- How it all began
- Phasing out from The Moorings Owner’s Programme
- The Project List
- Haul out day
- Lazy days at Levkas Marina
- Finalising the boat paperwork
- Untying the lines
- Searching for ‘Donkey’
- Boat maintenance in exotic locations
- Coffee and solar cake!
- Last minute change to the passage plan
- Searching for Myrto
- A taste of the city in Corfu Town
- Victory and failure in one night
- Teeth grinding, and hoops of joy, at 9.4 knots
- Introducing the ‘freeloaders’
- June-July 2018
- Sharing Nemrod with friends, and discovering Ormos Afales
- Not in the pilot guide
- Yoga on board
Scott and I love Nemrod and all he can offer us. And it’s even better when we can share him with friends. We were so pleased to have the Saunders family join us on board for a couple of days – their first experience of sailing.
We made a plan for two days out on the water, taking into account the south easterly winds which excluded the majority of anchorages on the east side of Cephalonia. We visited Ormos Afales for lunch and dingy trip to the beach – this is one of the few places not written up in Rod Heikel’s guide, but was ideal for the south easterly wind conditions. We then sailed over to Sivota to find shelter for the night. It was pretty wet and grey which was disappointing for the Saunders’ first sail in Greece.
Callum was super keen to learn everything about the boat so he and Scott spent time on the helm. The dingy was also a big hit!
But we made the best of it with a dinner out at Spiridoula Taverna. It was busy in the harbour but we managed to find a spot on the rental boat dock as they had finished for the season.
The next day turned out to be a beautiful autumn day in the Ionian – we started the day with a yoga session on the trampoline.
I was so happy for the Saunders to experience a relaxing sail back to Fiskardo – 25 degrees, sunshine and blue, blue sea. We all caught the sun on the front deck and went for a swim back in Ormos Afales, before heading over to Fiskardo to find our mooring. This proved difficult. It was going to be a windy night so stern-to mooring to the rocks on the right side was not a good plan. I called the harbour master and they gave us permission to tie up to the ferry dock as long as we were gone by 11am the next day.
It turned out to be a long night. Around 20 knots of wind coming straight onto our nose, with plenty of chop. I spent most of the night on anchor watch unable to sleep for the banging and wind gusts. The Saunders family had made the smart move to go back on land to their accommodation for the night. Luckily our anchor held, unlike around 5 boats who had med-moored on the right hand side. I watched each one come adrift and circle in the bay for many hours of the night, including a large motor cruiser.
Scott and I headed back to Ormos Afales for some welcome shelter from the south easterly that caused us grief last night. It was tranquil and beautiful. I caught up with some shut eye while Scott busied himself with boat DIY – installing some new towel rails, and polishing away some rust on the stainless steel fittings.
Went for an amazing walk to the village above Ormos Afales. 3 hour round trip hike, but well worth the uphill climb for the view looking back on Nemrod anchored in the bay.
Met the Saunders for a dinner in Fiskardo for their last night in Greece. Till next time guys x