Coleman Sailing Trip 2019

We finally left our last anchorage.     Richard did some research and found this harbour on the north of Corfu.     We haven’t been here before, so we thought we would give it a try. The weather forecast is for some wind from behind, so at anchor we put up the mainsail and set off. Well, we were optimistic.  The wind was in the right direction but there was barely any of it.  It sometimes made it up to 5 knots but that was about it.  We had both sails up but had to put the engine on to motor sail as without we were doing less than 3 knots. We even put out a fishing line, but had no luck with that either. We arrived here just before 3pm.  The bay is small but lovely.  The town harbour is full of hire boats and some local boats, so (with exceptions I will mention) it is an anchor job.  There is a pretty looking beach and harbour front restaurants.   It really is a place where we ought to have gone ashore, but we have never blown up our dinghy!  We were not going to do it now when

We stayed here in the anchorage for the day.  It has been hot and windless again.  We have been in the water quite a lot.  Nothing more really to tell.  The weather forecast is for much the same tomorrow.  We will move on, but we are not sure where.  I run out of food after tomorrow!

It has been a curious day and it did not go to plan.     We got up latish.     We did manage to sleep in the end, but the heat has made me very tired.     The first thing we did was go to the Port police to see what we could do to prove we had paid the cruising tax.     The policeman is an angel.     He saw us, let us jump the queue and handed us the print out of our application.   He also then printed out the notice from our bank of the payment being made and seemed to think that was all we would need to produce if asked.     So that is another worry off our minds.    The next thing we wanted to do was get the boat services man around to measure the space for the water heater and confirm that the one the original company have suggested they make will fit.  They said they would come right over, but they didn’t.   We were getting more and more uncomfortable in the heat.  There is not a breath of wind.   In the end we agreed they would come on Monday and we set out. The plan was

We are still here.   The weather is if anything hotter.   I am not coping well.    Even the local Greeks are complaining about how hot and sticky it is. We tried to get more domestic chores done.  We first went to the port police to renew our Greek boat registration (called a Depka). Other than waiting in a queue that went well as far as the registration goes.  However, that threw up a different problem.  The port policeman strongly advised us that we print out and keep the application form and receipt for the cruising tax.  He said it could be checked at any time.  He even offered to print them out for us if we sent them to him by email.  The problem is that Richard can only find the application form, but no receipt.  He can’t remember getting a receipt but I am certain we had confirmation that payment was accepted and that was how we knew we had succeeded in paying it.  We do have a notice of the payment from our bank in the UK, but we don’t know if that would be sufficient.  Mo

Neither of us slept very well last night.     Was it the heat? Who knows.     Woke up early to await the marina staff to sort out our berth.     They came after 9am.    There is a Sunseeker day boat in what should be our berth.    He is going out at around 11am and then we will move into our proper berth. In the meantime we did chores.   I cleaned the galley and the heads.  We also washed the outside of the boat.  I also sorted out the laundry and took it in to be done.  There is rather a lot of it. The marina people didn’t turn up when they said they would to move it to our berth.   We did it ourselves with the help of a neighbouring boat. The last thing we did was let the lazy line go to swap it for the one we are told belongs to our berth.  But before we changed it we noted that for the first time we were lying straight in the berth.  When we put the line on which is supposed to be ours we were at an angle again.  The marina people came and admitted that the lines are not r

When we got up this morning the weather seemed fine despite the forecast of thunder storms for all day.   We saw no one leaving the harbour.   But the main problem was that I was feeling out of sorts.     I had developed a terrible pain in my back.     I first thought it was a pulled muscle, but it suddenly occurred to me it might be a kidney problem.     So I decided that I would really like to get to Gouvia.     On that basis we went off at about 9:30 to go to Gouvia.    There was no wind so it was another long motor trip. Because I felt bad I decided to cure myself by drinking tons of water and wash out my kidneys.  And thankfully it seems to be working.  We got to Gouvia at about 2pm.  We started off at the fuel pontoon.  Would you believe that as we entered the marina the wind got up to a force 4 having been 1 or 2 all morning!  Are we jinxed?  We tried to get someone from the marina to help us moor, but all they kept saying was someone would come when they were available

