Greece Part 8 - Fiskardo to Preveza

June 2016 - Tra Bhui is amongst the Ionian Islands 

Wednesday 15^th

 A comfy bed, a long lie, being able to walk next door to the bathroom, sitting at a table for breakfast, instant Internet access, these were some of the little things we appreciated while staying ashore!

Tra Bhui (yellow hull) dwarfed by larger boats 

After breakfast it was time to see a bit of the island. Kathleen had spotted an information board  yesterday giving details of local footpaths that we could follow.  The footpaths have been formed by a local group called the Asteris Club and were marked with hand drawn signs and interesting and well drawn information boards that identified the various species of flora and fauna that can be found in the area. The pictures below are not the hand drawn signs which unfortunately I did not photograph.

Footpath information

Walking options

The furthest away destination was the Battaria a substantial gun emplacement constructed by the Germans in WW2 to control access to the Ionian Sea. Today the site is very overgrown and only with careful searching can the foundations for the guns and subterranean tunnels be found.

The path to the Batteria was shown as generally following the coastline to the northwest tip of the island and as it looked as though it would offer us a good walk we opted to follow it.

Local flora

After a dubious start when we lost the path we picked it up again beside a secluded beach after we had reverted to following the road. From then on the path was well marked as it wove its way through the very dense woodlands and vegetation that covers the northern coastline.

Looking north towards Lefkas

Eventually we came to the Battaria which was very overgrown to the extent that it was virtually impossible to see how far it extended. From the elevated site there was however a good view over to the nearby island of Lefkas.

New best friend

We made our way back to Fiskardo via the small village of Antipata where we stopped for a cold drink, as it was an extremely hot morning!

By following the road back to Fiskardo we got some better views of the island and ended up with a circular walk of around 8 miles. This went a little way to justifying a lazy afternoon during which I did little apart from read and use the Internet while Kathleen went to the beach to swim and to read.

Ancient and new lighthouses at mouth the of the harbour

During the afternoon our laundry was returned. It was just as dirty as when it had been taken away and some articles had not even been untangled to show an attempt at washing them! Back to hand washing things myself!!!

Looking south towards Paros

Having had a great meal the previous evening and again wanting to avoid the crowds we returned again to the Nicolas Taverna where we were greeted like long lost friends. The Greeks are generally very hospitable people and the owner of the tavern which is family run and staffed was keen to spend time talking to us and presented Kathleen with a package of local herbs to take with her when we were leaving after our meal.

Later when talking to the crew from another yacht we were told that a number of the large charter yachts which had set out from Nidri at the same time as we had set out from Paros 2 days before had turned back due to the weather conditions and they were in far more sheltered waters than we had been. This just underwrites the Drascombes reputation as a good boat for all conditions.

. Thursday 16^th

Time to move on again. We really enjoyed our time at Fiskardo and the accommodation at the Balhambra Suites. Although the village was very busy – too busy – we had managed to avoid the crowds without any problems as yet again we found that your average yachtie appears unwilling or unable to walk more than 500 m from their yacht and as such presumably never sees more of the country than can be seen either from on board or from a shore side bar or restaurant.

Under sail at last

Rounding Ithica

Our next destination was the island of Ithica where we planned to find an anchorage near the town of Frikes. A quiet night at anchor would balance our decadent onshore stay in Fiskardo.

Unbelievably when we left the harbour at 11.00 hrs. we  had perfect sailing conditions with 14 knots of wind coming from the west giving us a run around the north of Ithica. With just the main sail set we  set we made good progress and averaged 6 plus knots until we became becalmed after rounding the northeastern corner of Ithica. After waiting in vain for the wind we dropped our sails and motored inshore to find a good anchorage.

In search of a suitable anchorage

Despite the wind initially coming from the west, the sea was running from the south  and the beach where we initially dropped our anchor was we decided a bit exposed. Raising the anchor again we explored an number of little coves (some more than once) before settling on a sheltered bay just below the hilltop village of Rachi. Our anchor hit the bottom at 14.00 hrs. after a fairly short 3 hour passage .

