We stayed in a small local B&B for a few days while we closed up the boat for the winter. Lovely experience living in a local area even though our hosts spoke no English and our Turkish is limited to good morning and thank you! Bodrum town has changed a lot since we were last there – spoilt by tourism and after the tranquillity of the islands it seemed a bit too busy! As well as the normal servicing jobs (engine, generator, watermaker, sails etc) and quite a few small repairs, ALMA’s deck caulking is being replaced this winter so we hope next summer she will be looking much smarter and we won’t get black tar marks on our shorts! The sailing season is now over for us for this year and ALMA is stored ashore near Bodrum in SW Turkey. We had a great trip across the Aegean and look forward to exploring more of the Aegean islands in future years. Most of the islands were relatively undeveloped and unaffected by tourism (Mykonos was the terrible exception), we visited some wonderful places and the people we met were friendly and helpful. It all seemed a million miles away from riots in Athens and the country’s financial troubles. Now we’re back home we’ll think about our sailing plans for next season and hope to see many of you on board. Thanks to everyone who joined us this summer – we love to have your company and its great to have help in sailing the boat. Be in contact again over the winter and hope to see many of you soon. All the best Iain and Helen

Sailing with Nick and Lindy from Kos to Bodrum

then Kos (a bit touristy but still some lovely buildings and the sanctuary of Hippocrates is another of the special places of ancient times) before we crossed into Turkey (with Nick and Lindy who had joined us in Kos for a few days sailing in the Greek islands before flying back from Bodrum).

Levathi

Looking at Amorgos

Amorgos and the Monastery of Hozoviotissa

Paros (beautiful, very well sheltered anchorage which we are very keen to return to), Amorgos (where we waited a couple of days for strong winds to blow through and we visited the monastery of Hozoviotissa perched half way up the near vertical cliffs on the south coast of Amorgos – astonishing site), Levitha (small island with a wonderful natural well protected harbour, and only one family who keep a herd of 700+ sheep/goats, catch fish and provide dinner for yachties! A special place and pleased that we visited before it is developed), Leros, Kalimnos (where North Face were sponsoring a major climbing competition at the spectacular overhanging cliffs on the west coast – seemed quite incredible that anyone could climb up given the overhang)

Anne at work, at play, bathing in a hot spring and a Delos

Olympia to Mykonos with Anne

Our route from Olympic marina (where Anne joined us) on the coast east of Athens was via Kea, Kithnos, Siros, Rinea, Delos (centre of the Athenian league – ruins of the old port indicate what a significant trading centre this must have been in ancient times), Mykonos (convenient airport and Anne left us here to fly back to UK then Australia – it was great to have her company and share some of our sightseeing as well as being able to relax and leave her on the wheel for hours!!),

4 to 8 Sept – Had a wonderfully lovely relaxing day at anchor in Chapel Cove. The 20 to 25 knot winds we had when we arrived continued most of the evening (you may not believe this but in the strongish wind we had to get pullovers out as we were feeling a bit cold!!!) but the wind abated a little overnight and the next day was only a light breeze. Peace and quiet was only disturbed by a boat laying his anchor over ours, then dragging down close to us and was about to re-lay his anchor again over our chain until we explained rather clearly that we didn’t think this was a great idea for us. At last he understood that in an empty bay it might be a good idea to anchor a distance apart from the only other anchored boat! Apart from this we just chilled out. Don’t actually have many days like this and it was great. Next day we had a great sail (15 to 20 knots so one reef in) around the cape and then north to Olympic Marina. Now moored up and getting jobs done (backstay adjuster serviced, shower filter cleaned, boat washed down etc etc). We plan to set off from the mainland on 13th or 14th September to cross the Aegean heading for Kos and then Bodrum in Turkey. Our route will depend on the winds but we want to stop in Mykonos as Anne is joining us in Athens and then flying back from Mykonos. Then we’ll try and make our way through the islands with reasonable day sails – hopefully F3/4 just abaft the beam (full main and gennaker sailing!!). Hope the Meltemi winds will have died down a bit by then. Let you know how the trip goes. Best wishes Iain and Helen