We knew we had a fairly long way to go to the next port so we got up early and left by 8:45. The sky was blue, it was hot and there was little wind.     Richard didn’t even unwrap the mainsail.    At one point Richard did put the Genoa up but the wind from behind fell and was the same strength as the speed we were going so net result - nil! The weather forecast was for thunder storms this afternoon so we were anxious to get here before they arrived and while there was still space in the harbour.  All went to plan for the first 2-3 hours and then…  The thunder storms arrived early and with a vengeance.  As we approached the harbour the wind increased until eventually it reached 38 Knots!  There was no way we could moor in the harbour in those conditions.  But the wind did abate a bit and we were able to anchor in the bay. Of course as it was a squall it was over within half an hour or so.  We probably should have gone into the harbour then, but as it was terribly hot and at anc

It was rather a rocky night and we were half tempted to move on.     But the swell was better in the morning and this is such a good place to keep cool that we remained. Really not much to say.     It has been very hot so we were going in the water about every hour.   We ate on board.     There is some sort of café at the beach, but we haven’t even inflated our dinghy for this trip.     Simple meals that didn’t take much cooking were called for- Bruscetta for lunch and chicken kebabs for dinner.   We will move on to a new to us port tomorrow.

The idea for the next few days was to go to wild places where we would not go ashore and would rely on our water supply and solar panels.      So having sorted out the solar panels and re-provisioned we were expecting to leave the marina to catch the 10am bridge opening. We got up early and had breakfast.     I then went to the toilets only to discover that the water supply to the whole marina had failed!     This could have put our plans right up the creek.     Knowing we could fill up before we went, we have been profligate with our water and we are nearly empty. So it was wait and see.     In the meantime I went into town to buy meat, fresh fruit and veg and bread.     When I got back the water was still off.     Then I realised I had forgotten to buy green peppers, so I sent R back in to town to get them.    While he was away the water supply was restored and I started to fill the water tank. In the end we were only delayed for an hour and we made the 11am bridge opening. The

Today we solved a lot of problems.     After an early breakfast Richard had an idea about the phone.     He found that the settings were awry and wondered whether it had corrupted in some way.     So he took himself off to one of the local cafes in the marina to get better WIFI and solved the problem by backing up the phone against the computer and restoring the phone.   So the phone now works.     With a working phone he was able to phone the bank only to be told there was no problem on the account.    It was just not able to process the payment because the phone wasn’t working. After that was all sorted out the electrician came and looked at the solar panel installation.  The batteries had improved over the morning. He was able to explain.  The panels themselves are working fine and putting out plenty of electricity.  The problem is in the control unit.  It was only putting out a fraction of the electricity to the batteries.  He had a spare control unit in stock and was able to

You will see there is a family dispute over the spelling of this place.     Richard spells it with a ‘v’ because that is how it is spelt in the pilot book.     But the flag announcing this place spells it with an ‘f’ and that is how I also spell it.  Make of it as you will. Anyway we left Vathi fairly early.  I was a bit worried about leaving.   I forgot to mention in my blog that when we arrived here we went aground!  We were asked to just wait 5 minutes before mooring and as we tried to manoeuver we stopped dead.  We thought we must have snagged a line on the keel or rudders, but then noticed that the depth was only just over 1 meter.  So we took up the keel and all was well.  The marina still insisted there was 2 meters depth. Anyway, we had no trouble leaving. We only had 10 miles to go. There was no pretence at sailing. There was no wind and even when it did eventually get up to 5 knots, it was more or less on the nose.  We didn’t want to go in to the marina early but we kn

Up early.  No sign of any thunderstorms.   I want to book an engineer in Lefkas as soon as possible.  Problem is there is no telephone coverage here. I walk up to the office to see if the signal is better there, but it isn’t.  In the end the office let me use their land line and I am able to book an electrician to see to the solar panels on Thursday.  At the same time I sent an email to the marina to reserve a berth and that gets a positive response. The weather is very hot again.  As we are about fairly early we walk around the harbour before the heat gets too bad. There are free berths to be had on the other side.  We find Polyanna there!  After an iced coffee and download of the paper we make it to a little “beach”, well place where you can get into the water.  So we have a swim.  The water is now so warm that it isn’t as refreshing as we had hoped.   Lunch in the café here and then back to the boat to flake out in the height of the day.   When we get back the solar panel

