Water fun in Pargas and on to Lakka

The kids got up in the morning and after a swim jumped into the dinghy and went into town to do some shopping. 

Jessie and Hugh having SUP balance wars.

Marina and I hopped on the SUPs and tooled around the bay, first heading up the point and then into the beach where we hopped off and took a beach walk amongst sardine like chairs and umbrellas packed with beachgoers. The kids came back around 13:00 after having a couple of gyros in town. 

Hugh had one chicken and one pork ... and these are the ones that put the fries on the inside - reminds us of having Ross on board. We picked up anchor and headed toward Lakka at a slow pace, even though we were going slow we encountered two ferries where we checked the AIS and had CPAs of 0.4 miles.  At this point I handed the conn over to Marina and went below for a nap. Considering how little we did today it's hard to understand why I am so tired but, if you are tired and can take a nap, why not? Chances are the folks that live to a hundred, one of their secrets is they sleep when they are tired. Marina woke me up a few minutes outside of Lakka suggesting I take the helm. Anchoring in Lakka is like a being on very short and very busy start line with a number of very aggressive type-A skippers that all believe they can win the regatta. When I got on deck indeed Marina had punched up the revs to max in order to race a Bavaria 50 in for a spot. It was very crowded but we found a place and dropped anchor. In retrospect it was not that tight a spot because three more boats came in later and filled in the holes that we had left thinking they were just too small. We went for swims and naps and hung out onboard. The highlights of the day were Marina talking to a Canadian couple with their 4 kids and some family friends on a Jeanneau 64, and watching this boat from Croatia with a mess of people on board and a yellow labrador. The young male dog was having a terrific time swimming with the kids and when he got close he just went still, not clawing the swimmers. Then when he went back to the boat he hung onto the ladder with his front paws and waited until someone went behind him to counterbalance him as he climbed up the ladder. Jess and Hugh made a really good dinner with a mushroom pasta ragout and some sausages that were grilled on the BBQ. We contemplated going to town for ice cream but decided to think about it for a while and by the time Hugh and I had an ouzo it was too late so we packed it in and went to bed instead.

A Relaxing Mostly Sail from Nydri to Pargas

We were anchored beside a 37 footer that probably hasn't moved in a year or so … a couple of people living aboard pooping every day into the bay spending about 100 Euros a month in the local town … no wonder so many people don’t like long-term cruisers. Marina and I headed into town for some supplies and boat parts. The dinghy has been bleeding air this year so we picked up a patch kit, the oil and antifreeze I need to service the engine and, strangely enough toilet cleaner to see if it will clean the stubborn stains off the deck (and it surprisingly did!). It seemed to take us a very long time and we didn’t make it back to the boat until 11:30 — oh yeah, there was breakfast and a bathroom stop included in there somewhere. We picked up anchor at 11:30 and started a slow power towards Lefkada canal arriving outside the entrance around 13:00. We anchored and had a quick swim and got on our way at 13:10. For future reference 35 minutes would be plenty … we went really slow and still ended up idling into the wind in the queue.

Hugh taking us up Levkas Canal

A couple of very urgently-in-a-hurry folks decided to pass us and we leaned on our thousands of sailboat races to deal with the fast-then-slow guy with the … how do you like my anchor in your cockpit? … trick and the guy passing on the outside with … seamanlike rounding means I am not going to put my boat at any risk to let you round outside of me … hehehe … 

The line up of boats waiting for the bridge to swing.

When we came out of Lefkada we tightened up and son-of-a-gun we were 10 degrees left of the course we needed to hit Pargas. Boo-yeah and we are charging along between 6 and 7 knots. Everybody got some helm time today — although “Otto” kept losing the wind instruments… again. 

Jessie at the helm...Matt taking a break. 

We only needed to power about 20 minutes when the wind died and then it came up again. So we ended up sailing into Pargas, picked a nice anchorage spot and settled in, had a swim and shower and took the dinghy into town … climbed the hill and went to Romantica with a nice view of the harbour where Hugh treated us to dinner.  

We then went into the very busy Saturday night city and even walked up to the Venetian Castle at the top of the hill. 

Climbing the steps up the castle. 

A view of the town waterfront from the top of the castle. 

We chose not to grab a night cap at a bar and then headed back to Tara and the mosquitos in our rooms ….

Dragging Bonnie off the beach to
take us back to Tara. 

Vathy to Nidri

We got up leisurely and had breakfast at a local restaurant - enjoying a variety of foods such as eggs and bacon, waffles and a crepe. After breakfast we did some marketing (where Marina left her iPhone on the counter at the grocery store, but thankfully remembered before we hopped in the dinghy and headed back to the boat and they had it at the cash register for her), and then went back to Tara (after we collected the kill switch for the dinghy motor from the desk in the restaurant because we left that on the table - perhaps we were all a bit tired?). Thank goodness we were in Greece and not Italy (or Vancouver for that matter0 or else that iPhone would have been in pieces and in Craigslist before Marina made it back to the market.

