If you suffer from vertigo don't look ;O)

We had to get our wind generator down for an overhaul. Found a great sea monkey called Patch who loves going up masts - he is quite capable of going up unassisted but we got him into the Bosun's chair...here he is at the top of our Mizzen mast.

 

 

Greg watching from the pontoon.

 

 

Lots of lubrication, a little encouragement from a hammer and a young man's determination eventually won the day.

 

 

Another view

 

 

Our front yard

 

Another FOWEY boat in Corfu Marina :O)

Another Fowey boat joins Lerryn Lady in the marina :O) I remember this cruiser from a few years back in Fowey harbor - Greg used to race against her.

She's a Moody 31 foot - haven't seen a soul on her though I believe she may belong to a Steve Clemens.

Take these chains...

 There are one hundred and more things that need attention before we can leave the boat for the Winter; jobs that will hopefully have Lerryn Lady in good shape to take off again across the Ionian next year. One of these jobs is cleaning the anchor locker and inspecting the anchor chain. Here you can see us running the chain out  on deck in five metre lengths ( Greg is up the end there) we have 60 metres of chain and 45 metres of anchor rope. It's actually very nice to walk on barefoot! We cleaned the chain and re-calibrated it in 5 and 10metre lengths so whomever is up front can easily see how much chain is released at any one time ( usually my job - letting it out - and when we're ready to up anchor it's me up there bringing it all back in again manually, I enjoy doing it).

 Clean anchor chain.

This is the anchor chain back in situ in the anchor locker which we cleaned out and re-painted with bilge paint ( nice grey huh?). For you non-sailors, this is all up in the pointy bit of our boat - the Bow. The anchor itself is kept outside, all the time, lashed to the very front of the Bow ready to be deployed.  We've anchored in many beautiful bays and harbours this year thanks to this bit of kit.

In the Sky above us today (makes a change from the sea).

 

 

 

Sounding like a mega-menace mosquito up there!

 

 

 Just liked the light on his canopy...

 A big kiss in the Blue for you all!

Last Visitors to Corfu this sailing season

Colin and Sandra arrived for the rainiest week of the year in Corfu ! Sandra, the Chicken Scratching is BRILLIANT :O) Goodbyes yesterday, mother of all thunder storms last night and today it's back to bikini weather here in Corfu - sorry guys! xx
 

Mon Repos Corfu

 Well here is the plaque on the gates into Mon Repos.  HRH managed a good marriage which is just as well for him and all his family because the Greeks kicked them out. They are all living in London and we're not sure if the Greek taxpayers are footing the Bill (*tongue-very-firmly-in-cheek*) or as they are Glucksberg's perhaps the Danish are paying their rent in Kensington...damn nice of em! For sure it won't be the Slitty eye folk he refers too. For the record I would like to say that the Greeks I meet have grace and manners.

Something weird started to happen - clouds - the first in 6 months! As we wondered through the public park we found ourselves down by the King's ( Ex- Kings) pontoon. That's someone relaxing with a book out there.

And Greg on the end of the pontoon with Albanian hills in background ( and a ferry).

Even stranger than before - Raindrops - first in 6 months!

Looking across Garitsa Bay to the Old Fortress - good anchorage - we'll stop off here next May.

Corfu Town - well a few images from the touristy bit!

Egg Art

Zazzing up an old stool with some loving thread work.

Local goodies: Kumquat and Lemon liqueurs, Olive Oil, Olives and Preserves.

Puppets for the kids.

The locals are always up for a dance - me too!

 

 In Corfu town you could be in Venice, France, England or Greece. Many of the mansions are Venetian, Promenade arcades French and a there's a green as green Cricket pitch slap bang in the centre ( well almost, give a yard or two)

 Lawrence Durrell is one of my favourite authors, I didn't realize he had lived in Corfu until I came across the Park gate. Good Durrell reads in my opinion: Alexandria Quartet, Bitter Lemons and the Avignon Quintet. He also wrote Travelogues, Poetry, Drama and letters

Alongside part of the Old Fortress ( Palaio Frourio) built by the Venetians in the 15th century on the remains of a Byzantine castle. The British altered it a bit as well. There's a lighthouse on the inner outcrop.

