Saronic Gulf and Back

 

 

Panoramic view of the Gulfo f Patras - Messolonghi Marina on the right hand side

As I sit and write this latest update, we are riding out yet another thunderstorm, only this time we are in the protection of Messolonghi Marina. However, the storm is right overhead and we cannot see across the lagoon for the rain – ahhh summertime in Greece.

 

One of many sunsets

To say the weather to date has been unpredictable and unusual would be an understatement. Not just for us, the Persecuted Perrett’s, but for everyone we’ve spoken to, wherever they have been in Greece. Everyone has experienced strong winds, cool temperatures, and sudden thunderstorms. In fact we were going to leave Messolonghi today and head up into the Ionian, but due unforeseen circumstances, we changed our mind...although four boats left the marina before today’s thunderstorm started, included good friends of ours, and we only hope they found somewhere safe to ride out the storm.

 

Anyway, I digress. The remainder of our time in the Aegean was spent meandering back down the Evia Channel, again either ducking out of bad weather, or motoring along with no wind at all. As I mentioned in my last blog, we were due to meet with sailing friends, Cha and Wayne on Eclipse, who we met in Ibiza in 2011. Via the wonders of modern technology (internet and mobile phones), we arranged to meet in Porto Rafti, a typical holiday town with a lovely bay. We arrived within an hour of each other, and within half an hour they had inflated their inflatable kayak and rowed over to us (they don’t have a conventional dinghy, well they do, but they’ve never used it!). We invited them over for dinner that night and we spent the evening catching up on what all of us had been doing for the past three years. It was nice to see old friends in new places. However, it was short lived, as a weather window opened up for us and we had to leave the next day.

 

On our way up the Evia Channel, we stopped and refuelled in a ‘proper’ marina and had decided to treat ourselves to a night on our return trip. It is also a convenient starting point to go directly to Poros, our next stop. It had a good chandlery, or so we thought, it had a good restaurant, or so we thought, it had nice helpful staff, or so we thought. After refuelling again, we called the marina on the VHF and they guided us to our ‘spot’. I say ‘spot’; I should say ‘tight spot’. It would not have mattered how many times we tried to get into this finger pontoon, we were not going to fit, and the marinara did not seem to understand. Finally, we were shown to a ‘slightly better spot’. He took our lines, gave us a lazy line and then left us to it. It took us nearly an hour to get the boat into a position where we could actually get the passarelle on the dock. David went to the office to be checked in while I used the laundry facilities – which were good, or so we thought! He returned to inform me that we had been charged the handsome sum of €60 plus €3 for electricity and water... Just so as you know, the chandlery didn’t have anything we needed and the restaurant was empty and soulless – we left the next day!

 

Poros Town

The 35 miles to Poros was uneventful and we arrived on the island of Poros mid afternoon. Here’s the tourist bit, taken from a guide...

 

The town of Poros is built in the shape of an amphitheatre over two hills.  In antiquity Poros consisted of two islands, Sphería and Kalávria, but the last explosion of the Méthana volcano in 273 BC radically changed the morphology of the area.  Sphería was cut off from Méthana, and Póros took its present-day form.  Lush pine trees, crystal clear beaches, a lively waterfront adorned with shops, cosy cafes and restaurants, a picturesque capital (it has been declared as a protected settlement) with grand traditional mansions and picturesque cobbled streets, as well as a wide selection of entertainment venues are the ingredients of this quiet, yet cosmopolitan, destination that attracts visitors from all age groups.

 

Peer into the history and tradition of the island through a visit to its Archaeological and its Folklore Museums.  Visit also the Temple of Poseidon (built in around 520 BC; the Athenian rhetorician, Dimosthenes, committed suicide in this temple by drinking poison, pursued by Philip, the King of Macedonia);  the Zoodochos Pigi Monastery  which remains the most impressive ecclesiastical monument on the island;  the Russian naval base and the Residence of Governor Kapodistrias.  Follow a route through the narrow streets of the town that leads up to a hill, where the trademark of the island stands: the historic Clock tower, where visitors can relax and enjoy a panoramic view of the whole town.

