Renting a Boat in Corfu-A Short Story

From the minute we found out about renting and commandeering a boat in Corfu, we knew it was exactly something we would love. Preplanning for a trip to Greece is part of the adventure. We planned our 2022 trip to Corfu around renting a boat on the NW coast of the island. After some research we booked at Delfino Blu Boutique Hotel in Agios Stefanos, NW. Not only did it look amazing, but we could rent a boat through the hotel which was very convenient.

After booking our boat, me being me, I ordered some adorable hats for us to wear on our little boat. Embroidered on Steve’s cap was ‘Captain’ and mine said, ‘First Mate’. I was pretty excited about these caps and couldn’t wait to wear them. (And I wonder how locals can always tell we are tourists?)

The day finally arrived to skipper the boat. True to Greek photos, the scene was like a postcard, with the sky being a beautiful blue only surpassed by the multiple blues of the Ionian Sea. The light wind, warm sun, and smell of the sea beckoned us to come play. We headed to the beach to claim our boat with me proudly sporting my ‘First Mate’ cap. Once we received our instructions and specifically told not to get the anchor stuck in the rocks, we settled onto our boat. Steve, with persuasion, reluctantly put on his Captain’s hat. And we were off.

Over the water we flew, giggling like a couple of school kids and smiling away. Renting a boat in Corfu was more fun than we ever imagined and the scenery was amazing. The impressive imposing white sandstone cliffs gave a ruggedly beautiful contrast to the blue of the sky and the sea. The refreshing smell of the sea and the wind blowing in our hair left us with not a care in the world as the sun warmly beamed down on us. Above birds flew by and we even saw a dolphin. It was early in the morning, so we felt and appeared to be the only ones on the sea.

We headed North along the coast, passing Cape Drastis and cruised all the way to the Canal d Armour. We loved seeing these areas from the sea especially as we had explored the beaches on land earlier on this trip.

As we were heading back south, after passing our base at Agios Stefanos, Steve made an alarming discovery, “Our gauge says we are very low on gas.” I of course, was in panic mode thinking we should go back to base. Up ahead, Steve saw another beach town and it looked like the same boat rental company was on the shore so he coasted on in.

The man met us in the water and asked, “are you returning the boat here?” Steve replied, “No, the gauge shows very low on gas.” The gentleman shook his head and said, “no, you’re fine, it does that.” Skeptically Steve said, “the gauge has changed from low level 1 to low level 2.” “It’s fine”, he assured us, “did he tell you that you had enough fuel when you left?”. Steve nodded,. “Then you have enough fuel” he continued to assure us as he helped guide the boat back to sea. Smiling he told Steve, “relax, have fun, don’t worry you have plenty fuel. He paused, and with a mischievous grin added chidingly, “Captain.” Steve gave me a look but kept his hat on anyway as it was now too hot not to wear a hat!

So off we went, past Porto Timoni, Angelokastro and Paleokastro until we found a small beach with no one around. Perfect place for a swim to the shore and some lunch. Life was good, with not a care in the world, until we realized our anchor was stuck in the rocks below.

An anchor stuck in the rocks, in the middle of nowhere, with no one around, is not the best spot to be in. We pulled and pulled to no avail. Steve tried moving the boat a bit forward and then a bit back while I pulled on the rope. Still stuck. We had no cell service so that option was out. In the Ionian Sea, the water is so very clear. We were able to see exactly where the anchor was stuck. Steve decided on diving down and dislodging it but I made it clear I was totally against that. Neither of us our spring chickens and if something happened to him while diving, I certainly wasn’t able to dive down and pull him up.

Feeling defeated, we again tried the forward and reverse method and to our relief, the anchor gave a bit. Finally, with both of us tugging at it, the anchor gave free with a cloud of sand rising through the blue water, and with me falling on my backside!

We continued a bit further south to see the beach we had hiked down our first day, Giali Beach. After slowly admiring with pride, the cliff we had descended and the beach we enjoyed, it was time to return the boat. We hightailed it back as our time was getting short. Suddenly we noticed that one of the seat cushions were missing. We had no idea where it flew off so we knew we would be paying for that if we didn’t see it floating along anywhere.

Back at the rental the first thing that was said to us was , “You are 12 minutes late, and you had plenty of fuel….Captain.” Steve retorted, “Well, you were at least 12 minutes late getting us started.” The boat guy shrugged and said, “fair”. So at least we weren’t going to have extra charges for running late.

Next Steve sheepishly told him about the missing seat cushion. The boat guy informed Steve he must not have snapped the cushion on tightly. Steve gently reminded him the cushion had been snapped on when we got on the boat. The man informed us normally we would have to pay for new cushions, but since it was the end of the season, he would only charge us half. At least we didn’t have to pay full price. In addition, renting a boat was quite reasonable and we had a wonderful time, so Steve agreed to that. As we got out of the boat and walked away, the renter smiled and laughingly said “Thank you….Captain!”. With this, Steve grinned and said, “I’m never wearing this hat again.”

Since renting a boat in Corfu was so much fun, next year we are renting a boat in the south of Crete. The hats are in the suitcase already!

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If you want to read more detail about this trip and read more of my short stories, you can click on the following links!!

A Hike Up and a Surprise Down Areopagus Hill-A Short Story

Ordering too much Greek Food-A Short Story

No Moussaka Today-A Short Story

First Taste of Greek Wine – A Short Story

What’s Souvlaki?- A Greek Travel Short Story

The Promendade- A Santorini, Greece Short Story

Greek Time-A Short Story

You can also click on my Itineraries and other posts here:

14 Day Itinerary Crete, Naxos, Santorini, Athens-Sept 2021

10 Day Greece Itinerary Crete, Santorini, Athens-Sept 2019

8 Day Greece Itinerary, Athens, Milos, Santorini-Sept 2018

14 Awesome Short Hikes in Crete

3 Days in Milos, Sept 2018

5 Great Beaches in Milos, Sept 2018