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Yateley Offshore Sailing Club

www.yosc.org.uk for this Newsletter in colour, from our webmaster, John Weale Meetings: 1st Mondays at 8pm, all other Mondays flexible c. 8pm, at Sandhurst Social Club, Wellington Road.

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It is hoped that your winter yacht maintenance is coming to an end and that progress is good towards having yachts in “ship shape” condition in time for the start of the sailing season. We all read with interest last month’s article about the extensive new gel coating of Adat’s hull. We all hope this work is progressing well enough for an early completion. This month I believe work has now moved on from Adat’s hull to remedial works to windows and internal head lining. By comparison China Girl’s maintenance this year was a little more relaxed and generally limited to routine servicing and antifouling. Time was, however, taken to replace a couple of seacocks. It may be worth a further reminder on the anticipated life of certain seacocks. The EU directive relating to yacht manufacture (going back to about 1999) seems to stipulate that seacocks should have a life of circa 5 years. Seems that many manufactures took the directive at its word and installed seacocks with only a recommended 5 year life span. These being relatively cheap items that contained brass/zinc and as a consequence could be subject to dezincification. If dezincification takes place the seacock and/or associated fittings turn pink in colour and develop brittleness. Clearly a fundamental component within a yacht’s hull with only a 5 year life span is unacceptable. If your yacht has been built to the EU directive and is approaching 5 years old or indeed older and has not had its seacocks replaced it may be worth checking for any potential corrosion. Better quality metal seacocks was generally specified as CZ132 or DZR, both have resistance to dezincification and should last for periods well in excess of 5 years. More expensive bronze based fittings also have a long expected life span. DZR seacocks are generally stamped with a “CR” reference. It was an interesting time putting China Girl back in the water at Hamble Point Marina as the normal vessel hoist was decommissioned for maintenance of the adjacent harbour walls. As a consequence the lift back into the water involved a large mobile crane located in the car park.

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Our new flying boat

It was with interest I read a recent safety bulletin issued on 13th February by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency regarding old GPS systems. It would appear that programming of GPS units has its information storage based on a 10 bit binary number that has a maximum life of 1024 weeks (19.7 years). A rollover period for the 1024 weeks commenced in August 1999. This period expires on 6th April 2019. Any pre 1999 GPS kit that has not been reprogrammed or updated has the possibility of giving erroneous readings both in time and position if used after 6th April. Should you have any pre 1999 GPS kit and are unsure if it has been reprogrammed it could well be worth contacting the GPS supplier and seeking advice on what to do and how to update. May also be useful to perhaps have a standby GPS system available on board if your kit is old. Caution from Ed: I seem to remember this happened a long time ago and my “bargain” hand held unit was rendered useless unless reprogrammed at almost as much money as a new one. The GPS start date was well before 1999 and was of course for the USA Military in the early 1980’s I think. In addition to comments in the March newsletter regarding “no deal” Brexit procedure it seems that government has noted that plans are to be put in place in respect of current EU27 based yachts owned by UK residents to benefit from a replicate of the “Returned Goods Relief” (RGR) procedure. It is anticipated that the RGR will be incorporated into UK domestic law. RGR allows residents to return with their belongings (including pleasure vessels) from the EU27 back into the UK without paying any customs duties or VAT. It could, however, be that HM customs may require proof that VAT was initially paid in the UK or the EU27. Turning to Club matters we very much look forward to Adam Bispham’s presentation on 1st April “About Further Life on board Charisma”. Be good to hear about his adventures in France, Spain and Portugal.