 

Poros - southern entrance

The southern entrance to Poros is a narrow and very shallow channel. We worked our way through, past boats tied to the quay and at anchor, and decided to go round to the west side of the quay. A very nice restaurateur took our lines and invited us to dine there that night. I went ashore to get some provisions, and spotted a boat we knew from Nidri, so I stopped to say hello.  They had been there for a few days and warned us of the ‘7.30 surge’.

 

The very nature of the island of Poros means that ferries and other big craft come in through a narrow entrance before turning and heading for the quayside to drop off the day visitors. Unfortunately, way before they even get as far as the quay, they have created a wake directly in line with where we are docked. As it travels towards the quay, it builds and builds, so that by the time it reaches us, you can’t see it coming until it’s too late and then, wallop, boats are rocking and rolling all over the place, smashing into the dock, crashing into each other – we won’t be staying here long! We did go to the restaurant for dinner and decided to go to anchor the next day, as north westerly winds were forecast, which would be uncomfortable on the dock.

 

Poros anchorages and mainland

The bay however is very deep, and we had to go quite close to the shore, but that will be OK, because it’s a north westerly and we will be lying away from the shore. Nope, you’ve guessed it, the winds were southerly and we had to re-anchor in much deeper water to be safe. And it blew all day, all evening and most of the night. The next day, we saw a better spot on the quay and scooted over to grab it before anyone else got it. We still got the surge, but nowhere near as bad.

 

The top of Poros Town (nearly)

The town of Poros, as they guide says, a cosmopolitan place. Pretty, cobbled back streets, which wind endlessly to the top of the town, where the view over the channel and mainland are wonderful. Restaurants, bars and shops line the front and all the back streets. We spent two more days exploring and relaxing on the island before heading off for Epidavros.

 

Epidavros is a small fishing and seaside town, which has the advantage of being on a 30-minute taxi ride to the Epidavros amphitheatre. However, having got our anchor completely entangled in some old mooring lines and fisherman’s hooks, we didn’t manage to get to see. It took David over an hour snorkelling to get the anchor free, it was well and truly jammed in with all the mess on the sea bottom – I see a theme running through this trip! However, looking at the website for the Epidavros amphitheatre, I would recommend anyone to go there, if you get the chance.

 

Galaxidhi Town Quay

While we have been in the Aegean, we have been watching the weather (obviously), but for the Meltemi winds which start to blow in summer. The problem with this particular wind is that once it starts blowing (normally at about a force 7 upwards), it doesn’t stop for days. People who go on holiday to the Aegean islands are often surprised how strong the wind is. There is a particular meteorological set up that causes a Meltemi, with standing ‘lows’ over Cyprus and a ‘high pressure’ over the Black Sea, so it is easy to see when it is beginning to form. The last thing we wanted was be stuck for twelve days waiting for the wind to calm down. Yes, you’ve guessed it, a Meltemi was forming.

 

Galaxidhi view of the mountains

 And so we began to make our way back. Our planned route changed daily and having visited Korfos, going back through the Corinth Canal, and Kiato on the side, we were finally back in Galaxidhi. The day we arrived was lovely, and had been greeted by the biggest pod of dolphins we have ever seen. There must have been 25-30, all playing around the boat. After they left, another, smaller, pod arrived. To top it all, in Galaxidhi we had the best meal we’ve had anywhere in Greece that night. Greek cooking with a twist of curry and spices. However, the next day – guess what – the wind blew, so we stayed another night.

 

Our planned route back was to spend a couple of days in Trizonia, as we had only spent one night on the way through. It was only twenty miles, so we didn’t need to leave too early, and for once, we had a perfect sail for more than two hours. Unfortunately, as Trizonia came into view, and we looked through the binoculars, we could see there was no room left on the quay, or in the anchorage. A decision had to be made – should we risk going into the bay and spend an hour or so trying to find a spot, or continue and go directly to Messolonghi. I checked the weather, we had the right conditions to continue, and so we did, arriving back in Messolonghi by 7pm. In the bar that night were many of our winter friends, some flying home for July, some just returning for a few days, and some having just arrived back on their boats.

