*2022 March: Back to sea
2022-03-20While waiting for our watermaker to arrive, we left the marina to anchor for three days in front of the Corfu sailing club, closer to the historic center of the city.
The weather forecast then made us return to our shelter at the marina and still no news from watermaker.
Finally, Friday March 11 our “dessal” arrived. Errikos promises to come to installed on board on Monday morning. In the evening, to celebrate, we had a great time, until 3 am, aboard MR with Errikos and his girlfriend Irene.
Saturday evening we went out to dinner at Fishalida, a renowned fish and seafood restaurant, located opposite the market, it was a treat.
After torrential rains, we finally found the water leak in the ceiling of the square which disturbed us for a long time. It comes from the port deck porthole. Richard therefore dismantled then cleaned and repainted the frame of the porthole before gluing it back. There was so little sealant that it was leaking everywhere: Thank you CNB!!!
On Sunday, we were able to attend the procession in homage to Santa Theodora of Corfu. It is an Orthodox holiday that celebrates the miracles that saved the city from barbarian invasions and the plague. It was a colorful parade that brought together a lot of people on the Liston, esplanade of Corfu, under a spring sun.
Tuesday afternoon the installation is finished, the tests are conclusive, the desalination produces 130 L/H. Contract completed!
We settle our debts with Errikos and around 4 p.m. we finally leave the Gouvia marina, heading for Syvota, 23 miles further south.
There is little wind, our hull is not the cleanest, so we are advancing at low speed, but what a joy to be back at sea.
The next morning, we leave our anchorage to reach Préveza 43 nautical miles further south.
We use our engine for an hour to compensate for the lack of wind, then small gusts appear on the surrounding mirror.
We then shut down the engine and deploy our code. The speed was immediately established at 4 then 5 knots. As the afternoon progressed, the wind grew stronger and eventually settled at 12 kts. We are going at more than 9 kts.
We thus arrive in Préveza before sunset, to moor at the Town Quay. We then go out, have dinner in a local taverna sitting next to the fireplace, because at nightfall the cold becomes freezing.
During the day, we contacted the Waypoint Company in Lefkas who had repaired our forestay last June, because the genoa furler was getting harder and harder. They will come to Préveza to see the problem and will give us an appointment in Lefkas to deal with it.
Arrived in Lefkas, we moor at the Town Quay. Not satisfied with our first approach, we move to better moor. It is indeed expected a lot of NE wind for the days to come. During the night, the wind picked up very strongly, but not from the NE as expected but from the East, MR has the transom against the quay. The fenders are completely crushed but play their role of protecting the boat perfectly. We double the mooring lines, we don’t sleep and establish watchtowers to overcome any problem that may arise during the night.
In the early morning, we take the direction of the marina. Spending another night shaking for the safety of the boat is out of the question. Friday, It’s 1 p.m., we are well moored in the marina, After a little lull which gave us time to maneuver, the east wind is starting to blow again to easily exceed 30 kts.
More relaxed and after a nap, we decide to go to the Irish Port pub to spend the afternoon and evening watching the matches of the 6 Nations tournament. The night and the day of Saturday were tormented by the icy wind. We are therefore waiting for the lull to resume our journey towards the Aegean Sea.