Our 8th season in the sun begins

Tuesday 8th April...

A big HELLO to all Thesee Followers around the globe. A warm welcome back to our sailing adventures and 8th season in the sun on the still very handsome Thesee. 

Poor Thesee has been all alone for the last nine months in Ionion Marine Boatyard in Preveza, Greece. It's that naughty Brexit's fault that we are now severely restricted to how long we can stay in the EU. 

We arrived from sunny warm UK to dark and rainy Greece about a week ago. It was a perfectly well planned and executed journey by yours truly of course. Taxi, three trains, hotel, flight, car hire, boatyard arrival. From the aircraft we were able to see Dunkirk, and then later we flew all the way down the coast of Croatia viewing many many islands. I love seeing this sort of thing from above, especially if it's places we've been to.

On arrival it was pouring with rain, and the passport control was slower than slow itself. Still, the boatyard is only about a mile away from the airport which makes it a big bonus. We were so excited to see Thesee once more and give him a big hug.

We've never left Thesee for so long before, but he was in quite good shape. A few unexpected issues, and some expected ones too. 

Next day the ship-shape work commenced. First on the list was an unexpected fridge issue, it wouldn't start but Dean soon had it running again. Also, the water pump wasn't pumping water, well only a little then stopping. This issue continued all week, and we searched high and low in Preveza and also Lefkada to find an exact replacements with no luck. But, aha, fingers crossed, Dean seems to have fixed the issue now....something to do with the relay. 

An expected job was to fit the new control box for the bow thruster. I must have mentioned this issue last year because it has been such a headache dealing with faulty goods, suppliers, and dealers. Anyway, hey presto, the new control box is fitted and working. Also, we bought two new bow thruster batteries because they were also kaput. Buying batteries in the boatyard chandleries is expensive, but clever Mr C said that we should drive into Preveza to go the the proper battery shop, so we did.

Fitting the new control box and batteries.

It's all underneath our bed in the forecabin.

The bow thruster with new control box

New bow thruster batteries

Our boatyard is actually in Aktio, which is on the south side of the channel to Preveza. There's actually nothing here apart from three boatyards, a taverna, and an airport. Here's the exciting bit... to get from here to Preveza you have to drive through a toll tunnel which goes under the channel. You can  only do it by car (no bicycles, no walking), which is partly why we have a hire car this time.

The day after we arrived there seemed to be a number of military aircraft flying about. Some smaller planes which we have seen in the past whilst sailing in the Gulf of Corinth. But today also a fantastic aircraft was circling about the area. It, I believe was a Boeing E3 Sentry (AWAKS) aeroplane. I couldn't get a photo, but I got this picture from Wikipedia.

AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System)

We've been out to eat in tavernas five times since we arrived. Twice we drove to Vonitsa (about 20 mins away). We haven't actually been here before but there are anchorages to check out, and in particular one anchorage looks very sheltered behind this cute little bridge in the next photo.

Cute little bridge

Behind the little bridge

Vonitsa quay (not very sheltered)

Greek salad at last (one of many to come)

The big big big job as always was polishing Thesee's hull. Dean hired a scaffold from the yard and took two and a half days to get the job done. And what a fantastic job he did. Just look at that gleaming blue gel coat. WOW and double WOW.....

We arranged for a local Rigger to come and give Thesee a rig check. Here's Dean winching him up the mast. Usually it's my job to do the winching, lol....

Makes your neck stiff 

The rigger at the top of the mast!!

One last photo for now. As we are situated at the back of the boatyard we have a nice countryside view, and we even get cows and donkeys walking through every day. Reminds us of home sweet home..

So we launch on Wednesday 9th April. 

Keep following for even more Adventures of Thesee.

Wednesday 9th April... It's LAUNCH DAY.

The boatyard staff came with their big daddy tractor at 8.30am to pick Thesee up from the big steel cradle which he has been sitting on for the last nine months. Then he was transported down to the shore and transferred into a big daddy travel hoist which subsequently lowered him into the water. It's quite nerve-wracking to watch, so we just went to the office and paid up our expenses whilst the boatyard staff did their thing.