 

Friends for dinner

We have now been in Messolonghi for eleven days and have been out a few times for dinner with friends, but had a particularly good evening when eight of us drove up into the mountains to a restaurant friends had been to before. The view was amazing, right from the Gulf of Patras over to Zakinthos. It was a bit hazy, but watching the moon reflect on the Gulf was stunning, and the night-lights of Messolnghi are very pretty.





 

Night lights of Messolonghi

We’ve had a list of jobs to do, right down to David fixing the kitchen sink. Yes, I know it’s a cliché, but it needs fixing properly. I still have to wind him up the mast this afternoon, but I think we will wait until the storm has passed!

 

This year’s adventure we continue when we arrive back in the Ionian and the end of this week to meet up with those friends we’ve not seen this year, visit old haunts, maybe find some new ones, and then await the arrival of my mother and nephew at the end of August.

 

As always, take care and stay in touch.

Michele and Dave

On board Alhambra – somewhere in Greece

More photos on https://www.flickr.com/photos/md_sailing/

 

Messolonghi to Skiathos and back (via Evia Channel)

Route from Messolonghi to Skiathos - 25th May to 10th June 2014

Did we make it, I hear you ask. Well if you look at the map above, you will see, not only our route, but the date we arrived in Skiathos...but to say that the Weather Gods were not on our side would be an understatement.
 

Korfos Bay

Having gone through the most expensive stretch of water in the world (mile for mile), the Corinth Canal, we rested for two days in the calm bay of Korfos, waiting of course for a weather window to go across to the island of Aegina. We finally made the 16-mile crossing on 2^nd June (Monday), giving us a week to reach Skiathos, a few days after our friends Brad and Marion’s arrival. 

 

As with most places in Greece, Aegina’s past is steeped in the mysteries of Greek myths and Gods. My research tells me that...

 

the island was originally called Inoni (or Inona or Inopia). It is said that one of the fifty daughters of the river god Asopus, was called Aegina, and she was loved by Zeus. The king of Olympus, in order to avoid, Hera, transformed himself into an eagle and carried Aegina to uninhabited island of Inoni. The fruit of Aegina's and Zeus' passion was Aeakos the first king of the island.

 

Aeakos asked Zeus to give him subjects, and so he transformed the ants of the island into humans. The first inhabitants of the island were called Myrmidones, from the Greek word "myrmigi" which means ant.

 

...this all sounds a bit like ‘Minions’ and interestingly, sometimes, when sitting in a bar, listening to the local population, they all sound like Minions too! (Despicable Me films)

 

Aegina is a triangular island, with a summit of 532m/1,745ft, resembling a ‘pimple’ on the southern end. Its position, roughly in the middle of the Saronic Golf, meant that it was of strategic importance throughout history. After it had been occupied by the usual Neolithic people, the Bronze Age people and the usual Mycenaean occupation, it was then abandoned for a few centuries. Then, after a few wars, it had another succession of usual occupiers, the Romans, Byzantines, Saracens, Venetians and Turks. From 1826-1828 the city was the capital of the newly liberated Greece and the first new modern Greek coins were minted here...

 

...our invasion only lasted three days, while we waited for a weather window to Souinon on the mainland! However, we had a nice time, bumped into the owners of a large catamaran, Pallaran, who also winter in Messolonghi, who asked us to help them bring their boat into the harbour...which was interesting.

Poseiden's Temple - Souinon

 

The thirty-mile trip over to Souinon took about four and half hours, and we had been told, was a very nice anchorage. The bay and cape are easy to spot as the well-preserved Temple of Poseidon sits atop the hill, overlooking and protecting the sea all around. The temple, built around 444bc, is where Byron is supposed to have carved his name and a few poetic lines one of the columns. Have you ever noticed how Byron gets everywhere! Unfortunately we could only stay one night has we had to move on...and how glad were we to get out of that bay. It was one of the rolliest nights we’ve had in long time. I’m not sure we’ll take a return visit to hike up to the temple.

