Gulf of Corinth - any interesting places to visit ?

[Baku]

Next week I will be helping a mate move his boat (12m length, 2m draft) from Piraeus to Lefkas marina.

I have done a few charters in the Aegean and Ionian and even traversed the Corinthian Canal bridge in a greek taxi with fingernail marks on the dashboard.......but never sailed the Gulf of Corinth.

I know it is generally not viewed as a cruising ground and a bit of research suggests the North coast is more interesting than the South - but I would be grateful for any input from those who know the area or have done the passage as to the best places to visit...... and those to avoid.

Many thanks.

 

[NormanB]

From East to West:

Galaxidi

Trizonia

Navpaxtos (Not many berths but should not be a problem this time of year)

Messolinghi (high concrete wall to berth alongside with black rubber tyres)

I have visited all except Navpaxtos (poked my nose in but it was jam packed) and had good overnights stops Galaxidi worth 2 days if you have time.

 

[mjcoon]

Did a flotilla delivery trip the opposite direction a few years ago. The company offered two variants, taking two or three weeks. Not sure where the three-weekers would have spent their extra time. I remember we were unimpressed with Corinth itself. But the canal and the Rion/Antirion bridge are both impressive constructions in their way, despite the bureaucracy involved with traversing them. You can still see the footholds cut by canal workers on the vertical face. I put my photo of them on Google Earth (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/72864195).

 

[r_h]

+1 for all those. While you're in Galaxidi Delphi is worth a visit.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

The canal is the highlight!

Pete

 

[RupertW]

Galaxidi and an afternoon in Delphi is my highlight but I look forward to Patras every time for its down to earth practicality. Everything from fuel and laundry to getting new parts machined for tuppence and a chance to eat real non touristy Greek food.

But I have to admit I've got soft spots for Newhaven and Ramsgate in the UK so my tastes are not universal

 

[tudorsailor]

Next week I will be helping a mate move his boat (12m length, 2m draft) from Piraeus to Lefkas marina.

I have done a few charters in the Aegean and Ionian and even traversed the Corinthian Canal bridge in a greek taxi with fingernail marks on the dashboard.......but never sailed the Gulf of Corinth.

I know it is generally not viewed as a cruising ground and a bit of research suggests the North coast is more interesting than the South - but I would be grateful for any input from those who know the area or have done the passage as to the best places to visit...... and those to avoid.

Many thanks.

When do you expect to go through the canal? We fly out tomorrow (Sunday 8th Oct) to Piraeus. We will kill a bit of time till picking up crew on Aegina Tuesday evening. So aim to go through the canal in Wednesday. We are sailing up to Lefkas.
We have been through this route in the other direction.
If you have the time, stopping on Aegina to see the temple of Aphaia is worth it. Better than the Acropolis IMHO
If you have even more time you could see Epidravros.
Once through the canal you must stop at Galaxhidi to do a trip to Delphi. I would recommend using a taxi, then its a total of 4 hours trip. Puiblic transport is possible but takes a whole day.
We have not been on the Odontotos rack railway and plan to do this on this trip
If you stop at Zante town we can recommend a great restaurant.

If you are interested you can look at my blog from went west to east click here

Once you are in Cephalonia and then the Ionian the options are really varied and much depends on how long you have for your trip
Feel free to PM me if you want to know more.
TudorSailor

 

[mjcoon]

If you are interested you can look at my blog from went west to east click here

Lots of good stuff. But wikipedia does not describe the bridge as a suspension bridge but as cable-stayed. Not sure what it means by "fully-suspended type"; I must look that up...

Mike.

 

[Baku]

Thanks guys,

There seems to be more to see than I thought.

Tudorsailor - I am flying out tomorrow (Sun) on the 14:35 hrs easyjet flight from Gatwick to Athens.

We have allowed 10 days so a trip to Delphi is definitely on the cards, not sure when we plan to go through the canal as I am just crew on this trip but I should think we will aim for Tuesday.

I will send you a pm.

Thanks again,

Giles

 

[tudorsailor]

Lots of good stuff. But wikipedia does not describe the bridge as a suspension bridge but as cable-stayed. Not sure what it means by "fully-suspended type"; I must look that up...

Mike.

Mea culpa. Must correct the blog.

Cable-stayed bridges may look similar to suspension bridges—both have roadways that hang from cables and both have towers. But the two bridges support the load of the roadway in very different ways. The difference lies in how the cables are connected to the towers. In suspension bridges, the cables ride freely across the towers, transmitting the load to the anchorages at either end. In cable-stayed bridges, the cables are attached to the towers, which alone bear the load.

TudorSailor

 

[mjcoon]

Mea culpa. Must correct the blog.

Cable-stayed bridges may look similar to suspension bridges—both have roadways that hang from cables and both have towers. But the two bridges support the load of the roadway in very different ways. The difference lies in how the cables are connected to the towers. In suspension bridges, the cables ride freely across the towers, transmitting the load to the anchorages at either end. In cable-stayed bridges, the cables are attached to the towers, which alone bear the load.

TudorSailor

Yes. I bored the pants off the non-engineering members of a crew discussing the distinction wrt the (much less imposing) bridge very near Dubrovnik.

I did discover that the bridge is the "fully-suspended type" because the deck is only supported by the cables and not also on bearings at the pylons. No doubt that is to assist flexibility in the event of an earthquake. There was a nice TV programme (cited in Wikipedia) on the construction of the bridge and the problems solved.

Mike.

 

[steveallan]

Thanks guys,

There seems to be more to see than I thought.

Tudorsailor - I am flying out tomorrow (Sun) on the 14:35 hrs easyjet flight from Gatwick to Athens.

We have allowed 10 days so a trip to Delphi is definitely on the cards, not sure when we plan to go through the canal as I am just crew on this trip but I should think we will aim for Tuesday.

I will send you a pm.

Thanks again,

Giles

Is it not closed on Tuesdays?