GREEK ISLANDS.

One thing to add about Rion bridge is that conditions can change in this area in literally a heart beat. One moment you can find yourself in totally calm weather, the next moment it can be 6 to 8 Bft.
When we came up here in June (coming from the channel) it was all calm until we made the turn to Rion. We could see the bridge, had reported 5 nm out and all of a sudden somebody switched on the ventilator. When that happens you know the short, but high, waves are about to follow and there is no fun pouncing in those waves for hours and hours.
Tried to continue for about 15 min, then heard from the bridge operator that west of the bridge it would be even worse, so we took the decision, no Messolonghi, but instead would get into the fort of Nafpaktos for the night. Quite a few boats were anchored out in front of Nafpaktos, but since the weather was quickly turning sour we decided to back up into the fort. Dropped the anchor outside the fort and reversed back in. It was already dark so we did not expect anyone else to give it a try to get into the fort and indeed that did not happen (so no crossed anchor chains). We tied up to a spot in the middle of the fort. Unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs, so not really nice weather to go explore, but we decided we will be back when the weather is a bit nicer.
Next day we passed under the bridge, still 7 Bft, but now on the stern, so a lot more comfortable. Saw a lot of sailing vessels trying to go opposite direction, but almost all of them gave up and went searching for shelter.
The bay of Patras and the gulf of Corinth are know to lots of wind, the wind mills on the hills are a bit of a give away, they don't put them there for no reason.

Here we are last June in Nafpaktos in NICE weather. Probably the same pier you were backed into, Mambo42.

That is indeed exactly the same spot, there was some sort of a container standing there, making mooring slightly difficult. It was low tide, so it became a bit of gymnastics to get the lines ashore.
But inside the fort gave you this sense of protection that ships in the past must have felt as well.
Saw a drone video of Nafpaktos and now we really want to see the town in good weather.

Given the conditions, it's amazing that harbor wasn't completely full when you arrived!

Continuing on our delivery trip, we had a bad weather forecast and as we'd made good time it was decided to layup for a day and let the bad weather pass and hire a coach to take all the flotilla crews to see the ruins at Delphi.
I'm not even going to pretend that I know ancient Greek history because I don't, so I'm simply going to post some photos and kindly ask you to go online and do a Google search for the Delphi ruins.
We had an enjoyable scenic coach ride around the beautiful coast and although it was crowded at the ruins we spent a very pleasant, interesting and educational day. A nice change from sailing everyday and to look at the Greek countryside.
Judge for yourself from the photos. Enjoy.

ScottC said:

Given the conditions, it's amazing that harbor wasn't completely full when you arrived!

Click to expand...

During the day the weather had been good, winds had been light. That was probably why everyone was anchored outside the fort.
But near sunset it all of a sudden it changed. Wind came up quickly and it started to rain. By the time we reached Nafpaktos it was dark and my guess is that the anchored boats did not want to try to enter the fort at night at low tide. The west side of the entrance gets real shallow, so there is a very narrow channel to enter the fort. With a strong wind blowing west to east it makes it a challenge if you don't have a bow thruster or bow and stern thruster. We have both, so for us entering was not that complicated.
But for us it was good nobody tried to get in, we would have crossed anchor chains for sure, meaning we would have to wait until the other boats would have left and we wanted to leave early. So worked out fine this way.

Rounding the bottom of mainland Greece was the beginning of change, we arrived at Agios Kosmos which was once the 2004 Greek olympic sailing competitions harbour. Now it's been extended and is full of millionaires motor cruisers, before arriving it's necessary to call in by VHF and on arrival you'll be escorted to your allocated mooring by the boatman. As its a large port there are several offices for ships brokers and excellent shipyard facilities for the millionaires boats. Its was quite a walk from our moorings passing all these expensive boats, to see some beautiful boats which obviously not been used for at least 12 months and it was a pity and gave a sad atmosphere.
We had our flotilla briefing on the restaurant terrace and after a couple of beers we decided to treat ourselves and have a meal in the 'Gourmet Greek Restaurant'. I was looking forward to a nice meal with the admiral in nice plus comfortable suroundings, when we entered it was empty with 4 waiters plus a barman hovering around I thought we were on a winner.
While we chose from the menu we had an aperitif and my tastebuds were looking forward to the honey roasted pork main course. 3 small discs of pork arrived with half a greenhouse to fill the plate, of course it was ''drizzled with our chefs own mouthwatering sauce''.
There were only 6 people in the place and the service was deathly slow, even by Greek standards and very overpriced.
I'm not a fan of overpriced food with fancy names. I'd rather eat the top of the menu in a medium restaurant, than the bottom of the menu in a high falutin place.
We went back to the boat and the admiral cooked us a meal.
As we were leaving we could see what was once the olympic officials terraced housing and the competitors accomodation now stripped and abandoned.
I vowed I would never set foot in the place again, it the only disappointment so far in our two weeks of cruising.

