Sailing Day 6 and 7

September 8 and 9:  Thursday, the foul weather began around 3:30 am with heavy rain.  The wind was not as bad as the previous day, but the reports around the Ionian Sea was that everyone was staying put for the day.  There were reports of 6 foot swells, waves crashing over 5-foot sea walls, and marinas that were full of other ships.  So, we stayed in Port Levkas, too.  After taking a shower in the marina bathhouse,  Phil slipped on the wet plank while getting back on board the boat, sprained a toe, and dropped one of his crocs into the water.  We watched the croc get blown across the harbor but Jan and Phil were able to retrieve it with a boat hook when it got close to the quay edge.  

The group ran errands in the morning and Phil brought back some dinner plate-sized fresh donuts to share.  After a light lunch that include fresh watermelon, most of the group watched a movie on Phil's iPad - Men Who Stare at Goats, with George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Ewan McGregor.  It was a dark comedy and we had a few good laughs, though the screen is a little small for 5 people.

The rains let up by late afternoon which allowed us to go to dinner and stroll the town a bit before retiring for the day.  We anticipated a busy start the next day since we had to leave Levkas.  Charter boats are supposed to return to their home ports by Friday evening so the boats can be turned over to the next party on Saturday.  The Moorings base at Levkas would not have room for us (we'll get to do this drill next week).
   Today, Friday, we got up early, completed the prep on the boat, including topping off the water tanks, emptying the garbage, tossing the dinghy overboard, and draining the storm water out of the main sail bag.  We departed efficiently and motored southward toward the Island of Meganisi.  The weather was wonderful with a few clouds and lots of sun.

We shut off the motor and sailed for about 2 hours in the area immediately north of the Island Meganisi.  The winds were variable from about 8 knots up to 16 knots with boat speeds of 4 to 8 knots.  The crew was more skilled and efficient in raising and lowering the sails today.  We stopped sailing and drifted during lunch outside of the harbor entry for where we were staying overnight.  We swung around Skorpios, an island formerly owned by Aristotle Onassis, now owned by some one else.  We saw the home he built for Jackie, from a distance because large signs said that "approaching, anchoring or mooring is prohibited."  We cruised by, got a photo, and quickly motored away.  We easily continued into the harbor of Vathi, which is a very nice village and the marina (Odyseas Marina) is well-equipped.  We squeezed in between two boats in a space a bit too narrow for our wide boat, though we pushed in.  The mooring uses a "lazy line" on the bow and 2 stern lines; the boat is backed in.   

Betsy and I went swimming, then walked with Jan and Ron around the harbor to the next bay to the northeast.  We returned for a dinner at a quayside restaurant, outside noted for fresh fish.  We worked on this blog to a blaring sound track of golden oldies from the marina taverna - earplugs will be needed for a while tonight.