Moored below Rachi

After a swim we walked around the bay to the small harbour town of Frikes, which was a bit further than I thought, being 2.5 miles away by road but only 1.2 miles on water, despite the road following the coastline. I am not sure if it was further than Kathleen thought as she never commits to thoughts on distances etc.

The road to Frikes follows the coastline and is pretty much devoid of traffic. After rowing ashore we had to climb up the steep track to Rachi before we could take the road to Frikes.  Rachi as a village although of a reasonable size was quiet even by Greek standards, but it did have wonderful views both towards Frikes (north ) and towards Koni (south).

Frikes itself was a nice enough little village that has origins going back to the 16^th Century.

Although we had sailed in this area twice before we had never actually been in to Frikes. Apart from the shelter of the harbour which was being partially renovated when we visited there is little in Frikes apart from a small supermarket and a few bars, one of which we stopped at for a drink before walking back to Tra Bhui.

BBQ on our own little beach

For dinner we decided to have a BBQ on a nearby beach, which was a nice change from eating on board or at a restaurant.

  

Miles today 10

Miles total 650

Friday 17^th 

From Ithica we crossed to Kastos, departing Frikes bay just before 11.00 hrs. we motored across a glass like sea until we arrived in Kastos just after 15.00 hrs. The weather was extremely hot and with not a breath of wind it was nice to be  on the water where the boat movement created a gentle breeze to cool us.

 

Kastos

The harbour at Kastos was full of flotilla yachts, some of which were in Frikes when we had walked their yesterday afternoon. It was obvious that we were now entering the main summer holiday period and the quiet harbours so far were things of the past. It was also getting a lot warmer, a lot warmer!

With the harbour pretty full we opted to anchor off a beach just outside the harbour where once again the shallow draught of the Drascombe allowed us to anchor in the sheltered waters just off the beach, where other yachts could not get into.

Moored outside the harbour well inside the other moored yachts.

When we anchor off we tend not to put up the tent which cuts down on shipboard tasks, so we were quickly ashore and off to explore.

At anchor off Kastos

The village of Kastos is pretty small. Built mainly on the flat ground around the harbour it extends up the side of the adjoining hill and contains a lot of houses, which we presume, are holiday homes as although well maintained they had closed shutters and looked to be waiting for the summer visitors.

The village has a few restaurants / bars and a small supermarket. With only one dirt road on the island and with most of the houses in or near the village there are only a few cars on the island.

We walked through the village and out on to the small headland at the other side of the harbour  before returning to a bar at the harbour for a cold drink. Later in the afternoon we set out to walk along the dirt road that runs along the south east coast of the island before returning to Tra Bhui to spend the rest of the afternoon swimming in the bay.

Nice location for dinner

When the sun started to drop and loose it’s heat we walked around the bay through the village and out onto the headland where there was a nice looking restaurant with great sea views. Here we had dinner as we watched the sunset over the bay.

Miles today 15

Miles Total 665

Saturday 18^th

Waking to a clear sky and a glass like sea we walked around to the village for bread before returning to eat breakfast on Tra Bhui.

Our passage planning now had another consideration as we were nearing the final destination for this part of our journey – Preveza.  Our son Scott was due to graduate from Glasgow University in just over a week’s time and we had booked flights home from Preveza on Wednesday the 22^nd of June, just 4 days away.

We had been pushing on to make sure we were up in the inner Ionian area in plenty of time for the flights as we did not want to be stuck on one of the outer islands had the weather broken, but now that we were here we had some flexibility on where we went and we could be more relaxed about timescales.

In the absence of any wind and not wanting to spend another  day motoring we opted to stay at anchor here for another day.

Exceedingly hot day even with our sun awning rigged

Tra Bhui with sun canopy

As the day went on it became hotter and hotter. Even with our large sun canopy rigged the temperature on board was uncomfortable. It was too hot to go ashore for a walk so we stayed in the shade where we read and dropped over the side for a swim at regular intervals.

I was interested to see the size of our centre board when down

A number of sport boats arrived and anchored off the beach. Presumably these boats, all of which left in the late afternoon were just families from the mainland out for a day on the water? A nice way to spend a day at the weekend if you are able.

