Cruising Croatia: the trip south

It took more than a couple of glasses of wine to plan our return trip of about 1000 nautical miles back to Malta, the more so as the thunderstorms that had plagued us for the past 10 days persisted in hanging about.



Having forsaken the northern part of Italy and unfortunately our visit to Ravenna to catch up with a dear friend there, we signed up for another month of Croatia. We took the first opportunity to cross the notorious Gulf of Kvarner to one of our favourite stops at the delightful isle of Mali Losinj where we ended up staying two days in order to replace the starter battery.



The weather was immediately better, with the thunderstorms striking the mainland and mostly missing the islands. With August upon us, we found ourselves sailing south in company with hordes of Italian power-boaters some of whom can be the scourge of the seas.



We opted for different anchorages on islands we had bypassed on our trip north and also decided to visit the magnificent Dugi Otok national park, which was another highlight on this leg of the journey. We anchored at the top of Luka Telascica, surrounded by the strikingly different landscape which is more like a moonscape at times.



After a couple of days there, we left the island group of Dugi Otok and sailed to a nearby island group around Murter. It is amazing how one can go from a totally barren landscape to such lush greenery in the few nautical miles that separate them. With a Bora (the notorious north easterly wind which often blows at gale force and more) forecast, we decided to ‘hide’ in the large bay outside Murter town and passed a pleasant week there, catching up again with old friends on KOZA and meeting new Ozzie friends Helve & Rick on TANGAROA.



We braved it in strong northerlies all the way down to Rogoznica, on the mainland and then crossed to Vela Luka on the island of Korcula. We checked out of Croatia from the picturesque island of Lastovo and, for once, enjoyed a magnificent sail across to Italy.



The contrast between Croatia and Italy could not have been greater. To begin with, the weather and water temperature were immediately a few degrees warmer, but instead of lovely turquoise waters, we were now confined to harbours, as there are hardly any anchorages on the Italian east coast. We checked into Italy at Vieste, in the Puglia region which is formerly run by the Normans and full of medieval towns. Here we where introduced to what the French may have lent the name to but the Italians absolutely have perfected: bureaucracy. Apparently, as a non EU registered yacht, we were expected to sign-in-and-out of every port, with one of the four different police forces they have.



Yet even this worked out in our favour. We used the Guardia Costiera, with whom we were meant to check in at every port of call, to ‘book’ us a spot on the next port’s harbour wall, so as to satisfy their requirement that we stop where we said we were heading. In fact this arrangement worked out so well, that we stopped at every harbour on the way south and had a ball running around on the local buses and trains. In this way we visited Monte Sant’ Angelo outside Manfredonia, and the famous cities of Lecce, Trani and Ostuni, also known as the white city, among others.



We had an amazing stop at Molfetta, little realising that this was a sister city to Fremantle. It became obvious when Molfettese kept coming up to our boat on the harbour wall relating stories of their days in Fremantle. From them we learnt that the traditional blessing of the fleet in Freo is based on the Molfetta tradition of this annual feast day. We found ourselves taken over by friendly locals who provided fresh fish, prawns, vegetables, home made high quality olive oil and many other local produce, and wanted us to stay and celebrate the upcoming traditional feast with them – the friendliness and warmth of the people there is something we will not forget.



Our absolute favourite port going south was undoubtedly Monopoli, a most charming old town with just enough history and ruins to keep us happy between feasting on really good Italian food. The Romans where wrong, there is fish in the Mediterranean, at least the Adriatic part of it.



A month on this coast of Italy flew by, with the telltale signs of good living now starting to show up in waistlines. So with reluctance we headed out of Brindisi and straight across to Syracuse to head down to Malta for a month’s stay before we headed back to Ragusa, in Sicily, where we were to leave MISCHIEF for the winter.

Cruising Croatia: the trip north



Celebrating my 58th birthday with Andi, Lea & Georges from TE ARA

 The start to our 2011 cruising season was a very social one, as we left Malta in mid May sailing with Philip and Henriette on Waterdrincker. Our first stop in Sicily was the tiny port of Marzamemi where we caught up with old friends Te Ara. We sailed on to Syracuse and spent a glorious few days there and then went on to Taormina where our paths went different ways as we continued around the south of Italy with Waterdrincker.

We toured the areas around Crotone with Philip and Henriette (Waterdrincker) and then waved goodbye to them as we made our way the next morning towards Prevesa in Greece. We wanted to see the parts of the Ionian that we missed out on last year and also stop to do the first service on our new engine before getting to Croatia in the summer madness.

