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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


invited to take part in the island’s first ever classic yacht race which led to spending our first few days in Greek waters with a jovial crowd in the pretty setting of Mandraki Yacht Harbour under the old fort in Corfu Town.


L Three days and a couple of hang-


overs later (having enjoyed two party nights featuring free bars courtesy of the whisky-producing race sponsors) we waved goodbye to our fellow competitors, armed with a cup for coming second in our class (more by luck than any skill on our part as the other yachts failed to finish the course in the allotted time). We were also armed with lots of grease as too much water is coming into the bilge through the stern gland. At some point Leonie will need taking out of the water so we can fix the problem but for now pumping


EONIE felt right at home in Corfu where she, and we, were


the stern gland with lots of grease seems to be holding the water at bay. On our way south to an isolated


anchorage called Ormos Valtou we managed a reasonable sail in a choppy sea and a Force 3 south- westerly wind but conditions must have been much more severe further north, probably in the Ionian sea on the other side of Corfu, as the Greek Coastguard put out two mayday relays to all ships in the space of four hours. Our anchorage in a sheltered inlet


was like a millpond. We dropped the hook in the innermost bay, alongside a couple of other yachts. We stayed two nights in the peaceful spot waiting for the blustery southerly wind to change direction to make our passage south easier. We walked over the hill and sat on the beach with a beer from the shack on the shore, watching the turbulent waters seethe under a leaden sky.


When we walked back to our


tranquil anchorage it was hard to believe leonie was afloat in the sea, the water was so calm. On the third day, the wind had


died away to nothing and we mo- tored round to the small mainland town of mourtos to fill up leonie’s water tanks. We aimed for the quay stern-to, snagging the chain of a day- trip boat on the opposite quay in the process. Carl untangled us sending his back


muscles into spasm in the process, so I fed him a couple of painkillers after we tied up. Minutes later a huge thunder and lightning storm erupted and the heavens flung hailstones the size of blueberries onto our heads. When the flash-storm was spent a couple of bedraggled crews limped into the port and showed us photos of the waterspout they had seen spinning about in the sea.


Lakka Bay, Paxos .


97


The bridge at the entrance to Lefkas canal


Ormiskos Valtou anchorage, mainland Greece


Carl chilling at the peaceful Ormiskos Valtou anchorage


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