 

After stopping at a large marina to refuel, we entered ‘The Evia Channel’. Evia is the second largest island in Greece. It looks like a mountainous spine, running north-south and has two distinctive halves split in the middle at Chalkis (Khalkis, Chalkdi...or any number of different spellings). There are numerous anchorages and towns in which to stop on both the mainland side and Evia side. As we were trying to get north as quickly as possible, we decided to aim for an almost landlocked bay called Voufalo (Boufalo, Bouphalo), or as we called it Gruffalo, for ease of reference. The forty-three miles took just under six hours and nothing eventful happened. I say nothing eventful, we were actually sailing. There is almost nothing in this beautiful bay, apart from a couple of tavernas, and some holiday homes. The bay is protected by a sand-spit with a few trees strategically placed and provides protection from all directions. Although we only stayed one night, we have promised ourselves a long stay on our return down the channel. Next stop Khalkis.

 

Khalkis Bridge opening

The thirty miles to Khalkis were uneventful. You have to take a slightly complicated route through a marked channel, under the new modern bridge (almost a replica of the Rion Bridge back in the Gulf of Patras). Then you enter a large bay where you can either anchor or go into the Yacht Club Marina and wait for the phenomenon that is the changing of the current through the bridge. It is said that Aristotle flung himself into the channel because of his inability to understand the currents. A quick ‘google’ search and you will see many references to this ‘phenomenon’. The waters under the bridge can flow up to 9 knots (it has been reported) and every six hours, no more, no less, the waters run still for about ten minutes and then change direction. Some people in the past, with a mystical tendency, believed it was linked to the phases of the moon... those of us who live further north or south of the Mediterranean will already be fully aware of such phenomenon. However, the road bridge is something to behold, in that rather than lifting or swinging, it drops down and then slides back underneath the road – with all the lights still on.

 

Khalkis Bridge underneath the road

However, once you have visited the Port Police, paid your €19, you are told to standby from 9pm and they will give you a 10-15 minute warning that the bridge will open. They only open the bridge at night-time (disrupting the day time traffic into the Capital of Evia is not an option), better to have a bunch of boats wallowing around, trying to avoid commercial traffic, dozens of little fishing boats, until we are called, is a much safer option.

 

We were finally called to go through at 11:30pm. We followed two freighters, one mega yacht and a sailboat like ours. However he decided it would be fun to slow down and look at all the people standing on the bridge, rather than go through at speed in order to not get caught up in the eddies that are swirling around the entrance to the bridge and cause you to have no steerage over your boat! Next you have to negotiate a place on the town quay on the north side of the bridge.

 

North side of the bridge, town quay

When we arrived during the day, we took a stroll to investigate. Lots of spaces to be had, nice bars, pleasant promenade, we were looking forward to coming through.

 

Having transited the bridge we looked for a space – none to be had! However, there is a very nice Greek man who is controlling the quay. Those going southbound were waiting for permission to transit, after another two commercial freighters went through. Once they were given the ‘all clear’, the nice man on quay took our lines and we were secured for the night. Time to get to bed for an early start – wrong. It was a festival weekend and the bars were booming til 3am. We decided to sit in the cockpit, open a bottle of wine and watch the world go round til we fell asleep.

 

The next morning the weather was awful – we weren’t going anywhere. We texted Brad & Marion, and said we would probably be delayed another day. Fortunately, the weather let up and we managed to make the next stop, thirty miles north to Theologos Town. A nice, large bay on the mainland side, deep and protected from everything but the west – no weather forecasted from there. We had a lovely evening, first dinner up on deck, watched the Grand Prix and went to bed.

 

3am – we were woken by the howling wind, the dinghy wavering side to side on deck and suddenly the boat lurching, pitching and bouncing. Ah yes, nothing forecast from the west, apart from the thunderstorm that decided to brew up over the mainland. We knew there was nothing we could do but anchor watch until daybreak. We had seen safe anchorages around the corner, but they were edged with rocks and with 2m waves, it would have been foolish to attempt moving in the dark. We motored round at 6am, dropped the hook in a vague, uninteresting bay, surrounded by a disused fish farm and tried to sleep. What sleep we got was interrupted by the howling wind and the gusts over the island, swinging the boat in every direction. Even with all this wind, it was the first time in a long while that I didn’t want to go anywhere, I did not trust the weather.

