Its April 2017, the winter in Ireland has been long, we are very happy to be back in Greece to commence our summer cruise to Turkey.

Aktio:

We arrived at the Ionian yard in Aktio where DeDanann had been laid up ashore, antifouling and hull polishing complete by the guys there and we were in the water in no time – the yards here in Aktio are all very good and the staff are pleasant people to deal with. Hanging around the yards here for a few days is a pleasant experience, the friendly nature of the Greeks is infectious and the atmosphere in the two local tavernas every night is most welcome after the day’s work getting boats ready for launching is done. There is a great sense of community among the many cruisers here that we have not experienced anywhere else.

Preveza:

We took off just one mile to the old marina in the town of Preveza (see photo left), as this is just such a pleasant place to provision the boat and enjoy the Easter celebrations that is such a big occasion here in Greece. Midnight mass in the square is not to be missed, as the whole town gathers with candles in hand to celebrate mass, as fireworks light up the sky over Preveza to the sound of fierce ringing of bells. One is left in no doubt that Christ has truly risen.

Fiskardho, Kefalonia:

We paid our reasonable bill and bid farewell to the helpful, friendly staff here in the old marina at Preveza and took ourselves off to the gorgeous port of Fiskardho on Nissos Kefalonia. There is always space on the town quay here at this time of the year before the onset of the charterers in July and August. This is a great port to spend some time, with good depth of water and good holding, but one has to be careful not to put out too much chain as it causes fierce problems in the summer with anchors crossing, We seldom put out more than 25/30 meters as the holding is so good. They have started to collect a modest charge of €10 to tie up on the town quay. There is no electricity, but water is available and lots of good free wifi from the tavernas. The tavernas close reasonably early and decent nights sleep can be had from 2.00 am.

There is also some good fishing for Baracuda just outside of the port in the late evenings.

Local marine photographer Kevin Jones from Cornwall UK is always out snapping boats coming and going. We have got some great photographs of DeDanann from Kevin for small money there.

Messalonghi:

Having spent a week in Fiskardho, we reluctantly left for Messalonghi in the Gulf of Patras. The two-mile or so entrance to the port and marina here is by way of a canal that has over four meters depth if one keeps to the centre. It’s important to keep between the buoys coming in from seaward, as the water out here gets shallow very fast. We have come in here when the winds have been blowing fierce only to find they die off fast as you get into the canal. The winds can be flukey in the port, although it looks well sheltered they can come up out of the blue and blow at great strength.

Messolonghi is a thriving Greek working town with not so many tourists. There is plenty of room on the town quay and in the marina where berthing costs are most reasonable. The town quay is around €10 per night, only one water tap near the port office and no electricity. There is, however, plenty of room for anchoring and good holding in the port.  Like most big towns one is advised to be cautious about locking up when leaving the boat. Tavernas and shopping are plentiful and only a few minutes walk.

Trizonia:

Our next port of call was the little island of Trizonia. Having waited for the forecasted west wind, we made great speed passing under the Rio road bridge. The winds around here usually blow from either the east or the west and it is worth waiting to take advantage of them. One has to call up Rio bridge control on channel 12 on approach for instructions and clearance.

The entrance into the somewhat abandoned marina is easy, with good depth of water. Mooring is side-to most of the time with waiters from the local tavernas willing to assist. Great shelter from the elements in here, no electricity and only one water tap available, no charge applied here.

Trizonia is a restful port to visit, the tavernas are good and there’s a mini market in the little village.

Galaxidi:

Our next port of call was the wonderful Galaxidi. There’s a bit of pilotage to be studied before coming in here, but once through the islands at the entrance, it’s straightforward after that.

This is a delightful town to tie up to, with plenty of good tavernas and shops. There is a good nautical museum that’s worth a visit, also this is an ideal place from which to visit the amphitheatre at Delphi -best to arrange to share a local taxi with other cruisers.

A modest charge applies with good electricity and water available, good also for refuelling etc. The port police like cruisers to log in on arrival.

Korinth Canal:

A few days here and it was time to head for the Corinth Canal. We had waited for the west winds to blow and had a speedy passage to the canal entrance. Having called up canal control on channel 11 to advise of our arrival we joined the little flotilla of yachts to enter. The four-mile navigation through the canal is always a joy but payment of our €320 fee was not so joyful! This is done at the East entrance in the office under the control tower. They will want to see your boat papers to calculate the extortionate fee.

Watch out for the local stray dogs, if like us you have pets on board, as they are very territorial. Poor old Alfie was nearly savaged as he jumped ashore to follow me. Also, have plenty of fenders and lines at the ready to tie up to the high sided dock, there is no assistance offered here and the wind can blow strongly as it funnels through the canal, but all in all it is an enjoyable experience.

Epidhavros:

Having paid our canal transit bill, we set off for Epidhavros on the Peloponnese some twenty miles distant. There was no space on the town quay as it was late in the evening, so we went to anchor, had some supper on board and hit the sack after a good days sailing port to port. This is a good stop over after transiting the canal. There are few tourists outside of cruisers coming and going to the canal and one can visit the amphitheatre that is renowned for its fantastic acoustics.

Kythnos:

The journey to Kythnos, some 65 miles distant, requires keeping a sharp eye out as there is lots of ship and tanker traffic once past the island of Aegina. AIS is a great help in situations like this, if only for being able to call up approaching traffic by their name, which usually invites a fast response from the vessel of interest.

We arrived at the port of Loutra as the sun was setting in twenty-five knots of South wind. The anchorage to the left as one enters the port had several yachts at anchor. It’s tight in here once a few boats are in, but there was one space on the East pier that we tied up to with great difficulty in the strong winds with some help from the marineros that was much appreciated.