We fuelled up in Vathi, shipping some 230 litres of diesel. We had to wait for a couple of boats to clear out of the fuel dock and when we arrived the old fella treated Marina like a long lost friend giving her a big hug and a kiss. We filled up and headed out at a pleasant pace, idling along at just 1500 revs, turned on the fridge and puttered over to Atokos, one of our favourite spots that we visit every year. We dropped a hook in 15 meters of water and then watched the previously dead calm water become windy. It went from zero to more than 20 knots in less than 5 minutes. 

Tara off the point and the stone beach at Atokos

Hugh and Jess made lunch and then we relocated further into the bay after a flotilla of charter boats left.  Unfortunately we were sailing at anchor to the extent that Matt didn't feel comfortable leaving the boat to the elements ... too bad because the trip to the church and lighting a candle for our lost loved ones is a bit of a tradition. 

Jessie and Hugh lighting candles

Jessie and Marina outside the tiny chapel

Marina and Jess lit one for Don, Tex and Doris and RTC. Hugh lit one for his uncle Matt. After they swam back to the boat we pulled up anchor in a bit of a hurry as a big cat appeared to be intent on anchoring on top of our anchor, so rather than maneuver in tight space with a 20 knot breeze and charter boat captains of dubious qualifications, we bugged out quick as we could. We pointed towards Meganisi on a close reach with a reefed jib in 22 knots of wind. 

Hugh's hair is rather long and it was bugging him while
reading...note the "do" to alleviate the problem. 

Lots of wind with the occasional splash from a wave and an hour or so later we were in the lee of Megsnisi so we pulled out the rest of the jib and sailed up to the bay before Akoni Point where we popped in and all went for a swim for an hour or so in nice clear water. We pulled up anchor yet again and sailed for a while -- thoroughly thrashing a Bene 43 even though we suspected them of using their motor. 

Then the wind pooped out and we powered into Nydri and anchored where we always do ... probably within a few meters of where we have a dozen times before. After cocktail hour we took Bonnie in for dinner at L'Appodorio restaurant ... and were served by Spiros our favourite waiter.  

A couple of appetizers, wine, beer, two pizzas and two pasta dishes = lots of leftovers for lunch next day.  We stayed up late, past 01:00 and it was hot with no breeze and there were lots of mossies everywhere so nobody was able to get a great sleep.

A Loooooong Day from Zakynthos to Vathi on Ithaka

Oof, a 60 mile day. 

Up fairly early and underway by 08:00 and the wind looked ok, perhaps a bit on nose...let's see when we get out from behind Zakinthos. 

Jessie and Hugh were up early to watch the sun rise. 

Well, you guessed it, right on the nose, so we beat out towards the Peloponnesos, then tacked back to Zakynthos. Our tacking angles were hideous, through 120 degrees, and we were struggling to get upwind. 

Hugh killing time on deck. 

We tried pulling out the main and it got better, but still when you have 50 miles to go it makes it 70 when you have to tack several times to get there. The wind got light and Marina looked at me with "the look" and we motorsailed for the next number of hours. Coming towards Vathi we anchored outside the harbour in a bay for a swim and were happy to watch the temperature creep up to crest 25 degrees before we stopped. 

After the swim we made it into Vathi where the kids went off to the market, returned with cevapi (wonderful spicy non-skinned sausages) and we had dinner on board. We had to cook down below as it was way too windy for the BBQ. After we anchored a 100 foot power boat (palace) got his twin anchors all bungled up and we thought for a minute, as we're on deck giving the the evil eye, that they had lifted our anchor but thankfully not. It was still really windy (gusting over 20 kts) and having to deal with a lifted anchor would not have been fun... been there, done that. After dark another Bene 50, a blue one, dropped anchor inappropriately close given the 20 knot winds. We watched with a bit of angst for a while but he held and our boats being identical in size and configuration seemed to swing in unison. It was the next morning at 07:45 when our sterns were about 3 meters apart in total calm ... this is ok for a "close call". Marina came up and said a jovial good morning as we could have almost had breakfast together. 

Picking Up Jessie and Hugh on Zakynthos via Vathi (Ithaka)

Again, up early and into town for a little marketing before lifting anchor and heading to Vathi on Ithaka – a good harbor and our hop off anchorage before our long run to Zakynthos (about 60 miles) where we’ll pick up Jessie and her friend Hugh. 

On our way to Vathi 

Vathi at night

The trip to Zakynthos had a bit of everything, some sailing, some motoring and some motorsailing. It took about 8 hours to get there but half the fun is just being on the boat moving so we enjoyed the ride. Matt had a work conference call to get to at 6 pm our time and we anchored just in time off the town of Laganas. He had another one at 9 pm so Marina whipped up a nice dinner in between and it was a peaceful night on board. Laganas is the town where sadly, the young American tourist was beaten to death a couple of weeks ago so we felt quite happy to avoid it at night.

Next morning however, we took the dinghy in and got our 15,000 steps walking to the airport. We first walked through Laganas and can understand how thing could get out of shape in a bar fight. It felt like a mini Vegas but where alcohol instead of gambling is the focus. There were nightclubs, bars and liquor stores everywhere. 

