First stop in the Ionian Island chain - Zakynthos

Talaria and the Ferry

After a few days of rest and relaxation we left Katakolo and the Peloponnese behind for the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian. There is a nice harbor there with a fellow who has mooring balls that you can tie to if you eat at his restaurant.  We thought we would give it a try.  It was a nice sail over to the island but when we got in to the harbor we did not find the fellow that handles the mooring balls so we just tied up to the city quay.  Once we were secured Michael went down to talk to some Brits on another boat to see if it would be okay for us to tie up there and they said it would.  Meanwhile I had  reached the fellow with the mooring balls and he also said we could stay at the quay or tie up to a mooring ball whichever we chose.  Michael chose to stay at the quay but I was a bit hesitant due to the huge ferry that comes into this small harbor.  The ferry docks very close to where were tied up... way too close for my liking😔.   But Kosta (the fellow with the moorings) said so long as we were behind the yellow line it was okay.  We stayed.

 

Fellow selling his homemade wine and other goodies

After a bit we decided to walk around the little community and have some dinner.  Sadly, that did not turn out well as Michael got choked again and actually aspirated his fish.  The rest of the night was rough with me wondering where the nearest hospital was.  It did not come to that but I was more than a little worried.  I went through my medical kit and started him on an antibiotic (not the ideal one) to try and keep him from developing aspiration pneumonia.

The fellows delivery vehicle

The next day was windier than the first but Michael wanted to rest after his choking spell the night before.  All day long we were getting bashed into the quay and I kept adjusting the fenders to no avail.  Finally, we decided enough was enough we would just go pick up a mooring ball.  So we called Kosta and after about an hour he helped us get secured on a mooring.  Typically, he has his patrons drop their anchor as well for added security but he told us he thought we would be okay just tied to the mooring ball.  The mooring balls are all quite close together, which is a bit nerve wracking, but there would not be much swinging since everyone was on a mooring ball.

Boats all crowded together in the harbor

Kosta said it would not be too windy that night but we would need to find better shelter the next night because the wind would shift to the north and the harbor would not be safe.  That was okay with us as we were planning to leave the next morning anyway.  We thanked him for the heads up and enjoyed the peace now that we were not being bashed in to the quay!  We thought we would get a good nights sleep and be ready to go in the morning.

Ferry heading out the very small pass

By now you know how this story is going to end😅.  About 0230 it got very bouncy (sound familiar?).  I looked out and saw that the wind had shifted north early and there was a huge swell coming into the harbor.  Folks all around us were out messing with their boats.  And then the ones at the pier started leaving.  We tried to tough it out but it was pretty uncomfortable so at 0400 we also left the anchorage and set sail for Ithaca (can't sleep, might as well sail).  And of course, since the wind shifted north early we once again were beating into the wind and waves.  Ugh!!  In all the time we have been sailing we have only had to leave an anchorage in the middle of the night three times.  And all three of those times have been here in Greece!!  The old adage about the Mediterranean is that there is either "too much wind or not enough wind".  So far in the Aegean and Ionian it has almost consistently been too much wind.  Its been the rare day where it blows a steady 15 knots in the same direction.  In the course of a day the wind will be all over the compass.  Its the craziest thing and something we are not accustomed to.  On top of that the weather forecasts are not very accurate.  Apparently, they have a very hard time forecasting the weather here as it changes so frequently.  Definitely, the wind forecast changes very often.  Its an entirely different sailing environment but we are learning!