We saw that building and were wondering why it was unfinished. Thought it had to do something with building permissions etc (common in Greece), but now I understand it was finished and then abandoned. What a shame, but happens to many former Olympic games buildings.

Seeing all those boats unused is indeed a sad sight. I was told that many of the boats in the marinas in Greece only go out for perhaps 2 weeks a year and sometimes not even that. Makes you wonder why people want to own a boat ? Is it just bragging rights ? Or are they afraid to take the boat out to sea ?
For many of them chartering would be the best option, at least they know the cost per year and the boats actually do get used.
Great story again and am happy you fill in the gaps for us. We are a bit too lazy to dive deeper in all the things we see along the way. We did not stop at this place, we spent the night at Fleves Beach, Fleves island. Not a wise decision though, that bay is home to about a 1000 sea gulls that for one make noise and for two used our boat for dive poop, strafing poop and level poop delivery practice.

Mambo. I think you'll find that many Greeks prefer to deal in cash and when they invest it they keep their posessions quiet from the taxman, boats are a movable asset and Turkey is close by and out of the EU..
Because we're on a delivery trip we're doing this journey very quickly compared to our normal routine. Which is up early, off around half past 7, sneak out of port, then cruise until around mid-day, moor up and have a lazy lunch ashore, then back to the boat for a siesta (and if you're lucky a fiesta ! ).
One of the reasons is that if we find somwhere we like, we stay for a few days and look around to learn bits of history and make friends with the natives, many mistake our flag for an Italian one and it takes a little discretion to correct them, then we usually get invited for a coffee. A wee tip NEVER ask for a Turkish coffee in Greece, its an insult and you could end up wearing it :-( Ask for Greek coffee and make friends .
If we have to undertake a journey to get from A to B we do it without any bother but I also have to think of the admiral because not every lady wishes to cruise all day every day, it's why I'm still happily married !
Back to the story, we left the old olympic marina and just as we left the weather turned foul, head on wind and short choppy seas which for 6 hours skippering was ruddy cold, wet and very bumpy with the little 32' plunging into the head seas. Some of the others in the flotilla tried tacking with a steadying sail and they didn't fare so well with a couple having a close shave. We just read the wave patterns and chose the most comfortable course to Evia our next port.
Two things cheered me up on what was a miserable day, the admiral god bless her went down into the galley and appeared with a piping hot bacon sandwich and a mug of hot tea and boys a boy was it welcome.
The other thing was that as we were approaching Evia the winds eased and over to our left on the mainland they were having an airshow and the display teams came out over the water to reform. They weren't as good as the British 'Red Arrows' team but they still gave us an entertaining hour or so to lift our spirits.

You soon discover when you move around the Greek islands that you hardly ever see a policeman. Traffic cops ? Nope.
Here's a few photos that would make traffic cops have an apoplectic fit.
They are still used everyday and nobody bats an eyelid.

One of the things that strikes you in Greece is that the old quarters are painted blue and white. People just accept it but I was curious as to know why.
In the 1930's there was a cholera epidemic in Greece and not only does white reflect the heat but the white colour is limestone (easily obtained) powder mixed with water and is a potent disinfectant which helped to limit the spread of the disease.
In poor regions economy is very important, when the Greeks discovered that if you mixed 'Loulaki' ( a blue powder cleaning agent' with limestone it created a light blue mixture which the Greeks could apply to their roofs.
The miltary junta in Greece decreed that all houses be painted this way to encourage patriotism, this decree was dropped in 1974 but people continued to paint their houses in the traditional way as it was found to be attractive to tourists.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the lack of electric in most ports, looking at the photo of the junction box you can see why.