Bar at converted windmill

We ventured ashore at lunchtime and walked around the bay, through the village to a bar made from a converted windmill. Here we sat in the shade and enjoyed cold drinks before returning to Tra Bhui

At last the sun began to sink and the heat went out of it making it more pleasant on board.

Sunset would be soon over Kastos

We returned to the same restaurant that we had eaten at the previous night for dinner. Once again we sat and watched the sunset over the bay.

Miles today 0

Miles Total 665

Sunday 19^th

After our day of rest we needed to head further north and decided that after breakfast we would head to Vathy on the island of Meganisi, which was about 14 miles away.

Departing Kastos at 09.25 hrs. we yet again resorted to motoring as it was another flat calm.

After rounding the southern tip of Kalamos we headed north towards the northeastern tip of Meganisi. As we neared Meganisi a wind started to fill in behind us initially coming from the south but quickly rounding to the west.

Given the variance of the wind that we had experienced since entering the Ionian, I spent sometime procrastinating about whether we should be under sail or not. 

On Tra Bhui, the genoa is quick and easy to set due to it’s roller reefing / furling system and the mizzen can be set equally quickly although slightly more work is required. Our mainsail however which is by far the largest sail of any Drascombe takes a bit more handling. No problem if the Gig is crewed by the 8 sea cadets and helmsman that it was designed for, but more of a task for Kathleen and I.

My procrastination paid off as the wind suddenly started to gust to an unbelievable 30 knots plus (Force 7) whipping the sea up into a frenzy of white horses.  Having no sails up was a decided benefit!

The wind had not finished it’s tricks though and the westerly soon became a northerly  and waves suddenly became very wet indeed as we motored into them.

Entering Vathy it felt as though the wind had suddenly been switched off as the waters within the harbour were sheltered and calm. Sunshine abounded and soon Tra Bhui was the source of clouds of evaporating water as her wet decks dried in the heat of the sun.

Vathy is another harbour that we have been into in the past, but much has changed over the years and it was not as we remembered it with a new marina and many , many more boats. It was far nicer before!

As we entered the inner harbour at 12.40 hrs. we were warned off as two yachts had crossed anchors and were trying to untangle themselves from each other with much shouting and gesticulation. After a pulling back a bit I spotted a empty berth alongside the northern quay right in the corner. Too small for a yacht, but just big enough for Tra Bhui – that would do us while we decided what we were going to do.

Our plan had been to stay overnight in Vathy so we walked around to the marina to see if we could get a berth there.  The marina was pretty full but promised us a berth later in the afternoon which would suit us OK, but after  discussing it over a coffee we decided that Vathy was just too busy for us and we did not want to pay for berth in what was not a particularly nice spot.

Having cancelled our marina berth we decided to walk over the island to Spartochori for lunch. Hopefully in the afternoon the weather would have moderated and we could then decide what to do. We would also use the walk to look at potential anchorages along the coast.

The layout of Meganisi allowed us to take the inland road to Spartochori, which sits high on the hill directly above the harbour of the same name. In the village we found most cafes, shops and bars to be closed due to a large local wedding, which presumably everyone was attending. We did manage to find an open pizzeria with spectacular views over the harbour and surrounding sea area.

Pizza for lunch

Walking back to Vathi we descended to the harbour and then followed the coast road until we came back to Tra Bhui.  Again like most of the islands we visited the roads were deserted and ideal for walking along. There were no obvious anchorages on the stretch of coast that we walked along and the bay below Spartochori was full to capacity of yachts and assorted motor boats. 

By the time we returned to Tra Bhui the wind had dropped and the sea moderated so we decided to head across to Nidri which is the main harbour servicing the islands in this part of the Ionian and so we left Vathi again at 17.00 hrs.

Miles 14

Total 679

Crossing from Meganisi to Nidri

Earlier in our voyage I had contacted Phil at Dragon Drascombes http://www.dragondrascombe.com/  – he hires out a number of Drascombe Luggers and shore side accommodation – to ask about storage for Tra Bhui when  we flew back to Scotland. Phil was really helpful, but and offered us the use of his boat storage, but we eventually decided it was cheaper and more convenient to leave Tra Bhui afloat at a marina in Preveza from where we could walk to the airport. Thanks anyway Phil!

