24/07/24

We left Paxos and had to motor all the way to the island of Corfu and into the small bay of Petriti. 

Corfu is also known as Kerkyra. Kerkyra was a river nymph, daughter of a river god by the name of Asops. She caught the eye of Poseidon who seduced her and dragged her to the island that would come to bear her name. they went on to have a son called Phaex who, in due course, became the king of the Phaeacians. It is surmised that Homer’s Skheria, the island home of the Phaeacians, was Corfu.  Palaiokastrita Bay, on the West coast, is thought to be the site of the castle of King Alkinoos. The Phaeacian’s are said to have ferried Odysseus home to Ithaca, in so doing arousing the wrath of Poseidon who turned their ship to stone. The island of Gravia, off Palaiokastrita bay is said to be this petrified ship. 

With no wind and a “sheltered” anchorage we decided to crack on fitting the windvane onto the transom of Muskie by using the dinghy as a platform to work from. This was ok except we didn’t factor in the swell that crept round the headland, it didn’t seem too bad when living on board, but when in the dinghy, lashed to the transom it became a bit of a problem, plus the busy little fishing port that inevitably caused some chop from the wake of other vessels. Nevertheless, Chris persevered and managed to drill one more hole in the transom to fit the last bracket. With this done it was only a question of offering up the last bracket to the transom and bolting it in. With everything securely lashed on, so we didn’t drop anything into the water, Chris managed to get everything lined up and the bolts were secured without any small bits falling into the Mediterranean. The last bit to go on was the rudder. We slowly lowered it down into the water, again well secured to Muskie and fitted it onto the shaft. We have a wind vane. Now all we need is some wind to test it out.

We liked Petriti, it was a small fishing village not frequented by any land tourists, only the yachts coming to and from Corfu and the other Northern Ionian Islands on their way north or south. We had a lovely meal in one of the local tavernas watching the local fishing boats set off for the nights fishing as the sun went down.

Chris drilling more holes in the transom

We have a wind vane, our new crew member.