Greece is always a place of contrasts and after seeing the ‘fjord’ to the east of Prevesa with quant villages and more ruins to admire we went for some blue water again on what we were sure would be our highlight this time round in Greece, namely the lovely islands of Paxos and Corfu. We stayed a whole week in the little town of Gaios in Paxos and took bus rides and rented a scooter to explore the island. Very touristic in a nice way and most enjoyable.

Paxos Island - the northern anchorage



From Paxos we then motor-sailed (we were in the ‘Motorranean’ after all) to Corfu to anchor under the old fort in calm blue seas. From here you can see Albania across the water and listen to Greek music from the taverna on the beach. A car rental and another week later we had experienced crazy tourist drivers and a thunderstorm or two with a swell in the anchorage to match any ocean crossing.



At this point we motor-sailed to Montenegro as the storm force headwinds abated. We gave Albania a miss as we had heard that one was either welcomed with open arms and kisses on both cheeks or robbed and shot on sight if you believe other cruisers’ tales.

The old town Kotor in Montenegro takes the picturesque prize in the region and is proudly operated by the local mafia who can teach the Italian cousins a few things apparently (which is why the Italian navy is patrolling the seas here and the minefields from the WW2 are still clearly marked on the sea charts).



Magnificent Montenegro



Being the daredevils we are we did not take a shortcut through the minefields even though we had been assured no one had been blown up for a long time. We arrived in Kotor to find it a really lovely, great place and, you guessed it, stayed a week enjoying the old town, food and artsy culture.

All good things have to come to an end and as there was no wind we motored on to Croatia. By now we were really pleased with our new engine that had already clocked over 100 hours. Checking in to Croatia, we emptied our wallet in favour of the taxman for the pleasure of being in these waters. To our surprise we found ourselves anchored next to three other antipodean yachts, two of which we would meet again later in the season.

Croatia is great for sailing with many islands and anchorages to stop at, some with lots of history. We sailed via Lopud to the island of Mljet, also a national park, and waited out some strong north easterlies (the dreaded Bora winds) here and ran into more Aussies, including Gail & Alex on Stefanija, and Carola & Jim on Koza.



On the island of Hvar



We made our way slowly north visiting many towns and anchorages in Korcula, Hvar, Drvenik Veli, Murter, Pasman, Ugljan, Molat and Mali Losinj to name a few.

The reputation of turquoise waters in beautiful bays was not exaggerated, and with more leisure time to explore the surrounds than our two week cruise to Croatia some six years back had allowed, we really enjoyed rediscovering this truly magnificent archipelago which is a sailing paradise.

Our ambitious program had us in Pula at the northern end of Croatia, by the end of July for our ultimate goal of the year, Venice. Here we caught up with Gerlinde & Martin on Mojo, Austrian friends we had first met during our winter stay in Finike 2 years ago. We also ran into Koza again and met June and Pat Antares , a Kiwi boat (the Boxing Kangaroo flag has really done its work this season!!).



Roman Colesseum at Pula



Venice was not to happen however. We did attempt a crossing early one morning and were greeted with 2-3 metre breaking waves at the entrance to Pula harbour, and simply turned back. With squalls and thunderstorms forecast for the next week or so, it was with great sadness and disappointment that we decided the weather gods turned against us dishing out thunderstorms galore for two weeks.

There is the flip side to everything however, as we changed plans and decided to prolong our cruising in Croatia by another month, giving us the opportunity to visit some of the other islands that we had missed out on going north, including the stunning Dugi Otok national park.

So here we are sitting sipping a good glass of wine as we plan our next moves to take in as much of this wonderful archipelago as possible.

Wintering in Malta

Hello fellow cruisers/ dear friends, family and all.



Out with the old in with the new



This has been our first long break ashore since leaving Australia over three years ago, as we have been off our beloved Mischief for about 6 months. 



We were very lucky to have a friend with an empty house in Malta which we could move into. So everything came off Mischief, and she got a thorough scrubbing, refreshing the varnish an d airing/ cleaning bedding etc. We did the same to our friend’s house which had been closed up for a length of time.

 



Never knew the engine room was so cosy



The first 3 months we concentrated on changing engine, and we now have a new YANMAR 54 hp in a pristine engine room. You almost need sunnies now with the glare from the new alfoil lined insulation, and Bjorn is justifiably very proud of his handiwork! As boat work will have it we also had to change the propeller shaft and propeller offcourse. Out with the old and in with the new became a major effort.




