This was going to be a long day, with 72 miles to go, so
we slipped out of the harbour, very slowly, at 6.00am. It was very slowly
because, at the harbour entrance, the depth sounder reads zero. We didn’t bump
the bottom, but I suspect slid over the sand.
We motored until mid morning, then were able to sail. We
had, at this point, three other yachts in sight, all obviously making the same
journey. It was great to be in a convoy. We had superb sailing conditions: the
sun shining, flat water and a good breeze to allow us to truck along at a
reasonable speed. We’re using "George" the auto helm, more than ever this year
and it does take off a lot of the workload off hand steering.
Around the middle of the day, we got the kite up, always
a joy, and this allowed us to make sufficient speed to catch up with the two
boats ahead of us. When we slowed down to get the kite down, though, they went
ahead again and we played leap frog for a while. By now all the boats were
motor sailing, to keep speed up and to arrive at our destination before dusk.
The little town of Leuca looks delightful and we gather
it is a popular holiday destination, with lots day tripper boats taking people
to see the limestone caves nearby, and music and partying going on until the
small hours in summer. The marina is closed, for “essential maintenance”, so
we anchored in the little bay, outside the beaches and cafes. After an hour or
so, we were joined by three other boats, and, as we are more limited in where
we can go, by our depth, we were very pleased to have arrived first and had our
pick of the spots. We could see the monumental stone stair case by the
harbour, which was built by Mussolini as a ceremonial gateway to Italy. Leuca is a
popular spot for yachts that are then going to cross to Corfu.
Miles Today - 72
Miles 2022 - 620
Tricia (and Steve)
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