Sailing north to Corfu Part 1

 We want to allow time to reach Corfu in comfort to pick up family.  The prevailing winds and therefore waves are against us.

The purpose of a sailing boat is to sail as much as possible and not motor all the time, but observing other boats, especially rented ones, I feel their objective is to motor to each destination as quickly as possible. Ok they have a short time while we have a few weeks. The Ionion Sea has many hours of almost no wind, then afternoons with strong winds as a general pattern.

At 4.30 am we left our beautiful Boulder Bay taking advantage of the night wind from the east. Soon after rounding the point after Marathia Bay the wind went light and I settled intothe routine of feeling the wind on my skin and setting course accordingly.

It was beautiful to be out in the silence of early morning and the colours of early light before the heat of the day. Although we could sail  close to the course it was necessary to tack a few times and point as close to the wind as possible. Apataki loves these conditions in flat water. She has light weight construction so when contrary seas build up she can lose momentum.  My goal was to keep moving silently to the north west corner of Meganisi island. Speed was as low as 1 knot and rarely more than 3 knots. As in light wind racing I tweaked the course and sails to get the best speed. Autopilot George held a steady course.

After about 20 miles we rounded the tip of the island and lost the wind.  We continued with motor and sails arriving again in the inland Vliho lake. The purpose was to fill up with water at the tap by the fishing boats,  bottle by bottle. I also bought 10 litres of petrol at a super high price,I think almost 1.80 euros a litre.

In the afternoon next day we set off towards Lefkas Canal. We had a strong headwind once out of the sheltered water and had to beat to the north under genoa.

A Neel 47 trimaran Talata caught us and we made photos.

We took a swim stop before the canal then motored through to catch the 19.00 Bridge opening. It was the only time for us to be the only boat going north, while lots came in to go south. 

After a typical afternoon of wind there was swell from the west and a good breeze for a beam reach under genoa making around 6 knots. 

We entered Preveza as the sun was dropping behind the trees to the west

 and anchored before darkness fell, not far from Talata. 

In Preveza we stocked up with fruit and other necessities. Talata invited us to visit but Tania had just had cov id jabs and she suffered a bad reaction. She did not feel up to receiving us. Some of her friends had warned her that they had the same.

We made shopping and prepared for the next leg of the journey north.