Our new tank



Another project was a new fuel tank, made from fibreglass, using a special chemical resistant resin, to replace the old steel tank that has had a ‘temporary’ repair since the Red Sea. We should have finished all the major jobs now. Needless to say, to you boaties, you are having a quiet giggle now, as there is no such thing as no more jobs on a boat!

 We took off from Malta in mid December and flew to Perth to spend Christmas with Mark & Bridget and Annika & Jesper. Thanks to Bridget’s family, we house sat a beautiful home and garden in an idyllic setting in the bush (forest for you non Aussies) outside Margaret River, some 250 kms south of Perth, and had a terrific Xmas and New Year with the Swarbrecks (Bridget’s family), even managing to avoid the 40 degree heat wave in Perth.


Only one thing to do when there are sharks in the water

But our reprieve from the heat was short lived! Perth proved to be a hot destination this year, and a very social one too. Apart from all our friends, including those at the Fremantle Sailing Club, we managed to catch up with several cruisers (Sandpiper, Purr, Billabong, Pampero) and other friends (Mara) who were visiting in Perth.



Back in Malta in mid March, after a brief stop over in incredible Dubai, we concentrated on getting Mischief ready for this year’s cruising. The weather in this part of the Med has taken its time to settle down and even now, towards the end of May, it is still a coolish 20 – 21 degrees, and only slowly warming up.


We left Malta on the 15 May and had a leisurely motor sail – in company with Waterdrincker (Philip & Henriette and friends) to Marzamemi in Sicily, catching up with dear friends Georges, Andi and their gorgeous 9 year old Lea on Te Ara.



A feast of  food and fresh produce in Sicily



We are now back in Syracuse, enjoying the fabulous foods and feasting our eyes and bellies on the wonderful range of produce from the local market. We also celebrated our birthdays with these good friends.

Our plan for this year is very flexible, though we still intend to try and go up the Adriatic to Venice and stop over in Ravenna in August. We will be making our way towards Paxos and Corfu via the boot of Italy in the next week or so!

Until our next instalment, we wish you all best of health and a good season wherever you are!

Cheers

Christina & Bjorn

The Corinth and the Ionian to Malta

Hello fellow cruisers/ dear friends, family and all.

Here we are, berthed at Msida marina on the breakwater, with the 600 year old bastions of Valletta and Floriana in the background, 400 metres across from us in Marsamxett Harbour, Malta.

But first to our last part of the Greek cruise.

We left Paros with very gentle winds and a good forecast for the following week and cruised up along the Peloponnese coast towards the Corinth Canal, stopping at the historic town of Epidhavros on the way. We anchored at Kalamaki overnight and in the morning left early to go up the Corinth Canal with calm winds forecast. The canal is quite narrow, with steep sides and very dramatic, and we only had a small counter current which did not worry us at all. It was interesting to see how the sides of the canal are getting eroded and the efforts being made to maintain it.

It took us about an hour and a half to go through the canal, and then we were in the Gulf of Corinth. Up went the sails as the wind started to pick up. Before long we had 20 knots plus head winds and the seas were short and becoming very choppy and wet. We gave up on our original plan to go through to Galaxidi and decided to go to the bay at Veresses. It was protected from the swell but had some very strong gusts blowing into the bay until sunset, when all died down.

In the morning, we made an early start before the wind picked up again and motored round the corner into Galaxidi, one of the prettiest little harbours we had visited to date, but also with an ominous clunking sound coming from the engine. Once in Galaxidi Bjorn, with the help of Mark, figured the drive plate was broken and needed replacing. After chasing all over Greece (by phone) for the part we ended up ordering the it from the UK (much cheaper and the proper part). Then came the hairy bit of pushing the shaft back whilst the boat is still in the water, replacing the plate and then trying to get the shaft back in again!!! Once again, my darling chief engineer (definitely in the captain's good books that time) did a tremendous job, with Mark and Peter, another Australian on the catamaran Purr, helping.

We stayed on in Galaxidi and went to visit Delphi which is by far the most stunning site we have been to in Greece. The museum is really first class! We also made some good friends in this town and spent some very pleasant evenings with Peter and Dorothy on Purr (also from Freo Sailing Club and sailed to Med) and Gina & Lenny on Feijao (eastern staters), plus our American friends Harry & Jane on Cormorant. Another of Mark & Bridget's friends joined us here, bringing more boat spares from the UK.

