8th June 2010 Vathi, Ithaca

By now space is getting to be at a premium in these waters, and we dread what it will be like when the Italians arrive en masse in July. No wonder many cruisers go home in July and August. Sailing Holidays have 15 flotillas operating in this area – having withdrawn from Croatia because of spiralling costs there. Charter and flotilla boats vastly outnumber privately owned boats. Skippers and crew haven’t had a lot of practice anchoring or berthing. Every time we come into a harbour these days, we can count on a bit of drama, much of it highly entertaining if you’re not on the receiving end of it. Boats bumping into each other; windlass remotes chewed up in the winch; anchors dropped in the dinghy by mistake; crossed anchors and indignant shouting – we’ve seen it all.

On 30th May we headed south from Levkas after a great reunion with Frank and Anneke who are returning to Holland to do some contract work for a few months. It is slow going with nose to tail boats along the Levkas canal. After a couple of hours of slow tacking in a light southwesterly, we anchor in Abelike bay, one of the deeply indented coves on the north coast of Meganisi. We take our place in the long row of boats tied up here and take a line ashore. The crystal clear water is just warm enough to swim.

With NW6 forecast next day, we decide we need a more sheltered spot and move to Port Leone on Kalamos island. Mistake! The wind gusted down the lee side of the island, and dumped straight on to the anchorage. We had to re-lay our anchor several times that afternoon and did anchor watch until 4am when the gusts finally eased. Very tiresome.

We are feeling weary we ease ourselves into Port Kalamos harbour next morning. With local taverna owner George’s help with the lines, we moor alongside a boat we recognise from Aktio boatyard, home to John, Vera and Tanner, a six year old blind black cat. There should be a George in every harbour. He’s the unofficial harbour master, squeezing boats in tight to make the most of the space so no-one gets turned away, and minimising crossed anchors by supervising where boats drop their hook. All done with the aim of packing more punters into his taverna – the first night we were there, he fed 200 diners. Every morning we woke to the sound of a fisherman thwacking octopus with a flat paddle to tenderise them – for serving in George’s taverna.


We left Port Kalamos on 6th June, having delayed one day because of thunderstorms and reports of waterspouts on our route. We had a wonderful walk through the pine woods to Episkopi instead.

So finally we arrive Ithaca, home of Odysseus! We’re excited to reach one of the goals of our voyage and I dig out Cavafy’s poem to remind ourselves that we are indeed enriched by the experiences we have gained along the way.

Vathi, the capital of the island, has a magnificent harbour at the head of the gulf of Molo, which is reputed to be the windiest place in the Ionian.

The wind was just picking up as we snapped up the last place to park on the sheltered NE quay. Every afternoon a stiff breeze funnelled into the harbour kicking up quite a chop for boats at anchor and tied up to the town quay, but we avoided the worst of it.
Leighton (who hasn't taken 10 years to get here) with Odysseus

Our tour of the island by hire car did not start well. The road south from Vathi emerges from fields and olive groves on to an open cliff top with a sheer drop to the sea on one side with no parapet and a sheer rock wall on the other. It narrowed to a car’s width and there was nowhere to turn. The views were spectacular but Cathy’s nerves failed and she got out of the car, leaving Leighton to reverse hundreds of yards back onto safer ground!

Yesterday’s tour of the north of the island went better. Armed with our battered copy of the Odyssey, our circuit took in Stavros; a visit to the ruins of Homer’s School; a museum containing 8th century BC bronze and clay artefacts dug out of a cave in Polis bay; a swim near Frikes and a beer in picturesque Kioni harbour.