After our mixed experience in Albania and some cooler weather I decided to head back south and retrace my steps. Before leaving I did manage to get some diesel which I expected to be delivered by Donkey but actually came in the back of a beaten up transit van.

As Othoni had been such a pleasant stop we went back and anchored in the dark. It was a wobbly night as the wind was South East so in the morning I thought I would try and moor up to the ferry terminal. That was still a bit rough so I walked around to the fishing harbour which my guide book said was only for local boats. In fact it has been developed in a typical greek fashion with loads of money spent but nothing finished. It looked good so we moved round there.

This is Minka with an Irish boat behind her. It was a lovely Contest 38 sailed by a father and daughter crew. We had a meal out together that evening which was a good night.  There are facilities fitted on the dock for water and electricity, the ones beside Minka have been knocked over. They have pipes and electric cables going to them but are not connected somewhere else. No charge was made for parking here.

Great care needs to be taken going in as there are some unmarked rocks in the entrance. The restaurateur told us that it is common for yachts to hit these……he seemed sad he didn’t own a boatyard.

This photo shows the inner part of this harbour which is used by local boats. You can go in here but again the depths are variable with huge boulders on the bottom.

From here we went back to Kassiopi. As there was no wind we motored all the way. The engine started making a bit of a rattle on the way. After a bit of investigation the engine is ok but there is something wrong in the drive train. Choices are gearbox, CV joints linking the gearbox to the propshaft, stern propshaft bearing or a loose blade on the propeller. I will go back to Gouvia marina in the next day or so where there are lots of technical facilities and start taking things to bits. My money is on the CV joints.