After some 8-9 days, we motored out of Galaxidi to the small island of Trizionia with a very pretty bay, some 15 miles to the east along the Corinth. It was approaching the end of Mark & Bridget's stay with us, and we decided to do an overnight sail before they left. So we left at 5.00pm and headed out first under the bridge at Patras and then straight on towards the Ionian island of Ithaca, where Mark and Bridget and their friend Lucy were to disembark and take the ferry to Corfu.

We arrived at Vathy Harbour in Ithaca at 7.00 am, after slowing down for the last few hours of early morning. What a stunning place this was, seemingly a very safe harbour. We decided to rest up after the overnight sail, and then go ashore in the afternoon. The cruising guide did warn about fierce gusts, and they were not wrong! We certainly got wet going ashore, and only did so because the anchor seemed to be holding very well! It seems that the wind blows 25 - 30 knots in the harbour, and yet it can be only 5 knots outside, depending on wind direction. Luckily the wind eased off at dusk and we had a drier return trip to Mischief after our last meal together ashore.

What did not work out though was the ferry to Corfu where Mark, Bridget and Lucy were headed. The direct ferry service had been cancelled and it seemed they either had to take a ferry back to Patras (a whole day) and then one out to Corfu or else island hop.... With favourable weather forecast, we upped anchor the next morning and motor sailed north to Nidri harbour in Levkas, where the 'kids' (they hate me calling them that, but 'young adults' seems too artificial, maybe I should just stick to M&B)... disembarked.

We stopped in Nidri for about a week, somewhat sad about the departure of M&B and tried to work up some enthusiasm for cruising the Ionian. In truth, after visiting some 25 islands, numerous Hora (main towns on Greek islands, sometimes also spelt Chora), churches, ruins and other sites we were somewhat exhausted from sightseeing and needed a rest. We were fortunate to bump into our friends on Cormorant once again and met up some other cruisers who gave us good tips for bays to visit in the area, where we could swim, relax and enjoy the beautiful bays. What we had not planned on was the August holidays and the invasion of yachts by Italians and northern Europeans and the crazy - and sometimes downright dangerous - manoeuvrings of some the yacht skippers and charterers.

We cruised around the island of Meganisi for a week, always making sure to get in early to find a good anchorage, and ended up having to tie up stern to in one of the bays. I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but to our horror we got a rat on board. We caught it the second night, but not after it had started to chew our new VHF coax which we had only just installed a year before! The rat must have tried to come aboard on the rope tied to shore which had a rat protection wheel.... from the droppings it seems that it must have fallen into the water, somehow swam to the front of the boat, climbed our anchor chain and made its way to the hatch where it chewed our flyscreen to get in!! Thank goodness for those gluey strips, for they trapped the very unwelcome guest before it did much more damage!!

Well... that somewhat turned me off the idyllic Ionian, but in truth, these pests exist everywhere!! We left Meganisi in disgust and tried to find another anchorage where we would not have to tie up to shore. Thanks to a tip from Cormorant, we discovered the lovely bay called Port Leoni and a few days later decided to take up another tip and visit Kioni, on Ithaca. We were told to get there early, and luckily we did as we found just about the last spot on the harbour - and right along side Georges & Andrea and daughter Lea on Te Ara whom we knew from our winter at Finike Marina. Well... a good reunion, sundowner time and a glass of wine in hand and suddenly the whole harbour came alive as boats started coming in to find berths...

Now get this... a small harbour at the head of a small bay which could accommodate perhaps 15-20 yachts. Then suddenly you have flotillas of charter yachts and other boats coming in (we counted about 70 one evening) looking to tie up. Deep water throughout, so boats would have to anchor close to shore and put a stern line out to tie up. The yelling, shouting, trying to get a place first, dangerous tactics, swearing etc certainly kept us entertained every evening, as we kept watch to ensure our anchors did not get snagged and we came unstuck!! 11,000 nautical miles from Fremantle to the Med, and this was definitely the scariest bit of boating we encountered! We saw - and helped untangle - many boats whose careless or clueless captains got anchors snagged, sometimes towing other boats behind them!!

With these antics, we gave up on trying other anchorages, as the word was that everywhere was just too crowded and crazy, so we explored Ithaca with Te Ara and then headed to Nidri to get ready for our crossing to Sicily and then to Malta for the winter. The plan was to get to the Ionian early next season and explore the beautiful isles in peace before heading up the Adriatic to Croatia and on to Venice.

