- 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
For anyone sailing in Greece, Rod Heikel’s Greek Waters Pilot Guide is an invaluable resource to find anchorages, be advised of hazards, learn tips on where to moor and read about what to expect on shore.
On this trip we visited somewhere not in the guide – gasp!! The reason was that we were sailing around Cephalonia looking for protection from the easterly winds. All the anchorages on Northern Cephalonia are open to the east which made them uncomfortable in the chop.
On the northern tip of Ithaca (just across the water from Cephalonia) is a bay called Ormos Afales. It is not usually good for overnight anchoring as it is open to the prevailing north west winds. But for an easterly we found it offered fantastic protection and was an idyllic spot to anchor. We returned there no less than 4 times.
We discovered a beautiful walk up to the mountain village of Exoghi. It was a good 3 hour round trip walk, but well worth it for the views. Once in the village, it is a very quiet spot, seemingly deserted bar a few pensioners. Certainly all the young people had left, and there were many abandoned houses.
This view is what made the trip worthwhile – incredible! You can tell how far up the mountain we hiked by the size of Nemrod back down in the bay.
After all that exertion, a lie in the hammock was just perfect.