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I am also looking forward to our first sailing programme meeting, albeit land based, with our Monday evening dinner at the Ely Hotel on 15th April. As reported previously Ian Skinner is organising it. Looking a little further ahead please note that the Club has arranged a May bank holiday (4th to 6th May) fun rally to Island Harbour Marina off the River Medina on the Isle of Wight. The tides this year should provide easy access up the Medina and over the marina lock sill. HW Cowes on Saturday 4th May is 1237 BST (4m) and on Monday 6th May 1343 (4.1). Both days will provide sufficient depth over the sill for even the deepest of Club member’s yacht keels. The programme is to have Saturday evening dinner at the Breeze Restaurant at Island Harbour. Fun events should be able to be accommodated on Sunday 5th May. Marina BBQ equipment has been reserved for the Club on Sunday evening. You will, however, need to bring your own BBQ fuel. If you are intending to attend the event it would be much appreciated if you could complete the rally booking form (see our website) as soon as you can. This will help with the rally booking and organisation. By the same token it would be much appreciated if you would complete a Rally Booking Form for the Wight Trophy time trial round the Isle of Wight set for Saturday 18th May. As in recent years we will be joined on this rally by members of Guildford Coastal Cruising Club. The commencement of the time trial (wind and weather permitting) will be off Bembridge (St Helen’s tidal gauge) at about 1100. End of event berthing will be at the Dan Bran pontoon at Lymington. Saturday evening dinner with presentations will be at Lymington Town Sailing Club. For information for those who have not attended previously the event is not a race. All that needs to be done is for yachts to sail safety and at a comfortable speed clockwise round the south of the Isle of Wight between the St Helen’s tidal gauge and a finishing wayline just before Hurst at the top end of the Needles Channel. The winner will be the yacht that most accurately predicts its arrival times at various set waylines. These are usually off Bembridge Ledge, a line south of St Catherine’s Point, off Bridge Buoy and at the finishing layline just before Hurst Castle. All estimated end of leg arrival times are given over the radio to a controlling yacht at the commencement of the respective leg. Detail rules will of course be given to entrants nearer the time. Our current RYA day skipper theory course is programmed to be completed by early April. All the best to the 5 participants in respect of their assessments on completion. Ian Booker, Commodore Changes to your membership details Please be sure to keep our Membership Secretary, Ian Skinner, aware of all changes to personal postal and email addresses, telephone numbers and boat details as they occur so that we do not lose contact with you.

A WHOLE-IONIAN FLOTILLA

PART 1 – THE SOUTHERN IONIAN

Introduction In 2018 I went on flotilla on my own. Well, not quite. I went on flotilla without the family. Jade and I have been going on sailing flotilla holidays on and off since 1995 and have done flotillas in the North and South Ionian Sea (west coast of Greece), North and South Dalmatia (coast of Croatia) and the Saronic Gulf (east coast of Greece). We introduced Annabel to this type of holiday when she was 9, and she enjoys them too. However in 2018 we had other holiday plans but I still wanted to go sailing. The first idea was to do a 3-week ‘delivery flotilla’ from the Saronic Gulf through the Corinth Canal up to Corfu, as I haven’t been through the Corinth Canal before. However by the time I got round to booking there were no places.

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So I settled on a 2-week ‘whole Ionian’ flotilla taking us from the south to the north of the Ionian Sea. We normally go with Sailing Holidays as they have been very good over many years. They make an arrangement on request called ‘share-a-yacht’ which, as the name suggests, allows you to book a single place but share a yacht with others booking singly. I had some trepidation about this, as I didn’t know who my shipmates might be, but I decided to go ahead and see what happened. Here is my experience of taking a share-a-yacht flotilla holiday

