BY GINNY WARE POSTCARD from Leonie
AFter LIvING AbOArD ON tHe rIver DArt FOr eIGHt YeArs GINNY WAre AND Her HusbAND cArL set sAIL FOr FrANce AND beYOND. Here’s AN uPDAte ON HOW tHeY Are GettING ON
Our first week in Greece was memorable on two counts. Firstly, we were accosted by a sudden Force 6 wind as we rounded the headland of Othoni Island, north of corfu, following a tiring but relatively calm 27 hour passage from Italy. The strength of the wind made our destined anchorage off Othoni untenable so we reefed the mainsail and continued for another hour to a more sheltered anchorage off the island of Erikoussa, lying opposite Albania. Our second welcome was just as unexpected but much more favourable. six days after entering Greek
waters we headed to the pretty corfu Yacht club marina, nestled below the town’s old fort. A fleet of charter yachts were arriving later that day and we were
turned away due to lack of space. Despondent, we headed back out into the bay and were half way across when the club secretary Amelie caught us up in a fast RIB and invited us to return to take part in the inaugural Corfu Classic Yacht Race in our 61-year-old yacht Leonie. Along with the chance to compete in the regatta we were also tempted with the offer of a free mooring for five days, free use of the club facilities, crew cocktail parties, dinner in a hill-top vineyard and gifts including a bottle of whisky from the event sponsors Chivas Regal. How could we refuse? The event lived up to all its promises and the icing on the cake was being awarded a cup after winning second place in our class. not bad for our first time racing in Leonie.
The warm welcome we received from the club and race organisers, the camaraderie among the competitors and the sheer beauty of the Greek Ionian islands made the effort of sailing around Italy to get here all worthwhile. With its huge bays and gulfs and limited anchorages, traversing the Italian coast was a long hard slog at times. We endured many 8 to 14 hour days sailing or motoring from marina to marina in a bid to reach Greece without delay. We left our expensive £1,000
mooring in capri, where we were forced to spend three weeks due to a complete engine failure, a year to the day from when we set off on our Mediterranean odyssey from our home port of Dartmouth. The occasion was marked by a rainbow halo in the clouds above
The old fishing town of Scilla, Italy.
Carl and Ginny racing Leonie in the Corfu Classic Yacht Race.
Leonie racing past the old fort in the Corfu Classic Yacht Race.
Ginny relaxing on Leonie in the hammock swing.
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