Pilos To Kalamata 19 - 27 July 2016

Navarinon Bay 19 - 21 July 2016.

     We left the safety of Pilos Marina early on Tuesday 19 July and motored out of Navarinon Bay to empty our holding tanks out at sea. We then returned to Pilos Quay to fill up with water and give the boat a quick clean. Admin sorted, we decided to spend the night at the NW corner of Navarinon Bay and enjoy some swimming and a cool night after a wonderful sunset. We arose early on Wednesday and motored the short distance to the NE corner of Navarinon Bay to join 'Southern Accent' at Gialova, a small village with a lovely beach and a smart collection of tavernas where we enjoyed a good Mediterranean lunch followed by the usual siesta.

Pilos And Castle.

Ginny Relaxed!

The Moon At Dawn NW Corner Of Navarinon Bay.

Sunset And Calm Waters In Navarinon Bay.

Kisti Two & Southern Accent Anchored Off Giolova With Pilos In The Background.

Guy Ready For A Siesta?

Sunset In Navarinon Bay.

Navarinon Bay NW Anchorage.

Southern Accent Anchored Of Giolova.

Bad Hair Day!

Methoni 21 - 22 July 2016.

        The anchor was raised early on Thursday 22 July and we headed off south out of Navarinon Bay to Methoni, another Venetian stronghold on the SW tip of the Peloponesse. We motored in wonderful calm crystal blue waters for a couple of hours before rounding the magnificent Venetian Castle of Methoni round into another turquoise anchorage full of yachts at anchor. After a quick swim we went ashore and decided to explore the castle. It is a most wonderful setting jutting out to the sea and dominating the old trading route. We scrambled over the ruins and had a wonderful couple of hours going back in time. The castle walk was taken over the heat of the day so it was a delight to stop for a couple of well earned drinks and lunch at the beach side taverna. A siesta followed with another run ashore to share drinks with Phillip & Lulu, a Belgium couple whom we kept bumping into on our route down.

Departing Giolova. Navarinon Bay.

Departing Navarinon Bay For The Last Time?

Approaching Methoni Castle.

Rounding Methoni Castle And Lighthouse from SE..

Methane Castle From SW.

Methoni Castle From The West.

Anchored In Methoni Bay.

Methoni Bay Beach.

Methoni Bay Beach, Castle & Restaurant.

Methoni Castle Entrance.

Methoni Castle Ramparts.

Methoni Castle Coastline.

Methoni Castle Sea Wall.

Methoni Castle Courtyards.

Methoni Marble Column.

Methoni Castle Of Old.

Ginny By The Arabic Slave Post!

Castle Water Gate.

Lighthouse & Fortress Tower Of Methoni.

Glamorous Ginny At The Tower.

Causeway From The Lighthouse.

Lighthouse Gate.

Main Castle Gate From The Lighthouse.

Where's Ginny?

Guy On The Causeway.

Just Such A Stunning Spot.

Castle Church.

Castle Gate And Marble Column.

Castle Entrance.

Castle Moat.

        The castle walk was taken over the heat of the day so it was a delight to stop for a couple of well earned drinks and lunch at the beach side taverna. A siesta followed with another run ashore to share drinks with Phillip & Lulu, a Belgium couple whom we kept bumping into on our route down.

Rest Time.

The Taverna On The Beach

Guy 'Fixed'.

Lunch Time Snacks.

Departing Methoni.

One Last Shot!

Navarinon Bay 22 - 24 July 2016.

       Dave & Ali on ‘Whitesands’ were keen to meet up with us so having completed Methoni, we upped anchored at 1000 hrs on Friday 22 July and sailed back to Navarinon Bay rounding Finakounda Bay and then round the Island of Sapientza avoiding Skhiza Island used as a bombing run by Greek Air Force Pilots. The wind died on us as we returned to Navarinon Bay, so we motored up to Gialova anchorage again meeting up with ‘Southern Accent’. It had been a good 34 NM of sailing fun. Ali ‘The Body’ & Dave ‘Mr Muscles’ arrived to anchor near us. A sunset dingy race ashore was followed by an excellent evening of catching up on plenty of news and adventures since Licata plus a few drinks too many. It was a great evening so a late start on Saturday saw us all move across to the NW corner of Navarinon Bay. This was followed by another momentous night of drinks on  ‘Southern Accent’  followed by a memorable night on ‘Whitesands’ for a delicious vegetarian supper ( is that possible?) and more drinks.

Methane From The East On Departure.

Finikounda.

Sapientza Lighthouse.

Back At Pilos Castle.

Anchored With 'Southern Accent' In Navarinon Bay Again.

The Boys Wishing Wendy Well, Dave, Guy & Geoff.

The Girls Wishing Wendy Well, Pauline, Ali And Ginny.

Dave & Ali Racing To The Beach Bar.

Pauline & Geoff Coasting To the Beach Bar.

Pauline & Ginny Chillaxing.

Charlies Angels Restored!!

Share The Joke Guy.

Geoff, Ali, Ginny, Pauline & Dave Having A Laugh

Much Later In The Evening!!

Navarinon Bay To Kalamata 24 - 27 July 2016.

      Guy awoke with a very painful left ankle with no idea of how it had happened. needless to say, we had to go and so with calm seas again, we lifted our anchor for the last time in Navarinon Bay and headed off under sail. It turned out to be a frustrating day of motor on and off and sails up and down all day. We motored round Methoni and caught some good wind as we entered Messiniakos Bay heading north. We sailed past Koroni with its Venetian Castle (NAC) and continued with excellent winds up to Kalamata. We entered the Marina at 1900 hours after 45 enjoyable NM and were soon tied up with the aid of the staff on pontoon E3.

Departing Navarino Bay. Cheers Dave And Ali.

Koroni Castle, Another Venetian Fort!

Kalamata Marina.

The Ugliest Rock On Our Travels?

Kalamata Bay Mountain Range. Home Of The Spartans.

Kalamata Marina.

Guy At Work In The Yacht Club.

 We were to spend 3 nights in Kalamata having a good look around as to its suitability as a winter location. The marina itself is comfortable with good Army standard facilities (Not RAF!), excellent shops and tavernas, a summer international airport and good connections to Athens. We didn’t get up to the main town centre but consult Dave and Ali for more info. There seems to be a good bus service too, locally and in the Peloponnese. A possibility for winter but we are not convinced. It all seemed a bit tired and run down. Still, we enjoyed our time there, stocked up well and enjoyed the hospitality of the Yacht Club.

Departing Kalamata Marina.

Kalamata Marina And Yacht Club.