Sunday 30 September 2018 Travel to Greece for Flotilla Sailing Holiday

I check in at Gatwick with plenty of time to spare and get my British Airways flight to Preveza. There are only 60 people on the flight so I have a whole row of seats to myself! The flight is uneventful with a snack service and we are soon flying low over the sea on the approach to Preveza on the west coast of Greece. This airport used to be a military airfield (the first time I came we were warned not to take photographs) but has been improved with a passenger terminal and baggage handling. Sailing Holidays reps are there at Preveza to help, and have free bottled water on hand to greet us. The pickup for the transfer to Sivota is a bit confusing, as they put us on one coach but then we’re told it’s the wrong one and we have to change coach. It’s only about an hour’s drive up the coast to get across the bridge to Levkas Island. We pass the ruins of the 14th-century Santa Maura fortress that used to guard the entrance to the canal that separates Levkas (Lefkada) from the mainland. This is no ordinary bridge, it’s a floating bridge and so ‘opens’ to canal traffic at certain times. We will be traversing the canal on the water in a week or so’s time. The islanders here don’t want a permanent bridge because it would mean that Levkas would be no longer classified as an island, with consequent loss of grants. We drive south down the whole 32km length of Levkas to finally reach Sivota on its south-east corner. Sivota is a large village port facing south into its large sheltered inlet flanked by high hills dropping steeply into the sea. Despite its small size, Sivota is probably the most popular tourist resort on Levkas. Accessed by a single road and with no ferry service it is fairly quiet during the day but rather livelier at night. A stretch of gardens and trees separates a line of fish restaurants, bars and tavernas from the wide concrete harbour wall, which is well used by yachts and other vessels, with fishing boats towards the western end. The port is a good destination for yachts as it is well sheltered from the prevailing north-westerly winds and from most other directions. It is the main Sailing Holidays base in the south Ionian. Sivota looks familiar as this is my third or fourth time here, the first time being on our very first flotilla in 1995 when it was the finishing line and location for the party at the end of the Southern Ionian Regatta marking the end of the sailing season. The Sailing Holidays shore team and lead crews greet us and help us all with getting bags to our yachts. I board our yacht ‘Mintaka’, a 36-foot Beneteau Oceanis 361 built in 2003. The name refers to one of the three stars forming Orion's Belt and one of the brightest stars in the sky. It is in good condition and has a spacious and comfortable layout: two aft cabins, the forepeak, a very decent heads and shower, good galley area, nav. station and wide saloon which converts into a double bed using removable boards. I meet two of the crew, who are already on board (having taken earlier flights): Debbie, a 57-year-old restaurant owner from Lanzarote, and Eileen, a 70-year-old retired dentist from somewhere near Leatherhead (both British). They have taken the two aft cabins so I put my stuff in the forepeak pending the arrival of the other crew member, Richard, a 69-year-old retired farmer from near York, who arrives later on a flight from Manchester. Richard is happy to take the saloon for the first week then we can swap over. All of us have booked the holiday separately and don’t know each other. We are all sailors but with different experience. Eileen has done flotillas but only sailed in the Med; Debbie is newly qualified day skipper but has only sailed around the Canaries and never done a flotilla, and Richard has sailed in various places including flotillas. They all want a relaxing holiday and would prefer not to be the skipper; I probably have the most experience and agree to be skipper. When the hostess Phoebe comes round to introduce herself and give us the boat papers I find that Sailing Holidays have nominated me as skipper anyway and it’s my name on the boat papers. The weather is cloudy but not cold. We have a G&T on board (the ‘ladies’ having provisioned the important things first) as the sun goes down.

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We’re told that the crew briefing will be in the morning then we should expect to depart. We find out that the shore team and lead crews are struggling to deal with changes to the flotillas. In the recent Zorba the Greek hurricane (yes, really), Sailing Holidays have had two whole flotillas of yachts damaged in the Saronic Gulf (where we sailed last year) and four yachts have actually been sunk; fortunately there was warning and all the boats were brought in to port early, so although people’s sailing was curtailed, no-one was hurt. However the rest of the season’s flotillas in the Saronic Gulf are cancelled, so Sailing Holidays are trying to place some people who preferred to change region rather than cancel, in the Ionian. They are hiring in, provisioning and in some cases equipping four charter boats to meet their own standards. That means that we will have 14 rather than 10 boats on our flotilla. There is therefore (and rather disappointingly) no group or introductory meal tonight, so we are left to our own devices as far as dinner is concerned. We walk along the quay and settle on a taverna on the quayside that I know. It’s the restaurant Spriodoulas, otherwise known as the 'No Problem'; I’ve been there before, the food is good and we can sit upstairs where there is some shelter rather than on the quayside where it is getting rather cold. We sit together and get to know each other; there are others there who are probably on the same flotilla, but we haven’t really met anybody yet. I have dolmades and kleftiko, which is a proper mixed-meat kleftiko done in a pot. I am told later by the lead crew that it’s one of the best in the Ionian, and I have no argument with that. Back on the yacht, after a final drink (Richard has managed to find a bottle of Ouzo from somewhere) we settle down for the night.

