Erikoussa
Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Mon 9 Sep 2013 12:26
Erikoussa Island (N.W. of Corfu) Sunday 8th September
With a very long day ahead of us we again made a very early start at 0600 (and witnessed a stunning sunrise almost like a ball of fire) and were soon making excellent time with a full jib and reefed main. The wind slowly freshened as the day went on from a NNW 2- 3 up to gusting F6 late in the afternoon. We altered the sail configuration as we progressed south and before dark we even put in a third reef as we were screaming along surfing on the following seas at nearly 8 knots! With the south going currant again we had a quick passage albeit a bit uncomfortable towards the end. In fact because of this we decided to detour and stop at the small island of Erikoussa some 15 miles short of our original destination on the north eastern end of Corfu. We saw several ships and ferries but only 3 other yachts and they were all heading west – Italians returning home after their summer holidays in Croatia or Greece? We entered the bay on the south west side of Erikoussa at 2150 and were soon anchored among several other yachts. We had logged just over 90 miles in 14 hours so a fast passage! The bright lights of the Power station gave us a point of reference for getting into the bay as there are no navigation lights on the twin headlands that protect it! We had a reasonable night but unfortunately the swell generated from the strong northerly winds did creep round into the bay so we were rolling a fair bit! We discovered an Italian stow away clinging to the ensign - a huge moth which stayed with us until the morning and then disappeared! We didn’t see its wing span but the body and head were about 5 centimetres long!