From Preveza I sailed out in the Ionian Sea and rounded Lefkas on the outside, because the bridge and entrance to the Lefkas canal is out of commission until further notice. It was a nice sail, all alone on the coast. Often too little wind so the engine was helping out most of the way. Spotted two mor dolphins and lots of white cliffs. In Lefkas I had bought new anchor chain. It took half a day to get the old one out and the new one in the locker, but it feels good to have a solid new chain to hang on to.

During the past two weeks I have test sailed in all sorts of weather and fixed equipment that had been unused for too long. Some things where corroded, others just not attached in the right way. Now Isabelle is beginning to be tweeked ready for the world.

For test sailing I stayed inside a big bight just east of Preveza, called Amvrakikos Kolpos. There are a number of fish farms inside the bay. This has lead to a dolphin population that is big. Every day I sailed with the dolphins around the boat. Day before yesterday we had more than 10 dolphins following Isabelle on every tack for about twenty minutes. Loved it!

Yesterday I took a look at the instrumentpanel and opened it up to install the new AIS and GPS transciever. Oh boy, it was a bit of a mess. Did end up re-routing and bundling the wiring so that I could see what was what. Now it looks better and is easier to fix if it gets broken someplace. On top of that I installed the new hardware and got the AIS to show my position. Now you can find me on MarineTraffic or any other tracking site. MMSI 265064710 Isabelle af Wisby. Yahoo! And on to the next project, install the new heater. Boat is soon going in the water...

Today I fitted the names of yacht and homeport on the stern, and finalized the installation of the windvane steering system. It took a lot of measuring and calculating effort to get the right position for the steering gear. So much other stuff in the way. Now it will work alongside the dinghy lifting system, shower and bathing ladder. It was a thight fit. Time to take some weekend rest. Very pleased!

We did it! My sister drove her van through Europe to get to Aktio Marina in Preveza, Greece, and I sat besides held her company. We crossed through Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Greece. Took us a week and was more than 3000 km to drive across the mountains and hills. We camped in snow, rain and sunshine.

Here at the marina I have two weeks to get the boat ready to go sailing. While on land, I have to arrange my things inside and out, clean and get to know the yacht. Today I started to install the windvane steering on the stern and put the name on the hull. Looking good! Too much stuff on the back makes it a tricky job to get the windvane steering in place. It is 31 degrees inside and 35 degrees outside, and the mosquitoes are terrible. But it is coming along.

And the name is on the bow of the boat. No worries about it being too cold. 35 degrees and hot in the sun. Here she is, sitting in the second lane spot 5L of Aktio Marina, Preveza.

Isabelle is on land in Aktion, Preveza. At Aktio I am working on some of the deck structure and cleaning up to get the boat in the water before October 10th. Installing a new heater, AIS, and the old Sailomat windvane steering. Soon ready to go!

It has been too long since I actually have been sailing. So much looking forward to sailing the Ionian in warm weather. In a few weeks it is possible. Great!

We are on our way to meet Isabelle at Aktio Marina. With all of the stuff that came from my former boat home Isabell, we are driving cross Europe to get to Greece by car. How exciting! Here we have stuffed the van to the brim. All of my stuff acually fitted, and we still had space for two tensts, two chairs and a camping table.