Set in Sea Water - Changing Plans

Corfu, Greece

A view over Garitsas Bay, Corfu

Having finally arrived at Checkpoint Corfu, our last planned stop in Greece, we’ve made a few cursory glances at our so far unhurried schedule and decided…

Firstly we will haul out in Preveza at the end of September. This boatyard looks really good, the staff very friendly and its grounds are regularly patrolled by 3 donkeys (with lots of personality) and 2 goats…  Just our kind of place!  As luck would have it, we arrived at the boatyard in time to see a Hunter 460 being hauled out (this yard has a hydraulic trailer not a travel lift) so if we had doubts before, they’ve vanished. 

The other issue then is time; somehow we’ve dallied too long in Greece and now with only 5 weeks before haul out, there isn’t time to properly visit Croatia or Venice and get back to Greece.  Next year then, and good timing too as we’ll avoid the summer crowds and heat. (We’re also leaving some of our Greece “side-trips” for next year too as we’ll probably fly into Athens.)

Darling, darling!  I must say, our float plan's not keeping to schedule.

So now, we are heading off to Albania and Montenegro.  Albania is the mainland we can see from Corfu - about 15 miles away. Further north is Montenegro.  Not a huge trip, just lots more dawdling.  We seem to be getting very good at that!  

We hate to disappoint anyone who had thoughts of joining us in Croatia.  The Ionians are lovely however, so you could always come to Preveza and do a little boat cleaning and maintenance for a few weeks.  No?  Not tempted?  Oh well…   

Almost Time to Go

Again the time has come to book fares, buy (even more) boat bits, pack bags and make nav plans for the year.  Just where do the months go?  So far, about the only commitment we have is to a route that will take us from Turkey to Venice.  After that we will haul out somewhere; although probably not backtrack to Turkey (to avoid that dreaded Meltemi again and long distances).  It seems a lot of boatyards in this part of the world don’t approve of live-aboards & certainly don’t support DIYers.  I can see we will have to beg, cry or shell out for baksheesh.  Our plans after leaving home mid-May 2014 are kinda, sorta:

This is the MELTEMI through Greece & green = nasty
(click on the picture to see the daily wind status)

Stage 1: Splash - Marmaris, Turkey (3 weeks - May)

The Motley Crew plan to take a side trip to Gallipoli and spend a few days in Istanbul ; ) before jetting down to Marmaris for two weeks of boat work and provisioning before splashing on 2^nd June.  

Stage 2: Turkey to Greece (4 weeks - June)

Our plan is to remain non-EU and non-Schengen for as long as possible, so rather than head straight out for the Greek Islands we will head north until a convenient jump off point on Turkey’s coast. Cesme might well be it – we’ll see how we go for time and fun-factor quotient!

Stage 3: Greece to Montenegro (4 weeks - July)

From here, we’ll strike out for the Cyclades  - a bit of a base jump more like it – and make our way slowly through to Athens and then ride the exceptionally narrow Corinth Canal.  Then it’s only a hop, skip & jump on to the Ionian Islands. (Ahhh, Corfu - especially in peak tourist season!)  In prep for our Greek odyssey, we’ll be reading “Peel Me a Lotus” (Charmian Clift), singing anything Leonard Cohen and attempting to decipher Homer.      

Stage 4: Montenegro to Croatia (2 weeks – mid August)

As Montenegro is also non-EU, we will explore its coastline for a few weeks.  This will give us (& WJ3) good grace before slipping into Croatia.  This opportunity also means we do not have to dash back to Turkey.

Stage 5: Croatia to Venice (4 weeks – mid September)

We have no specific cruise plan for Croatia other than to head north...slowly.  Until we read the pilot, we won’t make any specific decisions.    

Stage 6: Venice to Croatia (2 weeks – early October)

September should be a good time to be in Venice with most of the European world over its holiday exodus.  We do plan to anchor (which means not being in the heart of Venice) hence giving ourselves at least a couple of weeks to explore.

Stage 7: Croatia (2 weeks – home early November )

We will then head back to Croatia to haul out.  We think!  At this stage we are still checking out boatyards and that list spreads from Croatia, Greece, Sicily to Malta…  Oh dear!  With any luck we’ll have a few weeks up our sleeve to do a bit of land-based touring before coming home early November.  Otherwise, we will spend the time getting to our boatyard of choice.  Any of these locations will put us in a good position to make next year our year of Riviera cruzin’ (with the high rollers in Italy & France) as we make our way back to Spain/Portugal.

 

Visitors note: We will make our way to Istanbul to catch flights home if all goes to plan. Keep in touch by email if you’d like to catch up with us.  GS will endeavour to keep WJ3’s map and tracker updated regularly (hopefully) so that you can see where we are.  We will try to fit in with your plans but as we are strictly “regulated” by our 90 day visa, can’t wait anywhere for too long, or indeed drastically change this itinerary.  Check the updated Visitors Guide if you are keen on catching up.