We left the Vathiavali beach bar to sail to Nidri on our way southwards to pick up friends at Argostoli. Nidri is a big sailing town and we anchored off the town jetty, using the dinghy to get ashore to reprovision. The beauty of being in a larger town is the ability to get a great breakfast in the mornings! We were looking for a place to repair our failed alternator with no luck, we will try again around Preveza when we get there.
Nidri
We had a fantastic sail, (upwind again!, even though we were heading South this time) to Sivota. This is a smallish bay with Tavernas all around it with thier own pontoons. Most off free berthing with water and electricity as long as you eat in their restaurant. This often turns out to be a good deal as a package, working out around EU50 for the night.
Fish dinner in Sivota
We have been having problems with our autopilot holding , or rather not holding, a steady course. The sail to Sivota was the first to prove our new settings, acquired using chatgpt and the auto tune function in the dealer setup menu that is normally locked off. The setup was great with the boat holding a steady course in either mode, constant course or constant wind angle. We just have to prove it out now in heavier winds and larger waves.
Malcolm and Kate from the Swan 46 Grace of Sydney called us suggesting a meet up in Kiri on the East coast of Ithaca. We found an idyllic bay there and after some discussion we ended up free anchoring as opposed to tying our stern to the rocks, this was a great decision knowing that the wind was going to swing in the early am. We hada lovely meal with them and retired to our boat. In the morning, as forecast, the wind had swung and all the boats tied to shore found themselves almost in the surfline of some significant waves. We were also on a lee shore despite having a bit more searoom and decided to move on further south.
We anchored on the S coast of Kefalonia in a huge bay with Crystal clear water and a lovely sandy bottom which the anchor dug well in. Snorkelling on the anchor proved we had 30m of visibility under the water, stunning! Unfortunately it wasn't all as perfect as it sounds as it turned out to be a rolly night in the swell during which we didn't get much of a sleep.
Argostoli was our next stop, the capital of Kefalonia, where we anchored off the town in murky water only 3m deep. Despite the cloudy water we saw two turtles within minutes of dropping the anchor and continued to spot them for the 48hrs we were there. It was a pleasure to pick up Andrew Provan here, he will be onboard for 10 days while we make our way to Corfu.
The weather is starting to turn and it may soon be time to break out the duvet!