19 & 20 September - Corfu & Saranda (Albania)

On Friday we headed to Corfu Town, and our usual anchorage, just beyond the cruise ship dock. We anticipated having to motor all day, but actually had enough wind to sail and with no pressing deadlines, we enjoyed the peace of not having the motor running.  

It is always a challenge getting past the entrance to the harbour in Corfu, there is a lot of fast moving ferry traffic and you have to have your wits about you. And there is also the possibility of coming across those who are not aware of their obligations.  We had spotted one of the hydrofoils coming from behind us at 31+ knots and were keeping well out of its way. However a pair of yachts and a small motor boat came out of a side bay, and one of the yachts proceeded to carry straight on across the path of the  hydrofoil.  There was a lot of horn tooting and the hydrofoil had to make a dramatic course change before passing around the far side of an island prior to entering the harbour.  All a bit dramatic, and we don't think the yacht that was the cause had any idea of what they had done.

At anchor at Corfu,  looking in the prettier direction



On Saturday our first task was to take the dinghy ashore to Corfu Town, stock up with provisions and the visit the port police, passport control and customs. We know where the shops are that we need and we know the procedures with the Greek authorities, so we had no worries at this end. All went well and we were back at the boat and raising the anchor at 11.45.

We were checking out of Greece and the EU, to head for Albania. Corfu is very close to Albania and we would be passing through a narrow channel, where the two countries are only a mile apart.

In our favour today is a one hour time difference between Greece and Albania, so we gained an hour en route. We were passed by various ferries on the fifteen mile journey to Saranda, where we would be checking into Albania. The way it works here, is that you have to use an agent and we had already sent Jelja our boat papers a couple of days ago.

Saranda is a small city of inhabitants. As far as we could see from our sea view, they mostly live in unattractive apartments. It looks as though someone with a ruler and a set square had designed them. Curves must cost extra.

The harbour master responded promptly when we called in on the VHF to ask for permission to enter the port and we were told where to anchor in the bay. Jelja then called and we arranged to meet here when we had ourselves sorted to go ashore. It’s not and understatement that we felt intimidated by this place. It’s a busy ferry port. Loud trance music was blaring out from one of the beach side establishments. Jet skies and small motor boats blast through the anchorage, giving you lots of swell and making it quite tricky to launch the dinghy and get the engine on and off. We had to put on clothes that we didn’t mind getting wet. That may sound strange, when sailing is a water sport, but from a yacht it’s not a habitual consideration.

Jelja was very welcoming, friendly, professional and sped us through passport control. She had already processed the customs papers. After buying an Albania SIM card, we headed straight back to the boat. We didn’t feel safe to leave her for long. We had read that the boat movements and load music go on until the small hours so we wanted to be out of there.


The minarets or a mosque, hidden amongst the other buildings 

Straight line constructions

The anchorage was a playground for jetskis

Saranda has long been famed as a pirate haunt, and the tourist industry is cashing in big time.

 The charts for this part of the coast are not very detailed and a small bay, five miles up the coast, turned out to be full of fish farms. By the time we had tried four or five times, in two bays to drop the anchor and couldn’t get it to bite on the weedy bottom, it was getting close to sunset. We really didn’t want to go back to Saranda. If we were to get no sleep, we might as well do a night passage. We gunned it another twelve miles up the coast to the beach along the side of the little town Qeparo. What a relief when we secured the anchor first go, under the stars with just the lights from the shore, in the otherwise pitch dark. The moon hadn’t risen yet. It’s Saturday night, but this town was quiet. A good nights sleep, after long busy day, beckons.

Distance today -         57 miles

Distance this year - 1262 miles 

Tricia and Steve 

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