Little Port Vathi

Tonight everyone on the flotilla met for dinner. There must be about 30 of us, and such a great bunch of people. Of 9 boats, 5 are novices so glad we’re not the only beginners.

Before dinner we were deciding what to do. I wanted to walk into town, Colin wanted to stay on the water. So we decided to take the dingy round to the town. Colin put the engine on the dingy, then realised it needed petrol and then that the safety cord was missing and it wouldn’t run without it. Eventually we got a new cord from your lead crew but we had already taken the engine back off. So, engine back on we set off only for the engine to cut just outside the harbour wall, good job I’d mentioned we should take an ore. After being offered a tow by someone Colin gave the engine a big shake, tried it again and off we went. We did a couple of laps round Little Port Vathi but decided we didn’t have time to get out and look around so off we went back to our boat.

We all met in the bar for dinner for beers and cocktails and to discuss our first day sailing experiences. Followed by our briefing meeting to discuss our trip for the next day.

Then dinner was served. I chose red peppers stuffed with cheese (cheese seems to be everywhere in Greece) and then a sea bass and salad. Loving all the fresh fish here.

It was lovely to get the chance to meet everyone on the flotilla, there is a real mixture of people. 3 ladies from New Zealand, a GP and solicitor with their grown up children just to mention a few.

At the briefing before dinner we were told to be ready to leave by 9am in the morning. We’re going through the Lefkas canal and they only open the bridge every so often and we need to make sure we all make the 11am crossing into the Northern Ionian.

We weren’t supposed to be going North ( I’ve probably mentioned this before and I’m still disappointed we’re doing a different route). Our trip tomorrow is going to be full on, out at 9am and probably a 6-7 hour sale without a stop.

Anyway after dinner we were back on board for our 2nd night, although not before ordering croissants and frozen water for our next day. The sleep was so much cooler than the night before. Oh, and Colin’s alarm didn’t wake me at 3am

We are now sailors

Yep, we are now sailors! Well, we’ve done one day sailing, and I think we did pretty good for newbies.

Today started early. Colin’s alarm went of at 3am, not impressed ! Forgot to cancel it after our early morning for the airport run the day before.

I needed up sitting out on deck at 5.30am as I couldn’t sleep waiting for the harbour to spring into life. First briefing wasn’t due till 9.30 so I was a tad impatient.

Once Colin was finally up we did a food shop and stopped off for an amazing breakfast in a water side cafe. Mine was chia seed, spinach and feta omelette and Colin’s was Greek yogurt and fruit, both were amazing.

Next stop was the morning briefing where Tilly, Benjo and Yorkie, our lead boat crew, explained to us what’s going to happen this week and where we’re heading.

Next was 2 more briefings including lots of important stuff, how to lower the anchor (crucial for stopping in the beautiful bays), how to start the engine (even more crucial for getting out to sea), what all those ropes are for (still can’t get a grip with which is for what) and how to empty the toilet out at sea (not sure what I thought happened to all that but wasn’t expecting to empty it out in the ocean).

We are having a skipper on board for 2 days to get us up and running, his name is Henry. Looks really young, as do all the staff, but then must admit what a great life for youngsters to be sailing round the Ionian Sea all summer. Wish I’d known about jobs like that when I was younger.

Straight after our briefings we got underway, we were first off the dock, raring to go. We headed straight out of the bay and eagerly put the sails up, turned the engine off and ………. stopped ! Moved the sails around to try and catch the wind and …….. waited. Yep, you got it, no WIND ! We kind of moved along slowly with anticipation that this big gust of wind was going to catch our sail and move us swiftly along but after watching the other flotilla boats motor on by we decided to switch to motor for a while. We sailed up the side of Lefkas and passed Meganisi out into open water where we did finally get the sails up and catch some wind.

We spent the next couple of hours heading North, did a bit of tacking (zig zagging to you and me) and arrived at a really beautiful spot called Goat Bay. This was the perfect stop to teach us how to drop anchor. We spent the next hour or so swimming and lunching. Baguettes for the boys and a Greek salad for me that one of the restaurants kindly made me for a takeaway.

We headed back to Meganisi where we were meeting up with the rest of our flotilla in Little Port Vathi.

Getting settled in

This boat of ours, named “Filiata”, a Bateau 323, is snug to say the least. Built to sleep up to 6 people but I recon 2 adults is comfortable.

That is by no way a complaint though, I’m already in love with my new home for the week and feel that getting back to basics is a far greater experience that staying in some 5 star hotel. Already pestering Colin as to when we can come back !

So, we packed light but already realising we should have gone lighter. Storage is not the boats best feature and luckily we have a spare bedroom to leave our bags so looks like living out of a hold-all is the way to go.

