During our stay in Greece, we mostly experienced the prevailing NW breeze that starts about midday. Now that we were sailing south in company of Side by Side, we hoped for some nice sailing. This opportunity materialized during the passage from Ithaca to Zakynthos.
Ambulance at Lefkas Canal
On our way south, we took the Lefkas Canal built through the salt marsh between Lefkada (or Lefkas) Island and the mainland. There is a floating swing bridge at the North entrance to the canal that opens on the hour, except when there is too much car traffic.
The area where the boats are waiting for the bridge to swing is exposed to gusts from the prevailing NW winds, creating the perfect conditions for a little chaos. After not opening at 3pm, there were many boats waiting when the bridge finally opened at 4pm. As the boats were processing into the canal, we suddenly heard an ambulance siren requesting to cross and the bridge needed to be closed again. Fortunately, we were able to pass but other boats had to wait for another hour.
Snorkling in turquoise waters (Formicula and Ithaca)
As we made our way south in between Lefkada and Meganisi, we passed the cave of Papanikoli again.
We anchored next to the small island of Formicula. The water was perfect for snorkeling, clear and just the right temperature.
Thankfully, Alex took a picture of the impressively big sea snail (tonna galea, 25 cm long) that we discovered there.
After this refreshing break, we continued our way south toward Vathy on Ithaca.
The next day, we wanted to spend a relaxing day on one of the beautiful beaches of Ithaca.
These beautiful conditions attract many boats in high season. On this nice afternoon in Filiatro Bay, it was so crowded that it became uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. We knew that the winds were going to pick up and decided to weigh the anchor and hoist the sails. Then we just did not stop until we reached Zakynthos the next morning.
Who needs a mainsail?
As we left the anchorage, there were afternoon gusts and Yan decided to take a reef. While he was tightening the mainsail without it being completely depowered, a 35 knots gust blew and the halyard broke under the tension. We had to lower the mainsail, but the NNW wind was strong enough that we could sail with the Genea only.
The wind steadied, and it ended up being the nicest downwind sailing we had in Greece.
However, when we reached the southeast corner of Zakynthos, we needed to change course west. The wind was now coming on the beam and with the Genoa only, the boat was completely unbalanced. Of course, we needed the mainsail. Replacing the halyard was our priority when we reached Keri.
