Good Friday we flew from Belfast via Gatwick with friends Martin and Vicky from Bangor and meet up in Messolonghi with our Singapore friends Sue and Owen, who had flown in from their new home in Thailand. The next few days flew by in a whirl of boat repairs, cleaning to remove three months worth of red Saharan dust and provisioning for . It was not all work, we found time for a few Greek meals and a great Sunday BBQ at Pat and Tony’s lovely home above Messolonghi. Finally early on Tuesday, with the wind and rain of the weekend finally gone, it was calm enough to put on the genoa and hoist the skipper up the mast to conduct a rigging check. By 10am we were on our way motoring down the canal, bidding farewell to the town that had been so warm and welcoming.

Two years ago, on 12 May 2020 Temptress anchored in Messolonghi Basin at the height of the initial pandemic lockdowns. Little did we realise then that after the Greeks permitted us entry, it would be so long before we restarted our voyage westwards.

Eventually after a few hours motoring during which Martin & Vicky (dinghy and dayboat sailors) started to became familiar with a much bigger boat, there was enough breeze to try sailing. The wind built rapidly so we reefed, giving the crew practise. Then it grew confused by the islands of Ithaca and Cephalonia, motoring seemed the better option to reach Fiskardo, our intended destination by dusk. Fiskardo is renowned for its shallow quays and Tuesday evening was no exception, the only space on the quay proved to not have enough water for Temptress’ deep rudder. We quickly gave up and spent a quiet night at anchor round the corner in Ormo Foki instead.

Ships Log: Messolonghi to O. Foki – 49 nm