The Corinth Canal

It is easy to see how from ancient times to more recent times the idea of a canal through this small isthmus was something to be desired.  Of course, the thought and the reality of actually digging a canal were two different things!  Eventually the canal was finished and is now used by mostly pleasure craft. The body of water to the left is the Gulf of Corinth. The Gulf of Corinth is reached directly via the Ionian Sea.  On the other side of the Isthmus (which the Canal cuts through) is the Saronic Gulf which leads directly to the Aegean Sea.  

 Quite a feat to cut that canal especially when you consider that they started digging by hand!!!  You can see how narrow the canal is which means the boats go through single file.  All boats have to wait until they are told they can go through and which boat they are to follow.  After the traffic goes one way they will close that direction and then allow the boats on the other side to file through.  

 You can also see that there are a few bridges but they are high so sailboats with tall masts go under without any problem.  

 It looks pretty peaceful motoring through there but there is actually a significant tidal current in the canal.  And as you can imagine, the wind will funnel through that narrow passage.  That being said Andrea's 16 year old daughter drove the boat through there without any difficulty!  So now they are on the other side of the canal and in the Aegean on the way to the Cyclades.  Now that they are in the Aegean they have good steady wind which is perfect for sailing.  A few more days and they should reach Turkey.

Welcome to Greece

On the Greek Island of Kefalonia

Officially in Greece!  Captain Andrea and crew arrived with Talaria in Greece on Friday night.  By this morning they were tied up and getting on the list to go through the Corinth Canal.  The canal is only 4 miles long and 70 feet wide.  Not large enough for commercial traffic but fine for smaller boats.  The canal both separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland and connects the Ionian and Aegean Seas.  Emperor Nero was the first to start building the canal although it was thought of way before his time. Of course, Nero did not complete the construction, it was not finished until the late 1800s.  Private boats must pay a fee to transit the canal but it is worth it as it shaves many miles off the trip.  

 The Ionian Sea is so clear.  Talaria looks as though she is suspended above the water rather than floating in the sea.  I told Andrea that we were so jealous right now!  It is so odd to see pictures of your boat sailing or at anchor and you are not on her.  This is a new experience for us and one we hope to never repeat.  Although, we feel completely confident in Andrea's abilities we would prefer to sail her ourselves.  It is beginning to sound cliche to say these are extraordinary times but they are.  Just waiting semi-patiently for a vaccine so life can continue.  As is everyone else in the world :).
Once they get into the Aegean Sea the wind blows consistently.  The north wind (Meltemi) is a seasonal prevailing wind that can be quite fierce in the summer but will help them move along and cool things off a bit.  They are expecting to arrive in Turkey by the 31st of August possibly sooner.  More later...

Italy...Nearing the halfway mark

Flying the Italian Flag

Captain Andrea and crew arrived in Italian waters the other day.  There has been little wind and it is stifling hot there as Europe is in the middle of a heat wave.  Temperatures have been as high as 104 degrees!  Without the wind it is fairly miserable.  And it has been very hot and humid at night as well which, of course, makes it hard to sleep.  After a couple of days in Sardinia they departed for Sicily.  Sicily is now requiring everyone entering to have a Covid-19 test.  Initially, they were going to go to Milazzo which is very close to the Straits of Messina.  But they found out that they would have to go to a hospital for the test.  The decision was made to head for the Aeolian Islands instead in hopes that they would be less stringent.  Europe is in the midst of a "second wave" of Covid and as a result many countries are re-instituting restrictions that had been lifted. 

Arrival in Italy

It is now about midnight as I sit here writing and it looks as though they have just arrived to the Aeolian Islands so now they will just have to see what the requirements are.  In addition, to all the Covid stuff another wrinkle was recently added.  Apparently, tension is rising between Greece and Turkey over drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean.  Trouble has been brewing for awhile over this issue but recently bubbled over when Turkey sent a guarded survey ship out to investigate drilling very near to a Greek Island.  

 

 That island is Kastellorizo and you can see that it is just a few miles from Kas.  So the conflict is directly at Kas' front door.  And of course, Kas, Turkey is our destination.  If things heat up too much they could halt all ship traffic in the area.  That would not be a good thing for us.  At present Turkey, Greece and France all have a military presence in the area.  France joined in to defend Greece - an EU member country.  This is a boat delivery Andrea will not soon forget!  So now for the weekend we just wait to see what goes on with the Covid testing.  I am sure everyone is negative - they have been at sea for a week now.  But still they will have to wait around for test results.  At least, they can go to a marina and fire up the air conditioning for a bit.  That will help everyone to get rested up before continuing on.  With any luck they should arrive in Turkey in another 10 days or so.  Fingers and toes crossed.

Sailing again...

Talaria is pleased to feel the wind in her sails again!  It is so odd to see your boat sailing and you are not the ones sailing her.  Captain Andrea departed Cartagena, Spain on Friday - August 7th.  His original plan was to depart on Thursday but there was a delay getting the food they had ordered and they were worn out after all the prep work for such a long trip.  In the end, they needed one day to just rest up before departing.  On Friday, the tracker wasn't picking up but we got that straightened out and it is now working fine.  By Saturday, they had made it to Formentera in the Balearic Islands.  After a stop for lunch and a weather check they set sail for Sardinia.  We don't expect them to make landfall until Monday afternoon.  They will then head to a marina and rest up a bit before starting off again.  We are in no rush as we cannot fly to Turkey until January.  Really, really hoping there is a vaccine by then.

 A friend of a friend sent this video of Kas, Turkey.  Kas will be Talaria's home for awhile.  We plan to fly out the 2nd of January and spend the winter there.  Hopefully, by spring we will be able to sail to Greece.  That is the plan anyway.  Fingers crossed!