Crossing from Meganisi we passed Skorpios, the island formerly owned by Aristotle Onassis and where he married Jackie Kennedy, the widow of the late President John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

The island has recently been sold to the 24-year-old daughter of a Russian shipping billionaire.

The sale price? A cool £100 million. Eilidh and Scott; if you are reading this – you were obviously born to the wrong parents!!!

Arriving just off Nidri we turned to port and headed in to the  sheltered inner harbour – what in Scotland we would call a sea loch – Vliho Bay. Here we found wall-to-wall yachts all moored in the dirtiest part of the Ionian that we had seen so far. The shore where not covered with boat yards was littered with abandoned boats and sunken hulls. Definitely not an attractive place to stay.

An oasis of niceness - Dragon Drascombes base.

The one oasis that we saw in this area was the Geni Garden Apartments that are used by Dragon Drascombes. We did stop and at the pontoon where two Luggers were tied up and ask if Phil or Matt were around but we were told that they were in town and unlikely to return today, which was a pity as we would have liked to have met them.

Moored just off the shore line at Nidri

Leaving the overcrowded waters behind us we found a relatively quiet anchorage in 24” of water near the Neilson pontoon at Nidri town where with the use of both stern and bow anchors we managed to keep Tra Bhui afloat (just) near the shore.

By the time we secured Tra Bhui it was 18.45 hrs. and time for a beer!

When we had last been in Nidri we had been taken to a excellent restaurant that did not have a menu as such, but which simply brought you dishes of food until you told them to stop. I appreciate that this probably sounds a bit bizarre, you really have to have been there to appreciate it.

Looking for a mooring near Nidri

After a beer at a bar on the harbour front we set out in search of the restaurant which was pretty much where I remembered it to be. After a wait of about 30 minutes we got a table – the restaurant although able to sit a lot of people limits the number of diners at any one time so at least half of the tables are always empty – it works for them!!!!

We had a great if slightly expensive meal – hopefully a memory that we will keep from our time in Nidri!

Miles 6

Total 685

Monday 20^th

Waking to an overcast sky, Kathleen rowed ashore for bread as I tidied up Tra Bhui and boiled water for tea and coffee. We had no reason to stay longer in Nidri and were keen to get going as strong winds were forecast and we had two exposed stretches of water to cross before getting to Preveza.

Heading towards Lefkas on an  overcast morning 

Cloudy overhead, but happy on board!

From Nidri we headed north to the Lefkas canal and a lunchtime stop at the town of Lefkas.. Heading towards Lefkas we encountered a strong headwind and a wetting sea but despite this we entered the extremely busy Lefkas canal and moored Tra Bhui alongside the road causeway next to the town at 11.45 hrs. The canal was busy with boats heading south - it was the start of the Italian holidays we were told and also the start of the peak flotilla season. 

Lefkas canal - looking south from the town with the marina on RHS

Lefkas Canal runs for around 3.5 miles through the low-lying land at the NE end of the island and effectively divides it from the Greek mainland. The canal also provides a busy link used by boats heading northwards and southwards in the Ionian  without having to go around the west side of Lefkas island – a considerable saving in both time and distance.

The canal, which is dredged to a depth of 5.0 – 6.0 metres along most of its length although it tends to be much shallower 3 – 4 m at its northern end

The N part of the canal runs between training walls as far as Lefkas Town and is marked by poles for the rest of its length until arriving at the three pairs of buoys at the S end.

In places, the channel is quite narrow, and north-going and south-going yachts may be competing for the deeper water in the centre of the channel.

There is a speed limit of 4.0 knots in the canal and sometimes an appreciable current of 1.0 – 1.5 knots, usually S-going.

The road from the mainland passes over the canal at its N end via a floating bridge which opens on the hour from 0600 – 2200

Tied up alongside the causeway while we lunch ashore in Lefkas

We had transited the canal before and had even spent a night at the town’s marina but we had never really explored the town itself, so stopping for lunch we decided to put this right after first walking further down the canal to watch the floating road bridge open on the hour.

