Cruising progress 2018 (Click to enlarge)
30th June 2018
The frame for the solar panels was eventually completed and the panels attached and wired up, so we were finally able to break free from the invisible chains holding us to the town quay at Preveza on 4th June. Who'd have believed that we'd be in the water for six weeks before we started sailing! The panels are working very well and giving a slight surplus of electricity. We no longer need to run our generator to keep the batteries charged.
On our last morning we thought we had a major problem, as when we returned from an early morning final shopping spree and were putting stuff away, we discovered that the bilges were full of water. Luckily it was fresh water, so we initially thought it must be a leak in one of the water tanks, but after checking, they were both OK. The water hose was coiled up in the cockpit and connected to the mains tap on the quay and we assume someone turned the tap on and left it running by mistake. The hose then managed to wedge itself under the opening handhold of one of the cockpit lockers and sprayed 200+ litres into the aft locker which contains all the electrical wiring etc. It then continued to flow down into the boat and filled all the bilges. After emptying everything out of the bilges and transferring it all up to the cockpit to dry off, we spent the next couple of hours removing the remaining water. The events were later confirmed by our next door neighbour who said he'd seen water running off the stern and knew we weren't on board, so had very thoughtfully turned the tap off. We were extremely grateful to him as we could have been dealing with something a lot more serious than flooded bilges!
After a stressful morning we finally set sail and raced down to catch the hourly bridge opening for the Lefkas canal. Just as we turned into the entrance, the siren sounded for the bridge opening and we joined a queue of four or five yachts. Once we reached the end of the canal we had a lovely sail down to our first destination at Vlycho, which we had visited last year. We met up with a few friends during our stay there and then set sail again, heading south.
The weather this month has been very unpredictable with high winds, thunder and lightning and torrential downpours. We were tied up alongside the harbour wall in Kiparissia, for five days. The only advantage of the rain we're getting now is that it's no longer full of Sahara sand and we have a lovely clean boat. During one of the dry spells we cycled up to the castle, which is a ruin, but the views were incredible. We just made it back to the boat before the next thunder storm arrived.
Our next stop was Methoni, where we anchored for a couple of days. We visited the fort, which charges the princely sum of €2 admission, but for seniors it's €1. There were three members of staff in the kiosk at the time, so obviously the fees don't cover maintenance! There was a big sign advertising that it was wheelchair friendly, but I certainly wouldn't want to try it. The pathway along to the fort is extremely bumpy and one of the ramps looks about 30°and is very slippery. We walked up it not realising that we had to return by the same route. The only part that wasn't slippery was either edge with a sheer drop of about 10 feet. Not fun. The Greeks don't do health and safety!
We are heading for the Aegean and there are a couple of headlands we have to round. The first one was no problem, but more high winds were forecast so we headed about 20nm up to the head of the bay and motored into the harbour at Gythion, where we've been for a week. We had one day of more or less continuous torrential rain and several with heavy showers, but in between we have sunshine. The temperature has been in the low 20°s - much lower than normal but a welcome change. Once the winds die down a bit we will continue on our way.
