Greece rolls out the welcome mat

Summer is now well underway and time continues to cruise by. We are close to five months onboard and already almost a full month in Greece! So quick to fall behind with updates given this is the first Greece blog post – but here we are! Our first week was spent milling around between anchorages off Gouvia and old Corfu Town on Corfu Island; getting setting up again with Greek phone numbers and internet, customs and immigration formalities, rectifying a few issues with the AIS and Raymarine plus tackling other small maintenance jobs.

Having just departed the peace and beauty of Croatia and Montenegro, initially we were not partial to this area of Corfu given the noise, grubbiness and sprawl. Though since moving onwards and further south, each day has brought another treasure of natural beauty or warm hospitality. Perhaps it’s that Greeks have a stronger grasp of English or they understand that tourists are their lifeblood in an otherwise crippled economy. Almost everyone we’ve encountered is approachable, genuinely welcoming and gracious, taking the time out to talk, to ask or answer questions and entertain with their often quirky sense of humour. The stunning scenery certainly helps – but so far we’ve found that the true beauty of the Greek people are what will make this country so loveable.

Oh and the sailing! We knew Greece had a windy reputation, and even more so when we reach the central Cyclades and Dodecanese Islands where Beaufort force 7-8 winds are quite common.  I think we can safely say that we’ve enjoyed more sailing in our first three weeks in Greece than we did in three months through all of Croatia. Fortunately we should be able to regularly harness the very predominant prevailing summer winds as we make our way in a general E – SE direction across the country and eventually towards the SW coast of Turkey. This is unlike Croatia where our zigzag up and down the country often did not fit the wind’s agenda or there was simply not a breath at all. That said, we are very happy to be sailing regularly, getting to know our sails and how the boat performs, and turning off the engines for the pure joy of propulsion by one the almightiest elements of Mother Nature.
 

Arriving in Corfu we were reunited with our friends Frank, Viv and their son Nick on Dominos from Glastone, Australia. They also have a Lagoon 440 which they acquired in Croatia last year and have been our travelling boat buddies for majority of this past month. Photos below are from our first week in and around old Corfu Town.

 

 

One fine sunny morning during our first week in Greece, both we and Dominos backtracked north up Corfu Island for lunch at the tiny village of Kassiopi. We anchored well off a neighbouring beach, an exposed area to the prevailing northwesterly winds, though nothing nasty was forecast for that day. Upon returning to the boat a few hours later, ominous and angry grey clouds were quickly approaching and before long we were being directly hit by the squall. We’d swung around on our anchor chains in the wind with our sterns now pointed uncomfortably close to the leeshore. Engines were started to help maintain position and to correct laying side on into the wind, which could easily spoil our anchor hold. Now bouncing in the waves that were building as they reached the beach and hit by a succession of wind gusts and pelting rain, dad quickly decided it was safest to up anchor and drive out to sea so as to move the boat away from the shore.     

I could handle the hailstones and sheeting rain. And the wind whilst strong it wasn’t necessarily that fierce. Plus the fast moving storm didn’t have time to whip up a swell to add to the wave chop. What I was completely unprepared for was heading directly and unavoidably into thick bolt lightning sending three to four strikes at a time straight down to the ocean surface. I swear some must’ve been only a few hundred metres away. Perhaps I did not understand the way vertical bolt lightning works – nor that a boat is earthed to handle such situations (though dad was reassuring me). As far as I was concerned, we had a 62-foot aluminum mast, reaching skywards like a lamb to sacrifice on a massive deserted ocean surface. I huddled behind dad at the wheel and under the bimini cover to avoid pelting hailstones, in that moment I held my breath, said a quick prayer and wondered what death by lightning strike must be like. Is it instant?

Over reaction? Maybe! Yet for me, it was a foreign and white-knuckle scenario to experience on a vulnerable little boat, but no doubt there will be similar days like that ahead of us. 

Once the worst had passed both we and Dominos popped our gennakers in the downwind and sailed south, back to the protected anchorage alongside old Corfu Town. Later that evening we all recounted our unexpected afternoon adventure with gusto – and despite the unreal feeling of being so closely surrounded by lightning touching down, it was an exhilarating and character building experience!

First few photos below are taken mid storm action by Nick on Dominos with a waterproof camera – thanks Nick! Finally my darling is pictured with the white gennaker sail – Dominos with the racy red and white gennie.  

