Contrary to popular belief there are a lot of places to head off to in the Ionian where there are very few other boaties and so we set out to see some of them.
At the bottom of Cephalonia (where we note the sea bed has risen quite considerably due to the recent earthquakes; in some places we read 6m instead of the charted 15m!!) all is very quiet and we nip into Poros and then Argostoli.
Argostoli turns out to be quite sweet with resident turtles and a lot more going on onshore than it first appears. The harbour is a bit sloppy and the quay may be cracking off into the sea (the causeway is closed due to structural damage than looks fairly major) but the holding is great so we enjoy a carefree night in town enjoying the delights of gryros and chicken’n’chips.
Due to the plethora of shops and the Greeks desire to sell something I also end up with my first pair of tachi (high heels) – trainer wedges as Murray calls them… a little snug but cute and a real bargain… hopefully they will stretch as the man said they would.
Having chilled out for a few weeks away from the madding
crowds we decide to hit Fiskardo at the top of Cephalonia for an authentic Thai
meal out (yes you heard right and this place comes highly recommended!) and a
bit of charter boat madness. As usual
the bay is a chaotic mess of mishandled ropes and anchor SNAFUs and Murray
spends a pleasant(?) evening mooring up numerous boats including an American
group that drift back onto the rocks at one point… why the companies continue
to charter out some of these boats is beyond me as some of the equipment is
well beyond its use by date but good on the people that bravely take them
out. It puts most liveaboard worry warts to shame when you see these often beginners or weekend WAFI’s wrestling with ridiculously large yachts in unknown harbours, battling strong side winds and having to dodge meandering yachties who are gaily backing around like drunks at the dodgems and (big round of applause here) not losing their cool but continuing to persist until they finally make it into the gap (ok maybe it is not always the one they were aiming for and maybe not even the one their anchor is in line with but none the less it’s a gap) and generally making the landing without too much damage to themselves or others.
“Bravo” I say to them and shame on those of us that harangue them from our foredecks as they manoeuvre casually about at top speed, dragging their anchors like deep sea trawlers, dredging up every carefully placed rocna, blissfully unaware of their proximately to other precious vessels and seemingly intent on ramming the most expensive boat in the bay.
Perhaps it is time we liveaboards either collectively take a deep sympathetic breath (and possibly a chill pill or two) and provided some constructive advice as to the easiest way to moor up, or, just admit defeat for July and August and branch out into places where the charters don’t go.
Failing that we could, heaven forbid, just relax a bit, invest in some more fenders and let these people enjoy their once in a lifetime sailing holiday without being bellowed in front of their partners and peers like they were simple snot nosed kids.
(On the subject of fenders; you could just be cheapskates
like us and follow the great flotilla herds as they migrate around the Med and
collect up all the ones they lose! Alas
there are only so many places on CC for the amount we find… 10 and counting)
We find some really nice walks inland and ramble a couple of
days away before having a fabulous meal out at the “Lord Falcon”…. Wonderful food
lovingly spiced up by wee Thai ladies that really know their stuff… one to make
a note of in the pilot book and we will call in next time we are passing.
Next stop is Tranquil Bay and another restaurant rendezvous.
This time “Ta Kalamia” (“No Menu”) and
another taste sensation… order vegetarian, meat, or seafood and then the food
starts coming… the chef was most inspired and we ate till we were fit to burst…
Great company too, with Martin and Ang from “Moody Blue” and Tree and Richard
from “Tinkerbell”. Thanks for
recommending it, Tree.
Now we are on our way back to Sicily and our winter stopover
at Marina di Ragusa… The weather is starting to turn and thunderstorms lash us
occasionally causing momentary bouts of flurried activity as efforts are made
not to break anything this late in the season.
We catch up with Marty (“Lady First” in Preveza – great night guys and nice to see Jinny
getting into the swing of things; she has the makings of a marvellously relaxed
liveaboard - then head off up Corfu once more with a view to slingshoting off
the top towards mainland Italy once more.
Unfortunately our planned following wind and sea doesn’t eventuate and
we end up having to bash down to Le Castella (a lovely spot) into a SW Bft 7
gusting 10! CC copes admirably as usual
and other than ripping one baton pocket and snapping the bolt rope we make it
in one piece. Luckily the wind then
decides to play ball and we have an amazing sail down to Rocella topping 13.6
knts at times in a huge following sea. 
We have to put in some big days now to make it round Sicily
for early October so we push on and overnight to Acitrezza (No Salvo at home
unfortunately), zip on down to Siracusa in a strong NE and then whip round the
bottom corner into Porto Palo briefly before enjoying a cruising chute run
along the south coast of Sicily to Marina di Ragusa. We are greeted by the smiling Giulio and
Sylvia and are made to feel very much at home. The tiny resort town is very
cute and clean (!! Are we sure this is Italy?!) and it seems to have everything
we need for the next 6 months including a huge liveaboard community with an
enthusiasm for organising all sorts of events.
Should make for an interesting winter - see you next summer!
FYI – 170,000 migrants/refugees crossed to Italy in 2014,
who knows what 2015 will bring.
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