In my previous post there is a photo of an electrical distribution box and I said previously that we rarely had shorepower for my aging laptop, you can get around this problem by buying a cig lighter laptop charger to suit your model of laptop from Amazon. It's a bit late now, but I have one now for any future journeys.
To give Greece credit, everywhere we went we had a very good internet signal.
Leaving the old Olympic marina behind we had a very unpleasant days cruise and we were glad to be able to pull into Limni marina on the island of Evia for the night and a quick run ashore to refuel with a hot meal and a few cold beers restored our spirits once more.
Sod's law kicked in of course, we spent a pleasant night with no wind at all !
The following day we left as usual around mid-day and continued up the channel between mainland Greece and the island of Evia passing under a high road bridge until we arrived at Evripos, there the bridge is quite unique as it parts in the middle and each half retracts under the roadway, a very clever piece of engineering.
The only downside is that it only opens at midnight ! So our flotilla pulled over into the bay and anchored up around 5pm until 11:30 when we started to get ready.
Of course there's the usual melee where some other boat came charging up from behind to jump the queue but 2 very large freighter came up the channel and a blast of their horns was enough to rattle their teeth, the milling boats got the message and pulled over to one side while the big boys slipped through.
Our flotilla formed up in line with the intention of tying along the quayside on the far side of the bridge once we'd passed through. A fairly fresh wind came up and it bacame uncomfortable so it was decided to move 10 miles further into a sheltered harbour for the rest of the night. Sods law struck again, one of the boats nav lights wouldn't work so they asked us to chaperone him, thankfully all went well and once tied up at 3 am we needed no rocking to sleep.
Photos. Evripos bridge. Approaching the bridge for a recce in daylight. Having passed through the now closed bridge we tied up to the wall before having to move on a further 10 miles to a sheltered harbour, you can see the closed bridge as a row of level white lights in the distance, forward and slightly stbd side of the bow.

Irish Rambler said:

You soon discover when you move around the Greek islands that you hardly ever see a policeman. Traffic cops ? Nope.
Here's a few photos that would make traffic cops have an apoplectic fit.
They are still used everyday and nobody bats an eyelid.

Click to expand...

And you will see these kind of cars absolutely everywhere. Some islands don't have a technical check, cars are expected to go on a ferry to a bigger island, get a technical check there and then go back to their own island. Needless to say that the majority will not do that, so none of these cars have a technical check. Local police won't do anything either, since everybody knows everybody and life would become impossible for that police man.
But seeing these cars, realizing that many people have no money to buy a new car, you also immediately realize that the idea of changing to electric cars only is never going to work in Greece (nor in Croatia). Problem is that the richer EU countries, where there are lots of idealists, refuse to admit this fact.

Because of weather and a well run programme we found that we were 3 days in advance of our final port and although there were strong winds it was decided to go to the little port of Amaliopoli. There we found an excellent taverna run by a man and his wife, unlike any other taverna's this couple had converted their downstairs rooms so they could entertain guests in a friendly family atmosphere even if the weather was inclement.
Being a small 'country' taverna the food was local and moutwatering delicious, the owner himself was nearly running to make everyone was comfortable, well watered and fed. After the meal his wife and her helper came to the kitchen door and received a spontaneous round of applause and they went as red as a beetroot with pleasure.
Probably one of the best meals on our holiday in the nicest of surroundings. see the photos and judge for yourself.
One of the things I really like about Sailing Holidays is that its a family run company and they've been operating in the Greek islands since the early 70's and as such they know the locals well and they're careful to spread their business and choose little known ports with small family businesses where their custom is very much appreciated and it also gives support to those small communities.
The following morning after our delicious meal we went for a dander along the quay and stopped for a coffee and sticky bun (we always start diets next Monday We were asked politely where we were from and began chatting to some locals, when it was time to leave we politely excused ourselves to go and pay our bill. When we offered to pay, the proprieter thanked us for coming to their small town and told us it was a gift from the people and they looked forward to seeing us again in the future.
Where else would you get such kindness ?

As you know the Greek people are very religious and everywhere you go you see small beautifully maintained shrines. Here are a selection of photos, I think you'll agree they are beautiful.

We were given 24 hours 'free sailing' and as we left the shelter of the Amaliopoli lagoon and headed back to the main waterway we had some very strong head winds and heavy ses. Some of the 'roughy toughy' sailors decided to go to Volos, some got chicken hearted and headed into Trikieri. We thought 'to hell with this game' we don't need to be blattered about just for the sake of it so we detoured constantly tacking for the best possible ride to our destination port of Orei and it was tricky enought getting moored stern to in such heavy winds.
Here the boats would be cleaned and made ready for the next lot of flotilla holidays. Arriving a day early meant we could have a nice siesta after getting tossed around, then clean the boat at a more leisurely pace whilst in the evening we could explore the small port of Orei
One of the fish meals which are popular here are anchovies which some call whitebait. I ordered a starter of these and a different main course but between the young ladies English and my poor Greek I ended up with a starter and larger main course of the same ! I did enjoy it but didn't eat fish for a week after ! By the way, if you order fish in Greece be very aware that the price is for 100 grammes which is 3 and a half ounces.
There is a legend of the Orei bull which we checked out and also visited the beautifully decorated Greek Orthodox church.
As they say in Ireland, the poorer the people the taller the steeple.

