38:57.75N 20:52.18E Vonitas

Ariel of Hamble
Jim and Valerie SHURVELL
Thu 28 Jul 2011 06:14

Saturday, 23rd July, 2011.

 

We left Preveza after Jim had returned to the marina to arrange for Ariel to be lifted and stored on the hard for the winter.  We had taken the dinghy over the afternoon before but the office was closed in the afternoons.  The facilities are first class and Jim was very happy with the yard.  An added bonus is the airport is just about a mile down the road and operates daily during the summer months.

 

We left the quay at Preveza and decided we would enter the Gulf of Amvrakia which is approximately 30 miles by 8 miles wide.  It is a haven for sailing and offers so many anchorages all around it.  We only got as far as the first little town in the Gulf firstly stopping for lunch and a swim at a small uninhabited island just before moving into the bay of Vonitas.  We could see there were many houses and restaurants in the town and we could just make out the Venetian castle which is built on a Byzantine original.  Jim thought he saw a turtle but we were not close enough to confirm it but again on leaving the Gulf the next morning Geoff thought he saw one.  No confirmation until I can photograph it.  There are supposed to be dolphins living in the Gulf as there are several fish farms in the area from which they feed.  The anchorage was beautiful with goats and sheep in the hills.

 

The Gulf is wonderfully beautiful and it would not be hard to spend a fortnight just moving from anchorage to anchorage.  Perhaps later in the summer we may revisit for a longer stay.  On our way out of the Gulf a young swallow tried several times to land on Ariel and to our surprise landed on the rail up near the mast.  It had a ten minute ride and off it flew to land once we were a little closer to the shore.

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