Also I must mention our very sacred Aloe Vera (aka Vera) plant. We were given this way back in Gaeta during 2019/20 and it's still alive! Been passed around friend's boats at times to look after whilst we were away. This time we had no friends😔to look after Vera so we just left it under the boat. Someone must have spotted it and put it where it would get rained on, because it's just massive now 💚even after cutting off a number of stems.

Vera

Tractor arriving to lift Thesee

Now transferring to the travel hoist

And down towards the shore line

The launch went very well, then it was just a short 15 minutes across to the anchorage at Preveza.  It's been such a cold wind today, we were wrapped up well. Once in the anchorage we put the kettle on and sat in the sunshine. Today's unexpected surprise was a dolphin passing our boat in the anchorage! Day 1 Dolphin Day. 

About 1pm the wind dropped off and the sea became smooth. Without further ado we put two sails back up in about an hour or so. The big genoa, and the smaller staysail. You always get people watching from other boats (we do the same). No boo boo's to report though, and we didn't make a fool of ourselves. In fact it was almost a doddle. Just the main sail left to put up now, and we're good to go.

Time to celebrate with beer and crisps.

Oh! And did I forget to say that we had an earthquake here a few nights ago? Magnitude 3, epicentre just a mile away at the airport! Dean felt the shake, but I was fast asleep.

Friday 11th April...

Two days blogging catch up to do... I really must get myself back into the swing of things. 

Yesterday we decided to have a lie in. After all, we were up very early on Wednesday morning for launching. So a late start, but we needed to get sorted, blow up the dinghy, and get ourselves ashore to check in with the Port Police to get our transit log stamped. 

Here's a photo of the dinghy after we got it out of its winter home in the lazarette, unrolled it and blew it up with our super duper electric pump, which Dean cleverly fitted a long long time ago. 

Unrolled dinghy on deck

Pumping it up

To launch the dinghy, Dean fits a bridle to it and attaches it to the spinnaker line. I use the electric winch to lift it up, and Dean manoevres it over the guard wires, and then we lower it into the water. I think we've got this down to a T.

That's it, ready to go.

Outboard engine on

Off for a test run

We had seen a catamaran come into the anchorage. It's a boat we know and are friends with the crew... Ally & Roman. We first met in Licata, Sicily in 2020 and have crossed paths a couple of times since. So, en-route to shore in the dingy we dropped by to say hello. In fact, they invited us on board later on for sundowners.... as you do. That turned into a four hour catch up, and we enjoyed a lovely evening together on their beautiful catamaran. 

So, once we had dinghy'd ashore and found a place to leave it in the fisherman's harbour, we went to the marina fuel station to fill up the spare tank with petrol, then it was to the Port Police. All went well and they stamped us in (which took about 25 minutes, lol). Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork, just to get a stamp in our transit log. Mind you, we must have looked like a pair of dummies because we actually forgot to take our passports and a crew list with us!! 

Getting our transit log stamped is a thing which only the Greeks ask for. You don't have to do this in any other EU country we've been to. It basically is just a stamp to say you've arrived at that particular port, and then you have to go back and get a stamp out when you leave. It's becoming quite a hobby, and gives us something to do apart from swanning about on the water.

We did a little more shopping, and then walked back along the seafront promenade. It's getting pretty busy here already. We stopped to chat to a boat we knew from our boatyard...another Beneteau 50, then I notice something in the water. It was a ray, just a couple of metres from the quay wall. Must have been looking for din dins.

Today, Friday, we were getting to know the wind changes. It blows gently from the east and then turns about midday and blows fairly strong from the north west. And so, we got up early, sorted ourselves out and prepared for the scary job of fitting the mainsail. 

Here's the massive mainsail on deck, just unrolled

and ready to start attaching it.

The job usually takes about an hour or so, once the preparations have been done. We got it absolutely perfect timing this morning, and the sail went up a dream. It is a bit of a faff, having to add the batons and reefing lines. Luckily, Dean is my hero mainsail fitter, and before the north west winds arrived we had the sail fitted and safely in its lazy bag. Well done Mr C. 

Our plan for tomorrow it to go further into the Ambracian Gulf and find a nice little anchorage for a couple of day.

