Back "home"

Another 4 hours drive brings us back to Itea and Sunray.  First the traditional champagne, in honour of the new crew member - this time we invited Birthe and Frank to join us too. 

Birthe and Frank live on board their 40ft. steel boat, EOS.  Their trip started in Randers, Denmark almost on the same day that Sunray started her journey from Kaløvig.  We have visited the same places in Germany and Holland, amongst others, Harlingen in Holland where Birthe and Frank decided to winter.  Here they had some fantastic experiences with their new found Dutch friends and have the same positive thoughts about Holland and their people as we do.  We had many experiences to tell each other about, and we also listened carefully to their good advice about the Gulf of Corinth, where they have based themselves for the time being. 

They recommended we try Anemokombi, a small inlet just beyond Galaxidi, perfect for swimming.   They were right, crystal clear waters awaited us and Mike’s first trip on Sunray was great fun, ending up with a water bomb fight in the sea.  I think this is going to be a fun holiday for us all!

“Let’s get moving east towards Corinth,” said skipper.  We set sail (motor) to the southern end of the Gulf and after a necessary anchor stop for a swim stopped for the night in Kiato.  Our first destination was originally Xilokastro, but the harbour entrance is totally silted up and impossible for yachts of a substantial size to enter. We had to spend a waiting day in Corinth harbour because we found out that on Sunday the canal fees are higher by 30%, that’s not for us.

The Corinth Canal 

The idea for the canal was first thought of by Periander in 602 BC, to dig a canal between the Isthmus Straits and therefore create a waterway between the Gulf of Corinth and the Aegean Sea.  However it was finished in 1893!!   That’s a long time to wait for something to get done.

It was also a long wait for Sunray’s crew until we finally got the white light and the blue flag, which is the signal that the Canal is now open for us to sail through.  We had to circle for 3 hours in the midday sun just outside the canal.  It was a hot and strong test of our patience

The 6356 m. long canal runs in a straight line, the west side is made of blue clay, and a small forest with an abandoned military base on the north side of the canal.  Further on towards the east the canal changes character and the clay banks give way to high rock walls. High, high up over the top of the mast are car and rail bridges, and the people who look down over the side to the canal, are surely as impressed over little Sunray as we are over the whole sight. 

When we finally sailed through and paid the net sum of 140 Euros, which is exactly 140 Euros more than we paid last year to sail through the whole French canal system, we were tired and very hot.  Some Scots we were waiting in queue with to pay our fees recommended our first stop in Saronic Gulf.  We set off towards Korfos, on the way we were visited by some big dolphins and were once again impressed by these beautiful creatures.    The heat of the whole day was now too much for us and something had to be done – NOW!  We tied a long line and threw it in the water and took turns to be dragged through the water, holding on with one hand to the rope and another to our bathing costume so that it would not be dragged off us!!