Cephalonia East or West

[cmogs]

I intend to sail to Argostoli and collect friends flying in at the end of May .Sailing south from Levkas, any opinion or advice as to the route, winds and pitfalls- thanks in advance

 

[jordanbasset]

Not sure how long you have before you need to pick up your friends. If need to get there quickly it is around 60 n.miles from Levkas via the east coast of Levkas. It is not much shorter, if at all, if you go west around Levkas, in which case you have the hassle of waiting for the Bridge to open. I would go the east route. If you have a couple of days to spare would visit Sivota or Vassaliki,(depth just over 2 m) but there are lots of other potential stop off's on the way, am sure others wil suggest more.
If the weather is right I would anchor or go stern to in Assos on Cephalonia. Lovely place that does not have too many visitors, space is limited but should not be a problem at that time of year.
There is plenty of room to go stern to in Argostoli or anchor. If you do go stern to the Port Police are switched on and you will have to pay harbour dues. I liked Argostoli but some don't, so an alternative would be to go to the East coast, perhaps Fiscardo and get your friends to get a bus or pick up a resort transfer there. The west coast tends to have more wind than the more sheltered east coast.
Navigation is easy and if weather okay you will have no problems

 

[little_roundtop]

If the weather is right I would anchor or go stern to in Assos on Cephalonia. Lovely place that does not have too many visitors, space is limited but should not be a problem at that time of year.

+1 for Assos. If the short quay is full (it often is) anchor out and take a line ashore to the rocks. Much more attractive than Poros if you go the other way around. Good castle at Assos too, bit of a climb though.

Watch the reef on the SE corner if you go that way round.

 

[tri39]

I would go down the east side of Levkas and the West side of Kefallonia.
If you go down the east side of Kefallonia it can be a bit of a slog from
Akra Mounta back up to Argostoli, esp in the afternoon.
On the west side of Kefallonia you'll have the NWesterly with you
from Fiskardo to Argostoli, altho you'll likely have to motor from
Fiskardo to Akra Atheras in settled weather.

 

[lille_bee]

Added bonus of going down the western coasts: great spot for seeing dolphins and whales!

 

[Davy_S]

West coast of Kefalonia is the best route, you could always moor at Lixouri instead of Argostoli, there is a car ferry that runs from Lixouri to Argostoli, takes about half an hour. It's a good regular service.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Cruise Guide Inland Ionian

This page is a Cruise Guide for the area. Blue spots are nice places to stop. There are notes on most harbours (though not Assos, a very pretty little place). A very convenient little port for airport pick up is Agia Pelagia. But your guests may prefer livelier Argostoli. Better shopping, too.

 

[duncan99210]

Watch the weather. If there are strong north/north westerly winds forecast, then the best route is down the east coast of Kephalonia. However, if the weather is in a settled pattern with the normal light north westerlies in the afternoon/evening, then the west coast is a good route with the proviso that there is only really Assos to provide a midway stop. Have a good trip.

 

[cmogs]

thanks for the advice