Crossing the Ionian

Missy Bear Will cross the Ionian Sea.

Missy Bear Will cross the Ionian Sea.

Depart: 10:00 am, Monday, November 1.

From: Riposto, Sicily

To: Preveza, Greece

Trip: 275 NM

Crew: Richard and Tony B.

Follow us live on: MarineTraffic.com

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Leaving Riposto 09:10, with patch of blue sky over Etna.

Very lost and tired friend. My colleague Will thinks it is a meadow or tree pipit. We had many small birds land onboard, and one landed in my lap. Some had a robin or redstart shape. It’s migratory season, so I assume they were lost heading south to Africa?

Around the toe at 085 degrees on starboard tack, ready to gybe when wind veers to west.

Had a spell of Gale Force 8 fun last night while sailing. Sea is a bit bigger today as a result, although photos never show the size very well. Surfing down following seas at up to 11 knots boat speed.

Tony at the helm. We had to manually steer all way as autohelm cannot cope well with big seas for long.

Sunset last night.

Ursa Major rose off our port beam.

Moonrise over Lefkas this morning, about 06:00 local Greek time.

Sunrise over Lefkas 07:20

Only 8NM to the entrance to the narrow buoyed channel into Preveza.