Lefkas Island Greece holidays

Many people dream of sailing in the Mediterranean but don’t realize that many of the places where people sail do not offer good sailing. The best places are to the east of the Med, and the Ionians, the islands to the west of Greece are acknowledged to form one of the best sailing grounds in the world.

To the north of these islands, and right at the north of Greece, is Corfu, and there are a few small islands to the south of that famous island, with a few anchorages on the mainland. In the heart of the Ionians, about 30 miles south of Corfu is Preveza, a port just inside the neck of an inland sea. Here you can moor on the jetty that runs alongside the town, on have your boat hauled out on the opposite side of the entrance to the inland sea at Aktio.

South of Preveza is the island of Lefkada, which is separated from the mainland by a canal and marshes. At the head of the canal is the town of Lefkas and a swing bridge which is opened on the hour to let boats through. If you are going south, you need to wait in a narrow channel for the bridge to open – usually a little after the hour – which can be a bit tricky of the wind is pushing you forward.

Lefkas has a marina and a good chandler

Lefkas is a good port with a good chandler – other good chandlers can be found at the yards of Cleopatra and Preveza Marine at Aktio, which is near Preveza. It is also an attractive old Greek town with plenty of shops and supermarkets.

Once you emerge from the south of the Lefkas Canal you are into the south Ionians, a sea with plenty of islands, some small, some large. This part of the sea is protected by Lefkas and Kefalonia to the west, and by mainland Greece to the east and north, so it is open to the Mediterranean only to the south.

So, even if it blows a gale, you will only get a short chop in there, and the wind will not blow with the full force you get out in the Med proper. And it is a mistake to think the Mediterranean is a benign sea, it can get very rough and the wind can blow very hard.

There are plenty of interesting ports and anchorages in these islands, but you do need to be aware of the katabatic winds that can blow down through some of the bays in the evening, especially those near mountains. These winds can be very disconcerting if you have just moored or anchored, and suddenly you find yourself in the teeth of a gale at about 5-6 pm. In fact, Vassiliki, on the south of Lefkada, gets such strong evening winds that it is a favorite spot among wind surfers.

If you anchor there, the evening may be a bit hectic, but usually by 7-7.30pm, the wind has died down, and you can expect a peaceful night.

John Hartley, who runs www.sailboatsyachts.com started sailing sailing dinghies, but after a day in a keelboat decided that was his type of sailing boat. He has been sailing cruising sailboats for 16 years, first a Bermudan ketch and latterly a junk rig schooner. With his partner, Pauline, he has sailed from England to Gibraltar and through most of the Mediterranean.