Ithaca to Zakinthos

Anchored at Skhoinos

On arrival in Vathi we were welcomed by a smiling local inviting us to berth on the end of the ferry berth as there was no room on the quay adjacent to the other yachts in that section. We backed in, dropping the anchor 3-4 boat lengths out, thanked him and passed him our shore lines. The fendering was large but not impossible to bridge with the onboard passareile (gangway) and we set about ordering a pair of beers from the waterfront café. Only then did we discover that the local forecast was for winds down the length of the harbour and we were beam on! The smiling face had been the water vendor and as this jetty was his last call of the day, he was determined that we berth there in order that he could sell us water.

Vathi

He wasted his time, we declined his offer and moved berth after our beer! Safely berthed, head to expected wind and on a more central section of the town quay, we set out on a stroll to discover what delights Vathi had to offer. It is a small but nonetheless pleasant town with a busy waterfront and several attractive looking restaurants. We chose a fish taverna, right on the waterfront, and ate very well. Best food so far! Taverna Kantouni, Tel: 0030 2674033405. I had been to Vathi once before on a family charter holiday but on that occasion the anchor had steadfastly refused to hold in the strong winds and we had passed the night cruising up and down the harbour resetting the anchor every hour or so! This time we were luckier and I had an efficient anchor!

The berth near the Coast Guard offices

Next morning dawned with the predicted wind blowing us directly onto the wall but with 50m of chain out in 5m of water we were not going anywhere despite the choppy waters of the harbour. After the mandatory visit to the Coast Guard, to pay our dues and fill in yet more forms, we were off on another tour of the town to visit the local museum and purchase some food essentials, bread, steaks for a BBQ etc. This done we came to the decision that the weather was improving and sailing south was the best bet, either to the anchorage to the south of Pighadi Island or to the inlet called Ay Andreas right on the southern tip of the island. In the event we did both. The anchorage at Pighadi looked so inviting that we decided to anchor and have an afternoon BBQ, a sort of late lunch. In intermittent but glorious sunshine we ferried the gear ashore, collected wood for the fire and duly lit it. That was the sign for the heavens to open and open they did. A torrential downpour started lasting over half an hour with a not unspectacular thunder and lightening show! By the time it finished we were drenched, the fire was all but out and the dinghy full of water! Every cloud has a silver lining though, at least it washed the last of the Brindisi grime off of the decks of Kurukulla! Fortunately we had squirrelled away some more wood under cover and, not to be defeated, we rekindled the fire and finished lunch. It tasted all the better for the delay! Thereafter we motored down the coast, in a still calm, to reach Ay Andreas an hour or so before sunset. One other boat, live-aboard Germans, had occupied the prime anchorage but we were able to anchor slightly further out without difficulty. This done a quick recce of the beach, a swim and shower, and then supper. Next morning, over breakfast, we were serenaded by the German frau playing the flute, and very good she was too (well to my ears anyway!). We were offered everything from the UK and Greek national anthems through Greensleeves to Jerusalem! A good way to start the day! After passing on our thanks, and a swim, it was off to a yet to be decided destination on the southern end of Cephalonia. Yet to be decided because we were on the wind and unsure how much progress we would make.

The harbour at Ag Nikolaous

Berthed next to Dimitri's powerboat

Four and a half hours later we had passed Poros and had more or less decided to bear away at Ak Mounda (the SE tip of Cefallonia) and reach across to Argostoli, arriving about sunset. The wind had other ideas! As we arrived at Ak Mounda the wind shifted by 100 degrees placing Argostoli upwind again and making the southern shore of Cephalonia untenable for anchoring as there are no sheltered spots on this coast in a SW wind. The nearest shelter was Ay Nikolaous in Zakynthos, thus it was that we missed out Cephalonia and headed straight to Zakinthos arriving at 1800. A very cheerful Dimitri took our lines, offered water and power (both declined) and proffered the card of his taverna. On our first stroll ashore we visited the taverna, enjoyed a small aperitivo and were informed it was on the house! We were trapped, after such generosity how could we eat elsewhere even if it was a public jetty. The food was OK, somewhat touristy, but there was also not a lot of choice in the small village hence we could have done worse.

Wreck Bay

Next morning we slipped our moorings at 1100 and headed for the most photographed beach in Greece, Wreck Bay, (what it was called before the wreck of the “Panagiotis”, in October 1980 I have no idea. She was originally the St Bedan and built in 1937 in Glasgow!). En route we were overtaken by Dimitri in his speedboat which was full of tourists!

From here it was southwards, goose-winged and doing 7 knots, to reach Keri for the night. Keri is in a bay at the western end of the famous turtle and lager lout breeding beech at Lagana and is the only area of the whole bay where anchoring is still permitted. A stroll ashore, another aperitivo and a small amount of shopping and we were back onboard for supper and a game of scrabble.

The following morning dawned stunningly bright and still. Breakfast, a swim, and then it was off to Zakinthos town with a stop for lunch and a swim in an anchorage on the way. This part of the coast of Zakinthos is either banned to boats wishing to anchor or a succession of heavily commercialised beaches. We found the only nearly civilised beach at the southern end of Porto Roma but even this rang to the sound of construction gangs working on a part completed taverna and had two hotels in the vicinity.

Cathedral of St Dhionisos

The view inside

Friday night we were safely berthed on Zakinthos town quay. The project to build a marina here seems to have been all but abandoned, the outer moles exist but nothing else. During our now habitual walking tour of the town we first visited the bus station to purchase tickets for Stephanos's impending departure (who builds a bus station out at the back of town, remote from all other transport links?) and then headed for the Cathedral of St Dhionisos. This was built to replace an earlier cathedral destroyed by an earthquake in the late 19^th century.

View from the fortress

Final drink before departure

View down on our berth below

For this reason it was built to survive earthquakes and it did so, in 1953, 2 years after completion when the rest of the town was destroyed! This being Stephanos's last night aboard we set of to find a good restaurant for supper and succeeded in finding the “Thymalos Fish Taverna” Tel: 0030 2695026732, right on the waterfront, where we enjoyed the best meal of the trip so far. This morning we decided to climb the escarpment behind Zakinthos town and tour the fortress, well worth the daunting climb but not for the faint hearted. All this before Stefanos caught the 1400 bus departure to initiate his bus-ferry-bus-ferry journey back to Corfu. I plan to stay here another day at least and catch up on some maintenance, not least of which is curing a leak on the dinghy! After that it is the first single handed passage of the season round the Peloponnese. A quiet week or so on my own before Simon, my nephew, arrives via Athens and Spetses on 1 June.