We had a lovely sail for the first 36 hours and were heading straight to Malta, but some 50 miles from Syracuse we ran into an uncomfortable swell and decided to revert to our original plan and changed direction for Syracuse. We got there early morning to see once again our friends Cormorant at the anchorage. We spent close to a week there waiting for favourable winds to sail the last 80 miles to Malta, but in the meantime rediscovered the old town of Syracuse which has been transformed from a dirty, grotty city I remembered from some 40 years ago to this incredibly lovely scrubbed up and restored old town - really charming, warm and friendly with some marvellous restaurants and a good market! We fell in love and would have stayed on but for the need to get to Malta and secure a winter berth.

We had a pleasant crossing to Malta, sailing for the first part and then motoring as the wind died down overnight. I cannot describe the emotions of finally sailing into Marsamxett Harbour in Malta in our beloved MISCHIEF two and a half years after leaving Fremantle. We put down anchor and I had to go and coax a place in the marina, and a few days later managed to tie up at the guest berths.

So here we are, mum (88) and dad (94) still going strong as are all the rest of the family, MISCHIEF getting readied for the winter, and for more winter maintenance including possibly a new engine for the next legs of our voyage. We keep running into old sailing friends, Blue Marine, Moonshadow , Te Ara and others are all in Malta, some for the winter, some passing through... catching up with old sailing friends in Malta.... We even had visitors from WA (Bicton neighbours) including old acquaintances we had long lost touch with - all in all a very social start to our winter stay.

And before long, winter in Perth with our daughter and partner, and M&B, a family together again even if briefly after 4 years... We hope to catch up with as many as possible in Perth (we're there for 2-3 months).

All the very best

Christina & Bjorn

Mischief in the Agean

Yassas (hello) to all!

Here's our account of our wonderful trip across the Agean - very late thanks to a computer breakdown which we got fixed in Athens, and then having to load back the software and docs, most of which we had backed up luckily!!

We waved goodbye to Finike with some sadness, having grown so fond of Turkey and the gentle, friendly Turks during our year long stay. In addition, our final inland trip to the stunning fairytale land of Cappadocia was a highlight not only of Turkey but of our odessey so far.

We cruised up into the wonderful anchorages at Kekova Roads with its Lycian ruins spread both above ground and under water, and spent a good week readjusting to living at marinas. Then we moved to our first Greek stop at the islet of Castellorizon,. It is only 2 miles off the Turkish town of Kas, small, very picturesque and very typical of the Dodecanese architecture with Venetian influence - and still one of my favourite islands. From there we returned to the Turkish coast making our way to Fethiye to formally check out of Turkey, and then crossed over to Rhodes to pick up Mark and Bridget who were going to cruise with us for the 2 month trip across the Agean to Athens and beyond.

We had a good schedule of islands planned out, going north through the Dodecanese from Rhodes to Patmos, then turning south to the Cyclades towards Santorini and then turning northwest through the lower Cyclades towards Athens. This route was meant to dovetail with the meltemi season, and whilst I would love to put it down to my exquisite planning, the wind gods were definitely on our side as we had a really great passage.

The highlight in Rhodes was undoubtedly the castle and the old city. The town of Lindos, on the east coast, was also truly worth the visit. In Rhodes, we also caught up with Marie Christine & Yves on Blue Marine, whom we had first met in Malaysia and had not seen for over a year.

The next stop was at the pretty island of Simi for a few days and then on to the anchorage on the Turkish coast at the old Lycian port of Knidos. From there we headed to Kos and stayed at the very pretty old harbour with the Castle of the Knights dominating the port. Here we visited the Hellenistic and Roman ruins all around us, and enjoyed the shade under Hippocrates Plane Tree, where he reputedly taught his pupils. An overnight stop at a lovely anchorage at Pserimos and then we called into Kalimnos, a very Greek town out of the tourist mainstream.

We really like Leros - almost completely overlooked by tourists, despite its not very promising description in our cruising guide. A stunning medevial castle and some very pretty villages on the east coast made for a very pleasant stay. From here we moved to the small island of Lipsi and a lovely anchorage to wait out some northerly winds. Luckily there were some moorings which we could use, as the holding for the anchor was not the best, and we had one of the best Greek meals ashore at the only taverna in the turquoise bay.

We got to Patmos in time to meet up with the Fremantle Sailing Club cruisers who chartered boats from Athens and were sailing east to Rhodes. It was a real treat to catch up with old friends and added to the appeal of Patmos (John the Divine wrote the Apocalypse here) with its stunning monastry and the winding streets with whitewashed houses of Hora perched on top of the hill overlooking the island and the harbour.

