Sivota -> Fiscardo

Sunday morning in Sivota. We go for a wonderful bacon and egg breakfast in a place recommended by Dan. After breakfast I order a Greek coffee, and mention to Eileen that a "Greek" coffee is a bit like an "Irish" breakfast. She proceeds to enlighten me on the subject, explaining how an Irish breakfast has absolutely nothing in common with an English breakfast. I think I can safely assume that a Greek would do the same with regards to Turkish and Greek coffee. Totally different!

We go for a stroll along the road leading out of town. Eileen hears a pheasant. That's funny, Laura and I heard a chicken ... The steep hillside above the town is covered with beautiful old olive trees. How do they harvest the olives? We try to image what kind of machinery could possibly be used in such rugged topography. And how difficult it would be without any machinery!

The shops and mini-markets and bakery are all closed, and we have no bread for lunch. Eileen enquires at the taverna where we ate last night, hoping they might sell us a loaf of bread. The lady gives her a loaf, and won't accept any payment!

In anticipation of sailing without Dan, we prepare lists of things to do when entering and leaving harbours. Put out 3 fenders on each side, prepare two stern mooring lines outside everything, move the dinghy to amidships, lower the stern fender, prepare the anchor, ...

We prepare a passage plan and leave for Fiscardo in the early afternoon. Dan didn't come back! We are on our own (gulp!). The wind rises quickly as we leave the shelter of the bay, and soon we are sailing in 15 knots of wind, doing 5 - 6 knots. We leave the sails reefed, just to keep things nice and easy for our first solo sail. Our passage crosses the Kefalonia Strait, which is open to a bit of swell. Laura is a bit uneasy with the heeling and the motion of the boat in the waves. We remind her what Dan said about the boat being happiest when she has wind in her sails, and that reassures her. 

Despite it's reputation for being busy, there are hardly any other boats. As we approach the island of Kefalonia, we spot a small ferry coming across from Sivota. We don't want to be trying to manoeuvre in the harbour with him coming in behind us, so we go past the entrance to Fiscardo and wait for him to go in. This also has the advantage of giving us a good look at the entrance, which is reportedly hard to spot. The brown-coloured lighthouse on the point certainly doesn't help! It is the most inconspicuous light house I have ever seen.

After a few minutes the ferry comes out and we go in. There is space available on quay, we pick our spot and make a perfect approach. Drop the anchor, a nice man from the boat on our starboard side (Moody 40) takes our lines, the anchor holds, we did it! 

We stroll along the quay and find a nice looking place to eat. As we are waiting to order, a black bee the size of a small bird takes a close look at Laura. She panics and runs off, banging into a chair in the process. Ouch.

Back on the boat, where despite the fact that there is no tea pot, a good night's sleep is had by all.

Log entry for Sunday 25/04/2010
Fuel: Full
Batteries: 1 (engine) = 12.7; 2 (domestic) = 12.1
Water: 3/4
Engine check: OK (visual)
Bilge: 1/8 cup
Baro: 996 @ 12:50
Baro: 996 @ 15:45
From: Sivota, Levkada; Log 8988.5 @ 13:30
Towards: Fiscardho, Kefalonia; Log 9004.5 @ 17:20