Blasting along in an F4

[Graham W]

Enjoying the fairly predictable afternoon winds on the north coast of Corfu.

[Michael Rogers]

Looks wonderful. I've sailed in the bay in the background of pic no 2, 'on' a Peco. One of the great things about sea sailing is that the wind is much steadier than inland: I get a bit tired of gusts which have been chasing each other round spinneys and copses before reaching my lake.

An impressive pennant at the peak, Graham. All your yacht clubs strung together? In which case, do we have the first BR-owning member of the Royal Yacht Squadron? Or is it something along "England expects..." lines? Whatever, it looks splendid with a decent breeze to waft it about.

(SP Cadenza + T12 in-build)

[Graham W]

An impressive pennant at the peak, Graham. All your yacht clubs strung together? In which case, do we have the first BR-owning member of the Royal Yacht Squadron? Or is it something along "England expects..." lines?

Loosely translated, it means that I am from the UK/England/Shropshire.  Or, for pennant pedants (not many of those around in the Ionian), an unlikely trio of important personages are simultaneously on board, namely the Queen, one of our astonishing number of admirals and the High Sheriff of Shropshire.

I also have a Victory at Trafalgar pennant but that is only for flying when I am likely to, for example, collide with a French frigate.

[Tony]

Enjoying the fairly predictable afternoon winds on the north coast of Corfu.

Hi, Gerald.

....and here are the rather less predictable conditions 9 miles off the south coast of Corfu. The Dhiekplous  Paxon, to be precise, where the Adriatic  meets the Ionian and shelves from 1500 m to less than 100m over about 10 miles. The wind, apart from the odd Zephyr, does very little in the mornings but builds from about mid day to 2:30 – 3:00pm (you could almost set your watch)  usually to about F4 or 5 but sometimes it just keeps going!
The sea state is the real problem.  The local ferries hug the mainland in anything of a chop before nipping across to Gaios and in winds over F6 even the car ferry stops running. This August we had only one blow strong enough to do that. I measured gusts of 32 knots INSIDE Lakka Harbour!  How did you get on, Gerald?   If I had thought about it I should have put the Four Sisters on her trailer for a couple of days. As it was I had to spend a lot of time re-adjusting fenders as yet another small boat shouldered its way in behind the breakwater to get out of white water.

Photos (if they appear in the right order):-
1. Morning.  Oily calm. Great for rowing, swimming, fishing or blasting south to Anti Paxos with the outboard.
2. Lunch, overlooking Lakka harbour. Also oily but in a very good way!
3. Afternoon. (c. 4:00 pm)  Just between Lakka and Loggos. Wind only about F4, sea state rough. Shot from land with a telephoto lens.
4. Map.

I just love Paxos but I do not recommend it as a place for a small  boat. You are MUCH better off 20 miles south in the Inland Sea (Lefkas, Ithaca, etc) or in the sheltered water between Corfu and the mainland, Kouloura and Kalami, for example. In between its ocean swells and a rocky lee shore all the way to Preveza.
Note.  If you are thinking of towing out to this area book the Ancona- Igoumenitsa  ferry very early to get a 45% discount on peak season prices.  This year I missed the discount period by less than a week. Ouch!

[Graham W]

Hi Tony,

Being squashed in the the harbour apart, it sounds like you have had a great time in Paxos.  I have been in the far NE corner of Corfu, and the wind conditions as you describe them are fairly similar up there too - morning calm, fairly predictable wind at 3pm sharp, tailing off as the sun goes down.  We had a couple of days of gales but otherwise three weeks of excellent sailing weather.

I'll try to be more adventurous/energetic next year  - I invaded Albania several times but that was about it.

I highly recommend the Minoan Lines Venice-Corfu route  - you actually sail sedately past San Marco and other famous sights and the ferry was on time in both directions.  However, unless you want to share deck space with drunk Slovenian students and very drunk Albanian gangsters, a cabin is an important luxury.  And book as early as possible to get the discount.

Best, Graham

PS  Who the hell's Gerald?!

[Tony]

Hi Tony,

PS  Who the hell's Gerald?!

Hi, Ger....er...Graham.. (Ooops!)
Late night typo, Im afraid, Graham.

Re- route to Corfu.

We will go for the Venice - Igoumenitsa run next year. Make a change from the Ancona trafic jams.
Could be the last time I trail the Four Sisters out there. The cost of the journey is getting too steep for my pension so we are looking for a suitable boat out there. Some geriatric cruiser, probably but I dont rule out dragging something out from the UK or France. Got to find the right boat first - the one pictured below is not under consideration. This floating village motored past us one evening. The red ensign was bigger than my sails!

[Graham W]

A banker (or similar) went past us one morning in something that looks like its sister ship (below).  Watching the procession of conspicuous consumption steaming past in the Corfu Channel, it was as if the recession had never happened....

[Tony]

  Watching the procession of conspicuous consumption steaming past in the Corfu Channel, it was as if the recession had never happened....

Ah!
Well, of course, for some people for some people it didnt ....

Ahem...!   
....clears throat, climbs on to Soap Box....   
(If you are wise you will find something better to do for the next 5 minutes. If not, have a look at my blog)