Love With a Capital 💙

We woke up this morning in the Vathi marina on the island of Ithaki. Compared to the quiet remote marinas on little Greek islands we’ve quickly become accustomed to, I would describe Vathi as an energetic little waterside village with cute shops and a small town square. I was so happy to see our friend Susanne last night, and now I understand why she loves spending her summers there so much. Each day offers sunshine, fresh salty air, old fashioned community, simple fun, and freedom, especially for the children who roam freely into the late hours of the evening. Fiona was over the moon to see her bestie Olympia, and both girls gleeful to see Penelope.

This morning Riley and I walked off the gangplank to reprovision supplies and find a cappuccino before casting off into the sea for today’s adventures. We found an old Greek man selling basic produce off the back of his van 50 feet away from our boat so we started there with some beautiful cherry tomatoes.

Then we carried on to the supermarket for more produce and water.

Once ready to cast off we had a crew meeting with the difficult decision of which amazing beach to stop at today on our way to Kefalonia. The guidance from the floatilla included three awesome beaches (Gidaki, Filiatro or Ligia). After floating past Gidaki, banking on even better options, we ultimately anchored at Filiatro Beach around the NE bend from Vathi on Ithaki. YAAAASS! Ahh. Tranquility. Bewilderment. Blissful contentment. I just wanted to drink up every last little ounce of the moment. After another high-five anchoring, we immediately jumped into the water.

Shortly afterwards, Sagano Pazzo, the lead boat in our floatilla, pulled up and anchored next to us and the girls immediately went over on SUP boards to swim and play with their friend Hannah.

Then Grant swam over to visit, shortly followed by Lauren who jumped off the upper deck (fly bridge) of their boat. We chilled on the back of our boat drinking beers and getting more acquainted (and admittedly talking about the location of next years floatilla).

Just when I thought the day had peaked Riley asked if I thought it would be a good idea for her to whip up a cheese board and I said "I love it with a capital heart". I wasn't sure wher that expression came from but I decided as a true expression from the heart I would tuck it away for later reuse. We enjoyed a beautiful spread with cheese, fruit and other goodies that she "whipped up" (she makes it look easy).

Grant and Lauren eventually swam back to their boat to cast off, always staying one step ahead to arrive at the nightly mooring destination before the rest of us to ensure we are properly accommodated (the beauty of a floatilla). They let us keep Hannah, who seems as happy to hang out with us as we are to have her. The girls snorkeled, swam, and played on the SUP board gleefully for hours.

Eventually Matt agreed to take them for a dingy ride in the bay, each of them eagerly getting their opportunity to practice their dinghy driving skills. Afterwards Matt said about Fiona's turn: "She was so intent on her driving, with a serious face, her adorable freckles and intense eyes looking ahead. When she was disappointed there were no waves for her to drive through, she realized she could create her own by driving in circles which made her eyes shine even brighter. I wish I had a Polaroid to capture the moment."

After more swimming and more joy, eventually we closed the hatches, raised the anchor and left the harbour for open sea. We had just enough wind to consider raising the sails. Although it was questionable, we went ahead and raised them and cut the engines as we coasted down the eastern shore of Ithaki and around the southern tip towards the island of Kefalonia. April, Fiona and Hannah sat on the flybridge with a snack taking in the breeze and the view.

Although the seas were calm and not ideal for sailing, we were able to enjoy the tranquility of the "Ionian blue" sea. Eventually we turned the engines back on and motor-sailed the rest of the way to our overnight destination.

We radioed to "Makis" the dockmaster on VHF channel 10 as directed as we made our way into the Sami Marina on Kefalonia. He directed us to a spot where we would "Med Moor" (which is becoming old hat for us) between two other catamarans. Our lead, Grant, came out in a dingy to say "it will be tight but you've got this". As I stood on the trampoline of our boat holding the controls for the anchor (with Matt at the helm and Bill and Riley on the stern managing the lines that would be thrown to shore), I processed this thinking how much weight his confidence carries for me, but it wasn't lost on me that he was letting us know we (especially Matt) were up for a challenge. I know I have tooted Matt's horn about his captain skills a lot, but he calmly and skillfully backed our 42 foot catamaran into a spot backed by a concrete wall with maybe 10-12 inches on either side of the boat. In case I couldn't convey how tight this spot was, I took photos after we finished docking. Considering he has been captain of this boat for only 4 days and we did Mediterranean Mooring for the first time during the same period, I say not bad!

With a sigh of relief and another round of crew high-fives, we were settled in for the evening in Sami Kefalonia, another quaint seaside Greek island village.

While the adults took a load off (code for G&T), our girls along with the neighbourhood kids hung out on the flybridge of our boat playing cards. Lucas from the boat to our port side had a very short and easy hop over from his boat to ours!

Afterwards we joined several of the boaters in our floatilla at a restaurant patio right off the back of our boat where we shared appetizers, wine, and stories of yet another magical day in the Ionion Islands.

Love and good night with a capital 💙,

Laura, Matt, April, Fiona, Bill, Riley and Hannah (another sleepover!)