Monday 01 October 2018 Sivota to Kalamos

I had a good night's sleep but get up at 08:00 for our first group briefing at 09:00 this morning. Our lead crew is made up of Connor (lead skipper), Phoebe (hostess) and Paul (engineer) and the lead boat is Elpida, one of the usual Maxi 95’s. Our destination today will the small town of Kalamos on the Island of Kalamos, which should be well sheltered from the strong winds expected, as it’s on the east side of the island and in proximity to the mainland,. The ladies volunteer to get a few supplies and Richard and I check over the yacht and have a quick lunch at a quayside taverna where I have gyros. We all feel reasonably familiar with the type of yacht; there is no safety or boat handling demo as apparently everyone on this flotilla is reasonably experienced and the lead crew are still busy trying to complete delivery and fit-out of the chartered yachts. We depart Sivota under motor and head south into the large inlet in which it sits. We have quite a good steady F4 wind from the NW although it’s a bit gusty through gaps in the hills. We have a sail round in the large bay to get used to the boat and sail handling. It’s a normal rig set up for easy sailing with a roller genoa, in-mast roller-reefing mainsail, and all lines brought back to the cockpit. We sail east past the small Arkoudhi Island, past the long ‘tail’ which is the southern end of Meganisi Island and through a narrow passage between Meganisi and an islet. The sailing goes well, a mix of experience levels but we all know what we’re trying to do and can all sail so I’m quite relieved and everyone is happy to takes turns at helming and sail trimming. I insist on doing old-fashioned navigation using the paper charts, partly for the practice, partly through curiosity (seeing names of the islands, bays and points) and partly for my own peace of mind. We do have a chart plotter at the nav. station but there is no repeater at the helm. Eileen is more relaxed and is happy with line-of-sight navigation and guestimating position and course. We avoid the Formikoula reef at the bottom of Kalamos Island and once far enough over we can sail close-hauled north-east up the coast of Kalamos. Richard points out the abandoned village of Port Laone, destroyed in an earthquake, which you can visit if you anchor in the bay and row ashore. We soon see the prominent windmill but also some rocks awash just before we reach the harbour. The little harbour at Kalamos town is well protected by a harbour wall, with the entrance on the north side. But it’s very busy because there are two Sailing Holidays flotillas, each of 10 to 12 yachts, plus a Neilson one, plus numerous other boats in. The lead crew (who have just motored straight there) have got us places against the harbour wall but we need to raft out and the mooring is tight. I take the helm for the docking and have a tricky manoeuvre to get the boat into a tight space rafted alongside another yacht of similar length with yachts both fore and aft rafted further out than

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us. I pull off the manoeuvre with the help of some prop kick to congratulations from the lead crew (not blowing my own trumpet of course). We are secure and comfortable behind the harbour wall despite being rafted out. 15nm run today.

The flotilla in Kalamos

We have a walk over the headland to the windmill that we sailed past on the way in. The windmill at Kalamos] and the beach where there is a cute little beach bar, then back to the port for a meal at George's taverna right on the harbour. I have an excellent moussaka and we share a Greek salad. I have a walk up the hill to the village, with its steep lanes and narrow alleys, most are unsuitable for cars, but it’s not particularly pretty and there is not much here. I see one building that has clearly been burned out for many years and others are abandoned. Yet the bars here have wifi.

Tuesday 02 October 2018 Kalamos to Nidri

We have a skipper’s briefing at 09:00; with the aftermath of hurricane Zorba the winds have not settled down and are expected to be easterly, which limits our options for safe ports, as most in the area are well-protected from the prevailing north-westerly but not so much from the east. Today we are sailing to the Sailing Holidays base at Nidri on the east side of Levkas Island in a bay protected from the east. There is a large pontoon, water and facilities at a hotel who are putting on a BBQ for us. We depart Kalamos town at 10:50, motor round the top of Kalamos Island then have an excellent sail west across to the top end of Meganisi Island where we find a bay near Little Vathi and put down the anchor in 6m of clear water. Although there is some cloud in the morning, the sun comes out so we all go for a swim (taking it in turns to leave one person on board) and then have lunch on

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board. We depart at 3:30 but the wind has died so we motor west past Skorpios, the privately-owned island owned by the Onassis family. It is where Aristotle Onassis married Jacqueline Kennedy. In 2013 the island was bought on long-term lease by Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the daughter of the Russian super-rich businessman, Dmitry Rybolovlev. I hear the new owner hopes to develop a resort there. Although once nearly barren, the island is now heavily forested and has over 200 varieties of trees imported to the island by Onassis, so it is difficult to see the well-sheltered private residence. I’ve read that it’s not advisable to land on the island in case you get the wrong side of the island’s security team, but we saw a boat landing so perhaps the new owners are more welcoming. We easily reach the bay at Nidri on Levkas, turning south at the little white church on the rocks opposite the town and into Vliho Bay, which is long and shallow but very sheltered. There are quite a few boats moored or at anchor. I ask Debbie if she would like to bring the yacht on to the pontoon. She welcomes the chance to practice some manoeuvring under power so we give her time to practice a few turns as well as driving in reverse and playing with the rudder and prop walk. We call in as ready to moor and head in; Debbie helms the boat into a stern-to mooring and although she is slightly nervous she does very well. The lead crew are there to take our shore lines and there’s a lazy line to hold us off. 18nm run today. There is no village here, although it’s only about a mile from the town of Nidri. Sailing Holidays bases some of its flotillas here and we can use pool and facilities at the hotel, which are very good. There is time for showers and a couple of G&T's on board before we go to the group meal at the hotel. There is plenty of BBQ food and salad and we have several glasses of wine and other drinks from the bar. It’s a good chance to meet some of the other crews. We’re not sure about tomorrow as there may be a storm tonight but there’s no sign of it tonight by the time we turn in at 23:45.