We have a cute little kitchen with a gas stove and a fridge that you access through the worktop. We’ve filled it with frozen bottles of water to keep the beer and wine cold as not sure it’s gonna get anywhere near cold enough on its own.

I guess you should be impressed with how they get a functional bathroom in here, although it’s far from conventional with a sit down shower and a loo you have to pump. Instructions – “flip the switch, pump 15 times, flip the switch, pump 15 times”. I think I’ll be seeking bathroom facilities on shore, although from what I’ve seen so far that’s what most people do and the tavernas all seem to have shower facilities, which they offer free if you eat with them.

Now I don’t like enclosed spaces, been known to walk many flights of stairs rather than get in a lift, so the sleeping arrangements was my biggest worry. Yes, it’s a small room at the stern of the boat with a pretty low ceiling but actually quite spacious. Making the beds was a mission and I left that to Colin, he likened it to crawling around in a loft on one of his house projects.

The salon is spacious with plenty of seating for the 2 of us but it’s so hot down there that I’ll be sticking to the back deck of the boat.

We’ve opted for 2 extras for our trip, Stand up paddle board (SUP) for me and and outboard motor for the dinghy, for Colin.

Looking forward to sharing our adventures on Filiata ⛵️

We are on our way

Our alarm went off at 3am, crikey I was tired, I don’t do early mornings well.

Thankfully we were pretty much packed and ready to go so just the final stuff like toothbrushes to go in the bags.

We should have had a quick trip through to Gatwick but part of the motorway was shut so had a slight detour but arrived with plenty of time for breakfast. Which was c**p by the way. Should have said no when Colin said “let’s pop in Wetherspoons”!

Before we knew it we were boarding the plane, no expense spared with “speedy boarding” and extra leg room seats. The pilot announced it would be 2hrs 45 mins with a tail wind to help us along.

We spotted some fellow sailors on board swatting up on their manuals and guide books.

Once landed and after a 90 minute coach trip we were shown to our sailing boat. It can only be described as a basic caravan but actually pretty roomy for the 2 of us.

Bags dumped and shorts on we hurried off to get our first holiday beer and a snack. Super tasty food, amazing views and cold beer, what more do you need.

We stocked up on more beer, wine and ice for the boat fridge and took a very refreshing dip in the sea.

I’m now waiting for Colin to finish his snooze on the deck before we head out for dinner.

Looking forward to setting sail tomorrow under the guidance of our temporary “extra pair of hands” Henry. Excited to finally be starting our adventure 😀

In less than 24 hours we’ll be on board our boat

We are all packed and ready to go and I’m pleased to report that the weather is looking perfect for our trip.

Due to lack of storage on the boat we were told to take holdalls rather than suitcases. We are travelling light with just swimmers, shorts and t shirts so thankfully everything fits in our bags.

We’re going back to basics with no hair dryer or straighteners, no dresses or evening wear ! I must say it actually feels good not having to think about all that stuff.

I’m feeling excited but also slightly nervous now. I’ve been so excited about doing this that now I’m starting to wonder just how difficult sailing might be. Oh, and will I get sea sick? That would be the worst thing to happen !

I’m off to bed now as we have an early start, 3.30am to be precise. Night night xx

Excited about our first sailing holiday

Off to the Ionian Sea, Greece 🇬🇷

I’m super excited that we are setting off on our sailing adventure this weekend.

We booked our holiday some 9 months ago and I haven’t stopped going on about it since. Colin, my hubby has had a sailing trip on his bucket list for years, I was never over keen but once I got immersed in looking at brochures I got really excited.

We were due to go to the South Ionian Sea and travel to Ithaca, Kastos, Kalamos and Meganisi but due to some law change, something to do with novice sailors not being able to sail into the harbours, our route has had to change.

After researching the islands we were going to visit and admiring the stunning scenery from pictures I am somewhat disappointed about the change. Oh well, Colin says we will still have an amazing time and we can’t change it so just have to get on with it.

So, on Sunday morning we fly out to Prevenza on mainland Greece and drive to Sivota, on the south coast of Lefkas (via a bridge) where we meet our boat and fellow flotilla sailors for the week.

Our new route will now head up passed Meganisi, through the Lefkas canal and on to Prevenza and Paxos, although we won’t know the final route till we get there. This is such a short notice change I’m not sure the sailing company even know the exact route yet.

We had already booked an extra pair of hands for our first day but as we now have to navigate the canal they will need to stay with us for 2 days. Makes me kind of nervous that the sailing isn’t going to be quite as easy as I thought.

I look forward to sharing more of our journey but in the mean time your’ll find me practicing my knots in between packing my suitcase.