On the subject of mooring fees, we’ve frequently paid either no or only a minimal fee in Greek harbours. After leaving Corfu we didn’t pay any fees for 5 nights until we arrived in Vathy. It takes some time for the harbour master to calculate the fee - involving it seems 3 or 4 different calculations (when you berth there he comes along and calls you over to a table at the cafe/restaurant on the quayside where he gets out his calculator to work out the fee and fill out the official form). The fee came to E11! Electricity was an additional E1.60! The second night (another round of calculations) came to E6! In Aegina where our fee was about the same, a charter boat which berthed next to us paid E1.44 for the night!! We are always asked if we are a charter boat or private boat but I hadn’t known the fee for charter boats was so minimal. Can’t understand why given the economic situation they don’t just impose a sensible minimum fee in all ports/harbours. And despite the economic situation there are more yachts here than perhaps in the rest of the Med in total. It’s hard to get a berth in a marina in the most indebted country in Europe!??

1 to 3 Sept – after Michelle left on Sat morning we stayed on in Aegina for another 2 days – we quite like the town and it is a great place to provision, do laundry, has good cafes (with wifi!)and shops and even a reasonable barber! We also found a terrific restaurant and had the best meals (we went twice!) we’ve had so far in Greece. The town has a lively bustling busy feel to it. However, it is NOISY – all day and most of the night. So eventually on Monday morning we went in search of quieter anchorages. Heading over to the mainland from Aegina we had to cross the shipping lane from Piraeus but it wasn’t as busy as we’d expected although there were a lot of ships anchored off the port – perhaps a sign of the economy that cargoes are less plentiful. We had hoped to get into Voulagmeni marina which is little bit outside Athens but here we encountered the first unfriendliness/unwelcoming attitude we’ve found in Greece – the mainland and especially Athens is perhaps very different from the islands. Anyway the harbour staff made it VERY clear we were not to berth there (although there were several available berths) and came out in their RIB to chase us away. As they didn’t want our berthing fee we continued down the coast and anchored in a lovely little bay (“Chapel Cove”) just to the west of Cape Sounion which is the SE point we need to round to get to the marina on the east coast where we plan to leave ALMA for a week while we fly to Istanbul for a short break for our anniversary.

29 Aug to 1st Sept - Next morning Claire left to go to a wedding in France and we continued eastwards through the Corinth Canal. Wind was from the east and there was a 2 knot current flowing against us so we made slow progress. All the time we were expecting the control office to call us on the radio to tell us to hurry up (we were reluctant to push the revs too high) but fortunately they must have either made allowances for the wind/current or just were more relaxed than our previous trip as this time they didn’t chase us. So now were back in the Saronic Gulf and we went back to one of our favourite ports – a tiny harbour at Vathy. We got in to the last place on the quay and then late evening had a french boat (Jerome from St Marine (which we’d visited in 2009)a beautiful little port opposite Benodet in south Brittany) raft alongside us without an anchor out – fortunately a very calm night and to overcome any concerns we might have about supporting both boats on our anchor, Jerome produced a bottle of very nice Breton whisky! – and then an even later arrival berthed stern to between the bows of a couple of boats berthed stern to the quay ie starting a second rank of parked boats!! Crazy and of course anchors get tangled up but somehow it all gets sorted out. We like Vathy so much we ended up staying 2 nights and it was lovely to have a day chilling out after the trip from Corfu where we’d sailed every day and most days from around 0800 (breakfast on the way!) until evening. Then we went to Aegina (pronounced we now understand as “Eggina”) where Michelle could get the fast ferry to Piraeus and taxi to the airport. This is much quicker, easier and cheaper than us sailing into any of the marinas around Athens and getting a ferry is perhaps an essential part of a holiday in Greece.

