Corfu

3/7/2026

We moored Dragonfly in Gouvia marina, Corfu on the 22nd of June. We had reserved a space for one week as we were flying back to Warsaw for Julia's mum's 80th birthday party. This was a great opportunity to get some work done onboard while we were away so I was busy making calls to electricians and mechanics.

The marina has a fantastic swimming pool -Zefi and Teo had a morning splashing around before we took a taxi to the airport and before long we were back in Warsaw.

Our wine supplier let us down so we had some emergency last minute wines to taste.

The party was great success and the children had a few days back in their old kindergarten catching up with their friends.

Warsaw wasn't spared the heatwave sweeping across Europe -we clocked 41.5' in the car at one point! We were excited to get back to the relative cool of Corfu..

I was very disappointed to return and discover none of the scheduled work had taken place. We were expecting a whole new solar set up, fixed bow thruster and several other electrical fixes. Work load, health and family issues were given as the excuse but not informing us at the start of the weak with time to find other help was very annoying.

The marina is expensive so we wasted no time upon our return to get out and drop the anchor. We were expecting a couple of guests so we dropped the hook by Corfu town, close to the airport. No sooner had we found a spot when the sky started to darken and a storm approached. Julia jumped on the paddle board, got to shore and found a taxi to take her to the airport. The kids and I braced for the thunder storm.

The storm hit with lightning, rain and 40 knot gusts. The bay fell into chaos with boats dragging their anchors all around. Two metre waves threw us around but somehow Dragonfly held on with just 30m of chain out.

As the winds subsided the aftermath was quite a scene. We could see six boats pinned on the rocks, others were tangled together. Thankfully we stayed put and the catamaran just metres in front held it's ground too. The radio was buzzing with mayday calls and rescue missions were underway all around.

The storm only lasted an hour or so and at no point was I particularly concerned. As long as our anchor held and I kept enough thrust to reduce the strain, it was just a case of riding it out. Zefi and Theodore found the whole episode very exciting.

As usual -after a big storm we were treated to a lovely evening complemented by a dramatic moonrise. The anchor alarm app below shows how much we swung around our anchor. Once the wind and rain cleared we picked up Julia's mum and her friend Zbyszek.

With new crew onboard we departed for Paxos island, just south of Corfu. We pulled into Laka and anchored with a line to shore then watched as more and more boats squeezed in to fill every gap.

We had supper ashore in the pretty little town and lots of swimming and fishing around the boat. We anchored in 3.7m of water so it was easy to confirm the depth gauge is accurate!

Theodore caught a particularly beautiful and spikey fish.

It was the 3rd of July when we made the short hop across to Anti Paxos. The conditions were ideal for sailing but once the sails were up and we tried to cut the engine we were unable to switch it off! With the possibility of not being able to start it as well we left it running and made a dash for Gaios town quay which we were just passing. We moored stern to with the anchor in the idyllic waterside town with perfect natural protection from a small island. Somehow the fault vanished and the ignition switch has since been working ok.

With control of our engine regained we sailed down to the far end of Antipaxos and slowly crawled up the coast hunting for a spot to spend the night. We are into July now so there are lots of boats around and competition for good anchorages is becoming evident. As you can see from the drone photos we found a fantastic inlet and took a couple of lines to shore to keep us pinned in the right position.

To remind you of our loaction -we are on the second tiny island just south of Corfu. The Beaches of Antipaxos light up the satellite pictures with their stunning turquoise beaches. With great beauty comes hordes of day trippers so we made a visit first thing in the morning.

We discovered a taverna perched high up above the beach. Those willing to hike up hundreds of steps are rewarded with a cool breeze and breathtaking views.