GREY GOOSE ANCHORS CLOSE THEN WE SAIL TO CORFU ISLAND – 2 to 4 JULY, Days 69 to 71

Most of the yachts anchored at Nisos Othoni like us have entered Greece there and need to proceed to Corfu Town, one of the official ports of entry to deal with paperwork formalities. Whilst Croatia and Turkey, as non EU countries (yet) also have formalities, and Croatia has seen the benefit of charging for cruising, Greece is perhaps the only EU country which charges foreign yachts to be in their waters, and the old fashioned tradition of walking from one office to another with ships papers on arrival remains. At least the authorities don’t insist that visitors go there first. Othoni Island is a comfortable first resting place before the 30 mile journey to Corfu Town.

There was not a breath of wind in the morning and Chris and Jim took advantage of early leavers to come inside the harbour anchorage close to us and away from the ferry turning area to anchor Grey Goose close to us.

We weighed anchor at 13.45 and started motoring. Soon some wind filled in and we were happy to turn off the motor for some gentle if slow sailing with following wind and small sea. Anita took advantage for the first time this year of relaxing on the trampoline net between the hulls at the bows of our small catamaran.

Reaching the north side of Corfu Island we enjoyed a close view of the green tree covered slopes and the coast. What a contrast with the barren mountainous land of Albania so close on the other side. With the summer sun getting low we turned towards the narrowest point between the two countries where Albania also enjoys low tree covered land. It was like sailing up the River Fal in Cornwall. We kept clear of well marked rocks and soon turned into the welcoming Bay of Ay Stefanos, a popular anchoring spot full of tavernas and with road access too.

Our tiny boat can creep up into the shallows where almost no other yachts go and we anchored close to a beachside taverna, less grand than some of the others, but perhaps with more charm. Soon it was dark and mosquitos had started to eat us before we could wear more protective clothing.

It was a quiet night but we needed to get to Corfu Town to make the formalities so motored earlier than normal down the lovely East coast with many indented bays to anchor in protected from prevailing winds.

I don’t like to take the boat into unknown harbour situations so we continued past the old fortress enjoying the beautiful views of this Greek town with so many other influences including British. We anchored in a corner of the bay and took the dinghy ashore at the yacht club and walked the long distance past the ports to the Port Authorities office. There we were told where to go to pay the 50 euro DEKPA tax and we arrived just before that office closed at 13.00. It was a typical tax office but fortunately we did not have to wait long. Then another day we must take that receipt to a Port Police office to complete formalities. There is an office at the marina.

We found good fruits including a water melon, made some small food shopping and returned to the boat for swim and siesta. Later we re-anchored further south into the bay to be away from the wash of small boats coming in and out of the harbour.

All is good but the fridge is not always working. It needs more than 12.2 volts in the battery or cuts out to save battery power. Thankfully with the new motor we can give the batteries a boost over and above what the solar panels put in.

We heard from Chris (Grey Goose) that the ferry had rammed them at Nisos Othoni, despite the fact that they were well away from the ferry turning area. The boat came at them more than once and pushed them onto the rocks, then as anchor chains were caught up, the ferry reversing pulled them off the rocks. They sacrificed anchor and chain to get free, and in shock made their way to Gouvia Marina on Corfu to report to Police. More about this later.

On Wednesday morning we motored around to a town quay we had seen at close quarters yesterday and tied up for a couple of hours to buy petrol from a BP station about 200 metres  away and more fruit, yogurt, feta cheese and other needs before going ourselves to Gouvia marina for a service stop of one night to give batteries a charging boost from mains electricity, making laundry, having a shower, and filling up with water ready for family visitors tomorrow.

We met Ginger Cat again at the quay, having advised them of the place, with Andrea, Jono and Rebecca on board, last seen in Siracusa.

We met Chris and Jim there and saw the damage to Grey Goose which could have been much worse. It seems the Captain of the ferry is in trouble for not reporting the incident and he appeared at the Port Police office as they were making a statement to say it was his fault. This is Greece so the matter is not closed for any of the parties involved but Grey Goose will not be ready for sea for a while and the Police retain the ship’s papers for now.

We worked hard all afternoon and into the evening in the marina. Finally we went to swim in their pool to be told it had closed at 8 pm and would not open until 8 tomorrow morning. They put chemicals in once it has closed. It happens so often to us that we arrive after closing time, or we are last to leave places like supermarkets as they are closing.