Wednesday 03 October 2018 Nidri to Vasiliki

It rained overnight and it is noticeable colder this morning. There is a quick briefing to say that we’re going back to the south of Levkas Island but this time to Vasiliki. On leaving the bay we see a small cruise ship, the Seabourn Odyssey, at anchor offloading passengers by tender to visit Nidri. We sail slowly having a breakfast of fruit, yoghurt and honey and have a closer look at her before turning out to sea. At first we have some good sailing south down the Meganisi channel but have to tack against the SE wind and are making little progress. It comes on to rain again so we put the bimini up and some warmer tops on and start the engine. We round the point at the bottom of Levkas and enter the bay at Poros which looks sheltered enough for a lunch-stop at anchor. I ask Eileen to help finding a spot to anchor so she goes up to the bow and starts shouting commands back to the helm. After some miscommunication, we get the anchor down.

Typical lunch stop. It brightens so we sit in the cockpit and have an egg salad for lunch. We see rain coming in again so we set off but motor the rest of the way to Vasiliki. We can see the conspicuous lighthouse marking the southern tip of Levkas Island but the rain comes on heavily and obscures our view of the shore, so I’m

glad that I’m doing the navigation and know exactly where we are and course to steer. Vasiliki is set deep in its own bay and the approach is slightly confusing due to poor visibility and there seem to be harbour works just next to the town quay. Once we’re close enough to see the proper entrance to the inner harbour we use the harbour guide to avoid the moving sand bar and moor stern-to the

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quayside in the rain. The taverna is right at the end of our passarelle – you can’t get much closer than that! 20nm run today. About as close as we can get to

the taverna. . Vasiliki is a well-known windsurfing spot during the summer months due to a local thermal wind and its large bay with some fine beaches. It's a nice place with good facilities and plenty of tavernas but today it needs some sunshine. The rain stops and we eat a lovely dinner outside on the quay; I have saganaki and calamari which are both very nice. We go for a walk and have a look at the building works; they have already extended the harbour wall to create a smart new square, there are barges being used to build long walls in the sea to enclose what is going to be a very large marina, and a new entrance where there will be new navigation marks. It looks like Vasiliki is investing heavily to become the new boating hub for the South Ionian. We find a bar for a drink then head back to the yacht.

Thursday 04 October 2018 Vasiliki to Little Port Vathi Bay

Over breakfast on board, we have a 'discussion' about anchoring; Eileen’s experience has been entirely in the Mediterranean with clear water and no tides, so she likes to control it from the bow where she can see what the anchor is doing while getting depth reports from the helm, whereas my experience has been in UK and channel waters where I like to control the boat from the helm and instruct the anchor-man. I can see both sides but you can’t do both at once so we have to work it out a bit better next time. At our briefing it appears that the weather will be much better today, so we are hoping for a better day with a lunch stop on the way to Little Port Vathi on Meganisi Island. I’m a bit annoyed that we are not going further south today to see more of the South Ionian Sea. There is a Nielson flotilla also briefing on the quay and they are going to Frikes on the east side of Ithaca. Our lead skipper is very good but the route selection is weird and the justifications seem spurious as the Nielsen flotilla can go places that we apparently cannot go. It is getting increasingly annoying that we are going round in circles in the north of the South Ionian without going further south. We have some good weather today, the sun comes out and it turns warm. We get some good sailing this morning. Typical sailing in Greece (unusual for this area) on an easterly wind (also unusual) but it dies later and so is not the F4-5 easterly that was forecast, and which apparently constrained our destination choice. We have lunch on board and motor to our destination in the bay of Little Port Vathi on Meganisi at the pontoon at George’s taverna, near to where we lunched 2 days ago. Distance run 20nm. I haven’t been in this bay before. It is sheltered and there are a few yachts at anchor but there is not

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much here and it is very quiet apart from our flotilla. There is one taverna called George’s, converted from an old boatyard. It’s a great swim spot and it’s nice and warm so I have a swim then a very good hot shower on board. We have dinner at George’s, which is kind of expected as we are using his pontoon, although some people do walk into town and report it to be a pretty village port. The meal and wine at George’s was only ‘ok’ and we wish we’d walked into the village. We hope to get a better sail tomorrow. We do hear quite a strong wind in the night, but we are secure. We hear later that the Nielson flotilla had a very rough night in Frikes due to being exposed to the easterly, so I am more forgiving of our lead crew.

