Discovering a world of boats and beauty
Last Updated on August 26, 2025
Discovering a world of boats and beauty
Last Updated on August 26, 2025
August 25 Super Yachts
August 25 Super Yachts
We woke up in the most beautiful bay in AntiPaxos with the Elena of London moored a little farther out. Elena is a beautiful schooner that one can charter of 100,000 Euros per week. Shortly after she pulled anchor and sailed away and even larger sailing yacht arrived. A black RHIB came into the bay to scout things out and then the 52 meter Xasteria ketch came barreling in, laying its massive anchor chain right through the middle of the bay and parking just off our starboard side firmly attaching herself with two shorelines. Someone handed the little dog to the nanny who handed the puppy off to the masculine crew members in the tender and they went onshore to walk the dog, while the greek owner was dangling his little boy upside down over the side of the ship.
I swam the anchor line and sure enough they were right over the chain of the German boat in front of us. No problem, said the German couple, they can just invite us over for dinner. Armed with this information I swam over to the super yacht and climbed the ladder that they had deployed of their port side.
A beefy crew member came over to repel the boarder but he retreated when I said I was there to discuss their anchor chain. Next a well polished captain with fine people skills came over to talk to me. No problem he said after listening to my story of intertwined anchor chains, when they want to leave, we will send our dive team to help them. The top 0.1% really does live in a different world.
We left shortly after the Germans and sailed to our favorite spot in Syvota, 15 miles directly north of AntiPaxos.
August 24 - AntiPaxos - Four Anchors
August 24 AntiPaxos - Four anchors
We left Preveza at 10:30 am. At 1 pm we raised the sail and soon we were cruising at 7 knots in a 15 knot breeze. It was fabulous. We continued for three hours and then we furled our sails and motored into the most beautiful bay at Anti Paxos.
It was busy, several sailboats and two large motor boats were already at anchor. We anchored next to the large white motor yacht named White Shark and we ended up floating over his stern line. The Greek captain came out in his tender and had some choice words for us. To solve the issue, we decided to deploy the large aluminum anchor that Nicolas kept in his port bow locker. It was a big effort, but we finally had everything deployed. The boat was secure with two anchors and a shore line, and then ……, White Shark started untying his shorelines and left.
We decided to move into his spot. We misjudged the distance the first time we dropped anchor, putting it too far from the shore. The fourth time we put an anchor in the water it was perfect. We tied off two shore lines, recovered the, very nice, aluminum anchor and two and a half hours after we pulled into the bay we were ready to settle down for the night.
August 23 - Preveza
August 23 Preveza
It was calm when we steamed out of Fiskardo at 8 am. We were heading to Preveza so we had a long voyage ahead of us. There was a considerable swell coming from the West and since we were going at the outside of Lefkas, the boat was rolling 10 to 15 degrees to each side. Soon half of our crew went below deck to get some more rest. Robert did trail a line behind the boat and tried some different lures, this time the fish out smarted us.
By 2 pm we were tied off in the private marina in Preveza. Saturday is the day that all the charters yachts are in and are changing crew, the town quay was bustling with activity with new sailors arriving, departing and generally milling around. We were here 19 years ago and since then the place had become more developed and there was a wide selection of restaurants and bars. The little streets behind the quay were also full with activity.
We decided to stay one night and sail off to Anti Paxos the next day.
August 22 - Fiskardo
August 22 Fiskardo
When we woke up the wind had picked up and we found ourselves with a lee shore. We got up quickly, untied the shorelines, raised the anchor and moved to open water. For a boat like our Amel, the ocean is always safer than an anchorage.
There were thunderstorm warnings for the afternoon so we decided to seek shelter in Fiskardo. Fiskardo is the one town that survived the 1953 earthquake that otherwise devastated Kefalonia. Here you can still see some of the original Venetian architecture. We tied of to the rocks below Nicolas’s taverna where we had a spectacular dinner as we shared a 1.7 kg sea bass with the four of us.
The taverna owner Nicolas filleted the fish and promised he would have a drink ready for our Nicolas when he visits.
