The Ionian!

It was Mike who couldn’t sleep last night. He was up at 1:30am due to the winds picking up but was able to fall back asleep when they seemed to have let up in the early morning. Around 8am we told ourselves we would sleep for a little bit longer (and even considered staying one more day) but then the winds picked up again. By 9am it was blowing even harder (consistant 20-25 knots) and some rollers started to come in so we decided to make way. The first couple of hours were pretty bumpy with some swell and 20-25 knot winds with gusts up to 35 knots. There were bunch of rollers which were knocking us around and causing books and other odds and ends to go flying off the shelves (yeah, this would not have been fun with Lucca). But once we passed the bridge at Patras the seas were calmer but the wind was still blowing around 20-30 knots right behind us and pushing us along. I even saw our GPS read 8.9knots!
We had thoughts about going to a little town, Missalonghi, but we were making such good time we pressed on to the Ionian. We also decided to forgo the busy harbour on Ithaca and decided to anchor off of Nisas Petalas, an island off the mainland, for the night. We pulled in little before sunset, and it seemed so peaceful and calm after the past couple of days. We went for a swim, made some dinner and were in bed (the v-berth is now our new bedroom) at 7pm where we enjoyed to breeze while reading and drinking some cinnamon wine from Galaxidi. And I finally found some time to look through our pilot book and Lonely Planet to read up about the Ionian and some of the places where we may want to go. There are so many amazing places to see and it is too bad that we have to race through it. But we need to spend several days to a week in either Lefkada or Corfu to have some work done on our main sail along with some other things that have popped up. And we want to leave Corfu around the first of September to give ourselves about 10 days to get to the west coast of Italy where we will me meeting up with Mike’s dad and step-mother. But all of that later, right now it is just enjoying our cozy and relaxing evening as we are GENTLY being rocked by the water and curling up under a sheet and a thin blanket. Heaven.

Still in Navpaktos

So much for a peaceful night’s sleep. The huge motor yacht that was anchored a bit too close for comfort had me worried most of the night for fear of us swinging into each other. I admit that this was most likely an unnecessary worry but I don’t think my nerves had enough time to quite dissipate yet. It was also really, really loud. Between the wind scoops getting blown around, the wind generator starting and stopping and the disco music blasting until 6am (it’s amazing how sound travels over water), it was hard to fall asleep. It wasn’t until Mike was up and awake that I was finally able to let myself relax and sleep. Yesterday we had thoughts about leaving today but found ourselves just too tired and the thought of doing nothing was too appealing. So after I finally got out of bed around 11am, Mike dinghied me back to the harbour so I could run into town to pick up some groceries. And even though we had a good hold, the winds had picked up and the water was a bit bouncy so Mike felt more comfortable staying with the boat. After a quick re-supply, I walked back to the entrance of the harbour and flagged Mike down so he could come pick me up. And then we could just relax, or try to relax. I spent the day writing the blog while Mike read in the cockpit. Although I think he had his eyes on our position and the wind indicator more than the book. The winds were only blowing 14-16 knots with gusts up to 20-25 but it just wasn’t a very sheltered anchorage. And of course we anchored just outside the harbour entrance so there was the wall looming in the background. In the late afternoon, the forecast called for the winds to increase overnight but once these big rollers starting to come in and hit us broadside (it was getting a bit uncomfortable), we decided to move down the beach. At 6:30pm we pulled anchor and found a much more protected spot where the winds and seas were much calmer. Hopefully the sandman will make a visit tonight.

