38:27.71N 20:34.71E

Friday 15^th August

Morning seemed to fly past, with a visit to a local hotel to use their wi-fi and good look round the town of Argostoli which is the capital of Cephalonia. The town was something of a surprise to us as it has long been described as something of a frontier town and a suitable setting for a spaghetti western! But that is certainly no longer the case and the pedestrianised main street is almost stylish with very smart shops, boutiques and cafes as well of course, as the usual host of tourist tat shops. Really spacious and grand main square surrounded by very smart bars and restaurants which make it almost seem out of place in the Ionian.

We found pretty much everything we had been looking for over the past month or so and a lot more besides! Sarah was particularly impressed with a second hand book shop run by a Brit, who helpfully guided her past all the crowded shelves of ‘chick lit’ standard holiday reading stuff from the airports, to a special area that he called ‘worthwhile books’ which housed all the decent and proper award winning books. He also of course bought the books we had finished with. Very handy!

Spent the afternoon getting more of the little longstanding tasks done and continued with the endless process of maintenance. The water hose became available late in the afternoon so we filled the tanks and Sarah took the opportunity to rinse down the decks. Sadly, as we passed the hose to our neighbours, who needed a top up, the service was shut off leaving us feeling a bit guilty. Water is a valuable commodity on these islands and the process by which it is made available is subject to some curious whims. The supply is turned on and off at various times of the day, but with no real logic applied to when this might happen. As the evening went by and even more yachts and motor boats arrived, the supply was reinstated, but this might have rather more to do with money changing hands than anything else.

One thing that has struck us very quickly is the astonishing extreme sizes of the super yachts and motor motorboats that are crowding into some of these very small harbours. We used to think that they had some big boats down on the Hamble (Southampton), but they would almost be classed as tenders to these goliaths. It must however be very galling to the owner of one of these very large boats to discover that you are moored next to one that is even bigger!

Went to the port police to get our Traffic Document stamped to say that we were leaving the next morning. Two different officers on duty, but they were as relaxed as the one the previous day as they filled in a receipt for the port dues (four copies) and stamped the main document.

Invited the English couple Tim and Hilary from the boat next door to us for drinks and they regaled with stories of the past 6 years of sailing that they have been doing here in the Ionian. Supper was the final instalment of the second tuna and whilst it was delicious, I do hope that we catch something else next time!

Saturday 16^th August

Woken at 6.00am by four drunken Greek youngsters sitting on the quay behind our boat. Not a big deal as we had set the alarm for 6.30am anyway so that we could get off early to Eufimia, so we got up and slipped our lines and pulled up the anchor. Tim and Hilary (Targa Star) left 5 minutes ahead of us and we were both delayed for a short while as we cleaned an unbelievable amount of very nasty mud off our anchors and chain!

Forecast was for force 5 rising to 6 from the NW, but as we currently had 1 knot of wind we pressed on under engine for the long run due north, up the western side of the island. It is the largest of the Ionian islands and very rugged with a jagged mountain spine running from the North to the South, culminating at Mount Nero which is the highest mountain in the region at 1,600m. Tried a new smaller lure today, but given that we were travelling in the heat of the day, we had no takers.

As we passed the entrance to Fiskardho, one of my favourite watering holes from those heady days of 1980, we went in to see how busy it was and found that there was plenty of room anchoring and tying long lines to the North shore. Given that the forecasts were talking of strong winds for the next two days from the North, we decided to stay. This was a slight variation on the stern to mooring we are getting quite good at. The variation however, involves reversing in, dropping the anchor and paying out the chain whilst avoiding moored craft, during which time Sarah is in the dinghy, tied on the back of the boat with a very long line on board, waiting for the moment when we are in the right position to row to the rocks and tie the line to whatever she can find! A German family sat on their boat and watched us carefully, slightly bemused I suspect, by the fact that there were only two of us. As it happened, it all went like a dream and we were soon tied up, safe and sound. At this point we rowed ashore to visit Tassos who owns and runs the Captain’s Cabin and were delighted to find him sitting in the very place that he has occupied for nearly 30 years! He was in good form as was his wife Rowena and they kindly treated us to lunch as we caught up on each other’s news. We then a quick stroll around the little town and have to say that it really has done very well to preserve its 19^th century charm and style of architecture. It seems that Fiskardho was the only town on Cephalonia to substantially survive the great earthquake of 1953 that devastated so much of the Ionian and they are keen to ensure that it does not lose its unique look and feel.

However, it remains a magnet for boats and although we understand that things are quiet out here this year, there was no shortage of boats trying to find spaces as the day ended. It certainly pays to get in early as you at least get a better spot, you do not have too many watching you if you get it wrong and the best bit is, that you get to watch all those who do get it wrong (and sometimes very badly). Today’s star turn was a small English motor cruiser (Sealine, built in Kidderminster) who got in a terrible muddle when his anchor winch jammed. We were none of us too sure what he was trying to do for a while as he drove up and down in front of us with his anchor still on the sea bed. We were quite sure that he would soon collect all of our anchors as he trawled along, so he was not short of helpful advice, but not always in a language he could readily understand. What we did not know was that he had sent two lads ashore in a dinghy to purchase a winch handle, which was something of an act of faith in a small Greek fishing village! (Bali Hai – Neal if you are reading this, it may strike a chord!) Anyway, finally one of the louder Greek boat owners, jumped into his own dinghy and went aboard the motor boat and sorted them all out, getting them to pull the little anchor up by hand and then parked the boat himself and finally for good measure, he also took their lines ashore for them and tied them to the rocks.

Tim and Hilary had arrived by now having also changed their planned destination and so we joined them for a drink on board their boat Targa Star to help celebrate his 62^nd birthday.

No sign of that wind they promised all day, so we will have to see what tomorrow brings.