August 21 - Paralia Pepitopoulos
August 21 Paralia Pepitopoulos
We left Filiatro at 12:45 pm, quickly raised the sails and sailed over to Paralia Pepitopoulos. This was the polar opposite of the busy bay we came from. In this little cove we were all alone.
At the end of the afternoon the goat header came bay to give his flock water and some feed. Alice, who is fluent in greek, talked to him for a while and discussed the realities of raising some 400 goats and sheep for feta cheese and meat. He was third generation and perhaps the last as he does not know any young person who wants his job. That night we watched a spectacular night sky from our aft deck.
It was a amazing spot, our anchor was in the sand and we had two strong shorelines so we slept well that night.
August 20 - Mooring Mishaps
August 20 - Mooring Mishaps
We left Effimia at 9:30 am, as we raised our anchor the chain of Fabrizio came up with it. With lots of enthusiasm we brought out the hook that I had fabricated several years ago just for this reason. We quickly hooked the chain and tied it off to a cleat. We then lowered and freed our anchor. We were now tied to Fabrizio’s chain just as he showed up in his zodiac to witness the final step. We tied of the second line of the hook, untied the first line and the hook turned 90 degrees dropping the anchor back to the seafloor. The whole operation just took less than 10 minutes and at 9:45 we were steaming out of the harbor.
It was calm weather and we returned to Filiatro, our favorite bay in Ithaca. We tied off to the limestone rock formation with 60 meters of shoreline on port, 45 meters of starboard and 70 meters of anchor chain at the bow. I personally inspected the shorelines and they were well secured. It was busy however and both the rocks on port and starboard had other boats tied off to them. Still we were very secure and it was a calm night so it was without a worry that we went of to the restaurant at 7 pm.
While we were having dinner someone untied our port shoreline and DarNico drifted into the boat on starboard. They noticed that the shoreline was loose, they reties it to a rock on the beach and went on board DarNico to take up slack. They told us the story when we came back at 9:30 pm. I was livid, I really want to deck the SOB that untied our shoreline and just left, that was a very irresponsible and inconsiderate act. Yes, DarNico was still secure with its anchor and second shoreline but you simply do not untie another vessel. It probably was a a motor yacht that was responsible for this mishap, someone who tried to leave and ended up untying us in the process.
We went to the beach tied the shoreline back to the mountain and we took up slack with the winch. In the end no damage was done. Part of the problem in these bays in August is that there are perhaps too many people and not enough seamanship.
August 19 - Effimia
August 19 - Effimia
Cleaned and provisioned the boat. Alice and Robert arrived from the UK to join us for the last week of our trip in the Ionian. Alice and I went to Insead together and since then she morphed into a super successful consumer marketing executive. After more than 30 years it was a lot of fun to spent serious time with her and her partner Robert.
August 18 - Effimia
August 18 - Effimia
Sailed to Effimia
Effimia is a beautiful little port 10 miles north of Sami. Lots of good restaurants, a colorful harbor master, Mr. Makis has 3 years with the Greek Navy, 30 years of commercial ocean shipping experience and 16 years as local harbor master.
We met up with Fabrizio, the charming Italian captain, and his Turkish partner Hatiche, who judging by her looks, was a direct descendant of Helen of Troy. Together they are on a sturdy ketch with a large back deck. They are a fun couple and were in the process of changing the gypsy on their windlass and replacing their anchor chain. Ultimately they ended up tying up next to us and we were very please to have them as neighbors.
August 17 - At anchor
August 17 - At anchor in Filiatro Bay
Fixed the scratch in the hull today, used a two part gelcoat and then did a lot of sanding.
In the evening we went ashore and had dinner in the fabulous restaurant on the beach.
August 16 - Filiatro Bay
August 16 - Filiatro Bay
The bay is absolutely breathtaking! The water is crystal clear, the beaches are pristine, and the white limestone cliffs are covered in lush greenery. We decided to stay and enjoy the moment.