Friday 05 October 2018 Little Vathi to Big Vathi

We have a short briefing: we are heading to Port Vathi on Ithaca (so-called ‘Big Vathi’). I like Ithaca but haven’t been to that port before. We depart at 09:45, find good F4-5 SE winds, and have a good sail across to the top of Ithaca where we find a nice little sheltered 'nook' to anchor for a swim and lunch. After lunch we have another good sail south down the east coast of Ithaca, past the big bay of Frikes, past Kioni and round a rocky headland then motor into the well-sheltered bay of Port Vathi (‘Big Vathi’). We moor on a quay just outside town. Distance run 28nm. Ithaca is a small and rugged island and is, of course, the legendary home of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca in the time of the Trojan War, the story of whose epic journey home is told in ‘The Odyssey’. We walk the short distance along the waterfront into town. Vathi is the capital of the island and a reasonably-sized town with a commercial and fishing port. Although destroyed by an earthquake in 1953, it was reconstructed and declared a traditional settlement, which requires all new building to match existing styles. It’s an attractive port, which looks like a typical small island town with a Venetian influence in the architecture of the villas. We are unimpressed with the choice of restaurants, but find a little family restaurant called ‘Porto’ on the edge of town with a nice setting by the quayside and a sheltered courtyard. We are partly attracted by the little sign ‘WE ARE AGAINST WAR and the “TOURIST MENU”’.

Restaurant sign at Big Vathi This turns out to be a good omen as the food is excellent. I have the most fantastic freshly-caught swordfish for dinner, a bit expensive at €17 (but reduced to €15 as we buy three). We have a quick walk round a few of the stone streets of the town and find the archaeological museum then we head back to the yacht for bed.

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Saturday 06 October 2018 Big Vathi to Fiskardo

We have an earlier-than-usual briefing at 08:30 because the lead boat has to get away early to book the quay for our arrival and we are all pleased to hear that we’re going to Fiskardo on Kefallonia. HURRAY!

It is warm today and we motor-sail the yacht back north up the east side of Ithaca and round the top. Lunch on board with no swim-stop and head straight across to Fiskardo on Kefallonia to ensure that we get there early to get a place on the quay. We soon see the lighthouse on the headland marking the entrance to the bay. There is a huge grey private motor-yacht weighing anchor as we arrive; it is TOSCA, a 37 metre (121 ft) kevlar luxury yacht of 340t used for charter with accommodation for 10 guests and five crew. Tosca. Having avoided her manoeuvring we get a fantastic berth on the quay, herring-boned right outside the famous Captain’s Cabin. Distance run 14 nm. I lose no time in getting off the boat and by 14:00 I’m sitting outside the Captains' Cabin having an omelette for lunch and a beer with Richard. It’s the place I want to be.

Moored outside the

Captain’s Cabin It’s 23 years since I first came here with Jade on the 1995 Whole Ionian flotilla and have always wanted to come back. Editorial note: there was a YOSC flotilla of at least 4 “bare” boats here in the Ionian, visiting Fiskardo sometime between 21st and

28th May 1995. My memory of participants is limited but Terry Paynter and many of the founding club members were there and of course Julie and myself. There have been YOSC invasions in 2009 and in other years too. Kefallonia is the largest of the Ionian Islands and has a convoluted coastline with scattered settlements separated by high peaks. It has an ancient history but lies near a tectonic fault line and has long been subject to earthquakes. A series of four ‘quakes hit the island in August 1953, and caused major destruction, with virtually every house on the island destroyed. It was the setting for

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the book and film ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’. It has an airport and is an attractive tourist destination. Fiskardo at the very north tip is a very pretty village with pastel-painted Venetian houses clustered round the harbour. There is a regular ferry service making it a popular destination and transit point. The bay is very well sheltered except perhaps from a strong north-easterly. It is a popular berth for yachts with an area for anchoring and good facilities on the quay and has developed into a bit of a posh yachties haven with nice bars and restaurants. The weather is very good, quite hot although a breeze seems to be coming up, but it’s lovely here. After lunch I really enjoy walking round the town, looking at the buildings and taking a video portrait of the town. There are some nice-looking holiday apartments here. There is also an interesting roman graveyard which has recently been discovered and protected, with presentation boards. There is, surprisingly, a Thai restaurant in the village. The lead crew have booked tables for those who were interested. We sit together as a crew but many of the other crews are in here as well, including the lead crew. It is expensive but most delicious and a really nice atmosphere.

