The last hop – which we decided to break up with a few days relaxing in Lefkada. At this time of the year, the bays are empty and there’s a chance we can anchor in peace – something we would never expect to do in the height of the summer!
We had intended to leave early as it’s almost a 9 hour sail to the South coast of Lefkada but in the end we didn’t get away until around 10h00. On departure the anchor was completely stuck in thick clay/mud – all the links of the chain were full and we had to jetwash the chain and anchor as it was oozing gunge onto the winch! This is the place to go if you need to lay in a storm!!!
The crossing to Lefkada was easy – flat seas for most of the way except for the usual “Ithaca/Lefkada gap” late in the afternoon when the westerlies blow in for some great sailing. We settled on Ormos Rouda – a deep bay on the south of the island and one which is not surrounded by much in the way of town and nightlife. When we arrived around 18h30 there was another boat in the middle so it was tricky to find the right place.
We were planning to spend a few days here to end the summer so we re-anchored in the morning when the other yacht left so we had a better position. Even though it was October, during the day the bay was mobbed with charter yachts in the afternoon as they stopped for a swim! However, they all left before nightfall heading back to the safe harbour of the marina, so we had the place to ourselves.
The first part of winterisation is always on the water and there’s no reason why that needs to be sitting in a marina, so we started our work already laying in the bay.
On Friday 20th, we pulled up the anchor for the last time and took the easy run up the inland sea towards the Lefkada channel and bridge. We’ve never been on the water quite this late in the season and it has certainly been a challenging one. We’ve gone from sitting in one place for weeks on end in Diaporos to hacking it for days non-stop to jump the storms to get back. We passed the bridge at Lefkada and made the final crossing to Preveza, tying up at Cleopatra with the usual drama from the marineros at around 16h30. Now the hard work starts!