24 to 28 Aug – Michelle and her friend Claire had arrived late Thursday evening to help me sail to Corinth (where Helen would join us after attending a school reunion in Glasgow) and on Friday morning we set off motoring in a flat calm only for the overheating alarm to come on after an hour. Swam under the boat to see if anything blocking the water inlets but all seemed clear; checked inlet pipe and water impellor pump on engine but also clear. So restarted and nursed engine along at low /medium revs and all went ok although it left us concerned about the rest of the journey if we didn’t have enough wind to sail. I’ts about 240M to Corinth and for most of the journey there are no good service facilities. Fortunately the overheating problem didn’t recur – perhaps because we didn’t push the engine too hard or perhaps because whatever had blocked the inlet had been flushed through or dropped away. I do wonder whether with sitting in the marina for a month there is a build up of crustaceans in the inlets but with some use the inlet gets cleared a bit. Anyway we had a fantastic trip with lots of great sailing (top speed over 10 knots in over 30 knots of winds and another lovely day in 10 to 12 knots when we had a great sail with the gennaker set). In addition I had an easy time with Michelle and Claire doing most of the work! We visited Paxos (met Rick from Blue Planet again and had a nice dinner with him and his clients), went through Levkas canal to Meganisi, anchored off Messalongi, moored up again in lovely Trezonia and then in Corinth (just – as harbour very small and nearly full; managed to get onto the quay for the inner small boat harbour but with only 0.3m under our keel and the depth alarm going off continuously and loudly as we came alongside!). Great surprise to be met by Paul and Jackie from Dignity (Rally Portugal) – the Med cruising world is small! Helen also was there waiting.

21 Aug - Arrived back on boat after flight from Geneva via Rome (0400 start – why do we take these early flights?!). Great relief to find everything OK on boat – always some concern with leaving it for a few weeks but couple on next boat had kindly emailed to let me know all seemed fine when they returned to the marina about a week before me. Also found a few boats we knew had come into the marina – Riviera Magic (Brad and Diane) and Blue Chip (Jeremy and Swee) who we knew from Rally Portugal and Festina Lente (Nick, Julia and David) whom we’d met in Lagos where we stayed after the Rally and Nick arrived after a round the world trip. Had several lovely evenings catching up with them and discussing boat issues, future plans, etc. Also got a few jobs done on the boat including a new gps antenna (chartplotter was having great difficulty getting a signal) and a new gearbox dipstick (the old one broke off (it’s plastic) when I checked the oil level – of course at the level of the gearbox casing so I couldn’t get any grip on it to get it out. Fortunately the mechanic in the local engine shop gave me a smart tip – to heat a screw driver so it will melt a slot in the “plug” and then when that’s cooled down just insert the screwdriver again in the new slot and unscrew! Worked a dream. Amazing what one learns. Also fortunately they managed to get a new dipstick by courier from Athens the next day – great service and not expensive. Only major issue on returning to the boat was that the deck caulking, which was already deteriorating badly, has now almost completed melted or dried up and is coming out daily leaving an awful mess. Anyway that’s why we’re going to Yatlift Yard in Bodrum so there is no doubt now that this does need to be fully replaced.

Fresh Fish from a Corfu Farm

Back at our favourite taverna, Agni Bay

Preveza, an old Venetian Harbour

Entrance to Gaios - high risk of crossed anchor lines

Dinner in Gaios on Paxos

Fish for 2 girls and the swing bridge that ensures Levkas remains an island

The very ornate church of Levkas

Spartahori Alma in pole position overlooking Scorpios, the Onassis Island

A day of luxury for the crew

Approaching Fiscado with crew on foredeck

Breakfast in Sami where Nicholas Cage ate when filming Captain Corelli's Mandolin

10th to 20th JULY – we left Sami on Kefalonia and headed north towards Corfu visiting Ithica, Kefalonia again (Fiskardo), Messalongi, Levkas, Vonitsa and Preveza on the way. Lovely trip – the scenery in this area is great – a bit like the west highlands coast of Scotland although of course a little warmer and sunnier. We had a few days in Corfu to tidy up the boat and get some repairs/jobs done (did an oil change, upgraded a circuit breaker and had an engineer investigate gps gremlins) and then we flew home to Malta (via Rome and a super visit to the Borghese Gallery to see two of Carravagio’s best paintings and some exceptional Bernini sculptures). Now at home and amazing to think the first part of our sailing season is already over. Now we’ll take a break from sailing until the end of August when we’ll set off from Corfu to cross the Aegean making for Bodrum for the winter. We hope we’ll catch up with many friends over the next 5 weeks as we visit the UK and France. Will update our blog on the Aegean trip in September. Best wishes Helen and Iain

