The Gulf of Corinth

I should have said in the last blog that we found Efimia on Kefalonia a really well organised place for boats, probably the  best we have found so far in Greece outside of the marinas.

We set off early on 2^nd June into a windless sea and motored towards the Gulf of Corinth. The afternoon breeze did eventually appear and we enjoyed a couple of hours sailing to the buoys marking the channel to take us up to Mesolongi on the north coast at the entrance to the Gulf. A deep water channel has been dredged here through  otherwise inaccessible shallow salt marshes to access the town where a few large boats go to load up with salt. The channel ends in a wide basin which makes a useful anchorage and it also supports a respectable sized marina which is unhelpfully not open to visitors! The story on this is long and complicated and involves licences as yet not granted, so one day a marina will welcome visiting yachts!  There are very few safe havens for yachts making the journey through the Gulf, so the importance of Mesolongi cannot be overstated, particularly in view of the yacht marina in Patras on the south coast being closed due to winter storm damage with no prospect of them reopening!

The channel to Mesolongi is very pretty with local fishermen’s houses on stilts in the shallow marshes. Paths and roads link them to the shore and  it was surreal to see cyclists just across the water,  quite close to where we were motoring. A convenient overnight stay here with plenty of company from the local mosquito population.

Off by 8am, we set a course for the famous Rion Bridge spanning the Gulf of Corinth from Patras on the Peloponnese to the  northern mainland. A beautiful feat of engineering with 3 spans, each over 25m, and 45m high at the tallest point. With Deja Vu having a mast height of 21m this was quite important and it still felt quite counter intuitive to pass beneath it!

We had to seek permission from the Bridge authority to pass under the bridge, reporting our position 5 miles off and then again 1 mile off.  It was not helpful when the ship’s radio decided not to work at the last minute, so the trusty alternative hand held radio was used to good effect although had a narrower range requiring an apology for missing the 5mile announcement at 3 miles off!.

The wind arrived as soon as we cleared the bridge and had put the camera away and the decision to carry the jib only was a good one as 20knots behind us became 25 and more. Needless to say it was a fast sail to the island of Trizonia still off the north coast, and we were quite glad to arrive even though 30knots was promising a difficult mooring situation.  Other yacht crews came to assist and we were soon moored alongside in a totally derelict half built marina.

We are astonished that so much hard work has been done building jetties, harbour walls and installing a good lighting system and yet unfinished as there is no infrastructure of marina facilities,  no staff to take mooring fees that every mariner would have been delighted to pay for the provision of concrete for us to tie our boats to in a safe and sheltered bay.

We spent a couple of days here to explore the village, which comprised 3 or 4 tavernas and bars in a delightful setting, walking around the island and doing a few jobs on board.  There was no getting away though from the depressing surroundings of sunken boats, derelict craft abandoned to deteriorate and eventually sink on their moorings. There was evidence of work being done to raise a sunken ship from the inner harbour, but once again, a job half done.

Our walk around the island was interesting, beautiful flowers and flora but hazardous with the incredibly robust webs woven by rather large spiders across the pathways, swinging wildly in the wind, yet remaining intact and certainly effective at catching all sorts of flying insects and the odd cricket. Nigel was sent ahead  ducking and weaving around the webs, it was a sight to behold!

Time to leave Trizonia, we had a lovely sail along the north coast in moderated winds to the pretty village of Galaxidi and here we stayed for 4 days. It is a charming port, very Greek and not very commercialised. We have just found out that Lord Byron lived here at some point.

It provided the wnderful opportunity of renting a car and taking a trip high up into the surrounding mountains to the north, to Delphi, one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites. It did not disappoint. Nigel had been before some years ago, and the advice to go early was well heeded. We were in at 830am soon after opening and got ahead of both the extreme heat and  members of a large crowd  who had just spilled out of one of the many coaches. Quite athletically we climbed up through the ruins to the Stadium at the top of the site, to be the first to arrive and savour the atmosphere for a few minutes all on our own. It was incredible to imagine civilisation living here hundreds of years BC and it is remarkable what relics and treasures have been preserved both on site and in the museum. Full sized statues on display in superb condition had been found in the 19^th century by French archaeologists. They had been buried by earthquakes over 2000 years previously, escaping the removal and looting that befell other items over the passage of time.

We drove further up into the mountains, to, would you believe, the winter ski resorts.  Once again we saw a lot of investment into half built ski chalet and hotels, so much potential, so much opportunity, so much waste, or is there a plan for it all to happen in the future?

Lunch in the pretty hill town of Arachova  was followed by a scout around the port of Itea, another half built marina full of potential.

Galaxidi is a relaxing place with harbour master and harbour dues to pay for a quayside berth, power and water supplies. We cycled around, found places to swim, Nigel had a much needed haircut, the winches got serviced and the blog has got updated!

Actually our stay here was planned to be this long  due to the weekend gales forecast. They blew with some ferocity so we needed to stay on board  as we rocked around a lot hoping our anchor is well dug in!

By midnight the wind abated and we fell into a welcome sleep only to be horribly disturbed by a local bar playing loud heavy music until 6am. Nigel was ready to commit murder but we were reminded that this is Greece! Sunday dawned bright so we washed down the boat as there was still plenty of red dust about, but the skies blackened over and we caught a heavy thunderstorm late afternoon. We enjoyed a long leisurely lunch in a very Greek tavern across the bay with another English couple we have met along the way. Tony and Ann Montgomery Smith, fellow Cruising Association members, on catamaran Razzmatazz,  were delightful company.

Next stop will be Kiato, hopefully Monday 11^th June and Brian and Michele will be joining us there on Tuesday 12^th.  It is well known that Michele is the harbinger of wet weather on holiday, but we are hoping that today’s storms and extensive rain will be on her account!

All  being well, winds look to be moderating for a quiet passage through the canal on Wednesday 13^th June. We are hoping to try out a new little video camera.