in the engine bays to accommodate a generator. That would have to be sited in a deck locker in the cockpit.

Sail operation was effortless thanks to some beefy winches and the dinghy was easy to raise and lower thanks to some sturdy davits. Standard practice is to leave the outboard on the dinghy – which is just as well because there’s no way we’d be able to lift the 9.9HP brute perched on the stern.

Conclusions? Well, the test sail did impress. But, one very annoying habit the French have is to quote a basic price and then ‘extras’. Except the extras and not extras at all but essentials! This means the ‘basic’ price is about as meaningless as a politician’s promise. Who do they think they are kidding? One can’t help but feel being taken for a ride.

That apart, we liked the boat much more than we thought we would and she handled well in light airs. A passing ferry did make us bob about a bit and that made us wonder how she’d handle in a bigger sea. We’d need to go out in something more than a Force 2-3 to find out. With a few reservations, and the sour taste of their crazy pricing policy, we loved it. But how will she compare to the new Lagoon 400? Stay tuned.

Stuck in Harbour

We are stuck in harbour. The snow has almost cut off the village with just a few cars, mainly four-wheel-drives and the odd tractor, venturing out. This morning we had three days supply of food and just three months supply of wine. Dangerously low on both as you’ll appreciate.

With the supplies of salt running low we decided not to use it in cooking. We like to do our bit to help out the government in these difficult times.

We suspect the road through the village will drop off the council’s ‘must salt’ list following the announcement by the hilariously named Lord Adonis that councils must reduce salt usage by 25%. When that happens the village will be cut off as nothing, not even Waitrose delivery van, will get through. We’ve had no post for several days now, the dustmen have vanished, no buses are running, couriers no longer visit but somehow the newsagent, who is more than a mile away, manages to get a daily paper to us each morning.

So around half past twelve this afternoon we dug the car out of the drifts in the drive and set off for Charlbury…and the Co-op. Roads not too bad, bit of ice where the newly built bridge crosses the road and the scene of several icy accidents recently. All, apparently, involving teachers from Chipping Norton School. How weird is that? Anyway we managed to get to the Co-op but sadly their delivery lorry had not. Shelves were a bit empty, no fruit or veg at all, and the meat counter was starting to look like the shelves of an East German shop before the re-unification. Anyway we topped up with bread, some fish, oven chips (now how long is it since we had them?), milk, cans of soup and some pasta. We are now able to survive for a further ten days.

Pass the Ionian pilot – we’ll keep warm by planning the summer cruises.