2018 – Page 6 – SY LouLouDitsi

Screaming into Gouvia

After 2 lovely sheltered, sunny days in Platarias, we leave at 1020 for Gouvia Marina on Corfu. We try sailing briefly until the wind drops to 5kts. As we enter Gouvia it starts gusting 30kts! Yes, it always gusts here, but really? We radio in to be shown to our reserved berth. I’d emailed to … Continue reading

Stay safe, LouLouDitsi

We have a day and a half to make LouLouDitsi ready for her summer hibernation and to pack for our 4 weeks away. We hose her down, put the cover over the dinghy on the foredeck to protect against UV, and empty the fridge. We get out the ‘winter’ mooring lines. These have chain which … Continue reading

Not Fit for Passage

We arrived back late on Sunday 26 August to find LouLouDitsi safe and sound, if a little grubbier than we’d left her. We were due to leave Gouvia Marina on Tuesday, but I’ve come down with the horrendous cold that John had last week. On Tuesday I couldn’t face the walk up the pontoon for … Continue reading

Electronics: Mission Creep

When we bought LouLouDitsi there were 3 things we knew we wanted to add: a proper mattress; cockpit cushions; a GPS Chart Plotter at the helm. The first 2 were done. So, just the chart plotter then . . . Having sailed most of my life before chart plotters were around, I now wouldn’t choose … Continue reading

System Crash: No NMEA

We left Gouvia this morning with me still dosed up to the eyeballs, but functioning. Half way down the Corfu channel we lost all the electronics: “No NMEA” emblazoned on the screen. Power off and on again and everything was restored. Either the current NMEA0183 was protesting against being replaced or our decision was vindicated. … Continue reading

Now We Are 4!

After leaving Gouvia on Friday, we stopped for one night in Valtos (Parga) before continuing south to Preveza. Not our usual leisurely pace, you may think, but we had to be in Preveza by Sunday evening to meet our shipmates Mike & Debbie who were joining us for 10 days. We wanted their first impression … Continue reading

10 Days Holiday

With Mike & Debbie onboard we enjoyed a 10 day holiday. No maintenance (aside from routine engine checks,) no project planning, minimal domestic chores. We ate out most nights. A welcome rest. But aren’t we on holiday all the time? I hear you ask. Well, yes and no. We’re not working now, so every day’s … Continue reading

Laundry & Lethargy

So, are we bursting with energy after our holiday? Quite the opposite! We’ve had a lovely time – it feels a bit odd having the boat to ourselves again – but lethargy has set in. We’ve been dashing about far more than we’re used to; I didn’t have time to fully recover from the cold … Continue reading

Making Plans for Winter

We need to make some plans for work and maintenance over the winter, so where else would we go but Nidri, which seems to have become our base. We’re also hoping to meet up with Phil again to talk more about the design of our new gantry. We leave Preveza at 1230 after filling up … Continue reading

Medicane Zorba

As we moor up on the IBA pontoon on Tuesday 25 September, the wind charts for Greece are showing colours (wind strengths) we’ve never seen before. A cyclone is building to the SW of Greece, forecast to move up to the Agean. The wind rushing down to it is forecast to be NE 5 gusting … Continue reading