017: Sailing in Greece - Delphi and Dolphins in The Gulf of Patras.. after a Rig Check

We had mixed feelings about leaving Lefkas – it was sad to say goodbye to our new friends but we were really excited about setting sail again.

We did last minute shopping, engine checks and a rig inspection from where we could see all the walks we’d done during winter on the Island of Lefkada – the snow covered mountains, the beaches, monasteries, wetlands and castles.

When we finally set sail again, we had fantastic wind. First off we headed for Petalas where the Gulf of Patras starts and saw dolphins. The kids planned the passage as part of their homeschooling as well as doing their algebra maths, English and science in exotic places.

We visited Messolonghi, wnet under the Rio bridge where we had some concerns about air draft – particularly as BOTH VHS stopped working and we lost contact with the bridge and worried the roof of our home might be wiped out!

Next we sheltered on the Island of Trizonia. There’s no one managing it or looking after and there’re a lot of abandoned and sunken boats; where a lot of cruising dreams had apparently come to an end and animals had taken up residency on some of the boats.. a goose and a cat! We rifled through a tip to try to find microwave and washing machine spares too!

A leak and solenoid problems on the generator meant we couldn;t run the washing machine, heat the water or use the sockets etc., and we had to charge the batteries and ration the water.

Woody diagnosed and fixed the water leak but the solenoids needed replacing and we had no spares.

Next stop was Itea – about a 20 miles along the Gulf of Patras near Delphi. When we got to the Temple of Delfi it was great but a bit of a culture shock as there were masses of people!

Our final stop in the Gulf of Patras – Kiato.

The weather improved so we got the paddleboard and swing out and Woody even opened up our new Magma barbecue.

The journey to get from Lefkas, up the Gulf of Patras to the Corinth canal was about ten days with stops on the way.

In the next blog we head through the canal and into the Aegean sea.

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