 

David however, being David, managed to persuade me to ‘put our nose outside the bay and see what it’s really like outside’. He, of course knew that the wind was being accelerated over the hill and sounded much worse that it was – we continued.

 

The next leg of the journey was disheartening, we headed northwest for ten miles, then west for ten miles, went through a narrow pass at the tip of Evia, turned 180° and headed east for another ten miles. From our starting point, in what shall now be known as ‘Storm Bay’, Skiathos was approximately 30 miles due north, but Evia lies in its path, as you will see on the map above. However, we made for a bay called Vathikelon, which shall now be known as ‘Calm Bay’. Although it is very deep (anchor in 10-15m), it is completely landlocked and so calm and peaceful that I didn’t want to leave the safety of it. There is nothing there, apart from a few villas in among the olive trees – perfect. Next stop Skiathos.

 

Skiathos town quay – our guidebook tells us that the local charter operations protect their spots on the town quay with aggression – and we saw it first-hand. We have never been so aggrieved as we were on Skiathos town quay.

 

The quay had a few spaces free, so we dropped the hook, ran back and someone took our line – the normal thing now is for him to hang around, help us out and make sure we are tied on securely. No, he threw the line back, the boat swung around wildly under the gusting wind and we struggled to control the situation. Finally, a tourist who was sat on a nearby bench offered to help, for which we thanked him.

 

Marion, Brad, Dave, Michele - drinks!

We called Brad & Marion, they arrived and beer and wine was duly opened to celebrate our epic trip and final arrival. The boat moored next to us was advertising day trips. He neither helped us with our lines or spoke to us. At five o’clock he asked how long we would be staying,

‘four or five days’ we replied.

‘You have to leave, tripper boat coming back, you in its spot’.

‘Is this not the town quay?’ we questioned.

‘You leave or I get the Port Police.’

 

This happened three or four times with different people, but now they were British, more aggressive and accused me of being rude! I asked where their reserved signs were for the boats, and how were we meant to know we shouldn’t moor here. More shouting and arm waving and finally the Port Police arrived. The young officer looked very embarrassed when we asked him if this was not the town quay, shyly, and without making eye contact, he said no, you must leave. To cut a long story short, these tripper boats are obviously ‘paying’ to keep their spot and in the process are making visiting yachts feel very unwelcome. We asked B&M to leave while we sorted the situation out and for them to come back at 7pm for drinks on board.

 

We motored up and down the town quay, every time we tried to dock we were shouted at to leave, that it was a reserved spot. Finally we found what we thought was a free spot and tried to dock. A man on the quay was shouting profusely at us, waving his hands wildly. We were beginning to give up. I started to bring the anchor back up, but it was stuck, and it was stuck fast. We believed we had caught the ‘Mama Mia’ Daytripper boat’s mooring line. More shouting and waving of arms. Finally, we could do no more than take the boat back to the quay, and explain that David would have to dive down and see what the problem was.

 

To our amazement, the man waving his arms was trying to help us, not hinder. He was trying to point out that there is a danger under the water, just where we were dropping our anchor. He very kindly said that we could tie up to his tripper boat, he manoeuvred his two other tripper boats to help us. He told us to wait til the morning to dive, have a drink and relax. We could not have been more grateful for his kindness. One of his staff, Leanne, an English girl was very embarrassed when I told her how we had been treated further down the quay. They told us we could stay in their spot for a long as we wanted. When B&M returned at 7pm, we had not even showered, we were exhausted.

 

Alhambra next to Labmos boats - empty quay!

The next morning, Brad arrived at the boat at 08:30 (having been out partying to the early hours). He and David donned the diving gear we have on board and spent the next hour sorting the anchor and chain out. I cannot thank Brad enough for helping David with the diving, otherwise David would have had to do this on his own, while I let the anchor up and down, in among all the huge ferries coming and going.