Amel Super Maramu is hands down the best boat I’ve ever been on. Nicolas spent years perfecting it, and it shows. Right now, it’s 3:30 pm, and the solar panels are still charging the massive lithium-ion battery bank with over 30 amps at 26.9 volts. Everything is top-notch. The solar panels are from SunPower, thanks to the integrated back contact technology that was developed at Stanford (my alma mater), they’re the most efficient panels you can buy. DarNico has its own water maker and the kitchen has two refrigerators. There is room for lots of food. Since the solar panels produce enough power to maintain the boat we are very self sufficient can can easily stay out for many days.
Nicolas also installed new sails and rigging. The diesel engine is a reliable Yanmar, the best brand in the business. The anchor is massive and has a comfortable 80 meters of chain. The center cockpit is private and exudes safety and comfort. The guest facilities are even more comfortable than they were on Camino. The master bedroom is in the rear, a little smaller than Camino but still very nice.
The propellor has folding blades that give us an extra 0.5 knots when we’re sailing around 6 to 7 knots. The blades fold when we stop the propellor from turning. Amel added a brake disk to the shaft and brake pads that clamp onto the brake disk by a massive spring. When the engine is running, the oil pressure from the engine pushes back the spring and opens the brake caliper. This system was a bit worn out, and the brake pads weren’t gripping anymore. Using two part epoxy, I glued two 2 Euro pieces in front of the spring-operated shaft to create a bit more pressure. I hope this fixes the issue!
August 15 - Filiatro Bay
August 15 - Filiatro Bay
We pulled up anchor at 11 am, unfortunately our anchor lines were not crossed with the boats next to us so I did not get to use our fancy anchor-chain disentangle hook. We motored just outside of the harbor where we docked DarNico against the outer wall of the massive concrete pier. There were two small fuel trucks parked on the pier and one of them supplied us with 182 liters of diesel fuel filling our 600 liter tank to the brim. At 305 Euros it was a pretty reasonable price for this part of the world. Engine hours were at 2703 when we tanked.
We reversed away from the concrete pier and travelled to the other side of Ithaca. Sarakiniko bay was filled up with boats and had no spot for us so we continued farther north and we did find a beautiful spot at Filiatro Bay. There was some wind predicted for the end of the afternoon so I swam ashore and attached a shoreline to secure Darnico for the forecasted NW winds.
August 14 - Sami
August 14 - Sami
We woke up before 6 am had our coffee and at 6:40 am Rob dove in the water to untied the shorelines. It was early enough for us to see Venus and Jupiter, perfectly aligned and close to each other. A little after 8 am, we steamed into Sami and dropped the anchor in the middle of the harbor. We backed our stern to the Western concrete pier. Rob left us and took the ferry back to Corfu.
We used the time in Sami to provision the boat, clean the solar panels, topped off the Yanmar engine with a little 15-40 SEA oil and generally puttered around. I like Sami, the people are friendly, they have a decent selection of marine/hardware shops, two large supermarkets and lots of little shops including some bakeries that serve coffee and all sort of sweets.
While we were at dinner, the weekly ferry arrived with the gasoline delivery for Kefalonia. There were an amazing 19 oil tankers that rolled of the massive RoRo boat. The logistics of our modern civilization never ceases to amaze me.
August 13 - Kefalonia
August 13 - Arrived in Kefalonia
We are moored in a beautiful little bay 7 miles north of Sami in Kefalonia. This morning I calculated the diesel we have on board. Assuming 5 liters per hour and looking at the engine hours since DarNico tanked at Gavia on 7/27 we should have around 450 liters. The electronic gauge reads 415 liters and the dipstick shows 425 liters. All pretty close.
We left our anchorage in Lefkas at noon and did some sailing in light winds. At 4 pm we started the engine and motored south down the Kefalonian strait where we found the bay we are now in. It was deep in the center so for the first time I used almost all our anchor chain, we have 75 meters out and two shore lines of approximately 30 meters each. It was a bit of a challenge finding the right rock to tie to. Luckily we had an expert on-board Rob was after all a professor in geology.