Some more photos from Orei port in greece.

The night before we left, we had our last briefing in a taverna and we were all presented with individual photos of each crew on their boat by our 'hostie' Aoifie (Irish name) pronounounce Afie. As nobody seemed to be motivated I went around all the flotilla crews and asked for 25 euros a head to give to the crew as a 'thank you' for all their hard work during the 3 weeks of cruising. Most gave, but two of the snooty terribly well spoken ' I say old chap, what ho !' English crews just turned their heads, needless to say nobobody spoke to them afterwards, tight assed fundamental orifii.
After an early start at 7 we gave all our extra food and booze to the lead crew and boarded our coach for the ferry to the mainland, then on to Athens airport for the flight back to the UK.
p.s Even the flight back was on 'Greek time' we boarded and after taxiing to a holding pattern we had to wait for 30 minutes, a fitting finale !

Some notes and on the company we sailed with.
The company is called Sailing Holidays ltd and was founded by, and is still run 'hands on' by Barry and Heidi.
They started with 7 boats and now through popularity have a fleet of 185. They've achieved this by their friendly approach and the holidays they offer include everything you need for your holiday, navigation tools, pilotage books, vhf, all utensils for cooking and eating, bed linen. All port costs and diesel are included with a 'lead boat' to guide you and take care of all your needs. There are NO extra charges. If you wish to hire a scooter or go on a bus excursion, that of course is down to you.
By visiting the small ports on the islands and giving them much needed business their customers are welcomed everywhere, if they organise a group meal in a port they rotate the taverna's they use to spread the benefits.
They arrange direct flights from several UK airports and all transfer to and from the boats is all part of the service.
You can check out their website at www.sailingholidays.com
p,s I DO NOT receive any comission or benefits in kind, I'm just a happy customer.
If you are ex military and curious about the Greek Islands during WW2 then download the film 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare'.
For us this part of the journeys over, we'll stay in a hotel in Newhaven for a few day R&R , buy a new Asus Zenbook laptop before catching the ferry back to France and to our own boat moored on the canal de la Robine in the South of France.
Whenever we come to the UK from France we always bring our 12v coolbox to stock up on good beef, bacon and honey roast ham. French food is very good but they don't sell bacon and Im partial to unsmoked thick cut back bacon, the French cuts of beef are 'different' and not within a beagles gowl of Irish beef,
Thank you for coming along with us and showing interest in our journey, if you have any questions or queries please don't hesitate to ask, if I don't know, I'll find out.
Fair winds and safe harbours.

Thank you for sharing this interesting story, Irish Rambler!

After a couple of years of cruising on our own boat in Greece and Croatia, we have developed some opinions about the charter industry:
- We think we would find it difficult to enjoy a flotilla experience. We want to be the ones to determine where and when to go! We don't like early departures and We don't like arriving at a port in the evening and having to depart the next morning, without having any time to actually see much of the destination!
- We've spent the last couple of years as private boaters honing our skills on how to avoid charter flotillas. Working around them, when possible, helps enhance one's chances at getting that desired spot in a marina or at an anchorage or a table at that desired restaurant in a port.
- After being hit and damaged a few times by inexperienced charter boaters arriving at a marina, we now try to make a point of being on board in the late afternoon/evening to assist (read: fend-off) boats coming in. Once we have neighbors on both sides, we heave a sigh of relief and venture ashore again.
- For the most part, "charter changeover day" is Saturday. For this reason, there are many marinas that simply will not accept transient bookings from people like us on weekends. For more than a few ports, we have had to juggle our itinerary significantly to make sure we did not arrive at these desired ports on weekends.
- If needing fuel in -- or near -- a charter base, we make sure we get the fuel BEFORE Friday/Saturday. The flotilla queue up at the fuel pump can be significant.
- Many marinas in Greece use solar power to heat their hot water for showers, which is great. But, this means you will want to have your shower before a flotilla arrives, if you expect to have any hot water left.
- We find it difficult to believe such inexperienced people are allowed to charter 15+ meter sailboats! We have witnessed so much damage caused by these boats as they dock and un-dock. They are very heavy and the typical default response of the person at the helm, amazingly, seems to be to add MORE power when in a sticky docking situation. It seems that 50%+ of the large charter sailboats we've witnessed struggling in marinas do NOT have bow thrusters. Astounding! We wonder if this is a strategy (see next bullet point)
- Thinking about the economics of this industry, after witnessing all the damage it entails, we find ourselves wondering if the REAL profit comes not from the rentals themselves, but with what I am sure are the enormous repair bills and withheld deposits.