 

It appears we had managed to tangle the anchor chain 360°around a block. Our newfound friends Labmos told us to use his lazy line when they went out for the day and ‘not to worry’. However, when everything was sorted, we moved down the quay a few spots and bought some wine and beer for his crew to say thank you for their kindness. They were the nicest people we met on Skiathos.

 

We had a wonderful three days with Brad and Marion, and the holiday was over all too quickly. Too much food and wine, but lots of good company. I only hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.

How much rain?

 

We decided to stay a few more days, there was some more weather coming. We hired a car on Saturday and sped(?) off round the island. As Skiathos is not that big, we were done by 3pm, and returned to the boat – for once the gods were on our side. Within ten minutes of getting back on the boat, the most violent storm we’ve seen for a very long time moved from Skopelos over to Skiathos. For nearly two hours we watched the rainwater flood down the main street and into the quay. The reverberation from the crack of thunder went through every bone in our bodies. We had to have the engine running for over an hour to keep the boat from bashing into the dock. We went through two lots of wet weather gear before it finally let up. At least it washed the boat, I suppose! However, watching Labmos and Leanne return with two boats full of holiday-makers arrive back, I realised how scared they must have all been, as they cheered the captains when they arrived safely back. To her credit, when I spoke to Leanne, she said she was really worried for us! 



Enjoy drinks over the bridge, waiting from friends to transit

And so, now we are on our return journey back down the Evia Channel. We have just come back through the Khalkis bridge (1am this time) and are spending a few restful days in the yacht club marina.




Tobin Bronze transitting

We've met up with friends from 2011 (Judy taught me to make jewellery) and we watched them transit the bridge northbound at 12:30am. It seemed funny watching them going through, as tourists waved at them as they passed by.



Fishermen surfing the current

Khalkis has a cosmopolitan feel, and strolling along the town quay, watching the fisherman 'surfing the current' is fascinating.

View over Greece from Khalkis Castle

Today we walked up to the castle, which is wonderfully preserved, and the views over Evia and Greece were breathtaking, especially as the air was so clear today.

Alhambra's new neighbours

Back in the Yacht Club Marina, we have got chatting to our new neighbours, who are also heading up to the Ionian, maybe a beer or two before we leave tomorrow to catch up with even more old friends.

A couple we met in 2011 on Ibiza are on their way northbound through the Channel, and we plan to meet half way on Tuesday. We will then explore the Saronic Gulf before going back through the Corinth Canal and heading for the Ionian for more visitors.

 

 

 

Until then, take care, and stay in touch.

Michele and Dave

More photos on https://www.flickr.com/photos/md_sailing/

Messolonghi to the Aegean

25^th May 2014 to 1^st June 2014

We finally left Messolonghi on 25^th May, after much fixing and cleaning, and of course visiting local sites of interest (mainly in the evenings, for dinner and drinks with friends).

 

The first part of our season will take us along the Gulf of Patras and Corinth, through the Corinth Canal, up the Evia Channel and onto meet with friends, Brad and Marion, who are holidaying on Skiathos. We then plan to meander slowly back down the Evia Channel, visiting places we did not see on the way up, around the Saronic Gulf before making our way back through the Corinth Canal. We’ll visit some other places in the Corinth Gulf before following our tracks back to Messolonghi, before heading back into the Ionian to receive family and friends in August and September. Well that’s the plan.

 

Rion Bridge

So far, we have been weather bond on a continuous basis.

Once out of Messlonghi, you go under the Rion Bridge, which in itself is a fascinating structure (which I have written about before), and which we go over when arrive by bus from Athens.



Trizonia fishing quay

Our first stop was a little island on the mainland cost called Trizonia, a miniature Alderney (for those who have been there). Not much going on, but seems to take a hold of you and you struggle to escape. Fortunately, we escaped, but will spend more than a night on our return visit. Off then to Galaxidhi. A well protected spot, which was handy as Force 7s were forecast for the next few days. We moored on the town quay, which has power and water (€9 a night for us if you want to know).