Richard from the Rhondda

Greg and I walked from Corfu Town centre to the Anemomilos ( windmill) on the southern point of Garitsa bay. It is a reconstruction of the original on the same site until 1892 serving the milling needs of the town. This reproduction houses a small gallery, but it wasn't open today.

Then we met Richard from the Rhondda...

 

 

Here's Greg talking with Richard who has cycled from the Rhondda to Corfu in just six weeks ( ferry across the channel from Albania). He told us he had most of the forest roads to himself and that he camped 'wild' all the way. He plans to cycle to Turkey next summer!

 When I enquired about his cooking facility he got this MSR American Expedition cooker XGK out of a pannier. It's petrol driven and almost empty as he has to load it onto an EasyJet flight back to Bristol later tonight; after the flight he has the cycle ride back to the Rhondda :O) Note Lipton tea!

 Here it is firing up with a lead guard. When it was truly fired up it had a small, fierce blue flame, like a mini jet engine. Richard says he can boil water in seconds and potatoes in a few minutes! Says he would recommend it to anyone needing to travel light.

The Anemopolis again - see Greg sitting to left.

More friends arrive from UK

It is really lovely when friends come out and visit us. Thank you Annie and Keith for bringing the essential oils and for posting Greg's things to him :O)

 Annie and Keith - the oldest teenagers in Kavos :O)

Greg and Annie scrumping figs! And they were caught by an old lady LOL

 

 

Lunch onboard Lerryn Lady.

Annie and Keith snorkelling in Agni Bay.

The view from their hotel.

 

 

Full Moon freebie

We wondered into the Old Fort in Corfu town on the evening of the full moon in August and discovered an outdoor concert being prepared... so, we pulled up a chair and half an hour later Viola!

 Under the Full moon...

 We sat in front of St.George's Church with several hundred people...

This guy is quite famous within Greece ( I can't pronounce let alone spell his name) and has a very beautiful voice.

My Kind of Maths :O)

 

This makes perfect sense to me!

Extended comfort on Lerryn Lady

Thank you to our friend, Justin Chan, for bringing the memory foam mattress topper out from the UK for us - no mean feat as it came in a big package! We've been towing it in our dingy for a couple of weeks. Now, with a pontoon to work on and a good cutting knife we have the topper on our forepeak bed - even more comfort than before...topper plus gently rocking boat = Great sleep! Cheers Justin, hope you will come and try it for yourself next year :O)

 Justin helping Greg move forepeak berth cushions:

Justin and Greg in much needed shade - a café, north Kefalonia...

 

All Greek to me :O)

All you need to know to get started with the Greek alphabet:
 
P's are R's. Inverted l's can be G's  and also look like Y's. An E can be an H and Delta a triangle. Theta is a sort of an 'O'. One letter reminds me of a teepee and is the same as the one that looks like an inverted Y. Three horizontal strokes can also be written as a squiggle and E the wrong way round is an S. Y can be written as a V and  is infact an E.  F is an O with a vertical stroke inside it and X is a K and what on earth is that mini trident ?  Omega looks like a man with bandy legs ( body missing) and also a little like an  horseshoe.

 It helps that beers have simple names like άλφα, in English ALPHA - get it? After a few beers you will. Another beer is called καθορίσει - FIX.  Πότε μπορώ να συνθλίψει πλάκες means when do I get to smash  the plates? It's such fun, Greek :O)
Oh, and this is  for my  great-nephew in Berlin - this is Greek for Noah -  Νώε

I've just written my first letter in Greek, it's going to a couple called Vicky and Markos who befriended us in Kefalonia - here it is with a lot of help from Google!

 

Sun fuel to get ships around the World

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23936775

Yay way to go if you can't sail :O) 

Friends arrive in Corfu

It was great to meet up with the Lake's from Norfolk in Corfu, thank you for bringing our solar panel, our mail and a new ensign for Lerryn Lady!

Bernie seemed quite content with the bowsprit pillow!

In spite of her best efforts to avoid the camera - Paula discovered there is nowhere to hide on deck!

And Conor chilled out with his novel.

Corfu

Entering Corfu Town harbour the Venetian buildings on Portside.

Pine clad islets to Starboard...that's mainland Greece in background...

A church in the sea...built on it's own little islet