What a Day

Where do I start? This was such a stressful and emotional day. I could tell the winds had picked up in the early morning and at first, Mike said all looked well. But then he started to question the hold of our anchor. And wouldn’t you know it, the winds were non-prevailing, from the east, and blowing us further into the harbor and closer the fleet of tiny fishing boats. With each gust I became more and more anxious, especially after hearing Mike’s thoughts on us trying to pull anchor and reset. His fear and reality was that as we brought up the anchor and were pulled out of our slip, the wind would push us alongside into the fishing boats and we wouldn’t be able to maneuver ourselves off. Great. All of this on top of the Pereras leaving and already being anxious about the goodbye. And if you don’t know this about me, I am terrible about goodbyes. They can cause me great distress and there is lots of crying. Needless to say, I was a wreck all morning. The plans were to walk up to the castle but we didn’t feel comfortable with leaving the boat which didn’t make it a fun last day for the Pereras. After a lot of talk about what our options were…sit and wait it out, call the Port Police for help, go for it and see what happens, Mike had the idea to tie a line from our bow which went past the boat next to us and to a cleat on the quay. And this did help get our bow pointed better and keep us from blowing further over. My biggest concern was if the winds picked up it would only be more difficult to get out. Since my anxiety wasn’t decreasing as time went on we went for Plan B. We thought that maybe our anchor chain wasn’t pulled tight enough (we had pulled it up earlier, but it may well have shifted) since we had set it to the west. But we should be ready to abandon our spot if we tried to pull it up and it wasn’t holding. So with all hands on deck (and Lucca watching a DVD) we turned on the engine. And wouldn’t you know it, the anchor snugged up nice and tight after pulling in about 10 more feet (this effectively reduced our scope to about 2:1. Not ideal. Not by a long shot.). But with the anchor tight and the line from the bow holding us it at least let me relax for the rest of the time the Pereras were on board. Well, again, except for the looming good bye and the incredible emotions of being home sick. After failed attempts to get Lucca to nap, we headed to the beach and tried to enjoy our time together but I think we were all a bit tired. And then it was time for the Pereras to shower and do some final packing before the walk to the bus station. But not before ‘the diaper picture’. How could we resist! And talk about comic relief!

It was then quite the group effort to get everyone to the bus station. I have no idea how those guys made it through Athens without at least 4 more hands (or having a pick pocketer succeed!). Very impressive. But then came the teary good bye (well, at least from me) and getting the very sweet note Shan wrote to us on back of Lucca’s kitten post card. Friends (…family) - despite the heat, the ups and downs and maybe not fulfilling our expectations of the Greek sailing vacation, we are so happy to have had you on board. You will forever be a part of our adventure and our memories of this time which is priceless. We love you and already miss you.
But the drama doesn’t stop here. We made our way back to the boat and I was drained. We sat in the cockpit and I was trying to decompress with some wine and could feel my eyes getting heavy. But at the same time, I wanted to get out of that harbour so bad! All day I just wanted to get out of that harbour! After another sail boat came in and seeing how our spring line was taking up most of the quay, we decided to make some moves. Especially since it was an hour from dark and Mike had looked at a weather forecast which only called for increasing easterlies over night and in the morning. So after Mike informed our new neighbor and a not so happy fisherman of our plan, we started. We would use a spring line from the bow cleat to the dock and back to our mid-ship cleat to keep us from being blown sideways while we pulled anchor. Mike would be on the line slowly releasing it to let us move forward and then when we were free, he would motor us out while I pulled in the line to angle us up wind and out of the harbour. At least that was the plan. Except for the windlass fuse tripping, Mike having to tie off the line to go below to reset the fuse, and then coming back up to start again, it was all going pretty well. That is until we hooked the not so happy fisherman’s mooring line with our anchor. Thank god for the spring line because it seemed to be holding us in a safe place while we could figure out what to do. And there was really only one option…for Mike to dive into the poop-infested waters (yes, literally). And don’t forget, we are providing great entertainment to the very curious café patrons who have their eyes glued on us from all around the harbour. So there goes Mike diving in with a line to help pull the fisherman’s mooring line off our anchor (as he is yelling and trying to keep his boat in place). After Mike crawled up the anchor chain to get back on the boat, it took a bit of wrangling (and our new neighbor telling Mike he would have to jump in again, which he was doing everything to avoid) but it worked! A quick tug on the bow line turned us, and then I hauled the line in while Mike held position, and we were free! It felt so good to motor out of that place! We got outside of the harbour entrance and anchored off the beach with a really good hold, thank god. Then we were truly able to decompress and relax with a little food and a beer. The only thing that made us a bit uncomfortable was a huge motor yacht that decided to anchor a little too close for comfort. But lesson learned today-Just because you can get fit into a harbour doesn’t mean you should! Now off to bed in the V-berth with thoughts of good sleep.
And I just have to say how proud I am of Mike. Despite his own doubts, at times, about his skill or being able to handle situations on this boat, I saw nothing but absolute capability today. He handled the situation with thought, speed, efficacy and strength while remaining calm and gracious through out. Mike, I will sail anywhere with you.