Mainsail fully up, before lowering it into the lazy bag

Dean finished the day polishing his (Aladdin's lamp)

Saturday 12th April...

A third restful night in Preveza anchorage. I wish all nights on the water were like this. Scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast. Why break our weekend tradition? 

It's been quite nice just sitting here in Preveza. Not a lot to look at, but a number of boats coming and going. Today it was us, going. A two hour motor to Vonitsa, and happy to motor today to get some hot water in our tank for hot showers on board.

En-route one of the boats heading the other way was called Golden Eye of Chichester. Would you believe it..... back in the time before we left the UK we were actually moored in Portsmouth right next to this very boat!! Dean professionally called them up on the VHF radio. A new owner answered and had a little chat with us, especially about all the dolphins and turtles that are in and around this gulf.  We've seen quite a few in the anchorage the last few days. 

Golden Eye of Chichester

We were heading to a new anchorage at Vonitsa called Koukounitsa, while checking out a couple of alternatives on the way. It's very pretty here with a lovely quaint bridge and island to admire. 

One of the anchorage en-route

The castle at Vonitsa

The island at Koukoumitsa

From the anchorage, a view across the pretty bridge to the imposing castle.

The bridge is lit up at night.

Took this photo to show the snow on the mountains

in the distance

Dean spent the afternoon cursing and blinding at the wifi and the printer. Let's not go there. But about 6pm we went ashore to find a butchers and then for a meal. Coincidentally. we bumped into a couple who we recognised but couldn't place them. In fact they were on our flight to Preveza last week too. Stopping for a chat, we finally worked out that they had been in Finike at the same time as us a couple of years ago. It's a small world. 

Landing by dinghy to go shopping

Thesee on the water in our new anchorage tonight

Sunday 13th April...

Dean was up during the night, on watch, because there was some katabatic wind come down from the mountainside around midnight. Very annoying in our little peaceful anchorage. First thing, Dean had a maintenence job to do.... changing the leaking water pump. He has a spare obviously. Well actually a previously repaired spare, lol.

Then this morning we decided to move on up the coast, because the afternoon winds were in our favour for heading to Paxos. We've not been to Paxos before. It's an island just south of Corfu, and apparently it's worth a visit. It took us about an hour to motor back to Preveza, and then out of the channel into the big blue sea outside. 

The quay already getting busy in Preveza when we passed by

Ruins of Preveza castle

Following the long channel out to sea

The journey today was 43 miles, quite a distance for a day sail at approximately 5 knots. It turned out to be a good decision because once out at sea the wind soon kicked in, and throughout the afternoon we sailed with just the genoa, and then with mainsail and genoa. We were making good progress, sometimes doing 7 or 8 knots from just 12 knots of wind... Amazing. One thing we always say is that you don't need loads of wind to sail, you just need the right conditions. Today was perfect, and my skipper did a fantastic job getting us to Paxos in about 7 hours.  And now we are in a cute little anchorage at the bottom of Paxos called Limeniskos Ozia (or Mongonissi) take your pick.

First sail of the season

Just rolling out the genoa

Dean tweaks the sails to get the right shape

Me, not doing much, as usual

Dean lies on deck with his binoculars to check for issues 

with the genoa, because the furler was a little stiff

Finally entering our new anchorage

Monday 14th April...

There was just us and a catamaran in the anchorage last night. The weather was calm and we didn't swing about much. Still, I must have looked out of the window about six times during the night to make sure we weren't getting close to each other.

About 10am we left the anchorage and moved up to the main town on the island, about 20 minutes away. The town is called Gaios, it's quite unusual with a dog-leg channel between the town quay and a small island opposite. We decided on entering the channel through the shallow south entrance. And boy, did we hold our breath when the depth sounder read well below two metres. We have a 1.8 metre draft!!

All was well though as we made our way slowly through the channel and to the visitors pontoon at the northern end. At this time of year it's still winter season here, so hardly any charter boats around. We arrived at the pontoon and three large yachts were moored alongside, luckily one was just leaving and we took its place alongside on the pontoon. It's normal practise that yachts go stern to the quay with lazy lines holding them off, but here the lazy lines are very short and if your boat is more than 10 metres it's impossible to use the lines, hence we had to moor alongside.