Once we were done swimming Andrea Bocelli is playing on the Apple speaker and Ruth was cooking dinner. This is a nice place, we intent to come back.
That evening we watched the shooting stars as Earth travelled through the comet tail of Swift-Tuttle know as the Perseids meteor showers. The falling stars streaked across the sky. It was beautiful and we really had nothing else to wish for.
August 12 - A long voyage
August 12 - A long Voyage
We woke up at 6 am, I made some coffee and a cup of tea for Ruth. The sun came up while we were drinking our hot beverages. At 6:45 am Rob dove into the water to untie the shorelines and at 7:15 we were on our way.
Today we are heading to the south side of Lefkas and we hope to find a mooring in Kastri bay. This is a 60 nautical mile trip, we should have a nice breeze in the afternoon so we can at least do part of the trip under sail. In the morning while the engine is running we can make some more water.
August 11 - 900 liters of water went missing
August 11 - 900 liters of water went missing
At 10:10 am we steamed out of the Mandraki harbor with a 1,000 liters of water and some 500 liters of diesel according to the two dipsticks. We had filled the water tank to the brim the night before. We executed a Mediterranean moor in Syvota at the same location as three days ago. That evening while we were cooking we ran out of water. What happened? We could not have used more than a 100 liters. How could we have lost 900 liters of fresh water? I checked the engine room and it was bone dry, even the sump was empty. Inside the main cabin there was a trace of water under the floor boards but is was so little it could have easily been condensation.
I called Nicolas, the owner, and he suggested we make some water with the desalinator and then carefully check everything. Two hours later we had 150 liters of pure clean water in our main tank and all systems were back on but nothing was running. We could not find any leak or any sign of a leak.
While we were making water we had a lovely dinner on the main deck enjoying the sunset and Ruth’s fabulous cooking she had made a ratatouille with fresh vegetables that we had bought in Mandraki.
In the forward bathroom the faucet and shower are behind the door. I had briefly explained how it worked to our new guest. Perhaps I did not explain it enough? It is possible that the shower is running behind the door because the wrong valve was turned and you don’t immediately notice it. The shower could have been running slowly for the entire transit and because the engine was running we would not have noticed the pumps. Could this be the explanation? Occam’s Razor would suggest that this was indeed the culprit.
We left all systems on during the night and in the morning we still had 120 liters of water.
August 10 - Mandraki
August 10 - Mandraki
We untied the shorelines, raised anchor and left at 10 am. The departure was very efficient, today was the last day of Paul and Mariza and they had become quite the sailors during their short cruise, taking responsibility for all sorts of tasks on board such as the logbook, daily engine check and the never ending cleaning that is essential to keep DarNico in ship shape.
We tied off at Mandraki Marina at 11:20 am. The marina is located inside an old Venetian fort, it is a spectacular location with massive walls and deep moats creating an impenetrable bastion. It stood undefeated from 1386-1797 withstanding the Turks and the Byzantine empire. In 1797 Napoleon defeated the Republic of Venice and Corfu came under French occupation.
We had a crew change on Sunday afternoon and Rob, our friend from Boston, joined us to sail with us down to Kefalonia.
August 9 - Vido
August 9 - Vido
Ø Engine hours: 2681.1
Ø Diesel 475 liters estimate
Ø Water 600 liters
Ø Weather forecast Calm 10 knt West in the afternoon
After a refreshing swim in crystal clear water, we untied the shorelines and raised the anchor at 11:35 am. We motored to the other side of Corfu Strait and at Lefkimms, north of the cardinal buoy, we raise our sails. With full main, genoa and mizzen we cruised at more than six knots in 11 knots of wind for a while then the wind died down and we continued on the motor. It appears that the electronic gauge for the diesel is stuck because it has not moved for three days. We arrived at Vido the little island north of Mandraki at 4:30 pm. We dropped anchor at 5 pm and it took us a full hour to deploy the two shorelines. Slowly does it, and now we are nicely anchored with one 50 and on 45 meter shorelines and another 45 meters of anchor chain. These winching and swimming of this Mediterranean moorings did provide us with ample exercise.