One of the suggestions we had received from
our fellow Helia owners was to open up the engines and rev them hard for about
10 minutes every month or so. We had in
fact never done this, so decided to try it on our way to the Levkas Canal – the
water was smooth and there was not much wind and we got both engines up to 2700
rpm for about 10 minutes and made a top speed of over 8 knots! Fun while it lasted but you wouldn’t want to
do it for long.
We arrived at the start of the canal, first
built in the 7th century BC and gradually rebuilt several times by
the Romans, Byzantines and most recently by the Greeks with a little help from
the British. It is not very wide and only
6m deep at the deepest points so not made for large boats. At Levkas Town there
is a floating bridge which swings open on the hour (more or less, depending on
the bridge operator; we heard one frantic skipper call on VHF 16 at 11:20am to
open the bridge as he had an appointment on the other side!) and the boats file
through – first the southbound boats, followed by the northbound boats. There are a couple of large barges along the
quay on the northern side which makes for an exciting zig-zagging through a
rather narrow channel. We were lucky
that the wind was not blowing too strongly at the time we entered as it was a
pretty tight squeeze for Bisou!
Out the other side and we were in open
water for the first time in a week. The
wind was blowing sufficiently to put up the genoa but as it was only a short
distance to get to Preveza we decided to be lazy and not put up the
mainsail. We still managed to get close
to 6 knots just with the genoa and one engine practically idling.
The approach to the Preveza channel is
interesting – the markers begin quite far out as there are shoals in the area,
but the markers have obviously not been maintained. They badly needed painting and one wonders
whether the lights work at night? Still,
together with Ray (our chart plotter) and visually sighting the markers, we
made our way into the channel with 25 knot winds howling behind us.
We motored towards Preveza taking a look at
the town quay as we went past and anchored just north of the town in an area
with other yachts. Once we got Bisou
settled down and locked up (you never know how secure an anchorage is from a
theft perspective) we took the dinghy ashore to explore Preveza.
For a Saturday afternoon, this sleepy
town/village seemed to have very little going on – very few people around, most
of the shops closed and just the restaurants and tavernas looking somewhat
alive. We did locate a very well-stocked
supermarket just behind the quay and bought a few items to pad out our
supplies, including a delicious watermelon.
On the way back to the boat, we stopped for
a ‘gyro’ (Greek ‘sharwarma’ or ‘donner kebab’ – very yummy, filling and cheap)
and the inevitable ice cream. These late
snack-lunches fill us up so well we often feel no need for dinner, except for a
shake or some fruit.
Happily both our dinghy and Bisou were
exactly where and how we left them; we also discovered, to our delight, that we
had television reception and that the BBC World Service was one of the stations
we could connect with. Not having seen a
newspaper for several days it was a treat to be able to munch on some juicy
watermelon and watch the news before retiring that night.
The next morning we made our way by dinghy
across the bay to Cleopatra Marina – the Preveza area is host to three marinas
all lined up in a row, and on the opposite side of the bay to Preveza, but
right beside Aktion airport. The reason
for the visit to Cleopatra was to have a look around at their facilities and
make a decision as to whether it was a suitable place to leave Bisou for the
winter. Because of her width there are
not many places that have a travelift/crane/tractor that is large enough to
haul a catamaran of Bisou’s size, but some friends had left their Helia 44 here
last winter and were please with the services. Robin had obtained a quote from
them which seemed very reasonable, particularly when compared with quotes from
Turkish marinas, and so we thought we would check it out. Being a Sunday, not much was open but we had
a good chat with the girl at the front office and walked around the marina. The
storage area was huge and Tad was very impressed with the equipment being used
to haul boats. We decided to come back
later in the week to finalise a contract and speak with the people who would be
involved in us leaving the boat over winter (not there on a Sunday).
Surveying the chart of the Gulf of
Amvrakia, and encouraged by fellow sailors’ accounts of the area we decided to
spend the next few days exploring this vast inland sea. Off we set, hoisted the sails and planned a
course that would take us in the direction of Vonitsa.