Mike trying to hand the 'not so happy fisherman' a beer as he motored past

He refused but was very pleasant

Hangin' with the big boys

Our Last Night

After a collaborated effort we were untying the lines at 8am and waving goodbye to Galaxidi! Our game plan is that if the winds are too strong then we will head to Trizonia, if Navpaktos is full then we can turn back to Trizonia and if all fails there is always Galixidi. Initially, it seemed like the winds were picking up once we were out into the gulf but then it calmed and we had what wind there was behind us pushing us along. We made really great time and arrived to our destination in the early afternoon. Our coveted spots were full but there was room on one of the walls. And thankfully there was not a whiff of wind because this is a small harbour. Our first attempt found us in too shallow water up against the quay and we were churning up mud and most likely funneled in a groove with our rudder. Our neighbor then came by and said he was getting ready to leave and we could take his place. Only this was further inside the harbour and a tight squeeze in between a motor boat and of course, the Coast Guard boat. And with the neighbors advice we set our anchor a bit to the west since that is where the prevailing winds come from and Mike did an amazing job maneuvering us into place. And there we were, snug as a bug, in Navpaktos Harbour!

Heather tried to capture the sweat. You'll just have to believe us.

I think Lucca is ready to go home.

We were happy to be here (although a little hot) because another factor in all of this planning was the Perera’s bus to Athens that they had to catch on Friday (tomorrow). It was a bit iffy if there was one from Trizonia, and if we were forced to anchor outside of Navpaktos, it would have been hard to off load everyone and their luggage if the weather was at all unsettled. So we were all resting a bit easier knowing that we had made it. Although, I have to say that initially I was a bit uneasy with our place in the harbour. We just looked so big in our corner and I even had thoughts about moving into another spot but the afternoon and evening just flew by with the clock ticking until our friends would have to leave.
While Shan and Mike took Lucca to the beach, Heather and I went on some errands, including finding the bus station to figure out their tickets. Again, it was siesta and when are we going to learn to follow instead of running around, getting all sweaty and accomplishing nothing? But at least the bus station was open which gave us time to sit in a shaded café and enjoy being in a new place!


With plans of having a final dinner out, we headed back to the boat and had a little pre-funk! Everyone was in fantastic moods and there was even a bit of dancing going on! And another snuggle puddle with Lucca. I am already finding myself missing him. We were then off in search of a restaurant away from the busy streets so Lucca could have room to play and explore at a safe distance while keeping eyes on him. We found a nice spot with an amazing tree and fountain which had him mesmerized and entertained for a long time. He drank from the fountain, washed his shoes and buba in the fountain. By the end he was drenched and loving it.






But the euphoria quickly turned into exhaustion and another meltdown ensued. And this one was the mother of them all. But we gotta give it to Heather and Shan, they held fast despite it being really hard. Just one of those things that you have to deal with when traveling with a two year old. But we made up for some personal time lost at dinner when we got back to the boat. We continued to celebrate our last night together in our cockpit with the rest of the town partying all around us at the different cafes and bars. We even ran out to the beach behind us and went skinny dipping in the sea that felt like bath water. One of my favorite memories is Mike and I quickly heading back to the boat since Lucca was sleeping (and with the plan of letting Shan and Heather have some alone time). All we had on were the towels wrapped around us as we casually walked past the cafes packed with stylish Europeans all decked out as we made our way back to the boat. People were staring. It was awesome. Shan also presented us with the most precious and thoughtful gift. A ‘monkey fist’ that he has carried with him since moving away from Sri Lanka (really Shan?) with the dream of sailing one day. He passed it on to us and it immediately went on our engine key. Thank you so much Shan. But eventually we were down one by one and our final night came to an end.

Adult Meltdown

The morning didn’t start off as early as we had all hoped for. I had all intentions of waking up around 7am to take another look at weather, start stowing stuff and preparing the boat to leave. But found myself struggling to get out of bed at 8am. Since Navpaktos was about 30-35 miles away we needed to get an early start since the winds tend to pick up in the afternoon. Mike and I also spent a little time this morning looking into a bail out point of Trizonia which was only 15 miles away. Since we couldn’t get a real hold on what the winds and seas were doing out in the gulf, we wanted to make sure that we had a good shelter to go to. Even that bail out was iffy for lack of knowing if there would be room for us or not. I think our biggest fear was being in some weather and not having a place to retreat to with Lucca on board. So with the lack of planning the night before (our fault for not sharing with the Pereras what all was entailed and what had to be accomplished before we could comfortably and safely leave Galaxidi), the uncertainty about the weather, the risks of full harbours, and the time getting later and later, Mike made the decision not to go anywhere for the day. To be honest, this was not one of our better mornings. We were all getting cabin fever and wanted to travel to new grounds. There was a bit of stress and frustration in the air from both parties and it was not how we wanted to spend our precious time with our friends. Mike was feeling terrible for having to be the one to make the decision not to go but he just didn’t feel comfortable with heading out into the ‘unknown’ and felt hugely responsible for Lucca’s safety while he was on board. After some time of private conversations and time off the boat, we were able to sit together and ‘debrief’ the morning. It wasn’t long before everyone was trying to make the best of another day in Galaxidi. Heather and Mike ‘made up’ over beer and backgammon. We then moved the party to the cockpit where more beer was consumed to pass the time.

