Reflecting on our sailing season for 2024
If I procrastinate any longer on producing this blog then I will find myself reflecting on our sailing season for 2025.
So time to get organised and recall what was a short but very enjoyable sailing season as we discovered new anchorages, revisited old favourites and shared the experience with lots of visitors from around the world.
A general outline of our route for the season
The original plan as there always is with us changed shortly after our arrival in August onboard Katherine. We quickly realised that our plan to sail to Montenegro, Croatia and visit Venice didn’t fit well in the itinerary when we were reducing our sailing season from three months to just two. Plan B always available and dictated by the weather we opted instead to cruise around the bottom of the Peloponnese , back to Albania for the necessary boat visa processing before returning to Lavrio via the Corinth Canal.
Our first visitors for the season arrived literally just days after our return to Katherine. Good friends Graeme and Lesley Wilcox were first met back in 1987 in the town of Katherine. So to have them onboard for part of their holiday was very special. Any plans for staying in the Cyclades was quickly laid to rest as a Meltimi (strong winds from the north) was due to set in during the first few days of their visit. We did manage one night on anchor in Sounion, where we never tire of the view of Posiedon’s Temple.
Running down the east coast of the Peloponnese we called into a few favourite anchorages including Poros, Ermioni and the historical Monemvasia. This is my second time in Monemvasia and it is still a place I would happily return to, to further explore. From the ancient ruins on the hilltop, to the cobblestone streets and houses of the old town crammed onto the Cape, it is a very special place to wander.
In between the sailing and exploring there was one constant niggling issue that plagued the beginning of the season - we had a dinghy that was taking on water. A number of pop rivets were put to use over several days before the intake of water was to a level that the bilge pump could easily keep our feet dry. A full repair to the bottom of the dinghy assigned to the list of repairs over winter.
Beautiful Blue Waters of Elafonisos
Rounding the bottom of the Peloponnese we anchored in the most beautiful blue waters off the island of Elafonisos. With just a few days left before their departure from Kalamata we managed to stop overnight in the Bay of Diros to join a boat tour through Diros caves and to enjoy a few nights on anchor in Kironi walking the streets of the old fortress town and checking out the restaurants along the harbour wall.
Although we definitely love the tranquility of cruising onboard Katherine on our own we also embrace sailing in the company of friends when the opportunity arises. So as we were coming north and Savvy of London heading south, plans were cast to meet in Katakolo from where we could travel inland to explore Ancient Olympia together. From Katakolo the two boats left the Peloponnese’s and crossed to the island of Zakynthos where unfortunately the turtles eluded us. All disappointment was set aside by the beautiful backdrop of our next anchorage in Spartia, at the southern end of the Island of Kefalonia. We spent several nights on anchor in this beautiful bay highlighted by a visit from the Young family that turned both boats into platforms for water sports fun.
On our previous visit to the Ionian in 2019 we had been so unimpressed we said we would never return - well never say never. 2024 we were discovering anchorages that weren’t over flowing with charter boats and restaurants that had good food without the touristic maestros. There is still hope for the Ionian after all.
Sarande Harbour had changed a lot since our last visit in 2019
Savvy of London was heading through the Corinth Canal so we parted ways and continued North to Gouvia Marina Corfu where we were reunited with Gabi and Hans of Lady Vienna. Our boats had last been in the same marina in 2021 when Andrew was moving the boat to Greece from Ragusa Sicily. For me the last time we were together in the harbour was 2019 as our 2020 cruising season never eventuated due to Covid.
A quick trip across to Albania where time certainly hadn’t stood still and the relatively calm harbour of five years ago was out of control with speed boats, jet skis and day tripping pirate boats. Needless to say we stayed only for as long as was required to complete our boat visa paperwork before we up anchor and headed back to Corfu to await the arrival of our next visitors Brent and Priscilla Schuler from Canada.
We had travelled previously with Brent and Priscilla on motorbike trips but this was their first sailing experience onboard Katherine. After a brief exploration of Corfu Old Town we retraced our steps south stopping overnight on the island of Paxos before finding ourselves alone on anchor for the evening of Priscillas birthday in the north of Ithaki off Alfales beach. A special anchorage experience only topped off the next day when we called into One House Bay on Atokos Island where to our amazement the pigs really did swim.
Heading for the Corinth Canal we visited for the first time the walled township of Nafpaktos and the historical naval town of Galaxidi whose harbour is surrounded by quaint Captain houses. Today Galaxidi is often visited by many who are exploring the near by ruins of Delphi. Not for us this trip as we had a booking for the Corinth Canal and weather was on our tail.
The Corinth Canal separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece and connects the the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. The canal at just on 4 miles in length was completed in 1893 and is a significant passage way for cargo ships providing a safer and faster option then continuing south and rounding the bottom of the Peloponeses’s. A time has to be booked to enter the canal and boat speed is carefully monitored to keep all boats moving through at a safe and consistent speed. Motoring through you simply had to admire the engineering and man power that must have gone in to creating the canal. After all the expectation, unlike the Panama Canal, we were out the other side before we knew it.
Definitely another tick box experience.
From the Corinth we tucked around the corner into the bay of Epidavros but the weather we had been running from followed us through the canal and it became apparent the safest and most comfortable option was to head for Lavrio marina and spend the last few nights of Priscilla and Brents time onboard tucked up in the safety of the harbour. A wise move it turned out as the wind set in strong and hard for several days.
We did mention lots of visitors this season and our next arrived literally with just a day in between. Kylie an Adam Twoney from our home town of Darwin arrived onboard Katherine on the 16th September squeezing in a week with us before heading to join their family touring Italy. It was hard to believe that 6 years had already passed since they sailed with us in the Balearics. With just a week in hand we opted to sail familiar waters of the Cyclades, visiting Kea, Kolona Bay, Poros and back to Epidaurus to finally visit the Amphitheatre. The Ancient Amphitheatre which was built between the 4th and 2nd century BC has a capacity to seat up to 14000 people. It was uncovered in the late 1880s and has gone on to be used to this day for plays and performances due to its acoustic qualities that amplify sound to all corners of the theatre. The Amphitheatre itself is surrounded by the ruins of The Sanctuary of Asklepios. A series of temples and buildings that are believed to reflect the operation of a sanatorium and the evidence of healing through beliefs in the Gods and later scientific medicine. It certainly was worth the visit.
A fly over of Poseidon’s Temple.
We farewelled Kylie and Adam from the anchorage of Souion where on sunset we were treated to a fly over of Poseidon’s Temple. It looked very impressive from our view point.
With Kylie and Adam heading off to meet family we continued sailing taking the opportunity to call into the bottom of Serifos to the township of Livadi. A very pretty harbourside town with an old town sitting waiting to be explored hopefully on a future visit.
For our final few days of sailing we had Paul from Savvy of London join us. The weather was perfect for sitting in the north of the island of Kea in the bay of Otzia - most unusual, so the opportunity wasn’t to be missed. We were delighted to find ourselves on anchor at night almost alone. Saturday was a different situation when a flotilla of small boats crossed from the main land for the day. Obviously the place to be with the end of summer nearing.
For us it was the perfect way to finish off our season.
Set for Winter in Olympic Marina Lavrio
Time to pack up Katherine and head home.