Many people dream of sailing in the Mediterranean, but do not realize that many of the places where people do not offer good sailing sailing. The best places are east of the DEM, and the Ionian Islands in western Greece are recognized to be one of the best sailing areas in the world.

In the north of these islands, and right in northern Greece, Corfu, and there are some small islands south of the famous island with few anchorages on the mainland. At the heart of the Ionians, about 30 miles south Corfu is Preveza, a port just inside the neck of an inland sea. Here you can moor at the dock that flanks the city, when his ship pulled in the opposite side of the entrance to the inland sea in Aktio.

South of Preveza is the island of Lefkada, which is separated from the mainland by a canal and dams. At the head of the canal is the city of Lefkas and a swing bridge that opens on the hour for boats through. If you go south, you have to wait in a narrow channel of the bridge to open – usually shortly after of the hour – which may be a little hard that the wind pushed forward.

Lefkas has a marina and a good Chandler

Lefkas is a good port with a good Chandler – other good retailers can be found in the yards of Cleopatra and the Marina in Preveza Aktio, which is near Preveza. It is also an attractive old Greek town with lots of shops and supermarkets.

Once you emerge from the south of Lefkas Canal Ionians you are in the south, a sea with a lot of islands, some small, some large. This part of the sea, is protected by Lefkas and Kefalonia in the west, and mainland Greece to the east and north, and it is open the Mediterranean just to the south.

So even if a wind blows, you will only get a short cut there, and the wind does not blow with full force I leave in the Med and is a great mistake to think that the Mediterranean Sea is benign, it can be very hard and the wind can blow so hard.

There are plenty of ports and anchorages of interest in these islands, but you do need to be aware of katabatic winds that can blow through some of the bays of the night, especially the nearby mountains. These winds can be very disconcerting if you have just moored or anchored, and suddenly you're in the teeth of a gale at around 5-6 hours. In fact, Vassiliki, south of Lefkada, receives such strong winds that night is a favorite spot among surfers.

If the anchor, the night can be a bit hectic, but usually from 7-7.30pm, the wind has died down, and you can expect a quiet night.

John Hartley, who runs http://www.sailboatsyachts.com started sailing sailing dinghies, but after a day in a keelboat decided that was his type of sailing boat. He has been sailing cruising sailboats for 16 years, first a Bermudan ketch and latterly a junk rig schooner. With his partner, Pauline, he has sailed from England to Gibraltar and through most of the Mediterranean.

Charter motor yacht AMZ, Mediterranean, Greece, yachts-sailing.com