The look was way too gaudy for our liking, nothing like the family run bars and dancing places I went to 30 years ago in the Aegean Islands…maybe it’s still the same there, where there was always a 2 Brothers, 3 Brothers, 4 Brothers or 5 Brothers Taverna to go to. We found a nice place to have breakfast. It was close to 11:30 am and Matt asked if they were still serving breakfast, the guy laughed and said they were just starting! Everyone sleeps off the night before. The food was excellent and off we went on our hot 7.2 km walk.

On the way we stopped in to “Gregory’s Mini Market”  for Matt to get a Coke, and met Gregory (we assume) and his dad. “Gregory” was having his dad try on his Nike runners because his dad got sore feet from his own shoes. We had a lovely chat about sons and dads and encouraged his dad to go for a little run to test them out with the smiles and laughter that comes from trying to communicate in two different languages. It was one of those little nuggets you get along life’s path worth remembering.

We arrived at the airport about a half hour before their plane was to arrive so Marina went in and enjoyed the air conditioned airport while Matt stayed out to watch the aircraft come and go until their plane landed. After about 15 minutes of waiting, voila! There they were, happy and tired and ready to roll. We grabbed a cab, had him briefly stop so we could get some groceries and then to Bonnie (dinghy) and on to Tara. 

Jesse port side, Hugh starboard side

They quickly got settled and we then motored off for a swim and snorkel at the nearby island with a small beach and caves to explore.

After that we motored slowly to anchor off the small town of Keri (much more to our liking than Laganos), we showered off the transom, relaxed for a bit and went into town for a very nice Greek dinner. 

Then Jessie and Hugh crashed…they did very well holding off sleep until around 11 pm.

Working Our Way South via Nydri

The anchorage in front of the beach bar was lovely. Up at 7:00 am the next morning, had a coffee (Matt) and tea (Marina) and then we SUP’ed for about an hour and ended with a walk along the beach and back. First real exercise we’ve got since leaving Vancouver…felt great…especially the swim at the end. Back on board and a light breakfast where we decided to go to Nydri as our next stop.

This is where we had the “Near Miss”…I won’t elaborate as it has it’s own entry.

We made it to Nydri unscathed after that…until a little more excitement later. (Note the foreshadowing). Nydri is a really great town that we like for many reasons. The anchorage is excellent, the town has everything (markets, butcher, bakeries, chandleries, scooter rental (this is where Chelsea had her fateful ride), and our favourite Italian restaurant in the Ionian.  We dropped the hook with Matt managing the bow and Marina managing the helm – a switch from the usual. Marina had a difficult time figuring out how to get the bow in the right spot (not so easy eh?) and when it came to dropping the anchor Matt thought he was at 30 meters when it was actually 50 meters (not so easy eh?).

The weather looked fairly ominous and we hemmed and hawed about going to town for dinner (at the Italian restaurant of course) and finally went in, just as the lightning and thunder started. 

We enjoyed both the food (beef carpaccio and a caprese salad to start…then an amazing pasta dish for Marina (fusilli with tomato sauce and pesto and cream, with sambuca, bocconcini cubes and parmagiana) and Matt had a thin crust brick oven pizza which he left enough for us to have for lunch the next day. 

It actually rained a little while we were eating but had stopped by the time our leisurely meal was over and we went for a brief walk along the waterfront. Back to the boat and to bed, rather nice as it was cooler than normal, we just had to close the hatches as there was some torrential rain over night (which cleaned up the boat quite nicely).

Near Miss

We were toodling along out of Ormos Varko, the little beach we anchored off of and were going very slow … like 1200 RPM with Marina and I both lying down in the cockpit reading, occasionally looking up.

Marina heard this warbling – like a bird, I look up and there is a 40 foot boat sailing towards us and he’s about a boatlength away and we’re going to T-Bone them. I hop up, quickly turn off the Autopilot and make a sharp right turn to avoid a collision while simultaneously belting the throttle to get more wash over the rudder. We missed the other boat by 10 feet. I was genuinely worried that we were going to crash, and God knows I’ve been in a few in my racing days.

After the narrow miss my blood was up and I yelled; “While I understand port-starboard and power gives way to sail, that was the stupid-est effing thing I have ever seen anyone do!” – and then we put the autopilot back-on and carried on, looking up a little more frequently. Had we hit them mid-ships like we were going to they would have likely lost their rig and perhaps their boat.

Apparently according to Marina they stared back smirking … wow … had we been on a race course we would have been tossed for being wrong, and they would have been tossed for not avoiding a collision.

What could have happened...

While technically we were wrong for not keeping a lookout and avoiding them, why on earth would you ever put yourself in a position where you could have a collision with a 20 tonne yacht? A 2 degree course alteration by them 30 seconds before would have avoided this.  Or at least hail so we had some time to react … anything would have been better than that.

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I sincerely hope that upon refection the skipper of the other boat has a “that was dumb and I won’t do that again” moment. If not, I hope it tries it with a ferry next time … :)