One of the more interesting buildings in Lefkas!

The buildings which make up Lefkas are pretty nondescript although the town itself is based on the town layout associated with the medieval city plan of Lefkada City (historic name for Lefkas) which was developed during Venetian rule. 

Modern buildings incorporate seismic designed foundations which are necessary due to the areas history of earthquakes. There are a few old and interesting buildings, but newer modern buildings are pretty bland and uninteresting. Recently effort appears to have been put into refreshing the town and encouraging tourism. Such works include a secondary canal / water feature built  to provide moorings for small local boats along the northern edge of the town the side of which we walked along  when heading into town.

New canal feature to provide local moorings

We stopped for lunch at a small café bar called the Lemon Tree (a popular name in Greece) and sat outside in the rear courtyard where we were served small local snacks to go with our cold drinks. For once we did not have a Greek Salad!

Back on board Tra Bhui we headed on down the canal to get to the floating bridge in time for it’s 15.00 hrs. opening. After passing through the bridge it was only a short distance until we left the canal and re entered the Ionian Sea.

Sailing parallel to the shore we kept heading north until we encountered the buoyed channel marking the approach to Preveza. I was keen to get past this section of coastline before the weather broke as the shoreline is basically a surf beach and we have in the past experienced very large seas here.

Following the marked channel we passed through the narrows  and soon after entered the Cleopatra Marina where we had reserved a berth for Tra Bhui while we flew home.

Cleopatra Marina was one of a number of options that we considered when choosing somewhere to leave Tra Bhui. We opted for it as it was fairly new – 2009 – secure, reasonably small (only 100 berths) but with a vast onshore storage area and most importantly within walking distance of the airport. The downside was that it was on the opposite side of the channel from Preveza Town, but as we would only be there for two nights that would not be a problem for us.

The new marina facilities - luxury

On entering the marina at 16 .50 hrs. we were directed to a berth on one of the smaller pontoons close to the toilet block. Our mooring was stern to and on lazy lines, which was OK although the lazy lines as expected were really dirty and covered in marine growth.

Tied up in Preveza

With Tra Bhui secured we celebrated our arrival with drinks and dinner at the marina’s restaurant. Since leaving Thessaloniki in May we had covered 702 nautical miles, which equates to 807 miles or 1302 km!

Tuesday 21^st June

We were due to fly home tomorrow so today was going to be a work day as we needed to sort out our washing as well as to tidy and clean Tra Bhui and store everything away that was not already inside the deck hatches.

First things first thought – breakfast.

Rather than cook on board we decided to splash out and eat breakfast at the marina’s restaurant after which we set off to walk to the airport that was just under an hour away.

Walking to the airport was a dry run for tomorrow to see how long it would take. The airport was easy enough to find s all we had to do was follow the access road to the marina until it met the main road and then follow that south until we came to the airport terminal.

Back at Tra Bhui we got to grips with our chores, including another washing, but this time we had the luxury of a washing machine.

While the washing dried we went for another walk, this time following the beach around towards the airport and coming back by the road. The beach was nice enough but the water was not particularly clean which may have been due to the proximity of the large town of Preveza just across from the marina.

Our original plan had been to continue north to Igoumenitsa some 80 miles further to the north, but after a lot of consideration we decided that we would stop at Preveza as the small and quiet harbours and anchorages that we had enjoyed so far were now becoming increasingly full of yachts and motor boats and the temperature was rising on a daily basis making nights on board uncomfortable.

Washing day!

We hoped that we would not regret our decision to stop at Preveza at a later date, but we had the consolation of already having sailed the waters to the north of Preveza twice before so we would have just been visiting places that we had already been and we had been there when they were quiet!

With our decision made we stored everything we could away in Tra Bhui in the knowledge that when we returned in a week or so with the car and trailer we could unpack everything properly and re stow it then.

Tuesday 21^st June

After an early rise we threw our bags ashore and after putting the cockpit cover on Tra Bhui we set out on foot for the hours walk to the airport from where we would catch the morning Easyjet flight to London and then a connecting flight to Glasgow.

Miles 9

Total Miles 702

To be continued:-

Our return to Greece and the journey home to Scotland