Cruising Around the Ionian Islands on a New Catamaran

 I met my first crew: Andreas, Christoph, Hans-Christoph, Michael, Peter, and Robert at Hotel Armonia in the south of Nydri in Lefkas on Saturday, 13th June 2026. After completing formalities and buying provisions we boarded our boat, a brand new Lagoon 43 named Emerald, chartered from Athenian Yachts. We had an authentic dinner at Tasty and slept our first night on board moored to the small Athenian pontoon.

Next morning after breakfast at myBakery we motored south passing the west coast of Meganisi. Leaving the channel we checked the new sails. Despite light southerly winds we were happy with the sailing performance: with 7kn of true wind beam reach we were able to do 4kn speed over ground. In the afternoon we anchored in the middle of Filiatro Bay on a sandy patch of 7m in the NE of Ithaka and had sardines in buckwheat breadcrumbs for dinner prepared by Andreas. Next day at 09:00 we continued south with nice NE winds of 14kn reaching 7kn SOG near Akra Skinara at the NE tip of Zakynthos. We looked at the impressive Blue Caves, passed Agios Nikolaos and finally anchored at south of Xigia Cove on 9m sand with a faint smell of the nearby sulfur bath and had Tagliatelle Bolognese for dinner carefully prepared by Andreas and Michael.

On Tuesday 16th we motored with no wind into Zakynthos port, moored with anchor in the southern harbor alone at the Athenian pier, and got a stronger folding chair as a replacement for a broken down plastic chair from the friendly manager. We replenished our provisions at Kritikos Supermarket and visited the harbor cafe. Early afternoon we left the harbor and motored to the Nature Reserve for turtles in Laganas Bay in the very south of Zakynthos, where we anchored in the north of Laganas Beach in sand at 4m.

 

Early next morning we rounded Keri Caves SW of Zakynthos, visited Porto Vromi and looked at the Panagiotis shipwreck at Navagio Beach. With some NE winds and waves we sailed north and anchored in Spartia Bay on 6m in the south of Kephalonia. Next day we motor sailed along the west coast of Kephalonia, passed Ak. Gerogompos, Ak. Atheras, and Ak. Daphnoudi, and crossed Diekplous Kephailinias. We anchored in the south coast of Lefkas at Standing Stones Beach in 21m in Ormos Kastri where Robert and I prepared pancakes with buckwheat flour worth remembering.

On our last cruising day we sailed east between Kalamos and Kastos, passed Schinas Bay and Kalamos Marina, rounded Asporgiali Light and continued north to Paleiros, where we anchored south of the port on 5m sand for a swim. Finally we continued SW back to Nydri, where we moored to the Athenian pontoon for a crew change and service of the watermaker. We celebrated our cruise at Taverna Roza with a exceptional Greek dinner.

We logged 220sm in 6 days. You may download our track in gpx-format or view it directly on GoogleMaps. 

Indian Summer in the Ionian Sea

 

On Saturday, 12th September 2025 my fabulous crew (Biggy, Dorly, Eva, Evelyn, Evi) and I arrived at Marina Cleopatra south of Preveza. We had ordered some provisions from yachtness, which arrived reliable ahead of time. At Check-In we discovered some maintenance problems with our boat S/Y Paspartu, a nice catamaran Bali 4.1 from Riginos Yachting. So we could not sail as planned in the afternoon and had to wait for absolutely necessary repairs and the replacement of 2 missing fenders.

 

Early next morning we motored to the northern end of Lefkas Canal, where normally the Floating Bridge "Agia Mavra" should open at 10am. But it had been removed due to the expiration of its safety certificate. Now the ferry “Faneromeni” should operate as a temporary connection between Lefkas and the mainland at 08:00, 10:00, 14:00, 17:00, 19:00, and 22:00. It is a shame that those times were not easily available online. At 10:00 a.m., the intermediate ferry gave way to a seemingly endless line of boats heading south.

We continued south, passed the south eastern tip of Meganisi and the south western tip of Kalamos and anchored in Abelakia Bay on the eastern coast of Kastos where we went for a refreshing swim and enjoyed Greek Salad and Spaghetti ai Legumi.