For the second time this season, we sailed
solidly just for fun – yes, we were headed in a particular direction, but with
no fixed schedule we could take our time getting there. As it happens (and as it does every afternoon
in this part of the Mediterranean) the wind blows up starting about noon. By 15:00pm the wind is usually blowing 20-25
knots from the West or Northwest, peaking by 17:00pm. By 18:30pm it starts to drop off finally slowing
right down by sunset (about 21:00pm at the moment). So we took advantage and sailed almost right
into the secluded bay that we would anchor in for the night. Fortunately many
of the anchorages are surrounded by hills which help to dampen the wind somewhat
and with no swell we are usually quite comfortable.
That night, with only two other boats on
the other side of the bay, we had a quiet evening with lots of stars. The water in the Gulf is not that beautiful
aqua blue that we had with the sandy bottom earlier in the week, but it’s
warmer and still very swimmable.
Monday morning we motored past Vonitsa and
anchored in a large bay to the east of an island joined to the mainland by a
causeway and bridge. Once we had Bisou
anchored, we took the dinghy into town to explore. There is a large 17th century Venetian
castle/fortress that overlooks the town and we climbed up the beautifully laid
path (polished limestone pavers) to the fortress to get a view over the town
and the bay. It was a warm morning but
we were the only people up there. We
walked all over the fortress walls and around the buildings imagining what
these remains could tell us of the battles and lives of those who had lived
here long ago.
We also wandered through Vonitsa which was
a cute little town – lots of tavernas/restaurants along the waterfront but not
much in the back streets. A cute little
marina, a fairly well-laid out town quay and a nicely maintained pebble beach
to the east of the town and that was Vonitsa!
Tad found a quaint little bakery that baked their bread in a wood-fired
oven and we bought a still-warm loaf to take back to the boat for lunch.
The afternoon was a lazy one with paddling
the kayak, swimming and reading our Kindles on the trampoline. Such bliss!
Tuesday morning we went back into Vonitsa
to supplement our tomato and watermelon rations and then headed over to the
next bay to the east of last night’s anchorage.
The journey barely took an hour sailing the whole way (we went across to
the north side of the Gulf and back to make the trip longer) but we were
pleasantly surprised by the small bay just around the headland. There were a couple of villas and a herd of
sheep in a field which made for a lovely pastoral setting. Further down the bay
we could see more yachts and a caravan park, and although the wind came up
rather strongly later in the afternoon, we were happy where we were.
Wednesday we decided to try and get to the
lee of a small island in the middle of the Gulf that had a lagoon in the middle
of it. It looked rather nice and
peaceful but as the water was shallow in the area we had to get there in the
morning while the water was flat and the light was good from the sun to be able
to spot submerged rocks. It was
disappointing to find another yacht already anchored where we wanted to be so
we moved around to another bay just beside.
One thing we have found here in the Gulf is that the ‘beaches’ which
look inviting through our binoculars often tend to be dirty (lots of plastic
bottles, and other flotsam and jetsam washed up from storms and the strong
winds) and pebbly. There are also LOTS
of sea urchins everywhere so care must be taken when stepping ashore from a
swim or off the kayak. We always wear sturdy reef-walker shoes or Robin also
wears her dive booties when she wants to go snorkeling with her fins. The sea urchins are small and a reddish
colour, and the spines are not as sharp and hard as the black sea urchins’
spines but you wouldn’t want to tread on them in bare feet!
View from the top of Vonitsa Castle looking Northeast
Small church on the island east of Vonitsa
View from Vonitsa Castle looking Northwest
As the wind came up in the afternoon, much
more strongly than predicted (another ‘usual’ that we have found annoying!) we
moved back into the bay with the other yacht, trying to anchor a discrete
distance from him, but mostly to avoid the swell that was creeping around the head
of the island. That night the wind calmed once again (thankfully) for a peaceful night's sleep.
The next day we set off early for Preveza to refuel the boat at Cleopatra Marina and make arrangements to leave Bisou there for the winter.
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