Sailing the Greek Ionian Islands (July 14-21, 2012)

After reading the article “Hideaways of the Gods”, we bareboat chartered a Beneteau 43 in Gouvia Marina on the island of Corfu.  These islands off of Greece’s west coast are more green with more rainfall than their Aegean counterparts.  We had the boat provisioned and waiting for us to take the helm.

Lakka Harbour on the island of Paxos is a typical anchorage.  We took the dinghy ashore and ate at one of the tavernas near the docks where my moussaka was actually baked inside a wood-flamed open oven and the Greek wine poured from a barrel near the door.

Melissa doing what she likes to do best - “anchoring” at beautiful One House Bay on the island of Atokos.  (Jackie Onassis’s beach cottage is only a few islands away to put you in prospective.)   I wonder if Jackie liked to anchor too?

This is what it looks like to be sailing into a typical Greek harbour that has a typical Greek hamlet poised on the shoreline- Gaios on the island of Paxos.

And of course, there is the hustle-bustle of dealing with life under sail in the Greek Isles.  Don’t pay full price for the T-shirts sold on the beach-understand?

Click on this picture to see it blown up full size!

LIGHTHOUSE LEFKAS - ΦΑΡΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ     Sailing southward about 60 nautical miles south of Paxos the lighthouse of Lefkas on Cape Ducato  welcomes you to an Ionian island  area packed with small harbors and anchorages ready to be explored.  This is what it is all about!

As my son says, “just chillin’” with my morning breakfast.  We provisioned the boat well, but not excessively because there was plenty of places to enjoy the food as well. 

Sailing by Emerald Bay or Voutoumi harbour on Antipaxos.  A word to the wise here-in-Greece all the islands and cities can have more than one name (sometimes in the Latin alphabet, sometimes in the diminutive, sometimes Italian or Turkish).  It’s easy to get confused as to where you are going.

Our sailboat is centered here off the island of Mongonisi in Ozia Bay or Ormos Oxia.  Onshore is only one taverna but that’s enough.  Melissa did the anchoring here-good job don’t you think?

This picture is for my friend Wes Thom of PWT Yacht Service.  It is called "bringing a line to shore" which is an anchoring technique used heavily here in the Med.  If you do this with your bow line, then your cockpit can serve as a wind scoop.  This method is not used much around south Texas primarily because there are NOT a lot of big rocks.