 

One notable difference with Greece and Croatia is the cost to the yachtie community in terms of mooring quayside in seaside villages. Developed marina facilities in Greece appear to be scarce which is fine by us as we prefer to avoid them anyway due to high cost and they are often smelly, noisy or hot due to lack of airflow. Plus with a water maker, solar panels, clothes washing machine and hot showers, we are totally self-sufficient anyway. A protected, comfortable anchorage is always our first preference – as the simplicity of being left completely to our own devices in nature must be one of the greatest gifts of sailing. Though with the endless string of quaint seaside villages throughout Greece’s Ionian Islands – mooring stern-to into the quay is also an inviting option for the convenience of stepping directly off the boat, but mostly to be right amongst the atmosphere, making friends with the local taverna owners and other passers-by. Sometimes there is an expectation to eat dinner at the adjacent restaurant that maintains that portion of the quay, or a small fee from the local Harbourmaster (approx. 10 to 20 euro per night – even for our wide berth catamaran) – though mostly we’ve found them to be completely free. In Croatia the quayside fees for our Cat ranged from 60 to 100+ euro per night – so unfortunately we’d simply avoid them and anchor out (unless at extra special locales like Hvar Town). That said, Croatian quaysides generally offered more facilities with laid underwater bow mooring lines, power and water; and they are sufficiently busy enough with the week-long charter crowd who will happily pay for the quayside privilege. 

Our first few free nights quayside were alongside Sivota, on the Greece mainland and opposite Corfu Island. Tied beside our current travelling buddy boat Dominos – with skipper/owner Frank who is an openly welcoming, gregarious character and easily draws people around him – before we know it there is a drinking session on the quay with handfuls of land-bound tourists and tours of both our boats for those interested. Not to mention complimentary beer brought across from the neighbouring taverna owner as he thanks us for generating a buzz outside his restaurant, which in turn has helped to fill his tables. Ha! This boating life sure is social!

One day jumping ship onto Dominos afforded the chance to snap a few pictures of finally my darling under sail. The following sequence shows dad and Mike hoisting the Parasailor during a downwind sail. Stored inside a lightweight sock-like sail bag, attached with a carbon fibre funnel head that once rigged is hoisted quickly upwards to release the giant ballooning Parasailor (as shown below). Then alternatively pulled down to effortlessly ‘snuff’ the sail back into its bag for easy stowing.

The Parasailor is one of two additional sails available in our sail wardrobe. It is specifically designed for downwind sailing when the wind it directly behind or an arch of sixty degrees through the stern. Greece’s seasonal prevailing winds are N – NW and then N – NE over in the Cyclades Island group. So whenever headed S or SE to SW this beauty should get us where we are going!  We’ve read stories as well as heard firsthand accounts of yachts keeping this one particular sail hoisted for a full week or more at a time when passage making in a trade wind belt. Incredible! We hope one day we can tell our own story of an epic journey via Parasailor. 

 

West off the mainland, Greece’s Ionian Islands are superb! The iconic whitewash buildings, windmills and barren landscapes of Cyclades Islands such as Santorini and Mykonos are generally what come to mind when you conjure up images of Greece. Mike and I actually lived and worked on the Greek Island of Ios one summer as twenty-one year olds and we still didn’t know the true beauty of this country. Already in the last three weeks there have been countless welcoming ports and we’ve visited multiple breathtaking settings. In particular Lakka Bay on Paxos Island (pictured below), Emerald Bay on Antipaxos Island, and both the chic oceanfront village of Fiscardos and magical Myrtos Beach on Kefalonia Island (Kefalonia to follow in next blog post). My mind boggles at the beauty that awaits us to round out the European summer!   

 

The latest modification that was designed by and we have adopted from our boat builder friend Frank, is a stern mounted engine control pedestal. The Lagoon factory built controls positioned at the internal saloon navigation station are never used for maneuvering and hence wasted.  The throttle and gear linkage cables have been replaced with a shorter length of cable and the controls moved to a custom fabricated pedestal above the stern portside sugar scoop. From this vantage point dad has a clear view of the boat’s stern when maneuvering back into a marina berth or quayside – an area that was partially obscured by both the solar panels and trike when driving from the upper deck. He also now has easy access to throw/retrieve the portside stern line from here. Needless to say dad is very pleased with the new addition!

