Fiskardo

Leaving Lixouri

Early!!!

Professional skippers, eh.  ‘Don’t know if you know any but they’re a bit like airline pilots – they like to appear calm, cool, confident, controlled, competent, in fact, any word beginning with ‘C’ (except one, of course).  And they can’t even spell the word ‘fear’!  So if you ask a skipper, who’s just sailed through a hurricane, what it was like, he’ll just say “Oh, it was a bit uncomfortable “ or “Yeh, just a little bumpy”.  Brave bastards!

Anyway, we had a choice – either go round the east side of the island (right side, ladies – ouch, Jayne’s just kicked me?) which had been protected from yesterday’s NW wind, but would take six hours – or go round the west side (left hand …no, I daren’t do that anymore!) which would take four hours but had been battered for three days by big winds out in the Adriatic.  So we asked a professional skipper at the wedding……. And he said that the west side might be “a bit lumpy”

Lumpy!  Bloody ‘ell!  The waves were enormous!  So it wasn’t long before Jayne was on the bathroom floor, shouting for Rory and Hughey.  (Don’t think they came) and Ros suddenly announced that she was going to be ill.  I managed to get her off the flybridge and over to the leeward side.  So now I know what they mean by ‘clear the decks’.  She did – easily!

Actually, I loved it.  I might have had an extra fag or two, but I never felt sick.  In fact I never have.  The boat was fine and it was a true test of her abilities, as this was by far the worst sea we’d sailed in since leaving Mallorca.

And Mr Vaughan?  He just did what he always does in serious situations like this.  Took himself off to the saloon – and slept for two hours!

So when you ask me what the journey to Fiskardo was like, I’ll just say “Oh, yeh, it was OK, just a bit lumpy!”

Fiskardo is a beautiful place, very picturesque and not unlike a Cornish village.  We arrived early and parked (moored?) beautifully.  All our plans and discussions about using the anchor worked perfectly and we found a great berth right by a restaurant.  In fact, when people weren’t looking we could reach off the boat and nick the food off their plates.  But a lovely place!

And now for a rant!

A boat came in next to us – quite big (but not as big as us, obviously) and full of Aussies and Americans.  Who were then greeted by several more on the quayside so there were about 10 of them altogether.  They then sat round and started to shriek with laughter at anything and everything.  As loud as they could! Whether it was funny or not!  If someone went down to the loo they’d all shriek with laughter - and shriek even louder when that person came back.  Weird!

They were all young twenty-somethings and, I think, so lacking in personality and self-confidence that this was the only way they could express themselves. It would be sad really, if it wasn’t so bloody loud!  They seemed to be saying ‘look at us, we must be having fun because we’re laughing so loud’.  Tossers!

It’s a bit like those sad bastards who drive around in a souped-up Vauxhall Corsa with all the windows open and a 5000 watt amplifier blaring out some rap song.  And have you noticed?  It’s always the same track.  Sorta goes ‘thump-a, thump-a, thump-a, thump-a, etc’

Anyway, they spoiled our afternoon though, luckily, they disappeared in the evening, probably to go and and laugh and shout as loud as they can on someone else’s boat.

Not sure how long we’ll stay here, maybe another night, before heading off to Lefkas, which is due North of here (that’s top…no never mind).

Bye.

PS.  Russ won the ‘Blog’ competition so he gets to come with us from Corfu to Croatia.  Well done, Russ!

PPS. Thanks again for all your comments.  Please keep ‘em coming!  And special thanks to Alan, who’s out-commenting everybody.  Thanks Alan!