18 / 19 September - Kerkyra & Benitses

It being Monday, it was time to go to Corfu Town (Kerkyra), to check in to Greece. It was 28 miles and we managed to avoid having to go through the narrow channel between the north of Corfu and the mainland without worrying about large ferries or cruise ships.

The northwest coast of Corfu is green and stunningly beautiful. We passed several small bays with super yachts at anchor. Corfu Town lies on the south side of a large bay, which is five miles wide. There is an anchorage a short distance west of the harbour, which is a far less stressful option to stop, rather than go into the harbour and have to make way for the numerous ferries going in and out very regularly. Having secured our anchor and dinghyed to a small quay close by, it was just a ten minute walk to the office of the harbour police. After two visits there with a trip to customs in between, we had paid the fee to enter Greece and had a Transit Log, which the authorities insist we have to have to sail in Greek waters. Lots of form filling and photo copying was involved, but how this document is meant to be used was not explained to us. It’s just as well we have researched enough to know already. The whole thing was much more straight forward than we had been led to believe and with no hostility from the officials. They are clearly used to lots of private boats arriving.

The sea was flat calm, so we had a peaceful night, once the planes taking off and landing at the airport nearby had stopped after 11.00pm.

In the morning, having heard only some vague noise, we found that a huge cruise ship had docked on the outside of the harbour wall, very close by, shortly joined by two others inside the harbour. Cruise ship day in Corfu Town.




Our journey was only seven miles to Benitses, which is a holiday town to the south. We had a problem with the water maker, in that it was working, but not putting the water in our water tank. As we are planning to do a lot of independent anchoring, it was important that we fix it, so as not to worry about running out of fresh water. Benitses has a superb marina, run by the same company that run a marina in Sines, Portugal, which we have been to previously. As it’s not very deep, there would only be limited berths inside for us, so it was delightful to have a prompt email response to confirm our booking and to be met by a tender at the entrance and guided to our spot, all very like the service one gets in Portugal. The marinaros were superb and nothing is too much trouble here.

There was no wind so we haven’t missed any opportunity to sail. After our supper, having fixed the water maker (we hope!), and had a walk around the town, we headed to the bar to enjoy our complimentary welcome drink, whilst enjoying the live music being played by a jazz trio. The three guys, on keyboard, drums and double bass, were superb. A young couple got up to dance during a few of the numbers. It was a fabulous, relaxing time in the cool of the evening. Daytime high is around 29 - 30C, dropping to around 21C at night. The town is a typical Greek seaside resort, with lots of tavernas and small shops. There’s a pretty little beach and clear water looks inviting. Maybe a swim will be on the cards tomorrow.



Miles today           35

Miles in 2023      941

Tricia (and Steve) 

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