We were up fairly early and I went out to the bakery just after 8am.     This time it was open and lucky I went early because they seem to be selling out quickly.     Back to the boat for breakfast on croissant and pain chocolate.    Huge pastries that should keep us going most of the day! The battery situation is worse.  The batteries are barely over 12 volts.  Our next door neighbours (Craig and Andy -  I think) on Polyanna offered to come and have a look.  They came over with a volt meter and found that the solar panels seem to be putting out the right charge, but it clearly isn’t getting to the batteries. There is no loose connection from the panels and nothing obviously loose on the batteries.  So we need an electrician.  In the meantime we are going 17 miles on motor and that will charge the batteries. Taking up the anchor was worrying me all along.  But we were not entangled with anyone else’s anchor and we were very well set.  I could hardly get the thing up and when i

I didn’t get to write a blog yesterday, but little happened.    We stayed in Vathi on Saturday.  The only problem has been the heat.  It has been over 30C and I am not coping well.  Because we are in a town there is nowhere to swim.  Some people seem to be going towards a beach, but we were led to believe that it is rather far away, not an attractive thought in this heat. But we did do domestic chores including shopping.  The showers on shore are wonderful.  There are 4 new showers installed in a launderette charging 2 Euros for 4 minutes and they really made us feel better.  Because I couldn’t face cooking in the heat we had a light bite out and then hosted the couple on the boat next door for a drink. We left at a reasonable time this morning.  I did fail to get any fresh bread however, because despite walking to the other end of town, the shop was shut.  Apparantly they open late on Sundays. We were only going 6 miles. There is no wind and Richard didn’t even think ab

Up fairly early.     Both slept very well, unusual.     Had a quiet breakfast and decided not to have an early morning swim.     We are headed to Ithaca, not very far away.     About a 20 mile trip.     Richard says that the log shows we came here before.     With great optimism Richard put the mainsail up while we were on anchor.   So just before 9am we set off.     We were over optimistic about the sails.   There is absolutely no wind whatsoever.   So another motor trip in absolutely calm seas. It was so bad that at sea Richard took the mainsail down.  We got to Vathi at about 1pm.  We had no idea where to go.  We found a wall with a lot of boats on it so guessed that is where we should go.  We found a spot and put our anchor out.  A nice British couple on one side helped with the lines.   I was worried about the anchor holding.  The pilot book refers to mud under weed and we don’t get through weed with our anchor.  But we are here and we hope the anchor is holding.  So far so

The morning went well.   I went over to the café to use their loo and free WIFI so we could download the newspapers.     We had breakfast and topped up the water tank.     It was a bit late when we left 9:45 or so, but we didn’t have far to go.     We planned to go to the island of Oxia where we had anchored a couple of years ago.     The pilot book says there are three bays on the island.     One is now a fish farm, but you can anchor in the other two.     But when we got there we found that all the bays are now occupied by fish farms.     The only bit of coast free had depths of 44 meters, hardly suitable for anchoring.   So we had to retrace our steps yet again and go to Petalas Island.     The weather is very hot with inconstant winds varying from 6-14 knots.     Worst of all, the wind was on the nose as usual.    So another motor. We are anchored in more or less the same spot as before.  We meant to take a swim, but the wind got up and made it comfortable, so we didn’t go in.

A bright and settled morning.     So we managed to get away before 9am.     Richard didn’t even open the sail bag because the weather forecast is for so little wind.   We hoped to go to Navpaktos, the old harbour we couldn’t manage before. To make a sorry story short, we didn’t stop.   All morning the wind was on the nose at about 5-9 knots. But just as we approached Navpaktos it went up until it was blowing 15 knots in a direction that would blow us off the pontoon.     We approached the pontoon, but there were only kids there, no one to help with lines except one elderly fisherman.     It occurred to us to try to moor alongside but in the end we chickened out and made for the Rion Bridge and Messolonghi.    Basically we are retracing our journey here. We are moored near where we were before, but in front of the water tap.  So we will be able to fill up in the morning (but our neighbour says it will take a long time because the pipe serving the tap is leaking making the pressure