Stilt Houses Mesalongi

The Rhion Bridge

Entrance to Lepanto's Medieval Harbour

Trezonia

3RD TO 9TH JULY – We left Itea and began our journey westward through the Gulf of Corinth and the Gulf of Patras to Kefalonia to meet our friends Roy and Jackie. This was a lovely sailing area although there aren’t many ports en route. We stopped at the small island of Trezonia for a night and wish we could have stayed longer – its so quiet and beautiful. Only downside is the harbour/marina has no water or electricity services as it appears to be abandoned and so is full of long term live aboards or local boats enjoying free moorings! On the next leg we passed under the huge Rion bridge joining the north of Greece with the Peloponnese. We suspect a lot of EU money went into this bridge and when we passed we saw about 2 cars and one lorry crossing – and they still run the ferries! From our travels around Greece we think we now know where at least some of the money has gone – roads, bridges and (abandoned) marinas!

Lynn and Simon left us here to return to the UK via Athens and we will continue westwards through the gulfs of Corinth and Patras to Kefalonia where friends Roy and Jackie will be joining us. Hope you're all well. best wishes Helen and Iain

the charioteer

the navel - the centre of the world

Delphi the stadium temple of apollo and athenian treasury

Crossing the gulf to go to Itea (nearest port for Delphi) we had a storming sail. It started as a nice light breeze but it built fairly quickly then quite suddenly was over 20 knots and we put in a couple of reefs which was just as well as soon the wind was around 28 to 32 knots! Happy to report the new main keeps a much better shape than the old sail and the boat was very comfortable - and going like a train (well up to 9.5 knots which is quite fast for us) with such strong winds and a reasonably flat sea. We all really enjoyed the sail but equally I think we were all glad to get into itea and safely berthed alongside the quay. (Unfortunately the only berths were on the leeward side so we were pinned hard against the concrete quay for a couple of days while we were in Itea and our fenders are now a bit squashed!). Itea was a friendly relaxed place and convenient for Delphi which I could take pages to tell you about but its all on the web so I'll just say this is a very special site which gives a great impression of the classical world. If you're in this region (it's only 2 1/2 hours from Athens) I'd encourage you to go and see it. Simply wonderful.

A marina for Alma

We stopped at Kiato for the night and there's not much to say about kiato but to indicate what we thought of the place I can say that we had dinner on board rather than leave the boat unattended. We left early next morning.

going, going, gone - thank goodness

Boys relaxing while girls work

Corinth Canal

We spent Friday night at anchor then on Saturday went through the Corinth Canal - what an experience. Very unusual system where the road bridges sink down 6m below the surface of the water to allow boats to sail through! We had to wait for 2 other boats to arrive before we were allowed through. Unfortunately they were both large motor yachts which went at top speed and the canal office kept radioing us to tell us to speed up and not fall behind the others but we were already at close to top speed (under engine of course) and I don't like to push the engine at absolutely full revs. So we fell behind a bit and then the office was on the radio again telling us i thought to increase speed - when I acknowledged message it transpired the office now wanted us to decrease speed!! (either his english, the radio transmission or my hearing wasn't clear). They'd decided to take the opportunity of the gap between us and the two boats ahead to raise the road bridge and allow traffic across before lowering again for us! So we slowed to minimum speed while still keeping steerage way (the canal is only 25m wide so not much room for manoeuvre!) and then the office was back on the radio saying "ALMA FULL SPEED FULL SPEED" and they started to lower the bridge again - although it wasn't clear that it would be fully lowered by the time we arrived if we went at full speed so we compromised on the speed and then just to cause a bit more concern we noticed the signal lights for boats were still red! Back on the radio to the office to query the red lights. "ALMA FULL SPEED, FULL SPEED" and just as we got to the bridge the lights changed to green, we went through (over) and out into the gulf of Corinth with great relief. Quite a lot of stress but great experience.

and the goddess

more old relics

On Thursday 28th Simon and Lynn arrived by ferry and the next day we started our history cruise with a visit to the wonderful temple of Aphaia (490bc) (curiously many of the statues found here are now in munich museum).

choosing dinner at the fish market, aigina