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- Jul 13, 2023
- ☀️ 31 °C
- Altitude: 16 ft
- GreeceEpirusPrevezaPrevezaÁktion38°56’50” N 20°46’3” E
Bruski's in a boat
July 13, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Well we've certainly ended our 2023 season with a bang! Sam's brothers-in-law Chip and Chris came out for a long weekend and got a lot more than they bargained for!
As they arrived just after Thursday lunchtime we set off from Lefkas Marina to Nydri where we discovered a new use for the paddle-board and dinghy (who needs a proper wakeboard anyway?!) followed by a fun evening of delicious Greek food, drinks and cards. The next morning we walked up to the waterfalls before setting off for our next anchorage. We managed to actually get some good sailing in (finally enough wind and not directly on the nose!) and had a rather entertaining close call with the dinghy. As we rounded the east coast of Meganissi we passed another boat with a skipper waving very enthusiastically at us and pointing behind our boat. Following his finger we spotted the cause of his frenzy, our dinghy was no longer tied on and a good fifty foot behind us. Rather bafflingly though it was managing to keep up with us despite out 6 knots of speed. It turns out Poseidon was on our side and against all odds, as the dinghy had escaped, Sam's tuna lure got caught on the painter and held it fast! Maybe not such a waste of money after all!
With a little more wind forecast for overnight we decided to head back to a tried and tested sheltered bay on Kastos, and having set our anchor and tied our shorelines for the predicted wind direction we headed to shore in the dinghy for dinner. No sooner had we ordered than the wind picked up with very strong gusts from all directions. Looking out over the bay on the other side of the headland we saw several boats start to drag and began to get a bit nervous. Sam walked back to check on Odyssee while the rest of us waited for our food. When the only other boat in our bay motored around the headland and Sam didn't reappear I began to worry and jogged round just in time to see Sam speeding back to the boat in the dinghy. He'd been about to walk back when he realised Odyssee was also starting to drag and got back on board and the engine running with only a foot or two of clearance to the very sharp rocks on the shore. The problem now was that Sam was alone on the boat with the dinghy and unable to leave the helm to release the stern lines or pull up the anchor, as him motoring forward was the only thing preventing us becoming a shipwreck!
So Chris, Chip and I had an impromptu run and scramble across the rocky shoreline before releasing the lines and swimming to the boat in the dark. As we returned to the boat I watched in horror, as now released from her stern lines she sprang forward and our tripping line buoy (a line connected to the anchor to mark its position) disappeared under the boat near our propeller. Getting this 50m line caught around the propeller would be a disaster as it would not only stop us being able to use the engine but could also pull our anchor out of the seabed. Thankfully the anchor was now holding well enough that we could put the engine in neutral long enough for Sam and I to dive under the boat with headtorches to try and find it. Luckily it had slid forward on the keel to wrap around the anchor chain not backwards towards the prop. Incredibly grateful for the extra hands on board we got the anchor and tripping line up and motored out of the bay.
Now came the decision on where to anchor for the rest of the night as the winds were picking up again (at one point hitting 32 knots, 17 more than the forecast 15) and it was now dark. We decided on Mytikas as we were familiar with it and knew it was a large, open sandy bay with good holding where we would have plenty of space and time to act should we begin to drag again. Unfortunately, with the strong head-on winds killing our speed, Mytikas was nearly two hours away so we gave Chip and Chris the full sailing experience with an impromptu night passage complete with life jackets and tethers! Thankfully once we arrived, the bay was relatively well sheltered and we had plenty of room to anchor and swing. Finally at 1am we could all relax enough to finally eat our takeaway dinner (minus the tzatziki which thankfully was the only casualty of the experience!)
After a rather sleepless night we decided to go for another nice open bay so headed to Pogonia, a little further west than Palairos. Here Chris (who has more realistic fish catching goals than Sam) managed to catch three fish, sadly none quite big enough for the bbq so they got released back to swim another day. We got the bbq up and running for dinner and then headed ashore for a drink in a beach bar where we met a lovely couple called George and Holly, who recommended a walk up to the village. Our anchor alarm had other ideas though and informed us our boat had moved when we were halfway up the hill. Being a completely windless night we were fairly sure it was a glitch with the app, but after the previous night's drama we decided not to risk it and headed back to our perfectly static boat for a rematch of Perudo but Chris managed to retain his title!
The next day was Chris and Chip's last so after a bit of fun with the go-pro we set off for one last sail up to Preveza Marina with a brief stop at Lefkas to collect our bikes and refuel with diesel and ice-creams. We had one final dinner out before the boys got a taxi to the airport and we turned in for an early night to recover from the eventful weekend! Sam and I then had three days to get the boat sorted, lifted and packed up for the season, which thankfully all went very smoothly.
Arriving at Preveza Airport I was more than a little taken aback to hear someone shout "Lucy Sanders!" across the terminal and found the brother of my school friend Holly behind us in the check-in queue. It turns out he, his wife and his parents (sadly not Holly as she hadn't been able to get the leave from work) had been on holiday in Nydri for the week and he was travelling back not only on the same flight as us but in the seat next to us on the plane!
So that wraps up a brilliant 2023 season on the boat that has exceeded our expectations with some absolutely beautiful anchorages, some great sailing and wonderful company. In the words of Steve it's been "just fantastic" and "life doesn't get much better than this!"Read more
Traveler Brilliant! Hope you let Sam reel in the dinghy, so he could imagine it was a huge tuna!
Traveler What amazing adventures/experiences you've had and what a lot you've learned !! So pleased it's all worked out so brilliantly this year you lovely pair!!xxx