Sunday 07 October 2018 Fiskardo to Spartakhori

We have a very quiet and sheltered night in Fiskardo although I don't sleep that well for no discernible reason. I wake up early, get up and go for a walk to the old Venetian lighthouse with Richard and take some pictures, then I walk back, past the town and round the other side of the bay to look at the nice houses on the coast. We set off from Fiskardo on Kefalonia, sailing on the reciprocal course from yesterday past the north of Ithaca then turn north up through the Meganisi channel (the third time through here on this trip) where we anchor at a beautiful isolated stone beach with a white sandy bottom and turquoise water bright in the sun with a lovely green backdrop. We see rain and a thunderstorm threatening in the distance but it doesn’t come our way. We have plenty of time for a relaxed lunch as we don’t have far to go from here. We have a quick sail round the corner to Spartakhori in its large bay on the north of Meganisi where we moor bows-to at the quay outside a taverna. Distance run 17nm. Meganisi is small oddly-shaped island with a highly-indented northern part and a long ‘tail’ extending southwards. It is quiet with a small population mostly living in traditional hill villages where they were safe from pirates. We take the obligatory walk up the steep slope to the village of Spartakhori on the top of the cliff where there are fantastic views east over the mainland, north across Skorpios and west over Levkas. I walk round the village taking pictures; there are mostly white-washed houses with red tiled roofs and little winding streets; there is little tourism here so it retains a very traditional rural feel and I feel like I’m intruding by walking round. Starting to head back I come across the rest of the crew in a little café/restaurant high up on a corner where they have the prime table on the corner of the balcony with even better views. [IMG3156: View from Spartakhori, hoping for receipt in time for May issue, Ed]. I join them for a drink but the menu looks rather basic so we walk back down the hill to the beach where there are now a couple of beach bars and a taverna. We eat in the taverna down on the waterfront and I have veal for dinner. It’s a good end to the first week of our flotilla, we have got on pretty well as a crew and we’ve had some decent sailing. Although we haven’t seen that much of the South Ionian I have been to some new places and I did manage to get back to Fiskardo. We expect to sail north into the Northern Ionian for our second week. Max Clark (to be continued …)

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For Sale: I have a Comar AIS receiver for sale as I am planning to fit a Class B transceiver. The unit works well and at present can be seen working on the boat at Hornet SSC in Gosport.

Asking a reasonable £50.00 David Robinson 07831 445070” YOSC Programmes 2019 Social 4 March Isle of Wight, England in Miniature- Graham Horn 1 April Further Life on Charisma – a talk by YOSC Member, Adam Bispham 13 May Maritime Archaeology - a talk by Dr Julian Whitewright 3 June Stress Free Sailing – a talk by Duncan Wells 15 July TBA 19 Aug Barbecue at Blackwater Valley Golf Centre 2 Sept Jim Fayers, HMS Endeavour and captain Cook 7 Oct Sailing in Brittany – a talk by Chris Wright/Brian Pickles

4 Nov Annual General Meeting

9 Dec 2019 Christmas Party at SSC

2019 Sailing Programme

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4hichester1Jazz1&1RE2L12LE1Rally1Saturday1ΣΥth1–1Sunday1ΣΦth12ugust1ΣΠΡ91