 

Growing up in humid North Queensland, we always had a sprawling bougainvillea vine running the full length of the back fence. I remember never having much of a care for the thorny climbing vine that grew recklessly in the backyard. Yet ever since our wedding last year in Fiji, where we collected bougainvillea from the resort gardens for our bouquets and buttonholes, I’ve just adored this vibrant, cheerful bloom. Much to our delight they are awash everywhere in Greece – growing wildly on the roadside or trained up the side of houses, restaurants and balconies. The fuchsia pink, purples and peach colours are simply gorgeous and I'm excited at the upcoming photo opportunities that will exist when they are contrast against the iconic whitewash building scenes of the Cyclades Islands. Whilst bougainvillea wilts quickly when picked, they hold their shape for days when placed in a vase of water and make for a breezy table centerpiece, as we often like to have on the boat.

This glorious little café bar was in Sivota Bay, Lefkas Island – yes, a different village called Sivota! The balcony was awash with bougainvillea beauties and an entertaining vantage point to watch a dozen or more charter yachts of the ‘entry level flotilla variety’ Mediterranean moor to the quayside (under close radio direction of the charter company crew) whilst fighting against gusts of afternoon northwesterly winds that rifled down into the bay.    

Another thing in abundance in Greece are cats! Some well fed, healthy and happy, others not so much. This sleepy guy below did not even twitch when stepped over. Too cute!

Before we say farewell – an update on our current location finds us at the very southern end of Zakinthos and the last of the Ionian Islands on our itinerary before we start making our way east towards Athens via the Corinth Canal. Given passing both the gulfs of Patras and Corinth should take us three or four days, we should be in Athens by about the end of next week. 

Much love from us all! x

VIDEO: our sailing visit of the Adriatic

Here it is – some highlights of our first four months in motion picture! We are still new to our Go Pro cameras (the slick HD HERO3 Black edition) but will be sure not to let several months of video pile up in future, making for a daunting editing process. Thanks to Mike for tackling the task! 

Many of you outside of late generation X & Gen Y are likely not familiar with this incredible little camera – used by every extreme sports genre in the world. Once you’ve watched our (amateur!) video we really recommend viewing the mind blowing demo vid on the official Go Pro website www.gopro.com – giving you a front row seat and changing the game of action sport videography.

PS: if you have strong internet speed, turn to HD for best quality (adjustable via cog wheel at bottom right of video player). May not play on iPhone sorry!

We've died and gone to... Montenegro

 

With expiring Croatian tourist visas, the time had come to head south across the dotted line on the ocean into neighbouring Montenegro. Purchasing a week long cruising permit and with a glorious, calm high pressure system forecast, it was the perfect time to arrive. For those not familiar with the geography of this region – Croatia lucked out with 1,200+ islands and islets falling within its borders. With restored peace and tourism growth following their recent civil wars, it is now largely considered the top yachting grounds in the Mediterranean. Though Croatia’s island fortune left next to nil in the way of islands or protected anchorages for both Montenegro and Albania further south.  Several of our anchorages that week were off very exposed beaches. Yet thanks to mostly glassed out conditions, we were able to freely explore the country in its best possible light and sleep comfortably at anchor.

Entering Boka Kotorska (mouth) of the famous Bay of Kotor saw us officially crossing the border into Montenegro. Quickly and easily clearing customs in Zelenika we cruised the full length of Southern Europe’s longest fjord with dramatic, jaw-dropping scenery growing with every turn. Located at the far southeastern end of the fjord and surrounded by 1,700 m high mountains, historic old town Kotor is the main destination for visitors to the area. We’ve now visited many similar cobblestone and treasured old towns in Croatia, though Kotor had a distinctly different feel. Perhaps rougher around the edges, slightly unkempt though with influences of both Ottoman and Venetian rule, and with a fraction of the tourists.  Cats lounged in squares, slowed by the stifling heat; giant fans sprayed a mist over customers seeking relief and treasure-trove antique stores to impress any hipster Sydney-sider appeared around every second corner.

 

With plug in power at our quayside mooring and the hottest, windless weather we’d experienced thus far, we were smug at the first opportunity to plug-in the air conditioning, iron out a few cobwebs in the system, close all the doors and hatches, then relish in our own personal refrigeration in the middle of steamy, mountain-locked Kotor. Dad is now sold on the ‘to install’ or ‘not to install’ air conditioning on your boat debate should he have to make the choice in future – thankfully his Lagoon already came with the installation.