We had a comfortable night despite the strong winds that blew for two days. Early the next morning, a charter boat in a hurry to get back to port in Lavrion near Athens, decided to up-anchor and leave in winds that were not ideal. Despite requests from several skippers to stay put until the wind died down, he insisted on leaving taking up both ours and our neighbour’s anchors as the wind blew him down upon us. There was the usual chaos and exchanges of unsavoury comments as they left the port in a state of panic without as much as a wave, let alone an apology.

Loutra is a pleasant little port with some nice tavernas and a mini market that charges plenty for anything one buys there. A local fisherman keeps a few old cars that he rents to cruisers for €30 a day, so one can visit the whole island easily in a day. The Chora, high up on a hill, is a good walk for those who are reasonably fit and definitely worth a visit with nice tavernas and tourist shops etc.

The little marina is well run with water and electricity available and marineros in attendance during daylight hours. The charge is reasonable and it’s a good port to kick off a voyage through the Cyclades if coming from the West.

Paros:

Our next port of call was Naousa some 43 miles distant to the SE. The strong south winds of the previous days had abated and we had a pleasant voyage in light Northerly winds. We came in from sea past the headland and found a nice secure anchorage with room for many boats there. We proceeded to the port and tied up to the town quay between two other Amel Super Maramu’s of the same vintage, one from the USA, the other Germany.

There is good deep water here with all the facilities of water and electricity and a Marinero/harbourmaster to assist with mooring.

There is no end of tourist shops and tavernas to cater for the many tourists that come to this pretty little port, but not many cruisers in port mind, which didn’t surprise us, as it’s all very commercial and Tourist drive. However, it’s a good well-sheltered port and anchorage with room for many boats. Again, the charge was most reasonable.

Naxos:

We arrived at the large port of Naxos only eight miles to the SE of Naousa. As we were entering the port and heading for the marina there, a huge Seacat ferry came up behind us from seaward blasting us constantly with its great horn and bullying us out of its way. It was a bit like David and Goliath, and as we were not for moving out of its way David won the day.

The entrance into the busy marina looks tight, but there is a good depth of water close to shore, all the facilities of water and electricity are available as are marineros to take lines.

Naxos is a big town with lots of shopping and tavernas, supermarkets etc, it has a quaint old town with narrow streets full of interesting little shops and eateries that are nice to visit in the evenings.

We tied up next to a beautiful Dutch ketch named Flyer, a Whitbread around-the-world winner in her hey-day, now converted to a very comfortable cruiser adding ten tonnes to her displacement weight.

The port charges were most reasonable for such a large busy town.

Nissos Schionousa:

This tiny island some twenty-three miles to the South was our next port of call after a most pleasant sail flying our cruising chute in light variable winds for most of the way. It took us eight hours to arrive at the little port and Anchorage, we were the only cruisers in port on arrival there.

Having tied up to the ferry quay, which has space for several boats without interfering with the ferry when it arrives, we took ourselves off to the only taverna in town. It was one of the best that we have had the pleasure of dining in Greece.

This is a pleasant little port to rest up and enjoy the tranquillity: the ringing of the many goat bells; the crowing of cockerels and hens in the early mornings; always a pleasant experience.

One needs to be stocked up with food and water to spend time here as there are no shops, although eggs, fish and goats milk are available from the locals.

We spent several days here cycling and rambling around the island and enjoyed every one of them, only one other cruiser came in during this time.

Amorgos:

The port of Katapola was our next port of call, some twenty miles distant.

There is plenty of space for cruisers on the town quay here and good anchoring off the port in 10 meters of water. One has to be mindful of the ferry that comes in, it backs up to the town quay among the moored yachts and puts out 200 meters of anchor chain and usually stays overnight.

Like most Aegean islands it has a chora high up on the hill, a good walk for those who keep fit and worth a visit or for dinner in the tavernas with pretty narrow streets and some interesting shops and cafes to browse.

Car hire is available in the port at €30 per day, port charges around €8. The shelter may not be so good in strong winds from the west.

We spent several days here before heading northeast to the fishing port of Agios Annas some ten miles distant, the sea was sloppy with a big swell from the north which made for an uncomfortable trip.

We tied up to the ferry quay close to the local fishing boats that has space for several yachts, the ferry docks stern to the end of the ferry port and is no inconvenience to cruisers moored here. There is also space to anchor in 7 meters off the town quay. Some swell comes into the port and like Katapola the shelter may not be good in strong west winds.

This is a very pretty little port with many very nice tavernas, it has shops, mini markets and several boutique hotels. There was no charge when we were there.

Levita:

A tiny island some twenty-five miles from Amorgos, it has only one family who man the lighthouse and run the only taverna on the island. They have several good mooring buoys in the very well sheltered anchorage in 8 meters of water. A small charge of €8 is collected each evening if you are not eating in their taverna.

This is a very well sheltered anchorage on the south coast in all winds and a good night stop between Koss and Amorgos, or if the weather turns bad. The sea between Amorgos and Koss gets very bad once the north wind pipes up.

Kalymnos:

This is a big commercial port with an inner harbour and town quay that has good mooring for many yachts. There is a marinero to take lines for which a small charge of €3 is made. Yiannis the berthing master comes across as being grumpy, one is left in no doubt as to who is in charge here, but he is really quite helpful once you get to know him. He takes the required papers to the port office on arrival and brings them back promptly. The port police like cruisers to visit them on arrival.

All the facilities of water and electricity are available, the charges reasonable.

Kalymnos is a big town with all the shopping and tavernas one could want, we spent over a week here and enjoyed all of it.

We have a blog on all of this trip on HYC.ie in cruising news.

Tony Olin

SY DeDanann

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