Gillian Bishop's blog

Tuesday 26 April Returned via Corfu and Igoumenitsa route. We thought the coaches to Prevesa from Igoumenitsa ran on Wednesdays - not so ! we got a taxi right to the boat for 80 euros. Prevesa Yacht Services had rubbed down and anti-fouled the hull and it looked good. We put a new forehatch on and were launched on 5th May.

We left Gatwick Monday 30 August for Athens and spent the night in a cheap hotel - it was unbearably hot! Next morning we caught the 6 hour bus to Prevesa. The marina staff met us and it was good to be back.

The Volcanic ash flying ban was lifted 2200 hrs on 21st April and our EasyJet flight to Brindisi via Milan left on 22nd!

Naval Balsamo boatyard launched us on 26th and we sailed 44 miles to Otranto on 27th. A long shakedown sail!

Wed September 2 we were back on CG in Riva di Traiano just in time to be launched before the boatyard shut.We filled up with diesel 1.20€/litre before going to the allocated berth. The bow thruster wouldn't work so we had electricians in the next day. We have a long fin & skeg and the bow thruster is really useful when berthing stern- to in tight situations.

"Counter Girl" had spent the winter afloat in Ottiolu and was fine when we arrived on 24 April. We put her back together and changed all the rubber bits in the Lavac loo. We left 1 May to anchor in the nearby Brandinchi bay. Using the dinghy we cleaned the fouled starboard side of the hull - the sunny side over-winter!

We flew to Gibraltar on April 22 and returned to "Counter Girl" in Ceuta. There had been a very bad storm on December 21 and CG had ripped fairleads and broken stanchions which we had to cobble together before we could leave.

We left Cowes in May 2006 and coast hopped down to Bilbao where we left Counter Girl for the winter in Las Arenas Yacht Club marina where they looked after us really well. We returned in April 2007 and coast hopped from Bilbao to Povoa da Varzim leaving the boat here for July & August. We reached Gibraltar in October and have left CG in Ceuta.