October 13th to 20 th


Since we had a time factor, we had to sail thru Greece without doing any
sight-seeing.  Our main thought was to get to Turkey at least a week before
we had to board the plane to spend the holidays at home.  Below is an
outline of how we travelled from Sicily to Greece...

10/13 We left the bay outside of Portorosa, Sicily at 7:30 am on our way 60
miles to Saline Joiche.  When we got there, we found the entrance was silted
over and we counldn't get in.  So we continued on to Greece 212 miles away
after a full day of travelling....

10/14 At night and all day we had confused seas and we both felt a little
queasy...by about 6 pm, it became quieter and we could eat again.

10/15 After about 50 hours, we got to the port of Argostoli, Cephalonia,
Greece which was a port of entry with free docking.  Customs were friendly
and helpful, but the police, passport control, gave us a hard time.  They
told us we were in the EU for three months and had to leave???  We went back
to customs and asked them if there was a problem and they said no??? We hope
they are right!

We had lunch in a cafe across from our boat and walked around the town.  We
found a movie theater and Captain Cornelius's Mandolin was playing.  This
was not only the town where the film was made, but where the actual events
took place.  We were right there!  In the lobby they had many photos of the
movie being made.

10/16 We arrived at Mesolongion and entered a long canal with houses on
stilts.  We anchored in a quiet bay and had a peaceful night. Side to
docking on the quay was available.

10/17 The winds started to increase about 2pm. They reached 30 knots as we
arrived at the island of Trizonia around 4pm.  We were very happy to see
this small but quiet unfinished marina (no fee). We met one Canadian couple
on Laudance and a British couple on Bubbly Lady.  Since there was a great
restuarant which was very reasonable, Rudy and I ate dinner both nights we
stayed there and even had breakfast!! The owners were brothers and told us
we could pick some grapes, almonds, limes and pomegranates from their trees.
The first night, twenty-five boats joined us in the marina.  There was a
rally of sorts... they were hired to bring a fleet of boats from the summer
charter area to winter storage.  They left the next day and it was very
peaceful!!! The restuarant had showers, internet and a washing machine.  I
had my sheets and towels washed and hung them on Boundless. A nice place to
stop and you can't beat the price! We also found out about a Mediterranean
Cruisers net on SSB, 8122.0. It is at 5:30 UTC for check ins and weather at
about 5:45 UTC. We now have a place to get weather every day and a place to
check in so somebody knows where we are!

10/19 We left at 7 am for Cornith with Bubbly Lady not far behind. Some
Dolphins joined us for a while... jumping and spinning in the water.  I
talked to them as I always do with a great big smile on my face!! As we
approached the harbor (very small) Laudance came on the VHF. Mike let us
know that there were some areas that were very shallow and told us what our
options were.  We decided to go alongside in front of Laudance just inside
the breakwater.  Bubbly Lady came in and went across the small harbor from
us. We all went to the grocery store and had drinks on Bubbly Lady. Not a
lot of room inside the harbor, but the price was right!

10/20 Today we woke up excited to be going thru the Cornith Canal.  Rudy
called and was told that after the next ship Boundless, Laudance and Bubbly
Lady could go thru.  As the tug pulling the Cruise ship thru came to the end
of the canal the tug dropped his lines to the Cruise ship and we started
thru the canal at 7.5 knots with a 1 1/2 kn current! This canal is one-way
and a good thing... it looked like there was about two inches on both sides
of the Cruise ship!!! The canal is 3.2 miles long, 81 feet wide, 250 feet
high and dug out of limestone.  It was started by Nero and finished by the
Greeks in 1893, which probably makes it the longest construction project in
history!!  We saw a narrow path dug into the side of the canal's stone wall
on our port side where men and horses pulled the boats thru before tug boats
were available. It was very exciting!!!

We paid our money ($150 for the toll-- THE most expensive toll we have ever
paid!!!) and went on our way to Ormos Anavissau just south of Vouliagmeni on
the mainland.  It was an anchorage in a quiet bay and Laudance was behind us
the whole trip.  We were happy to get there before the sun set in beautiful
clear water.  Rudy took a swim and checked the anchor and hull... everything
was in good shape!!  My hero!!!

                         MORE TO FOLLOW