Italy to Greece and the final chapter of the season.

Lakka Bay…. Twelve and a half hours with a gentle breeze behind us got us to this beautiful place. 

At some point we needed to change the flag. We had kept the Greek flag as a souvenir, a little worse for wear but it felt good to get it out again. 

Of course being early August, every man and his boat agree on Lakka Bay's attraction and they’re all here. Finding a spot that late in the afternoon wasn’t that easy and as the wind shifted so too did we until we finally dropped a stern anchor just to stop us from swinging.

The battery on our dingy is cactus so the boys swam in and I brought dry clothes and towels on the paddle board. If you need to know anything about Paxos, the island where you find Lakka Bay, I suggest you go back to the very early posts way back in 2014. It remains one of our favourite islands in Greece.

No hurry to get going in the morning we had been informed by Cleopatra Marina that whilst they can lift us out on the 12^th, there was no space in their Marina before then and that we’d need to go to Preveza Marina or on the town wall. At 10:30  on the 10^th August we weighed anchors and motored in Ionian Sea conditions (ie; glass) to Preveza.

We went alongside in the Marina for the first night but was again informed that the marina was full the following day and we’d need to vacate. I went and got us all checked into Greece. Other than that, there was not a lot we could get along with so into town for a long lunch hey chaps….?

At 10:00pm we decided we were going to the carnival…. Dodgem cars, Ferris wheel and a spinning thingo on which there is more news, but first the Ferris wheel. 

The guy on the gate looked nicely wasted with a lopsided grin on his face. He placed us in the same chair, designed for four… Up we went. We got about half way up and down we came again. Grinner's grin got bigger. "Too heavy" he says. Al vacates and waits until we’re at the top before re-embarking. 










Then around….. and around…. and around we went. Grinners grin getting larger and more lopsided on each rotation. It was as if he’d forgotten how to stop it and by the end we were all in hysterics, including Mr Grinner.

Dodgems next. Lots of parents with kids so we’d need to maintain some decorum…. We thought! 

We became the target and once again it was hysterical. Even the carnies were having fun and the news quickly got around. 

It was now time for the spinning thingo. Its has single chairs on the end of the spokes of a wheel. 

The guy placed us equidistant apart but so we could see eachother unobstructed by this massive doll in the center of the wheel. 

He allowed one little girl on who assured him she could handle it and then he just let rip. I had no idea what these things can really do when the guy at the controls lets it happen. What an absolute hoot!

In the morning, not very early you understand, we moved to the town wall. As is customary in Greece, getting tokens for the power and water was a mission. Then getting the token to work another, but the wall is where we like to be. Right in town, right opposite bars and restaurants, shops and supermarkets and the festival atmosphere which is always present when the wall is full of boats.

A much quieter evening. We had a fuel truck turning up at 7:30 to fill the tanks. This is a must if the boat is to sit for a while. The more air in the tanks, the higher chance of algae forming and blocking filters etc. 

We were scheduled for haul out at 8:00 across the water at Cleopatra Marina. Fuel guy was 5 minutes late but we made it to Cleopatra bang on time, we were directed into the slot for the travel lift but as we were going in, something unexpected happened. 

We were not warned of a strong cross current at the entrance to the slot which simply pushed us sideways at the critical moment. If not for the guy on the shore, we would be sporting some nasty damage from the concrete wharf. 

Even with the knowledge of the current, it was a difficult final mooring for the season to say the least!

And so, out she came. We are in a decent spot in 'Cat Alley' not too far from the amenities with power and water and everything half the price of anywhere else. 

So, I'm very happy with the final outcome. We are booked through to the 12th May next year but no idea what will actually happen.

She remains on the market....

I’ll close with some stats:

We stopped at 30 places in Croatia, Italy and Greece

1049 Nautical Miles

152.9 Hours on the Port Engine

152.6 Hours on the Starboard Engines

1,262 Litres of Fuel
We have had an absolute hooooooot!