MY FLOTILLA EXPERIENCE IN GREECE


Many of you will probably know that I have been a 'sailing widow' for many years. Admittedly, this has been my choice, as I did not relish sailing on the North East coast, or probably anywhere in Britain as it is just too cold. As a consequence of the cold, I am nearly always sick!

However, Mike, my husband, has never been one to give up and has been trying for years to get me to agree to go abroad on a flotilla holiday, saying he thought I would love it. Eventually I did agree to going on holiday this year to Greece, with the proviso that we would have a week ashore and then a week's flotilla.

We went to the Greek island of Lefkas, initially to stay for a week in a studio apartment in the tiny coastal bay of Mikros Gialos (Roudha Bay). We stayed in Eptanissa Apartments which overlooked Roudha Bay. They were really lovely and the scenery was beautiful. We had a very quiet peaceful week and then for the 2nd week we joined the flotilla in the next bay called Sivota Bay.

I wasn't sure what to expect, other than we were going to be sailing with 'Sailing Holidays' aboard a 29ft Benetau, and we would be sailing around the islands of Lefkas, Ithaka, Meganisi, Arcudia and Cephalonia for a week. We had to wait for a couple of hours after arriving while the boat was made ready. It was well equipped and the Lead crew introduced themselves and explained everything we needed to know. They were really great. The Skipper was Portuguese, and called Ricardo. The Hostess was English and was called Frances, and the engineer was an Australian called Ryan. They were all really friendly, great fun, and very professional.

Frances came aboard as soon as we were on the boat and told us what to expect and explained that they would be holding a welcome dinner that evening to meet the other flotilla members. Ricardo explained anything that you did not know about your particular boat, eg the workings of the holding tank on the heads (not something Mike knew about). He also explained the procedure for 'stern to' mooring, again something Mike was not familiar with.

For people who had very limited sailing experience he would explain how everything on the boat worked and how to use all of the equipment etc. Ryan was on hand to explain any other technical queries and put right any mechanical faults. Together, they made a great team!

Each morning the whole flotilla (10 boats of varying sizes - 29ft to 38ft) met for breakfast and a briefing by the crew on the day's sail. The briefing was fairly short and lasted about 10 minutes. The briefing consisted of giving a destination, course to steer (sometimes), arrival times, places to anchor for lunch etc, and any hazards to avoid. One of the main differences of sailing in Greece appears to be that most navigation around the islands is 'done by eyeball', great if you have good eyesight and stay close to the coastline, not so good if you go further out to sea (as we did on one occasion). All of the coastline seems to consist of very similar scenery and blends together. So, if you are well out to sea, it is very difficult to make any one particular feature out. You need to be quite close in to distinguish the landmarks given on the charts or in the Rod Heikell Pilot book. Cruising usually consisted of no more than 15 miles per day. Their motto was 'Another Day, another Bay'. We have the T-shirts to prove it!

The lead Crew Boat, (Christine) was a Yacht with a powerful engine. They were the last to leave the harbour and the first to arrive at the destination ready to receive and berth the flotilla. They gave you an approximate time that they wanted you to arrive and were on hand to take your lines and pass on the information as to whether you were going to moor stern to, bow to or alongside, also the best time to drop your anchor.

We usually met up with the rest of the flotilla on an evening for punch parties, Greek evenings etc. These all proved to be fantastic fun and a laugh from start to finish, but this wasn't obligatory you could do whatever you wanted. We had trouble with our main radio so were reduced to a hand held set, (which only had a very limited range).

One particular morning at the briefing we were told that we needn't be at our destination until 19.00 to 19.30hrs, it was only about a 10 to 12 mile sail away. We set out at about 10.00hrs and made for a bay between two islands where we swam off the boat and had a light lunch. At about 12.00 hrs Mike decided to set sail for this island that was a mere pinprick on the horizon, 'the wind is spot on', were his exact words! We set off and according to the log we were doing between 6.8 and 8.2kts. As the wind got stronger, and I felt we were 'heeling' over too much (which I mentioned to Mike), he put two reefs in the main sail. It was like sitting at a very acute angle and getting buckets of water thrown over you, but at least it was warm water! We reached the island then headed back to a bay called Port Frikas, this was a beat (Mike told me later, that only a fool beats to windward). This turned out to be an extremely wet sail. We reached that bay and went in for a quick look then came out and headed for our intended destination which was about 10miles away. Mike kept out to sea because of the sea state but missed our intended bay and entered the one after it. As I mentioned earlier, everywhere looked the same. So it was an about turn and back track along the coast. The sea was really wild by this time and as we entered our bay the lead boat was coming out to look for us. We had dried off in the wind but as we entered our bay the seas were breaking and the wind was shrieking down the mountain sides, (Katabatic winds) this resulted in us both being thoroughly soaked yet again, but by now it was a great deal cooler and not quite as much fun! We got in and tied up, changed and went for a well deserved meal and a drink or two.

We then found out that the Lead boat had put out a radio call to all flotilla boats telling them to get to the destination as soon as possible as the wind was going to blow up to force 7 (this was at about 12.30hrs, but we never received the message on our hand held radio). Mike was never worried and said to me that it was no worse than the North Sea but a darn site warmer. We had sailed just over 40miles, Mike thoroughly enjoying it, me a bit apprehensive to say the least, but trusting his seamanship. Our boat's name was 'Alice' so you can imagine the stick we had to take, 'Alice, Alice where the hell is Alice'.

After that little adventure I put my foot down and the rest of the week we sailed closer inshore, which was fantastic, as we anchored in some fabulous bays, swimming off the boat and generally relaxing.

At the end of the holiday they had a prize giving evening and Mike was the first up to be presented with a chart showing our 40 mile route and written on the chart was, 'To Mike and Rose, for the most sea miles in one day in Sailing Holidays history! Hope that you had a great holiday, kind regards, team Christine'.

The holiday was absolutely fantastic and I can recommend it to anyone. The people that we met were all fantastic company and the lead crew were the best that we could have hoped for. It all made for lasting memories of beautiful blue seas and sky, and some of the happiest and nicest people that we have met on a holiday. However, as a footnote, I am still not up for sailing on the North East Coast - unless we have a heatwave!



Rose Fellows