Don't misunderstand -- we are not against chartering. We can see ourselves doing it someday - just not in a flotilla. As we get older, a captained charter will probably start to become more attractive ;-)

ScottC said:

Thank you for sharing this interesting story, Irish Rambler!

After a couple of years of cruising on our own boat in Greece and Croatia, we have developed some opinions about the charter industry:
- We think we would find it difficult to enjoy a flotilla experience. We want to be the ones to determine where and when to go! We don't like early departures and We don't like arriving at a port in the evening and having to depart the next morning, without having any time to actually see much of the destination!
- We've spent the last couple of years as private boaters honing our skills on how to avoid charter flotillas. Working around them, when possible, helps enhance one's chances at getting that desired spot in a marina or at an anchorage or a table at that desired restaurant in a port.
- After being hit and damaged a few times by inexperienced charter boaters arriving at a marina, we now try to make a point of being on board in the late afternoon/evening to assist (read: fend-off) boats coming in. Once we have neighbors on both sides, we heave a sigh of relief and venture ashore again.
- For the most part, "charter changeover day" is Saturday. For this reason, there are many marinas that simply will not accept transient bookings from people like us on weekends. For more than a few ports, we have had to juggle our itinerary significantly to make sure we did not arrive at these desired ports on weekends.
- If needing fuel in -- or near -- a charter base, we make sure we get the fuel BEFORE Friday/Saturday. The flotilla queue up at the fuel pump can be significant.
- Many marinas in Greece use solar power to heat their hot water for showers, which is great. But, this means you will want to have your shower before a flotilla arrives, if you expect to have any hot water left.
- We find it difficult to believe such inexperienced people are allowed to charter 15+ meter sailboats! We have witnessed so much damage caused by these boats as they dock and un-dock. They are very heavy and the typical default response of the person at the helm, amazingly, seems to be to add MORE power when in a sticky docking situation. It seems that 50%+ of the large charter sailboats we've witnessed struggling in marinas do NOT have bow thrusters. Astounding! We wonder if this is a strategy (see next bullet point)
- Thinking about the economics of this industry, after witnessing all the damage it entails, we find ourselves wondering if the REAL profit comes not from the rentals themselves, but with what I am sure are the enormous repair bills and withheld deposits.

Don't misunderstand -- we are not against chartering. We can see ourselves doing it someday - just not in a flotilla. As we get older, a captained charter will probably start to become more attractive ;-)

Click to expand...

We fully understand your comments but you are priviledged, not everyone can afford to have their own boat in Greece, Croatia.
Before being allowed on a Sailing Holidays boat you must present your qaulifications or you are not allowed to go on their flotilla holidays. Each sailing boat holidays flotilla has a lead crew who supervise all berthing under their instructions, if necessary they will put someone onboard to berth the vessel. We also on our own boat decide where and when and provided you are suitably qualified you can bare boat charter and please yourselves but we were on a delivery trip and understood that from the beginning. The trip we did was the only one avalable for us to experience the Levkas and Corinthian canals.
As to bow thrusters, many unqualified try to use them as steering instead of the wheel, unless they are hydraulic they a nightmare from a maintainance/battery/carbon dust aspect.
We always showered using the water from the calorifier.
I agree that 12 boats and their crews can seem to overwhelm a port, as the flotilla's have set routes you simply use another port before, or after, their passing.
Remember though that without the flotilla income many places would not have so many facilities for you to enjoy.

Are you interested in Greek history in and around the Greek islands during WW2 ?
If so I suggest you read a book by Damien Lewis called 'The Minister for Ungentlemanly Warfare'.
You can also watch the film version on www.123movies.com. The film covers the first part of their actions. The book covers the rest of their activities around some of the familiar the Greek islands we visited.
I hope you enjoy it.