Port Zákinthos

Port Zákinthos was our port of entry into Greece so our first task, on 2 July, was to get our paperwork in order with the authorities. We first went to the Port Police who, because BV is registered in Guernsey, redirected us to the Customs Office at the other end of town. The Greek authorities have their own interpretation on things and, despite BV being fully VAT paid and on the British Register of Shipping, if Guernsey is your home port the authorities here seem to assume that VAT has not been paid and want to restrict your time here. After much discussion with Customs, telephone calls by them to head office and head scratching because we didn’t seem to fit the norm, we realised that we were making little headway. As a result we have been allowed into Greek waters on one of their time limited Transit Logs rather than the time unlimited DEKP paperwork normally issued to British yachts.

Armed with our Transit Log we made our way back to the Port Police office to have the Log stamped and our passports checked and notified to Immigration. Thus we are now legal to be in Greek waters.

The next task was to arrange for a tanker to meet us so that we could refill the fuel tanks and jerry cans (diesel here is 37 cents a litre cheaper than in Sicily). We had already discovered that the chaps who meet you and offer to help you with your ropes here try to charge a ‘fee’ for their services so we were reluctant to arrange the fuel through them. Fortunately, as we arrived back at BV, the fuel tanker turned up to refuel a yacht close to us and it was easy to arrange for him refuel us afterwards. The only issue was the size of the nozzle, a bit too big to fit our fuel cap and far too large for our jerry cans. We filled BV’s tanks (slowly, much to the chagrin of the tanker driver and his boss) using the tanker and I then made 3 trolley runs to the local petrol station to get the jerry cans filled up with diesel.

It was a busy and hot afternoon but we got the boring chores done whilst also keeping an eye out for Bruce and Pam arriving on board Osprey. They arrived at 6pm and moored next-door-but-one to us. We helped them with their lines and then had a very agreeable evening with them on board BV catching up on where they had been and comparing notes on where to explore next. We were also joined by Lauren, a French lady who has escaped from work and is now sailing a 40ft yacht singlehanded around the Med. Also moored close to us, she had warned us about the ‘helpful’ shipping agent who had met us on arrival and so instantly qualified for fresh tuna steaks from our catch. Another sushi lover, her eyes lit up at the prospect.

Port Zákinthos was filled with beautiful Venetian architecture but sadly most of it was destroyed by a large earthquake in 1953. Despite the rebuild, mostly in concrete, the town has lots of character and we enjoyed wandering around the streets.

Everything slows down during the heat of the afternoon. The most energetic activities being lifting a glass to one’s lips or moving backgammon pieces across the board, all done under the shade of a café umbrella. At 6pm, however, the town springs back into life and the boutiques and shops reopen.

As well as a little café time, we restocked BV’s fridge and looked at transport options for getting to and from the airport. (My daughter is joining us for a couple of weeks soon and will be flying into the airport close by).

We were tempted by swimming in the very blue water on the outside of the quay but somehow never got around to it. With drinks on board Osprey the following evening and lots of energy put into imaginative ideas for using the tuna the time seemed to pass quickly.

Aside from the sushi, fresh tuna sprinkled with lemon and seasoning before being seared on a hot griddle is a firm favourite but we also made up some tuna, pine nut and lemon zest balls which went well with spaghetti and a tomato sauce. Perhaps not very Greek but definitely now on our list of recipes to cook again.

We knew that we’d be returning to Port Zákinthos and so, rather than exploring further, we made a plan to use a reasonable wind forecast to head south on 5 July. Our destination was Pílos from where we hoped to visit the site of King Nestor’s Palace and the beautiful natural harbour of Órmos Navarínou called Sandy Pylos by Homer in the Odyssey.