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| Up for an early departure in Chios |
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Refining Nav plans yet again
(photo by Jenny on Far Away) |
Having left
the concrete bunker in Chios, we made a fine, if not long, day of it across to
Andros. All creatures were happy;
including GS and two pods of industrious dolphins sweeping by, busy looking for
a tasty snack or two. None more so though,
than our hitchhiker Sid, who sang his cicada love song with great gusto for the whole
91 miles! He abandoned us quickly in
Gavrion, no doubt to find romance and a suitable audience for his tales of
daring-do.
Gavrion (Andros)
is a busy dock and ferry terminal on the Cyclades route. Its circular shape and steep hills behind would
have been perfect inspiration for Greek theatre construction. Sound carried effortlessly and we wondered if
many village secrets were betrayed as a result.
Enormous ferries used our anchorage as something of a turning circle, so
finally we moved closer to shore (in shallower water) to alleviate grief on
both parts. The next morning, after
Cap’n Devoted replaced a worn fan-belt on the engine, and as two ferries arrived
in quick succession, we headed off under sail for Kea.
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| Gavrion on Andros |
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| Oh, not more company in the anchorage... |
Luckily we arrived
in Kea early because predicted gentle north winds came, at 18kts, from the south and it was a bun-fight at the small anchorage. We
managed to squeeze in avoiding the ire of Korissia Port Police who were
determined to keep the ferry dock free from those idiotic enough to anchor
there. These ferries not only needed a
turning circle, but also room to lay out giant anchors and vast quantities of
chain – med moor style. Again, we moved closer
to the beach to keep out of harm’s way and settled in for a quiet night. Given an evening of even more hectic anchoring goings-on, we decided not to stay and explore the island (and its Minoan Palace –
largely rubble) but head over to Poros tucked up safely in the Saronic Gulf and
celebrate our near-perfect Aegean Sea crossing.
Plans of
anchoring at the foot of Poseidon’s Temple at Cape Sounion also went astray due
to continued southerlies. A sail past
however was in order to pay respects to the ancient god of the seas. Clearly our offering was not taken well
(cheap Aussies!) because not long afterwards our main furling line snapped (in
only 15 kts) necessitating a few unpleasant words and a rush of activity. The silver lining was of course, a splendid
opportunity to rummage about in every available chandlery and hardware
shop. Now, WJ3 sports a bright green
furling line, perfect for the colour blind and suitable “sailing-for-dummies”
material.
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| Boats of all sizes crowd the town dock in Poros |
Having
rested in Poros for a few very enjoyable days, we were ready to tackle the
Corinth Canal transit, so made our way up to Aegina. On the way, we paused briefly for a look at
Methana, a quaint harbour and village, celebrated for its hot springs and
sulphur baths. An extinct volcano, all
black and gloomy, towers above the village.
Leaving the headland,
we were smacked by blasts 18-20kts coming from the NW– not predicted, of
course! As our planned Aegina anchorage
was exposed to this, we chose Salamis and its quiet, out-of-the-way township as
a better place to hide. Not before
noticing scuttling clouds coming our way.
Could that be rain? Yes, with a
30kt gale running before it… Seatbelts
on, hatches closed, we bounced, shuddered and crashed our way across the Saronic Gulf to Salamis.
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| Salamis |
Salamis is
surrounded in part by military territory and despite being very close to
Athens, appears not to be frequently visited by the likes of us. It’s nice to experience a Greek town not set
up to service tourists or vast charter fleets.
At the fisherman’s dock, beyond the long town promenade, grandly planted
with palm trees, we found a supermarket and petrol station so were able to
satisfy two urgent needs. Historically,
the island is no backwater having, in 480 BC, been the site of the decimation
of Xerxes’ fleet (those dreaded Persians) – a much more powerful force – and thus
a dramatic shift of power back to the West.
Next morning
we set off for the canal, anchoring at Isthmia to observe procedures for
negotiating this narrow, km of channel. The
canal dates back to Roman times (well, the idea for it) and Nero, using Jewish
slaves, actually commenced digging.
Meanwhile, a wheeled platform
over a paved road carried boats across the isthmus and cargo, no doubt
transferred by donkey and even more slave labour. The current canal dates to 1890’s and is
suitable now only for small commercial traders and pleasure craft. Thus for WJ3 (all 14m), the transit cost was €240.
We reflected back on our Intra-Coastal Waterway experience in the US. All canal and bridge transits were simply
part of the experience. Welcome to the
Med, bring money…. Having made the canal
exit (West) we made for nearby Corinth (Korinthos) and its yacht harbour to
make plans for exploring a little more of the Peloponnese by land.
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Transiting under bridges.
Parts of the old wall were still visible in some areas. |
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| Nearly at the end |
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| Bridge open; welcome to the Gulf of Korinthos |
From:
Poros, Greece Lat/Long: 37:30.235N
23:26.444E Date/Time: 15/07/14: 0920
To:
Korinthos, Greece Lat/Long: 37:56.475N 22:56.202E Date/Time: 17/07/14: 1110
Time
Taken: 62nm (13hrs) Distance
(this year): 646nm (111hrs)
Distance
Total (since 2008): 13979nm Weather: Variable & unpredictable
On leaving balmy Poros, held on through one blast of 20kts
only to be severely trounced with 30kts.
Fastest
Speed: Find a protected anchorage & don’t spare the horses! 
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