 

Galaxidhi bay

Galaxidhi’s history is that until the late 19th century, it had a sizeable merchant marine fleet and was a prosperous commercial centre, and has a marine museum containing exhibits from this period. Opposite the town quay there is a beautiful pine forest, which was planted by school children in the early twentieth century, and at the top of the mountain the Monastery of the Metamorphosis (actually a convent that was inhabited by one nun as of 2010 so Wikipedia tells me).

 

However, from Galaxidhi you can take a bus to Itea, the next port along, and then another bus to Delphi – which we did. Numerous photos on our flickr website

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/md_sailing/

 

What I have discovered about Delphi in brief: It is both an archaeological site and a modern town on Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Dating to the classical period of Ancient Greece (510-323 BC), the site of Delphi is believed to be where Zeus sought to find the centre of his "Grandmother Earth" (Ge, Gaea, or Gaia). He sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos, or navel of Gaia was found.

 

Earlier myths include traditions that Pythia, or the Delphic oracle, was the site of an important oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (as early as 1400 BC), and served as the major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew Python, "a dragon" who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth.

 

Apollo's sacred precinct in Delphi was a panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 586 BC [5] athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, precursors of the Modern Olympics. These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephanitic games chronologically and based on importance.

 

Needless to say, there is so much more to be said about Delphi, but you all have access to Google and can read at your leisure. However, it was a fascinating place to visit, and one which we will visit again as there was so much more to see.

 

Kiato beach

After three days at Galaxidhi, a weather window appeared, which we took, and after a calm motor half way across the Gulf of Corinth to its southern shore, the winds changed and we had a force 6 ‘on the nose’. Fabulous! Big seas, boat going up and down and crashing into every wave – it resembled our time in the Caribbean. In addition to this, the wind was cold, so we had to wrap up on fleeces and jeans.

 

Kiato harbour

However, we still had a problem when we go to Kiato, where we were heading – the harbour is east facing, and we had strong easterly winds. We were not sure it would be a safe harbour. Fortunately, on our arrival, there is a small fishing harbour on the inside, which is protected from the east, and we managed to go alongside, along with our friends on their boat Chanty. We were stuck here for two nights with force 7-8s howling all day and all night. However, we saw a weather window on the horizon, which we had to take otherwise we would be stuck there til Tuesday (when the Corinth Canal is closed for repairs).

 

Western entrance to Corinth Canal

We set out on 31^st May, wind and sea behind us for the hour and a half trip to the entrance to the Corinth Canal.

 

The Canal is the most expensive stretch of water in the world, mile for mile, in our case €66 per mile...€200.97 to be precise to transit the canal – the alternative is spending three weeks going the long way round. It is however AMAZING.

All three bridges

 

Both the Romans and Greeks have looked at schemes to start a canal, but only Nero actually started digging. Unfortunately, the 6,000 Jews who were digging didn’t even get down to rock before his energies were diverted back to northern Europe. The present canal was started by a French company, and finished by the Greeks in 1893. It is 3.2 miles long, 25m wide and cut from limestone 79m above sea level, and takes about half an hour to transit.

 

Easter entrance to canal

We were lucky, we didn’t have to wait at all to be given permission to enter; some yachts have to wait up to three hours. At the eastern end, you tie up alongside and part with your money.

 

We are now tied to a very nice dock, owned by a Yannis and his taverna, in a well protected bay called Korfos, 15 miles from the Canal. And a very nice meal we had there. The dock is free, has extremely nice new lazy lines, showers and Wifi, and Yannis welcomes you to his dock.

 

Now for our next step. We need to get to Skiaothos, but the weather has changed again and for the next 3-4 days Force 8s are forecast where we want to go. We will stay at Yannis tonight, try to get to the island of Aigina tomorrow (about 15 miles away) and ride out the weather there. From there we can take a ferry across to Athens, so we have things we can do while we wait for the winds to calm down. Now we’re through the Canal the pressure is off a bit, but if the winds continue this way we’re not sure when we’ll get to Skiathos, probably just as our friends are leaving...

 

Watch this space...