Thursday 27 June 2019 – Pagania, Sayiadha, Ormiskos Valtou (at Igoumenitsa Creek)

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 to go to a remote anchorage in Pagania.  It is described in the pilot book as a bay with a fish farm at one end and with good holding.  We finally got there after going around several huge fish farms.  There was no one else there, which was a bit of a worry.   But the real problem was that we couldn’t get the anchor to set.  We put it down twice and each time we dragged.  That seemed extraordinary because the anchor came up each time actually full of weed and lots of mud.  But it certainly wasn’t holding.  So we gave up.

  

The next plan was to go to Sayiadha.  This is a little harbour where we went alongside last autumn.  I really didn’t want to go into the harbour this time because I was desperate to be able to swim as often as I wanted to try to cope with the heat.  Richard said that we could anchor just outside the harbour and that seemed fine. With all the messing about we got there late.  I should mention here that there was no sailing at this stage.  There was virtually no wind to start and the best it got was 5 knots from behind.  So we motored all the way.  Anyway we arrived about 3pm and put the anchor down.  It seemed to bite well with a good tug.  The first thing we had to do was go for a swim.  What a relief.  The water was nice and cool at about 25C.  However it was murky and Richard couldn’t see if the anchor was as well set as it felt.

Feeling refreshed for the first time in several days we had a late lunch.  Then the wind got up a little to about 9 or 10 knots and I was pleased by this because it made the boat feel so much cooler.  But my pleasure didn’t last too long.  The wind built up until it was blowing 20 knots! Where did that come from? Initially we weren’t too bothered as we seemed well set, when suddenly we dragged anchor so badly we nearly hit the harbour wall!  Panic stations everywhere trying to take the anchor up in a choppy sea with 20+ knots of wind.  We finally managed it and again I was surprised to bring up an anchor full of weedy mud.  Richard thinks his putting up the wind scoop acted as a sail and pulled us off, but I’m not convinced.

So it was after 5pm and we still had nowhere to go for the night.  We started to make our way to an anchorage near Gouvia, but realised that even sailing in a force 5-6 meant that we would arrive after 8pm.  At least the days are long at the moment.  We put up the Genoa and with a little engine were making about 6 knots.  But it was a long way back.  I was beginning to have visions of us being like the Flying Dutchman, destined never to arrive anywhere!  At the last moment Richard remembered an anchorage where we stayed last year called Ormiskos Valtou (in the Igoumenitsa Creek).  It was only 2-3 miles away and so we changed course.

We got here by 7pm, not too bad.  With a bit of trepidation after the days efforts we put down the anchor and it seems fine. The wind finally went down to a force 4 when we anchored and is now down to 3-4 knots!  So we have found a place for the night.  The wind has cooled the place down and we can swim when we want.

There was one casualty of the day - our camp shower.  We don’t have an outdoor shower hose for rinsing off after swimming.  Instead, for some years we have used one of those black plastic camping showers.  Unfortunately, when trying to take it down in the panic to stop us hitting anything in Sayiadha, the bung that keeps the water in it popped out.  Oh well, it is only about £6 worth of gear!