It was a beautiful sunny and hot morning.      We wondered whether we had done the right thing in staying here.     We had a leisurely breakfast.     I went into the village to buy fresh bread and downloaded the newspapers on free internet.     Then we decided to take the little water ferry to the mainland just to see what was there.     They run this hourly (sometimes half-hourly) service back and forth on a small boat.   They charge 1 Euro each way.     It cannot be profitable.     On the mainland there really is very little.     It is a bigger village than here but that is not saying much.     There is a supermarket, but it is very basic.    We bought a long life sliced loaf and had a cold drink and came back. We had lunch on the island. Tried one of the less used tavernas and had a good lunch.  By the time we finished lunch the clouds were building in the sky and the long forecast thunderstorms looked like they were on the way.  By about 4pm the sky was very dark, claps of th

We managed the morning just fine.     There was no strong wind.     I went to the mini mart and bought a few necessities including batteries for our cockpit light.     We have discovered that the electric toothbrush is dead.     It won’t charge up.    I hope the battery one holds out! Richard filled us up with water and took off the electricity, which had been swapped over in the night - by who?  Our French neighbours left first with us straight behind.  It was a funny old journey. I will never understand the winds here. They are all over the place. Today it kept varying between 4 knots and 20 knots!  Richard kept putting the Genoa up and then taking it in all the time.  We have come back to Trizonia because it is just so convenient.  There is no water or electricity, but there are comfortable free (for the moment) berths and a cute little village.  We want to go to Navpaktos, the old harbour we couldn’t manage to moor in on the way here.  But it wants to be entered early to g

Despite staying in one place it has been a busy day.     We were up early and Richard picked up the car at 9am.     The problem was that they supplied no map.     We have no idea where we are going.     Richard had difficulty even finding his way out of the town to get on a main road.     We eventually made it.     We stopped at the first petrol station we came to and tried to buy a map, without success.     The petrol station attendant suggested we try a Shell station along the road which does have maps.     So we did that, but not much use was it.     It was a large scale map of the whole of Greece!    Luckily Delphi was well sign posted so we made it to the town with no trouble. However, when we got there two problems arose.  The first was that the whole town was invaded by literally hundreds of bike riders all in proper gear and obviously started a major race.   There was nowhere to go to get away from them.  The second problem was that we had no idea where the entrance to th

We woke up early and the wind was very light and the sun was shining.     I was pleased to see that the boat moored in front of us had gone making it easier for us to leave the mooring.     By the time we finished breakfast just after 8am I was a bit shocked to see that all the boats had gone!     We left at 8:30 which I reckon is early yet we were the slow coaches today.  We didn’t put up any sails which was just as well as there was virtually no wind.  So it was a three hour motor to Galaxidi.  This is a harbour on the mainland from which you can get to Delphi. One of its attractions is a town wall with water and electricity.  We were warned however that it gets very crowded and you cannot always find a place on the town wall.  So we were just taking the chance that we would arrive early enough to find somewhere. The weather has suddenly turned ‘Greek’.  It is sunny and the temperature is in the high 20’sC.  When we get to port there are very few spaces to be had.  But we sp

A quiet day in this nice little island.     The wind blew hard for the beginning of the night but it was calm by morning.     We had a slow start and then went to the local hotel where they have showers.     Only problem was the hotel was shut!     There was a note on the door saying they would be back soon.     They had a nice comfortable terrace where we got free WIFI and   could read our newspaper.     But we had to wait over an hour and a half for anyone to turn up.    At first we couldn’t get hot water, but then it came through and at 3 Euros each we became clean! By the time we had showered and paid it was lunch time so we decided to go into the village and have lunch there.   Then rather late back to the boat where the wind was getting up again and gusting 20 knots. Back to the village for dinner.  We are supposed to move on tomorrow.  The weather forecast is for light winds, but it is blowing again and we don’t believe them!

The morning worked out very well.     Richard managed to get off the boat without incident.     He returned the electrical adaptor to the office and when he got back the man from the agency was there half an hour early.     There was a short delay in getting away as we lent our hose to a neighbouring boat (they didn’t have the right adaptor either).    But in the end we got away just before 10am, earlier than expected. The first hurdle was to transit the Rion bridge which connects the Peloponnese to the Greek mainland. It is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world.  Boats have to get clearance to pass under it.  But that all went well.  The plan then was to go to Navpaktos, a small harbour built in medieval times.  The pilot book suggests small boats can go into the habour to moor up.  The Luries went there but we can’t work out how their large boat would get in.  The harbour is not far from the bridge.   The wind had got up to a force 4 from behind so we put up the Genoa an