1st September 2010 - Antikira

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NISIS TRIZONIA (Island Trizonia)

We really enjoyed our stay in Trizonia, a small island off the Greek mainland on the North side of the Gulf of Corinth. It is about a mile long and half a mile wide. There were the beginnings of a harbour development with new quays, water and lighting but like so many other Greek projects funded by EU money, it was never completed.

Although Trizonia is an excellent place for yachts to shelter, it has no water or electricity on the pontoons and missing manhole covers for the service ducts (some three feet deep!) provide an obstacle course at night for the unwary.

Here Cathy is trying to get the rubber tyre marks off the hull after a windy day on the pontoon. You can see one of the manholes with a missing cover in the background. The lamp post was part of the lighting scheme – and we discovered the wires in the bottom of the lamp post were live when the harbour lights came on at night.

There were very strong easterly winds in the Gulf of Corinth for five days and although Trizonia is well protected, it isn't so sheltered in easterlies. We were all buffeted about in the harbour. We put all our fenders out to keep the boat off the rough concrete – and a few improvised ones as well.

No, this was not a victim of the wind. Some boats seem to have been abandoned – like this 65 foot wooden ketch, “Wild Bumble Bee” from Hamburg. She is now lying in 30 feet of water on the bottom! Her stern rope is still rather ironically attached to a bollard on the quay.

No one seems concerned and you just navigate around her. It was very interesting to snorkel around her hull.


While we were held up by the easterlies, we did several good walks around the circumference of the island.

We were told to be careful as there are very poisonous snakes that live here. We heard two people had been bitten – and Lizzie who ran the island’s yacht club had died of snakebite. (This is why we are staying on the road rather than exploring the hillside!)






When we walked around the island (about three miles) we came across a smallholding with a rather fine turkey! (He was very protective of his harem of nine hens.)









On the third day of the winds we decided to take the little ferry across to Glifadha to see if we might be able to catch a bus to Delphi from here. (It turned out to be a task for Mission Impossible).

This is the little ferry back to the island. There are two things you can not see from this picture: 1) The whitecaps and 25-30 kts winds blowing just outside the harbour and 2) the thirty or so people sitting on the seawall waiting to get aboard – I would think in good weather the little boat could safely carry twenty people – then to our total amazement these guys show up and load a cooker on the bow!

The winds were so strong the little boat had to do the mile crossing down wind and then creep back along close to the northern shore of the Island to get back to Trizonia harbour. Lots of wind and waves - all very exciting stuff for the price of a Euro! The cooker made it and so did we.

While waiting for the wind to blow through we met our Swiss neighbors (Mike and Corinne) on their boat “Cleophea”. Here we have introduced them to RummiKub [hoping after the thrashing we received from Frank and Anneke that we can find someone we can beat!]. Mike is a spitting image of “Jon Snow” the TV presenter.

Mike’s main hobbies are sailing and flying Concorde on Microsoft Flight Simulator (I’m serious!). He took me on a laptop flight from Geneva around the Matterhorn and back – and he really can fly the damn thing! It must have taken Mike months to learn how to manage all the flight systems - truly amazing! [Before sailing, Mike’s day-job was managing the landing slots at Zurich Airport].

The Meltemi driven wind finally died down enough that we can head further down the Gulf. Staying on the mainland side of the Gulf of Corinth we next stop at Galaxidi.

GALAXIDI

Galaxidi is a delightfully picturesque little town with a very old harbour that was an important centre for building square-rigger ships in the 18th and 19th century. This came to an end with the advent of steam and ironclad ships.






The small Maritime Museum was full of interesting artifacts, logs, and pictures of Galaxidi in its ship-building heyday.The round clay container was recovered from one of the oldest shipwrecks ever found and dates some 2000 BC.
It is amazing that ships were actively plying these waters and trading with distant lands. The container demonstrates there were skilled craftsmen during this time.

Cathy in her element! The farmer’s market!


Sweet peppers and fresh vegetables from local farmers.



Galaxidi has many fine “Captain’s Houses” along the hillside overlooking the harbour, where the merchant mariners used to live in its heyday. It is one of the prettiest towns we have visited.






















There is even a place for the ducks at the end of the harbour!

Food is pushed out to their island on a little “Duck Feeder” boat.





On the far side of the harbour a walk led up to a church on the top of the hill which had an excellent view of the town. We went for our walk before breakfast to avoid the midday heat which is well into 30 degrees. There was a wake going on in the church at the top of the hill.

From Galaxidi we travel further east along the northern coast of the Corinth Gulf to Andikiron.

ANDIKIRON

Andikiron is normally a well sheltered harbour on the north side of the gulf of Corinth – the two white dots are Cathy and Corinne swimming in the bay.

Our friends Mike and Corinne on “Cleophea” tied up to the quay next to the Andikiron lighthouse. Makarma is moored stern-to to the quay and facing the same way.


Here we tried out our “rear” passerelle design and despite being a bit of a pig to set up, it worked really well. We now have the means to go either bows-to or stern-to and drop our main anchor off the front as most of the other boats in the Med do.














The Greek flag next to the lighthouse should have given us a clue to local wind conditions!
The first night was delightfully calm – too calm. For the next three days we had 20-25 knot winds in harbour gusting to 40 knots blowing directly on to the quay. Not very pleasant!
‘Spending three days in a washing machine’ come to mind.

Our German neighbours left to try and find a safe anchorage but returned later in the evening wearing life jackets! They were unable to make any headway under engine to windward and had to return.








This is taken from Makarma during one of the calmer moments. Our chief concern was getting our stern smashed against the quay.

We were attached to the seabed by two lazy lines and our trusty Bugle anchor on the end of 45 meters of chain! Uncomfortable but we held.

Who said sailing isn’t fun?





Next blog we go inland to see the ancient Oracle at Delphi – to ask if there will be more windy weather…!