David's Diary: Friday, May 30, 2003

Corinth Canal to Aegina

Yesterday we traveled from Galaxidhi to the town of Corinth. For the first time we got to experience how strong the wind gusts can be in Greece. The Pilot Guide warned us that strong wind gusts come off the mountains. When we left Galaxidhi there wasn't even enough wind to sail. It went from calm to blowing over twenty knots in about five minutes. We discovered that the gusts were the strongest near land -- in the middle of the gulf the wind was lighter and steadier.

We arrived at Corinth late in the afternoon and tied up in the harbour for the night. Corinth is a modern provincial town with lots of services. We rented a DVD for the evening and had take-out pizza for dinner. This morning, Jocelyn and I were up early to do some shopping, visit an Internet cafe to check the weather, and prepare the boat for today's passage.

Pilot Boat

The Corinth Canal is a modern engineering marvel. Nero actually started digging the canal between the Ionian and Aegean Seas in 67 AD, but the effort was halted by invasions of Greece. The modern canal was constructed in 1883-93 by a French engineering company.

We left the town of Corinth and motored to the entrance to the canal. We circled around the entrance waiting for a signal that we could enter. Traffic in the canal is strictly one way. A pilot boat came out and visited a freighter that was near us, then it roared over to us and told us to follow the freighter into the canal.

Entering Corinth Canal from the West

The freighter started towards the entrance and we followed a reasonable distance behind. The entrance is difficult to see until you are close to it as there are two curved breakwaters that protect the entrance. We entered the canal and within a minute of our passing a submersible bridge that we had just passed over was raised out of the water to let vehicle traffic pass by.

Passing Bridges

Jocelyn drove the whole way through the canal as I took pictures. We passed three bridges that were high above us. It is amazing to think that more than a hundred years ago raw labour was used to dig down hundreds of feet to make the canal a reality. The wind appeared to be blocked by the high walls of the canal which made steering easier for Jocelyn. The canal is so narrow that there is little room for error.

Ship Leaving the Eastern Entrance

We exited the canal and pulled over to the large commercial quay. Now that we were out of the canal the wind was blowing again and it was a challenge to get tied up. The kids and I went to the office, met the pilot who had shouted to us to follow the freighter, filled out the paperwork, and paid for our transit of the canal.

We ate lunch while tied to the commercial dock. The wind was still blowing as we struggled to get away safely from the quay. We were so busy casting off that we didn't notice another freighter being towed by a tug leaving the canal just as we were getting in the way. A loud blast from the tug boat's horn got our attention and we smartly moved out of the way.

Aegina at Dusk

We spent the afternoon traveling to Aegina, a port recommended to us by Roland and Marit on the sailboat Sylphe. We arrived in the late afternoon and got one of the last spots in the harbour. After a busy week of travel we decided to eat out at a restaurant Roland had told us about. We enjoyed the sunset onboard Dragonsinger, then walked to the restaurant and sat down just after dark. We had an enjoyable dinner where each of us appreciated being waited upon. It was a nice welcome to the Aegean Sea.