Approaching the entrance, a boat coming the other way, 

we had to give way

In the channel now near town quay

Going past the Port Police office

Thesee moored alongside the pontoon

Once we had sorted ourselves out we took a 10 minute walk to get our transit log stamped. Unusually, the Port Police wanted to see our 'entry stamp into Greece' in our passports. That done, we continued for a walk in and around the small town, stopping for chocolate croissants, mmmm.

Looking back towards town quay

The Port Police (Hellenic Coastguard) office

Chocolate croissants

Back on board, Dean took a look at repairing the faulty water pump. Then late afternoon we took another walk, this time along the high road with super views of the channel. It's quite nice here and well protected. Think we shall stay a few days to sit out the upcoming weather on Wednesday/Thursday.

Boat maintenance in exotic places

Thesee alongside

Looking eastwards out of the channel

High up now looking towards the town

A pretty garden centre

Heading down into the town

This is the shallow entrance we came through this morning

Georgios Anemogiannis statue

Georgios Anemogiannis was a true hero of the Greek War of Independence. Born in the early 1800s, he became known for his bravery during the fight against the Ottoman Empire. His courage shone brightest during the Battle of Peta in 1822, where he fought fearlessly for Greece’s freedom. Although captured and executed, his sacrifice turned him into a symbol of the Greek struggle for independence, leaving a legacy that still resonates today.

Tuesday 15th April...

A blustery start to the day. From our mooring we get a small glimpse of the sea state outside, and today there were a lot of white horses out there. We stayed indoors and did a few jobs, then by afternoon the sun came out and it was quite nice. Plus tonight we have a few boaty neighbours too.  

Dean having quick look at our wifi box, 

which is causing us problems at the moment

Late afternoon we strolled to the main quay, chose a bar, and ordered happy hour cocktails. Then just as we got comfy they started up with the loud music, spoiling the whole thing. Last time we go to that bar then. 

On the town quay were a few new boats today. We had to look twice at this catamaran because he had a weird object on the deck. A motorbike in a big white plastic casing. Dean has always said he wanted a motorbike on the boat....

Wednesday 16th April...

Whiling away our time here in Paxos. Some neighbours left this morning, and new neighbours arrived. A large catamaran came in next to us, Dean helped take the lines and they rewarded him with a cold can of Croatian beer!

We decided to take a late morning stroll for coffee at a lovely little cafe bar on the quayside. It was perfect, sun was out, coffee was good, gentle background music, and the biggest two slices of baclava that you've EVER seen. Baclava isn't my thing, so Dean was left to eat the lot!

Battling his way through the baclava

Back at the boat later, Dean attached two of the lazy lines to the offside of Thesee. Hopefully, this will keep us from squashing the fenders against the pontoon when the due winds arrive tomorrow.

Thursday 17th April...

We're still here in Paxos, though planning a new destination for tomorrow. It's quite nice sitting here doing almost nothing. This year on Thesee is a little different. Because we aren't actually having to get somewhere, we can take our time going where we fancy or where the wind takes us. 

Around lunchtime we strolled down to the main quay, did a few bits of shopping, then sat in George's Restaurant in the square eating pitta breads. Turns out the waiter here actually studied at Birmingham University! There were youngsters playing football and being loud, but it didn't bother us. And the cats pawing at my leg at the table, but they weren't actually hungry. There's cat biscuits left out for them everywhere. 

So, today is the day the wind was coming, but it hasn't actually materialized yet. Dean took some photos this morning of Thesee sitting pretty at the pontoon. Because he tied two lazy lines on the offside of Thesee, they are holding the boat off the quay, even though the wind is blowing us on. This stops the fenders getting squashed and squeaking on the hull all night and day.

See the gap between Thesee and the pontoon

One of the lazy lines tied to the offside midships cleat

There's been hardly no boat movements today. One neighbour left but the other two are still here with us. I wonder where we shall be this time tomorrow??

The next blog post will be called 'Kalimera Corfu'