14 July:              Yesterday evening we watched the Wimbledon Men’s final at an Irish pub nearby, Sinner wining 3/1 against Alcarza, then went to the local square for an excellent dinner at the Nautilus restaurant. This morning we planned to depart late morning for a Lefkas bridge opening. It is effectively a barge that rotates 90 degrees allowing boat traffic to access between the mainland and north east point of Lefkada. I walked the dinghy fuel tank to the marina fuel station to fill it up. On the way back I checked with one of chandlery shops as to what times the bridge would open. I was told the bridge had been shut by the authorities, as of yesterday, due to non-compliance regarding its operating licence. This was confirmed by others, including Cleopatra Marina. Fair dinkum, it’s full on tourist season with hundreds of boats using that short cut access. So I had to cancel the lift and cutlass bearing change out at Cleopatra marina, along with the bookings for our accommodation in Preveza. Mick and I walked to the boat yard at Levkas marina boatyard and have scheduled for the boat to be lifted at 10am, 15 July. Paleros Yacht Services have been organised to undertake the bearing changeout. Overall, probably a better outcome than Cleopatra. Very happy with response. Whilst the boat is out we will stay in apartments nearby. It is anticipated to be back in the water July 17th.

15 July:              We motored around to the boat lift at 9:15 and the boat was lifted onto the hard. There we observed the cutlass bearing was not the problem. The rope cutter had loosened up and a section of it was free on the shaft, causing the rattle when under motor. Whilst a relief we did not have any damage to the shaft and the cutlass bearing was in good order, it was pretty frustrating considering the stress it had caused and us minimising the use of the engine due to concern about shaft damage. Regardless, cutlass bearing will be replaced and a simpler rope cutter fitted. Also taking the opportunity to redo the Sikaflex around the joint between the keel stub and keel as it is deteriorating.

16 July:              Carol received news of a medical issue back home. We immediately organised a flight out of Athens 20:00 this evening and for a driver to take Carol from Lefkarda to the Athens airport at 14:00. All went well with Carol getting to the airport in plenty of time for the 20:00 departure on Qatar to Perth via Doha. Checking progress at the boat yard, it was clear it would not be ready to be lifted tomorrow so we extended our accommodation at the Lefkarda hotel. Mick, Julie and I chilled out in the early evening. Later on we checked out the Cubana bar, which had live music, after dinner. Good atmosphere.

17 July:              After checking progress at the boat yard, we hired a car for the day and took a trip up to a mountain village, Karya. Set in an attractive forest environment with several local artisan stores promoting locally made products. We bought some olive oil soap with various fragrances. We then drove to the Dimosari waterfall. No water running at this time of year, however the walk up the gorge to the small pool at the base of the falls was very impressive. We then drove back by the coastal route to Lefkarda marina to again check on progress, then made a booking to have the boat lifted back in tomorrow at 2pm.

14 July Nautilus restaurant, in the square at Lefkarda. Excellent family restaurant.

15 July. The cutlass bearing in the black shaft bracket is fine. The loose sections of the rope cutter were making all the noise, raising our concerns that the bearing had failed. Not so!

15 July Another taverna in the square at Lefkarda

16 July Different take on weather forecasting!

17 July Artisan in the village of Karya

At Karya