We waved goodbye to old friends and to the Dodecanese and started south to the Cyclades, and had the only uncomfortable trip in the Agean - not so much because of strong winds, which actually were not that strong, but because of uncomfortable seas as the winds had gone from southerlies to northerlies, and the swell was quite confused.

The very small island of Levitha offered a wonderfully safe overnight anchorage and the next day we continued on with very pleasant gently northerlies to Amorgos. Here we rented a car and visited the spectacular east coast with magnificient cliffs and a stunning monastry built into the side of a very steep cliff (and a good walk up to get to it too)!

The main hora is very pretty and Amorgas also boasts some lovely, picturesque hilltop villages at the northern end.

Next stop was Thira (Santorini) with its magnificient volcanic crater. We rented a car and drove up to visit the fantastic hilltop towns perched on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the semicircular caldera with its spectacular multicoloured cliffs. The main town of Fira is the picture postcard of the Cyclades with its immaculate whitewashed houses- and streets sometimes - and blue trim/ roofs! We all agreed however that the even older town of Oia at the northern tip - with its cave homes - was the most attractive, and the sunset at Oia is not to be missed, despite the hordes that gather there and take up every square inch of wall or roof top to watch! Definitely a must!

We took the boat into the caldera, and anchored in one to the tiny bays on Nea Kameni, the crater core which is still active, for Mark to walk up to the crater. After lunch we started on our northwesterly route, to a lovely anchorage on the south side of Ios, before heading around to the main harbour the next day to pick up my nephew, Ben and his partner Nadine. We won't say much about Ben turning up with his leg in plaster and on crutches, but the good thing is that even with six of us on the boat, we all spread around and had a great 4-5 days of partying and cruising (actually we let the "kids" do the all night parties, and watched the hangovers with bemusement....)

Ios is definitely fun island for the young. The main Hora is not only a very attractive Cycladic village with the usual labyrinth of narrow winding lanes with thatch roofs straddling the lanes. It is also filled with nightspots which are relatively inexpensive by Greek standards. This island certainly grew on us, and we left a few days later so explore more islands and anchorages. We crossed to the island of Sikinos, only 7 miles away, to the most delightful small harbour we had seen so far. We anchored just outside the harbour in turquoise waters, but realised that this would not do as an overnight stop if the wind blew up, so reluctantly left late afternoon and headed to Antiparos for the night, heading north to Ioannis Cove in the northern end of Paros the next morning.

After relentlessly moving on for the last six weeks, we were delighted that we had now crossed the main waters of the Agean without too much adverse winds. We were all feeling somewhat jaded from too many islands, monasteries, Horas etc... and needed time out. What luck then that Ioannis Cove was turquoise heaven with lovely, tiny seculeded sandy beaches and a very safe all weather anchorage. One of the main beaches had a beach concession, and a ferry into the very pretty town of Naousa very regularly. It was here that we bid Ben & Nadine farewell, and a few days later welcomed Clare and her brother Lucas for another short visit. Strong winds blew up (a first taste of strong meltemis) and we decided to stay put, and enjoy the wonderful anchorage, and explore the island and surrounds. We also took the ferry to visit the ancient site of Delos and the island of Mykonos via Naxos.

We ended up spending 11 days in Paros, and as the winds settled we sailed off first to Serifos, to see was is reputedly the most stunning Hora of the Cyclades (it was too: white houses crowning two steep peaks - one higher than the other and crowned itself with a Venetian Kastro). From here we moved on to Kithnos before crossing to mainland Greece on the Peloponnese side to the large safe anchorage (Russian Bay) at Poros. We planned to stay here for a week or so, celebrate our Agean crossing, visit Athens and plan the rest of our Greek odessey... We did all that, went into Athens and visited the Acropolis, crowned by the Parthenon overlooking the centre of Athens - and got our computer fixed. A few days of rest and relaxation around the wonderful anchorage at Russian Bay, with a few visits into the town of Poros, and we started thinking of our crossing the Corinth Canal and into the Ionian - all in our next newsletter!!

One other item that deserves mention is the number of cruisers that we caught up with that sometimes cruised with us and so often gave us some excellent anchorage and restaurant tips! Thanks to all you guys and we certainly enjoyed the company!

All the very best from us all on Mischief: Chris & Bjorn, Bridget and Mark