Sailing Aglaya

We have left the lovely countryside of Epirus and sailed south - now we are in Aitolo-Arkania, a landscape with its very own austere charm.

We left our Vliho Bay behind us and with it Rabitt, our all-round mechanic and technician, and our favourite British pub, the Vliho Yacht Club, and headed south past the islands of Lefkas, Meganisi, Kalamos, Kastos and many smaller ones. Now we are moored at an anchor buoy in the mouth of the river Acheloos. We have a fantastic panoramic view of this strange landscape: opposite us is the rugged mountain of the island of Oxia, towering 460 metres high, on the other side is the wide semi-circular estuary, a delta that stretches far into the sea, very shallow, lots of sandbanks, that the river keeps shifting. Everything is green, trees and bushes, the shallow water is light green to turquoise, we are in 3 metres of water. And on the horizon Ithaca, Atokos, Kefallonia and Zakynthos, a fantastic panorama.

The Acheloos and the Evinos, further east, are the rivers that irrigate the very fertile plain: the largest olive-growing area in Greece, oranges, lemons, wine, vegetables - everything is grown here.  It is a flat landscape with wide lagoons, where pelicans and flamingos live, eels are caught and boutarga, a very salty paste made from fish roe, is made. And, of course, salt is mined in huge evaporation pools; Messolonghi salt is famous beyond the borders for its quality. 

Extremely modest huts, mostly made of corrugated iron and wood, stand directly on the water's edge; the fishermen and a few sheep and goat herders are very poor. Cotton used to be grown here, but the world market has passed it by. 

The lagoon plain is bordered by steep cliffs through which rivers have carved gorges, some with vertical walls. 

We stay here in this beautiful place for a few days - partly because a strong easterly wind is blowing. We don't want to head east against the wind, even though our next destination is just round the corner, so to speak: Messolonghi, where our life with Aglaya began and where we will meet friends. By then we are already in the Gulf of Patras.

No, we're not suffering from the winter in Germany. We are looking forward to the upcoming sailing time on board. We've been on the water with Aglaya again for a few days now, but haven't set sail from Lefkas yet. Aglaya needs to be serviced and looked after first, as befits a lady in her prime. New antifouling on the underwater hull, propeller polished, leaking hatch repaired, dirt from the winter scrubbed off the deck, metal and GRP care. It's all done. Today we hoisted and rigged all four sails. If Aglaya had feet, she'd already be pawing at them. But the engine still needs to be serviced and a few small repairs still need to be done. 

For now it's Easter, this time at home and in Greece at the same time. An opportunity for an Easter walk and a delicious lamb dish (stifado) prepared by the chef de la galley himself.

And where should we go this season? Firstly southwards, out of the Ionian Sea into the Gulf of Patras. There we will then turn off to Messolonghi for a few days. We want to meet friends there again and see what's going on in the marina. Then we'll continue eastwards through the Gulf of Corinth and the canal and from there to the north-east. At the end of June we want to be in Thessaloniki. We are excited and looking forward to setting sail!

Last year we were sailing in the Ionian Sea all the time. The many pictures we took on our way remind us and they make us look forward to the next sailing season.

Here you can see a few of our pictures in three videos:
Video 1 (20 min.)
Video 2 (13 min.)
Video 3 (13 min.)

Our boat is ashore at Vliho Boatyard on Lefkas. We are on our way home. We'll be back on the water in April. A beautiful, very varied season lies behind us.

These days we are winterizing our boat and then on November 7th we will winterize ourselves at home in Heidelberg. 

On October 31, the tractor in Vliho pulled us ashore to the boatyard. Great work by the boatyard- team. The boat is stable, but it's still rocking for us. Our sense of balance can't get used to the fact that we're standing on land. The boat is on the water and that's where it rocks. That is the message to our senses. We already know that.

We prepare Aglaya for the winter break - a long to-do list, from packing the sails, cleaning everything below deck and on deck, small repairs, drying the fridge, packing supplies and textiles well, filling the diesel tanks and emptying the water tanks to tying up the winter tarpaulin.

Fortunately, we have warm, dry weather this year, so we can do everything in peace and quiet and enjoy the sun and the beautiful evening atmosphere from time to time. During the day it is still just over 20 degrees, at night it cools down to 13 degrees. In the morning, the boat is soaking wet from the dew. As we drink our coffee, the sun is already drying everything on deck. 

We don't really want to get off the boat. But when Aglaya isn't rocking on the water, we start to look forward to the winter break at home with family, friends, homemade music and everything that life on land has to offer.

The charter fleets and flotillas are no longer underway and are crowding harbors and anchorages. The parasols and sun loungers on the beaches are packed up. More and more tavernas are closing. Those that are still open only serve a few dishes from the usually extensive menu. And there is no more draught beer. It's the end of October: the end of the season.

On the one hand, those who are working in gastronomy and tourism will be glad that the stressful time is over for this year. The young people who have helped out in their family businesses during this time usually have a second or even third job in winter. Or they can finally get back to their studies. This is what the son of a tavern owner, who also has a floating dock for boats and runs a small supermarket, told us. One thing is clear: business has to be booming during the season so that the money earned lasts the whole year. 

We still have a few days left. In the harbor of the small, beautiful island of Kalamos, we are moored right next to the fishermen and enjoy the peace and quiet, wandering around the island and gradually preparing to bring our boat ashore at the end of the month. Then it's the end of the season for us too.

A stern wind pushes us leisurely into the bay. It's early afternoon and the sun is shining. The bay looks like a small fjord, it tapers towards the back. There is a beach, a bar, a restaurant and a small campsite. The mountains that border the bay are green and forested, the eastern side has vertical white cliffs with caves on the waterline and tiny beaches that can only be reached by boat.

As we approach, we see: The bay is full of sailboats anchored and swimming people between them, a lot going on here. Like everyone else, we need space to swing around when anchoring freely so that we don't obstruct other boats (or they obstruct us) when the wind shifts and the boat realigns itself.

We wait. And indeed - around 3.00 pm the afternoon wind comes up, the toys (stand up paddle, swim noodles, inflatable water animals...) are packed up, and one by one the otherboats leave the bay, they probably go to their reserved harbor spots, but we want to stay. So we choose the best spot in the middle and after the second attempt the anchor is in seven meters of water. The wind drops towards evening and turns 180 degrees overnight, which is mostly the case here. We have to take that into account with the anchorage and the length of chain we let out. We have 100 m, 30 is enough here. After a while of watching to make sure we don't move, the anchor claw is attached to the chain (it is attached to the chain and then to the hull with lines so that the entire weight of the boat is not on the electric windlass), then the engine is switched off - heavenly calm.

The boat is well moored, the sun has set and we go for another swim. The water is fresh, but certainly still 20 degrees at the end of October.

The wind has died down completely by now, the beach is no longer busy, we float on very long soft waves 7 m above the seabed, wonderful.

The night is calm, the morning is beautiful, the sun is shining, we go swimming again. Lots of fish under and around us.

Our next destination is only a few miles away, so we can take our time, have breakfast and then weigh anchor and set off. It was nice - and it's always nice.