Another 'Liberty' pizza

Heather and I joked how we are getting really familiar with the local folk. Tweedle Dee who is 52 and looks like he is 82, chain smokes and listens to his radio hanging from the tree branch. The lady who has had a ton of plastic surgery and looks like she smothers zinc oxide all over her face (the black afro only adds to the look) and arrives to town at the same time, to go to the same café, while carrying her round plaid pillow. The old man who lives above the harbour and opens his shutters every evening around 6pm, then after calisthenics on the balcony he takes a walk along the dock. Yeah, hopefully we can seek new pastures tomorrow! To fight off the boredom and heat, Heather and I took Lucca back to ‘Club Med’ but it just wasn’t the same with the 2 of us since it took us both to chase after Lucca the whole time. After returning back to the boat, it took us all a bit to get organized but after some changes in plans, Mike and I went shopping for provisions (looking good to leave tomorrow) while Heather sat in the square and watched Lucca play once again with the local kids. And this was only made better while sipping on g&ts at the café after a long day.

Heather's new 'Fendi' bag

And since no one wanted to cook or clean dishes, the Pereras had the great idea to go on a horse carriage ride and then get gyros to go. Perfect! Most nights Lucca would ask to go and pet the ‘horsie’, so we all piled in to take a quick jaunt around the town. It was quick all right, but so much fun. Once back to the boat and after Lucca crashed, we ate our dinner and again, Heather and ‘Doris’ were the last ones standing. But did a better job at getting to bed at a reasonable hour for an early start tomorrow!

Navpaktos-The 1st time

Today we rented a car for a few reasons. To get off the boat, get out of Galaxidi and the most important…air conditioning! So we all piled into our tiny sub-sub-compact car and headed down the road. After a couple of loops through town trying to find the way out we made it to the highway. It was then we began to notice these little ‘houses’ dotting the sides of the road. Some were simple, some very elaborate, all with a place inside for a candle. We started to notice more and more and Heather asked “What are those there for?”. Since no one wanted to think about the reason they were there, as we were being passed on blind corners by crazy drivers, we just decided to call them ‘spiritual mailboxes’ to make us all feel better.

Well, that only lasted until our rental car started to putter and quickly come to a stop. Mike was able to get the hazard lights on and get mostly off the side of the road while we tried not to think about being stuck in a hot car waiting to be rescued. But luckily the car started back up and it was then we noticed the air conditioning wasn’t working. After fooling with it for a bit, it came back on but then the car started to putter and decelerate again. We will happily choose no air conditioning over a stalled car next to one of those spiritual mailboxes anytime. So we all rolled down the windows and thankfully it wasn’t much further to a bustling town we finally realized was our destination, Navpaktos. We were really happy that we didn’t ask a local “Where is Navpaktos?” only to find ourselves in the heart of it! After scouting the beach, we parked the car and unloaded our goods. Only Americans would travel to a beach lined with trendy cafes with a 5 gallon cooler.

Even better, sit on the sand right next to a café table to take a beer break while making our way down the beach. But we ended up finding the perfect spot underneath the shade of a big chestnut tree. And the wind was howling today. The gulf was brewing with white caps and the beach was full of breaking waves. Not exactly the best swimming water for Lucca but he was able to fully entertain himself, as well as us. The adults spent the afternoon lounging and trying to nap while enjoying not sweating due to the brisk breeze.






We then packed ourselves back into the car and found an even nicer part of the town right by the old harbour. This was one of the places Mike and I had thought about coming with the boat but the uncertainty of not finding room in the harbour may us wary because there was no nearby second choice if it was full. Except for anchoring off the beach in calm weather which today was absolutely not. But after a talk with the Port Police (much safer since the boat was miles away) and hearing that several boats were clearing out tomorrow, we had thoughts about coming here for a change of scenery if the winds let up. At this point, we are getting a little bored with Galaxidi and will brave the lack of electricity for a livelier setting.

