On the 7th of May it was finally time to cast off the lines and properly start the new cruising season. With the boat fully provisioned, decks cleaned and a hunger for new adventures we cast off the lines to make the noon bridge opening. To get from Preveza into the central Ionian Sea you have to go through a channel that connects Lefkada to the main land via a bridge. In fact, the “bridge” is an old roll-on-roll-off ferry which cars drive over, which is then driven out of the way to let boats pass. It’s opening infrequently at the moment so it’s chaos with so many boats trying to get through while the locals impatiently wait in their cars to get on with life.
We made our way down to Vlyho to hide from some incoming weather and to meet with friends who also anchored there. It's always great to come into a bay and spot friendly boats. We used the opportunity to catch up and have dinner at Elena’s; a taverna on the east side of the bay and a staple in sailing circles.
One of the things that makes sailing life distinctly different from land life is our dependence on the weather. While you might think of the weather as far as "Oh, it's raining outside” when living on land, on a boat the weather dictates where you go when and everything in between. The weather is still surprisingly unsettled and cold this year, and so we used the few days where we were hunkered down in Vliho to do some workouts, go for a few runs and hang out with our friends.
After 3 days, we used the favourable afternoon winds to sail down to Vathyon Ithaka. The first sail of the season is always special as we haven't quite found our rhythm yet, and there always seem to be a few reefing lines that need re-routing. This inaugural sail to Vathy did not disappoint, as the wind piped up to the point where we had to stick in a reef. It was a fun sail and definitely blew away the cob webs, figuratively and literally!
We arrived to a windy anchorage in Vathy and settled in to what would become a bouncy night. Even though Vathy is a large protected bay, a NW wind builds up quite a chop that slaps the hull of the boat and makes sleeping tricky. But who needs sleep anyway when you're living on a sailboat, right? The wind calmed down the next morning, and we used the opportunity to reset the anchor using our newly figured-out windlass clutch.
Vathy is usually plastered with boats, but not this time so it was great to have some space and we used the time to explore the bay. We got talking to a german couple who were exploring the island via camper van and bicycle - not a bad way! Something to consider if we're ever getting bored of boat life.
After a few days in Vathy we had some more weather coming in, so we decided to head back to Vliho for a few days. The sail back to Vliho was what I would call dream sailing - flat seas, 15 knots and we were just flying along. Back in Vliho we spent some more time with our friends before heading up north.
There were some southerly winds on the forecast, something that doesn’t happen very often in the Ionian Sea. The prevailing winds are from the north west, making sailing from Preveza up to Corfu a bit of a slog. We had southerlies on the forecast, followed by a big system that would bring a 180 degree wind shift from south to north within a few hours. These wind shifts are tricky for sailors, as anchorages are usually protected from one side, but not from the other. Luckily we found this little place called Iggy Creek, which is one of those rare anchorages that is protected from all sides.
So after a quiet night in Ligia (and the most amazing pizza) we took the early bridge up north and went off on our 50 miles trip to Iggy Creek. The sail started with rough seas and no wind. To add insult to injury it was cold, rainy and there was a water spout just off our starboard bow. Not the most promising way to start a passage! We were tempted to abort and run for cover in Preveza, but luckily decided to press on northwards. The sea was up and on the nose, but a land breeze allowed us to get the sails up and continue up north. The further north we went, the smoother the sea became. At some point the sea breeze was replaced by the forecasted south-westerly winds, which meant happy sailing for us. At some point the wind died down and we had to motor the last few hours into Iggy Creek. After battling the elements for 12 hours it felt great to finally drop the hook in this remote and protected anchorage and celebrate this successful passage with our first anchor beer of the season!