Fraser’s blog left us in Nidri, having installed a new lithium battery bank and bigger solar panels as well as making some wonderful new friends. We departed from Nidri early on the Saturday morning, making sure we were away before the expected flotilla arrived. It’s a short hop from there to our favourite place, Abelaki Bay, so we towed the dinghy on her new towing bridle rather than lifting her onto her davits.
As we turned towards the island of Meganissi, we saw dolphins feeding (too far away to photograph but very clear to the eye), and also saw swordfish leaping out of the water. It was the clearest view we’ve ever had of these beautiful creatures, even after passing through the swordfish hunting grounds in the Strait of Messina back in 2023. Again, sadly no photos but you’ll have to take our word for it!
While we were in Nidri, we took a cycle down into Vlicho Bay where we saw a traditional shipbuilding yard. It was fascinating to see a vessel part-built, with the wooden keel, prow and ribs in place and almost ready for planking. It felt as though the techniques used today probably haven’t changed that much over the centuries, just a few more powerful woodworking tools and some metal bolts and nails perhaps!
We reached the anchorage by late morning, having phoned ahead to the owners of Minas Restaurant, Amalia and Teli, to check if the pontoon was free. It was, so we tied up stern first to it and deployed our gangplank. By now, we had accumulated a lot of dirty laundry, and it’s far easier to lug it up to the washing machines along a plank than via dinghy! It was so good to be back here, with people we love and in a beautiful bay with great snorkelling. We dived in as soon as we were tied up and it was just as good as we remembered (although a bit chilly at this time of year).
There were quite a few changes since last year. A huge extension to the restaurant seating area, and a fast RIB tied to the jetty. One of their new innovations is a delivery service to your boat if you’re at anchor in the bay. You phone your order in and one of the staff will zoom out to you with their freshly cooked meals.
One of our favourite walks from Abelaki Bay is over the hill to the small port of Vathi where there we can find a wonderful bakery, several small grocery stores and numerous restaurants. It’s always pleasant, sipping an iced tea and watching charter boats trying to moor stern-to the town quay in a side wind. We’re just glad it’s not us! On this occasion, Fraser also found a sort of electric (ish) jeep that he took a fancy to. It did look as if it would be fun to drive.
We couldn’t stay long this time in Abelaki Bay because we had a target to meet: our eldest daughter, Katrina, is flying out for a week to join us so we need to get up to Corfu in time to meet her flight. She is starting a new job shortly, and very sensibly took a week in between jobs to have some fun. So we set off early on the Monday morning for Levkas where we planned to spend one night and a lot of money.
As soon as we were tied up on the Ionian charter fleet pontoon, we dug the folding bikes out of various lockers and set off for a big electrical retailer in the town. Κωτσόβολος is a chain, so they can usually get most items in quite quickly, and we needed a cooker and hob to replace the trusty Taylor paraffin stove we removed in Nidri. Thanks to research by Joe and Tamara, we knew this store had exactly what we needed. The shop assistant couldn’t have been nicer as he helped us choose what we needed, and when he learned that we were on bikes, he offered to deliver the bulky packages for us in his car once he finished work at 5pm!
We paid the money and got a receipt, but I have to admit that waiting until after 5pm was stressful. What if he never turned up? Greeks are a truly honest and generous people, but it didn’t stop us imaging how we’d explain to the store that we’d never received several hundred euros worth of equipment after paying for it! But of course he turned up, in a beaten-up VW Polo in Quality Street triangle green (with some silver panels). How could we ever have doubted him?
We wasted no time installing our new cooker and hob. Fraser plans to build a gimballed shelf system for both appliances once he can find a skip or bin with some sheets of plywood in it, but for now we just string a bit of cord across the front to stop it sliding out under passage. The next morning, I had my first ever slice of toast on the boat (with Marmite, naturally). Bliss!
On Tuesday morning we were up before 07:00 and away in time for the early bridge opening at the end of the Levkas Canal. Fraser helmed us through, and once we were out of the shallows at the northern end, we made the turn north-northwest towards Corfu. This was the morning of 12th May and we needed to be in Mandraki Harbour on Corfu by Saturday 16th. With a day for two of blustery weather forecast in the near future, we decided to set off early for this journey, covering the 7-and-a-half-hour section to the top of Paxos while the weather was still behaving. We managed to get the sails up, but there wasn’t enough wind to sail a heavy boat like Barberry, so we just used them to stabilise her in the swells and add a knot or so to our usual 5kn cruising speed.
We occasionally see floating debris while we’re sailing, especially in the open water west of the Ionian, but that day was a bit of a jackpot. First, I spotted a d***o floating past (meat and two veg, to make it slightly clearer), then a bit later we spotted something white in the distance that looked a lot like an iceberg. As we’re nowhere near the polar regions, we investigated to discover a huge piece of polystyrene.
We’d planned to stop off in Lakka Bay for at least one night, but were taken by surprise by how many other boats had had the same idea. This is always a popular bay, but even so early in the season we counted around 50 yachts of various shapes and sizes anchored here. It wasn’t easy to find a space where we wouldn’t swing into anyone else, but eventually Barberry’s shallow draught allowed us to sneak in close to the beach.
This morning, once a few other boats had lifted their anchors and headed out, we decided to move a bit. Fraser and I had snorkelled around the rocks and reckoned we could probably tie a couple of lines to them safely, without damaging the environment. After breakfast and a coffee ashore (the main reason for which is to use the cafe toilets!), we walked along the edge of the sea to check again.
I wondered why he was away so long, but I finally realised he’d been quite busy!
The next stage involved Fraser getting quite chilly. He swam to the shore to double check his tying points, then back to the boat. We lifted the anchor, reset it a few metres away, then I reversed back towards the shore. Fraser dived back into the sea and swam to the rocks towing one of our two long shorelines. These are eventually attached to the stern of the boat in a V-shape which holds the boat against her anchor, leaving her pointing towards the swell that can come in through the opening of the bay.
There was a lot of swimming involved, and the water isn’t that warm this early in the season, but Fraser prefers to swim rather than risk puncturing the dinghy against sharp rocks. He’s a really good swimmer anyway, and has several medals to prove it, so we might as well make use of his skills!
When we tighten the shorelines, and then the anchor, we’re nice and securely held in position, plus we also have a perfect, safe swimming area behind our boat!
Once all this was done, we both went back into the water (Fraser with some reluctance as he was shivering by then), and dived to check that the anchor was well dug in. It was. Fraser also devised (I have said before how clever he is, haven’t I?) a system to make sure that the line for the anchor buoy stays vertical in the water so it doesn’t risk fouling propellers of any passing boats. This time it took a little tweaking, as we were anchored in barely 3m depth so the line was still too long, but it was easy to adjust so it’s safe for other boats now.
I’m leaving you with this picture of our first cooked lunch from our new all-electric, solar-powered system. Ecofriendly, cheap to run, and so convenient. Fraser will join you next week to tell you about our cruise north to Corfu and how Katrina copes with sharing this tiny space with her boat bum parents!