 

Next morning with nearly no wind we continued further south to the fine sandy Kaminia Beach SE of Kephalonia, where we anchored in sand with some swell. After a long swim we prepared our dinner with potatoes and a lot of vegetables, accompanied by delicious salads.

On Tuesday, September 16th we tried to sail and found the rigging of our boat in total disorder. The 3rd reef line was much to short and the topping lift was mounted wrong. After some arduous work we were able to sail with a rather short main and visited the Blue Caves at the northern tip of Zakynthos. Then we did some MOB training and finally moored in Agios Nikolaos Harbor. 

 

 

 

 

In the evening we replenished our supplies and had a nice dinner at Taverna Porto, so we had nothing to pay for mooring and electricity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next day with our rather short main we sailed north to Ithaka accompanied by a handsome dolphin. 

In the afternoon we anchored in the beautiful Filiatro Bay on the eastern coast. With the help of my ambitious crew I prepared Risotto al Limone with some fennel and we spent a quiet night at anchor.

With nice easterly winds we sailed further north to the south of Lefkas, where we anchord south of the long beach of Vasiliki. We prepared Fussili al Tonno with some salads and admired many ambitious surfers and sailors training around our boat.

Early morning to start our last leg back to Preveza we rounded Cape Lefkatas Lighthouse and sailed north with strong easterly downwinds along the impressive west coast of Lefkas and stopped for a short swim at Agios Nikitas Beach with strong currents. 

Refreshed we continued to the fairway into Preveza harbor, refilled our diesel tank, spent the afternoon in Agios Thomas and finally moored our boat ending our cruise in Marina Cleopatra. We celebrated our harmonious sailing week at Restaurant Celeste with an exquisite dinner.

Saturday morning we left our boat and visited the Archaeological Museum of Nicopolis, enjoyed a fine Branzino at Filippas Tavern and finally took our flights home.

Despite all those problems with the poorly maintained boat from Riginos Yachting we enjoyed a beautiful sailing week. You can view some photos of the defects in this Google Album.  

 

We sailed 183sm in 36h during 6 days.  You may download our track in gpx-format or view it directly on GoogleMaps. 

Northern Sporades Family Cruise

My wife Ilse and I boarded S/Y Stolos, a nice Lagoon42 catamaran chartered from Athenian Yachts in Neo Klima port on Skopelos island on Saturday 12th, July 2025. Together with my son Matthias, his wife Isa, their children Jonas and Valerie we bought supplies delivered from Alexandros market and had dinner at Oasis Restaurant.

Sunday morning we checked equipment, motors, and sails and finally set sail with nice south easterly winds to Stafylos Bay, where we anchored in sand at 10m with 50m chain. Next morning we motored to Skopelos Old Town Marina to buy some fresh provisions. After some sightseeing we continued to the east coast of Alonissos, where we took a buoy in Chrissi Milia and spent a quiet night.

With 5 Bft northerly winds we sailed along the eastern coast of Peristera into the National Marine Park of Alonissos and Northern Sporades, buying online tickets on https://alonissos-tickets.necca.gov.gr/checkout. We anchored carefully in the quiet and beautiful bay of Agios Petros in the south of Pelagonisi. Sadly we saw no dolphins, no monk seals, but some goats wandering the coastline. But we enjoyed the wonderful landscape and a beautiful sunset.

Next day at noon we sailed with a nice northwesterly wind around the northern tip of Alonissos to the famous Church of Agios Ioannis Kastri (Mamma Mia Church) in the northeast of Skopelos and anchored further north at Mavraki bay in sand at 5m with 35m chain.

On Thursday 17th with no wind we motored round Ak. Gourouni, the northern tip of Skopelos to the bizarre Rocks of Cape Kastro and continued along the western coast of Skiathos and finally anchored in the famous bay of Koukounaries in sand. 

Friday afternoon we continued east into Kolios bay where we anchored in a rare sandy patch at 9m with 50m chain and had dinner at Kolios Sea food Restaurant. Saturday 19th we changed crew via dinghy: Matthias family left us for their stay at Kleopatras Villas  and our daughter Sophie with Christian and their children Laurenz, Valentin and Louisa  came on board. After some bunkering and a good swim we all together had a nice dinner at The Beach House.