We had a gorgeous drive home in the beautiful late afternoon light and arrived back to Galaxidi safe and sound. While Mike was getting the boat settled, since the winds had picked up in Galaxidi as well, Heather, Lucca and I headed to a restaurant where we had been eyeing the bowls full of mussels. We were then joined by Mike and Shan, and that’s when the meltdown began. Poor Lucca’s nap schedule was totally interrupted today and he was not satisfied with anything. After a tiny bit of a scene, Shan headed back to the boat with Lucca and then the rest of us followed. By this time it was 10pm and we made an attempt to check the weather for tomorrow (totally inconsistent, either a Beaufort 3 or a Beaufort 8!) but by then Mike was really tired and headed to bed. Heather and I managed to stay up for a bit longer, until 1am, where does the time go?! And even then we had to make ourselves go to bed so we could get up early to see where tomorrow brings us.

52 Degrees Celcius!

Upon Mike and I awakening, he was the first to talk about his feelings of stress and fatigue and how he didn’t want those to interfere with enjoying our friends while they are here. We talked about how a lot of the potential stressful conditions have lessened because we made it through the Aegean which he stated would put his mind at ease. Also how we are now in more protected waters and doing short days due to having Lucca on board. And we need to soak in every minute with our friends because it is going to be a long time until we are with loved ones again. Just talking about his feelings seemed to lift a weight off and ‘Mikey’ was back! He was playful and engaged with Lucca and the difference between the two of them was so apparent. It’s funny how Lucca would call Mike ‘Michael’ or ‘Mikey’ depending on the mood. Michael when Mike was in his ‘boat mode’ and Mikey when he was just simply having fun. On our second day in Galaxidi we realized that we were not going to be able to anchor in this heat again. We heard from a local that it was unusually hot and was going to peak on Wednesday and Thursday and subside on Friday. Perfect timing for the Pereras! At this point we realized that we weren’t going to be able to anchor out anymore because it is just too uncomfortable and possibly dangerous for Lucca. While Lucca napped, we rode out the heat wave in the shaded cockpit and watched the thermometer rise. At noon in the shade it read 42 degrees celcius. A bit later we put it in the sun and the thermometer maxed out at 52 degrees celcius! Despite being in the shade and drinking beer to help us ignore the sweat dripping down our bodies, we all had some pretty good laughs together including Mike who was back in true form! Heather and I even cooled off our toes in Lucca’s ‘swimming pool’ complete with cracker bits floating between our toes! It really was amazing how just putting your feet in luke warm water could make you feel so much better.

We also tried to come up with some ideas of what we can all do to entertain ourselves the next 4-5 days while the Pereras are still on board. This town is cute but there really isn’t a whole lot to do. We came up with the idea to rent a car with air conditioning tomorrow and drive down the coast to check out some of the places we could have visited by boat. Ahhhh, air conditioning sounded so divine. But to cool off today we headed to ‘Club Med’ to spend the afternoon. This is where all of the tourist from Athens were spending their day. After much scouting for an empty table, we finally found one and planted ourselves for the next several hours. We spent the time swimming with Lucca and watching Heather do her impressive synchronized swimming tricks to make Lucca laugh. God, there is nothing like his giggle when he is playing in the water. We ordered cocktails, shared some food, stepped on sea urchins, watched the beautiful people. And I have to say it is a bit alarming when you are sitting next to a 12 year old girl in her thong bikini and padded bikini top, in her big sunglasses (and I swear peroxided hair) and thinking she is uber cool. Weird and a little sad.

We finally pulled ourselves away from the rich and hip to head back to the boat and get ready for dinner. The ladies mission was to grocery shop for dinner tonight. And this was a second attempt since earlier in the day we failed due to everyone being closed for siesta. We need to take a lesson on this. But we headed out again after 6pm when everyone emerges from their shaded courtyards again. We stopped at the grocery store (a glorified mini-mart), the ‘fruit shop’, a mini-market that should have been called the grocery store, the bakery, the butcher, and then another mini-market. We were a sweaty mess when we were done. But all was made better by mixing up some mojitos while Shan made his delicious Black and Blue burgers. And it must have been the heat because Mike and Heather were the first ones to crash tonight.