Besides getting lost in old town Stari Grad’s maze of streets, the highlight of Kotor is the medieval fortified walls that were built progressively between the ninth and nineteenth centuries and climb steeply up the mountainside. Dotted with small places of worship and lookout points enroute offering a breather stop along the relentless zigzagging stairs. Departing on 7:30 am just when the gates opened, before the searing sun could appear above the mountain and the entire climb was still bathed in shade, we all started out on the hike. Mum and I turned around at various levels along the way (she’s a trooper and joining us on most things these days!) whilst the guys powered to the very top, only to turn around and run the entire way down, several steps at a time. Slowed only by Mike’s thongs (flip flops) that he insists on wearing everywhere regardless of their unsuitability for the conditions! 

   

After two nights berthed in Kotor, we took advantage of the uber calm weather with a number of nights anchored off various popular swimming beaches further south along the coast. Anchoring out far enough so as not to be offensive nor to obstruct the busy path of watersports boats or jetski operators. Whilst the familiar sight of old towns, green mountains and clear waters continue down the coast from Croatia to Montenegro – the most noticeable difference here were the long, mostly sandy beaches. Of which Croatia had very few, other than rocky bays or cement platform slabs laid for sunbathing. Russians and Ukrainians overrun this small stretch of Montenegro’s Adriatic coast in the peak summer months. To make the most of this laze-all-day-at-the-beach crowd and so as to squeeze in as many bodies as humanly possible, the umbrella and deckchair hire business is rampant.  And in wanting to distinguish from thy neighbour – each vendor sports a different brightly coloured umbrella sequence from the next – which makes for a fun, colourful splash often hundreds of meters along each beach.

Budva’s old town is appealing and particularly atmospheric are the external old walls lined with bars and candlelight by night. Though what we found most intriguing was strolling the pedestrianized promenade that ran parallel behind the main beach. Lined with takeout food stalls, endless tacky souvenir hawkers, sideshow games and gaudy open-air nightclubs – it was like stepping back in a time warp and the way holidaying here in coastal Eastern Europe has perhaps remained unchanged for decades. Though the fashions and hairstyles made us smile and brought back memories of growing up in the 80s, it’s refreshing to know places like this still exist with their own character and pace; and oblivious to the rest of the modern-day world.

Next we motored only an hour south to the highly photographed peninsular of Sveti Stefan. Again anchored, yet off a much quieter beach, this tiny island connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, was built in the fifteenth century as a fishing village but is now closed to the general public and operates as an exclusive resort.  A dinghy ride around to the cute, waterfront village of Przno was a pleasant lunch spot, but otherwise lilo lounging, snorkelling and plenty of swimming to beat the heat was the order of the day.

Saying farewell to Montenegro after a short visit – these scenic images will be long burnt into our memories!

 

And a little closer now... here we are anchored top left. Bliss...

We’d heard many mixed reviews about taking the boat to Albania – mostly negative due to the tedious checking in and out procedures and fees of each port. So we eventually decided we would skip right over the 200 km+ Albanian coastline, which required making our first overnight passage down to Greece. We cleared Montenegro customs at the last available customs port of Bar – where we were forced to pay for the use of a private marina berth as there was no customs clearance jetty – or we were shooed away by police from the only wharf that looked official. Glad we were at the start of our passage and not the weary end, as it was both frustrating and amusing that they offered us nowhere formal to land for clearing out of (or into) the country. Wonder why so much effort is invested in airport security and customs procedures when their water-based counterparts are sometimes so slap-dash!  

I’ve no doubt dad and Mike would’ve preferred a little more sailing wind through the passage. We did get a chance to sail (the foresail, gennaker and parasailor each got lifted through the trip) it’s just the wind and direction were largely inconsistent. Though considering this was an exposed, often-turbulent weather area and upon hearing of some very uncomfortable passage stories from others – for our first overnighter, sharing four-hour watches between each couple and with a near full super moon to light the way, we had it pretty easy. For first timers, that suited mum and I just fine. Exactly twenty-four hours and twenty minutes after departing customs in Bar we were dropping anchor alongside our friends Frank and Viv on Dominos in Gouvia, Corfu Island, Greece.  And so begins our Greek rendezvous – and if this first week is anything to go by – we'll have sailing practice galore in this friendly, windy nation!