July – SY LouLouDitsi

Lingering in Lefkas

We came to meet Tim about the batteries. We arranged for the Cockpit Cushions to have their final fittings and have the covers made. We stayed til the weather passed. Then we stayed for Takis of CYS to look at the leaks. Then we heard that Tim was taken into hospital for an emergency appendectomy … Continue reading

Lefkas to Kalamos

We finally left Lefkas and are now anchored in a quiet bay on the E end of Kalamos island, Ak Aspro Yiali. On a flotilla in 2007 with our neighbours Chris & Alan onboard, we had some lunch stops here and called it Pirate’s Bay – the result of seeing an unusual looking yacht anchored … Continue reading

Dolphins!!!

We enjoyed a lovely few days anchored off Kalamos, swimming and watching boats come and go. Many come here only as a lunch stop, leaving only 3 or 4 of us here overnight. One lunchtime the cry went round the anchorage Dolphins!!! Over there! Sure enough, a pod of at least 5 stopped for a … Continue reading

Houston, we have a problem

I’ll start by saying we’re fine and LouLouDitsi is safely moored on the IBA pontoon in Nidri. But we had a bit of a scare . . . We’d enjoyed our few days at anchor and I was about to call Alex at Karnayio in little Vathi on Meganissi to see if we could book … Continue reading

Stern gland & the Hokey Cokey

The leak from the stern gland is now much reduced. Yiannis from IBA looked at it last Friday and greased it – there’s a suspicion that it wasn’t greased when it was fitted in the spring. He mopped all the water out from the groove under the stern tube and also from a well below … Continue reading

Stainless Steel Phil

You may remember that my desire for ice in ouzo and G&T led to expensive new batteries, electrical work in Lefkas and a recognition that we need more power, in the form of solar panels. If you missed all this, or want a reminder, it’s here Where and how do we fit extra panels? The … Continue reading

Swell for Shopping

It’s time to head north to Corfu for our flight back to UK on Friday 27th. With an unusual spell of southerlies, the most sheltered stop would be Paxos, but I need new bikinis and Flora’s in Parga is the best place for those. The forecast is only for light winds, surely it won’t be … Continue reading

A Cracking Sail to Platarias (shame about the mooring!)

Short of sleep after a night rolling in a SW swell in Valtos, we up anchor at midday and head up the mainland coast to Platarias. We’re on a broad reach under Genny making 5 knots. By 1420 we’re making 5.7 knots, still downwind. Normally the prevailing north westerlies would make much of this trip … Continue reading

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