Homeward Bound

Vanish and ensign

So much power! In Pilos nick gave us 100Ah battery bringing our total Ah to 220. When we sailed to dock our spectators on looking from the marina at Pilos thought we were part of the latest craze which they had read about in Yachting Monthly; parking your boat without the engine. I would love to write that the engine was problem free from then on, but she still had some bleeding 'air in fuel' issues. All sorted now I've found all the bleeding points. We set sail from Pilos embarking on a grand voyage of 60nm to Zakinthos. With the wind and waves against us we ended up anchoring 11nm north (actually 24nm since we could not sail in a straight line and Crest Hawk wasn't enjoying the atmospheric conditions) to Vegas Chapel Bay named by us because of the monastery overlooking it which sports a blue neon cross glowing over the water.

Varnish looks goood

We left there the next morning because our mission was Corfu in 7 days, but the sail that followed was fairly monstrous. Jonnie helmed for the first few hours taking us on a tack west. Leaving the relative shelter of the small island we had hidden behind was hectic enough. The wind blew hard from the north (where we wanted to be) and the swell rolled in from the West. With the coast running up from the south and no harbours between us and our destination we knew sailing was our only chance of reaching our goal. After some time (6- 8 hours) 1/3 of the crew had chundered, 2/3 of the crew were in their sleeping bags in the cabin and only 1/3 was having the time of their lives sailing. The wind died as the sun rose so by the 26th hour of little sleep I was pretty tired but glad to make it. Not to Zakinthos as originally planned but to Kilini, a small town packed with cruiseline passengers, mostly very odd looking Norwegians.  

Miss Martin

We all put in a few €s so we could motor from Kilini (they wanted to charge us actual money to stay) to Koroni, where we got a good night sleep. The wind that next day was fantastic, right on our beam the whole way to Ligia (50nm) north through the Ionian islands. When we arrived all we all craved was pizza. We hit the jackpot when we found the best pizza place in the world and opposite a bar with cheap beer, darts and a pool table! Crest Hawk and her crew entertained themselves and were immortalised on the bar wall in black marker.

The next morning we topped up our fuel and headed north for the Levkas Canal. Excitement mounted. Our north westerly heading was complimented by a beautiful south wind which pushed us to Gaios, on the island of Paxos, in 6 hours at an average of 5 1/2 knots. We thought that unbeatable until the next day when we reached Corfu Town in 5 hours averaging 6 knots, maxing out with a top speed of 6.9 knots spotted thanks to Jonnie who had his eyes glued to the GPS screen for 5 hours. A new top speed for Crest Hawk? (the speed was set to a 6 second average, so I'm convinced we made 7!). Jez booked his flight to England to continue his travels of Europe and left us the next morning. Andreas arrived that night and spoilt us with the most amazing grilled pork ribs. His friend who joined us had just been released from prison for going on a spending spree with €5,000 of fake money! We were sworn to secrecy about his next career move as a criminal.

'Cheap-or-o' with Tonia, Sanji & Criiss

When the rain which had been falling for a few days let up, Jonnie and I got out the sand paper and started a mission which we have just finished. Varnishing the cockpit combing. It now looks shiny and new! Of course, a visit to Corfu Town wouldn't be complete without seeing our friends Sanji and Tonia, who had a new girlfriend, Criis. Shame you left when you did Jez! Sanji cooked us hot meals and lent us her shower which was needed since the water in Corfu's harbour is a bit green and smelly, not great for washing. We saw a great blues band with them on top of the New Fortress with a double bass player as the singer, rocking organ and tasty guitar licks.

The forecast predicted South wind or no wind for this entire week and since we need to be in Vonitsa to put Crest Hawk to bed for the winter, we had no choice but to motor the entire way south (60nm). Autohelm 2000 took it in her stride and Jonnie and I were left to finish the varnishing, seal the windows, eat some strange fruits from Paxos island and watch movies.

Now we are homeward bound for a cold miserable winter of work. Looking forward to next years antics!

Ben's Best Bit: "Such an unexpectedly great night out in Ligia"

Jonnie's Favourite Jam: "Sanji flavoured"

Thanks for reading. Crest Hawk, out.