Sunday 20th we motored 15nm with no wind to Limnonari Beach on the southern coast of Skopelos and on Monday we continued further east to Patitiri harbour on the eastern coast of Alonissos, where we  stocked up our provisions at the nice supermarket of Evagelia Anagnostou. In the afternoon we motored again into Chrissi Milia and took another buoy.

Next morning we decided to try again the National Marine Park, but this time to easterly Skántzoura island, where we anchored in the northern part of Prasso bay. Again we enjoyed swimming and the quiet and beautiful landscape, but found no dolphins or seals.

Wednesday 23th at noon we rounded Skántzoura and explored the south coast of Peristera and finally anchored in Leftos Gialos at the east coast of Alonissos in sand about 8m with 40m chain.

Next day at noon with a nice 5-6 bft northeastery wind we sailed along the south easten coasts of Alonissos and then Skopelos with a maximum speed of 8.7kn to Ak. Velona, explored Limenas Agnontas and Ormos Panormou. Finally we set anchor in scenic Kastani Beach in sand at 5m with 30m chain and explored the lovely beach and rocky coves.

Friday 25th afternoon we motored back to Neo Klima port and ended our cruise with a dinner at Oasis Restaurant.

 

Next morning my daughter's family moved into Hovolo Apartments while my wife and I took a ferry to Skiathos, where we spent 3 more leasurly days at Irida Aegean View.

We sailed 47 hours and logged 180 sm in 13 days.

You may download our track in gpx-format or view it directly on GoogleMaps. 

Culture and Leasure Cruise round Paros

My sister Gabriela and her partner Herbert arrived with my friends Martina, Steffi, Wilhelm and Wolfgang on different flights in Paros delayed by the preceding storms on Saturday, 17th May afternoon. In the meantime Afros Yacht Services did some more repairs to make our boat Maritina, a nice Bali 4.4 catamaran fully fit for our next cruise. In record time we took all necessary provisions on board and enjoyed a welcome dinner at Levantis Restaurant. 

Early on Sunday morning we motored north to Delos, checked the surroundings and set anchor in Ormos Proteos south of Rinea. After a first swim we had a sumptuous dinner with beef and pasta. Next morning Herbert prepared our dinghy and skippered our crew to Delos landing for a visit of the holy site. After noon the crew returned and we motored west to Ermoupouli harbor in Syros. After a stroll through the city and a visit to the Apollon Theater we had an exceptional fish dinner at Seariani Fish & More Restaurant and finally a quiet night on board.

Tuesday morning we explored the sites of Ermoupouli and bought some provisions. At noon we set sail east to the small island of Donoussa with nice northerly winds of 4bft enough to set sail. In the evening we anchored in Ormos Kalotaritissa and Wilhelm prepared some devilfish with rice and salads.

After a nice breakfast and a morning swim we set sail again southwest. We sailed along the southern coast of Ano and Kato Koufonisi and anchored finally in the quiet Almyros Bay east of Schoinousa. We enjoyed dinner with sausages from Syros with rice and salads.

Thursday with nearly no wind we motored further west into the large

Despotico Bay south of Antiparos. Friday morning our crew visited the new excavations on Despotico island and enjoyed a nice swim in turquoise waters before we started our last leg north through Stenon Antiparou with minimum depths of 3.2m. We reached Paroikia harbor at 15:30 and completed the technical checkout routine for our boat. We had a typical Greek dinner at Souvlaki Pepe and slept our last night on board.

 

Early Saturday we left the boat and settled in Aratos Hotel. We visited the Holy Shrine of the Virgin Mary Ekatontapyliani and the Archeological Museum. At noon we took a bus to Lefkes to visit the Church of the Holy Trinity and splendid hospitality in near Cafe Marigo. In the evening we celebrated our cruise in Mario's Restaurant with an excellent dinner. Very early on Sunday our flight left Paros for Athens and further home to Vienna.

We sailed 32 hours and logged 160sm in 6 days.
You may download our track in gpx-format
or view it directly on GoogleMaps.