Itea through the Corinth Canal

 The Itea marina is huge and wide open, plus there was very little in the way of boats in it, so Marina decided to take the boat away from the dock for the first time. 

Sailing towards the Corinth Canal and Athens

Sheer Walls and a Narrow Channel

It may not sound that hard taking the boat out, but it is fairly  intimidating, even for those of us who have been sailing and powerboating for a long time.

Ross Driving through the Canal

Jessie taking her turn driving

Jessie now on the Bow

Looking fowards towards the railway and auto bridges

 Driving a 20 tonne boat away from a dock with wind and current, prop walk (the boat doesn't back-up straight, the torque of the engine pulls it sideways before the rudder has enough flow over it to become effective); and of course no brakes makes docking and leaving a dock quite a bit different than backing up a car. But Marina’s used to driving the big Ford F250 so maybe it wasn’t that big a switch. Anyway, she handled it perfectly and we headed off under power for Corinth. Two hours in the wind came up and we started sailing – and we sailed for about two hours until the wind pooped out and then we powered the rest of the way to Corinth arriving around 12:15pm. The Canal is too narrow for bi-directional traffic so you wait at one end for your side’s turn. Two boats came through – actually one came through, the other was a tour boat that headed back the other way. We entered the canal through a sinking bridge – they lower the bridge into the Canal to let traffic through. The walls are very interesting and have caved in many times – the Canal is closed on Tuesdays to repair falling rock from the walls. At about 2000 meters the walls start to grow and grow until they’re twice as high as the mast. The canal is very narrow – they say it can accommodate a 21 meter wide boat. We’re just under 5 meters wide – you could maybe get another one along side us but it would be tight. I think you’d need rollers on the side of the boat to deal with the walls if you took a big boat through. 

Jellies Everywhere ... oh joy

As you may recall, the kids (especially Ross) are afraid of Jellyfish. We guess the jellies here are particularly intelligent because they too are taking a 200 mile short-cut from the Ionian to the Aegean.


Again the pictures don’t really do it justice. Each of us took a turn driving through the canal. While driving a 5 meter wide boat through a 20 meter wide hole doesn’t sound too bad, it reminded me of driving a car down a European side-street – it looks a lot wider from the outside than it does from the inside of a car.



Once you’re through the canal you need to tie up and pay. It was pretty windy but we managed it fine. A couple in a restaurant on the side of the canal waved at us and a fellow came running over saying “I never thought I see a boat in Greece from the RVYC!” Unfortunately we didn’t get his name – he’s a member of the Burrard Yacht Club, but it was really nice to have a quick chat and see other Canadians and their enthusiasm for our trip.


Once through the Canal we entered Aegean (our 3rd Sea – Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean) and there was a nice 15-20 knot breeze but – guess where from – right on the nose. 

The Family on its way through the Canal

Jessie on the Aegean Side

Approaching Athens, Matt's hair is growing back

The days are getting shorter and we had another 30 miles to go to Athens so we put the motor on and charged ahead. We would have liked to have sailed but there is really nowhere to go … so we put the power on and went for the Marina. Once around the point of Nisos Salamis you see the city – and a hu-freaking-mungous city it is. There is development as far and wide as the eye can see.


We phoned the Marina Falimo -- sounded better in the guide than in actual fact ... but at 50 feet we were far and away the smallest boat here. On the outside the smallest is a 65 footer that looks like a dinghy against the 150's, and on the inside we're between a couple of 60 foot powerboats. Down the way there are 68 foot Azimats, 90 foot Pershings and a couple of 100+ footers too. Wow ... you don't see boats like this in Vancouver.
 
Well we've made it to Athens by the first of October ... now a quick tour of Athens and then off to the islands.