The Chichester Jazz & Real Ale Rally will be held on Sat 24th and Sun 25th Aug 2019 and is being organized by YOSC to coincide with the Chichester Jazz & Real Ale Festival taking place on the 24th Aug. This is a long weekend & YOSC yachts are invited to Chichester Marina for either one or two nights (24th & 25th). Yacht Mooring YOSC yachts will be moored in Chichester Marina (a Premier Marina) where provisional bookings for YOSC have been made. Graham Spence (GS) will co-ordinate YOSC berthing on the 24/ 25 Aug as required. Provisional YOSC bookings have been confirmed. Chichester Yacht Club (CYC) has acknowledged our dinner booking for 24 Aug at the CYC. Activities On 24th Aug the Chichester Yacht Club (CYC) have arranged their annual “Jazz Day” and are also holding their “Real Ale” Festival. YOSC members are welcome to enjoy these activities and GS is coordinating the YOSC element. Should you need more information do not hesitate to contact me on 07801 715 587 for more details. Make it a 2 Day Rally The Rally is being held over the long weekend (Bank Holiday) and it is well worth having a two day stay in Chichester Marina. On previous Chichester visits there have been around 10 YOSC yachts and we are keen to confirm numbers of yachts and people attending for either 1 or 2 days. Previous YOSC Chichester Attendees Include: - : Elizabeth A, Fou-de-Bassan, Rhapsody, ADAT, Miranda, Queen Bee, China Girl, Buddle, Minke and Aibrean. Activities for Sun 25th in Chichester are up to you and ideas are welcome. These may include Walks or Rambles, Lunch (Crown & Anchor or Dell), Sailing Club visits and wildlife talks etc. Actions: All Interested in “The Jazz & Real ALE Rally” please Book on YOSC booking System. GS to contact Chichester Premier Marina regarding the berthing numbers for each day. Chichester Marina: - Phone 01243 512 731 (Holly) (on Ch80) Chichester Yacht Club: - Phone 01243 512918 (Carolyn) Graham Spence:- 07801 715 587 Please Note: High Water at Chichester on Monday 26th Aug is 0812 BST

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YOSC Sailing Rallies 2019

Date Saturdays HW Portsmouth and rally notes Organiser Mon April 15 Fitting out Supper Ian S April 20/22 12:44 4.8m Long weekend Cherbourg Easter Bank holiday Chris W May 4 to May 6 Bank holiday

12:08 4.4m Island Harbour Cowes HW 11:37 4.0m

Dinner at Breeze Restaurant and BBQ

Ian B

18 May 11:40 4.6m RTI Wight Trophy, Time Trial, dinner Lymington

Dinner at LTSC Chris / Ian B

Wednesday June 5 13:36 4.7m Midweek Bembridge BBQ or Baywatch Nick Judd June 15 10:36 4.4m Summer Cruise 13 - 16 IOW festival Ian B June 22 15:53 4.3m Summer Cruise Channel Islands ? -- June 29 09:24 4.0m End Summer Cruise IOW Race date! -- July 6 15:08 4.7m Yarmouth Dinner at RSolentYC Jim F Wednesday July 17 12:47 4.4m Midweek Folly Dinner at Folly Inn Jim F August 3 13:57 4.9m Lymington, Dan Bran Dinner at

RLymingtonYC Linda F

Wednesday August 14

11:50 4.4m Marchwood with BBQ Mid Cowes week Linda F

August 24 – 26 18:17 4.0m Chichester 2 day as Bank holiday Graham S September 7 18:53 4.0m Autumn Cruise East Volunteer wanted ? September 14 12:41 4.6m End Autumn Cruise To organise -- September 21 Mediterranean Cruise in company Greece Corfu Jim F September 28 or Oct 5

11:02 4.8m East Cowes Laying Up ?

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Top, p14 is the Meganisi cave, lower is in Fiskardo, both in 2009 on a YOSC visit

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Next YOSC Newsletter May 2019 The last date for receipt of articles, news, advertisements, reports of Club Events, etc., which are intended to be included in the next issue, is 1st May 2019, and the Newsletter is to be distributed at SSC on Monday 13th May 2019. If you prefer to read/print via the web your own copies of the YOSC Newsletters (in colour) and do not wish to receive a B/W hard copy via the Club, please email editor@yosc.org.co.uk. Advertisements: Members may advertise for free, sailing related items, under their own name and not necessarily with any other contact details. Editor: Alan Bew, to whom reports (with separate photos preferably) of any YOSC events, stories, cartoons, sailing and social news items should be sent by email, disc, memory stick, hardcopy, by hand or post. Photos, diagrams, etc are easier to incorporate if sent as attachments or separate files, and not included in the body of the text. Do not trouble to format your article incorporating photos, charts and drawings into a word document, send them separately, the formatting goes wrong if your margins are not the same as mine or if you format in docx (2007), or later versions of “office”. These are quite OK with simple text but can be real trouble for me and my Microsoft converter if it has anything other than text.