Limerence Update #74

May-June, 2006

Cruising Greece - Ithaka to Athens

Up at dawn on our 22^nd wedding anniversary – May 24^th - we motored gently from Ithaka through glassy waters and past hazy mountains into the Gulf of Patras. We were leaving the green and lush Ionian Islands heading to mainland Greece and Athens, and then through the Aegean Sea to Turkey. Greece offers a sunny Mediterranean climate, hundreds of islands and sparkling clear water. It can be a cruising paradise with ancient ruins to explore and islands close together to make all day time passages possible. However one has to take into account the Meltemi winds. These predominant winds in summer blow from various angles from the north and can be fierce in July and August. We would cross the Aegean in June and stay as far north as possible so to cruise through the islands always going "downhill" with the winds off our beam. Our strategy worked well and we crossed the Aegean without any problem.

The currents were with us as we entered the Gulf of Patras. We throttled the engine back and still made 6.5 knots through the calm water. This was easy going!! We had a pleasant lunch in the cockpit and noticed a swell building and rolling into the bow. Hmmmm. What’s up? Soon we found out. The winds picked up to twenty knots on the nose and the seas became confused. After hours of motoring in dead calm water, we were rather suddenly in a washing machine taking waves over the bow! To make our destination of Patras, Doug raised the main and jib and hand steered the boat for a couple of hours, coaxing every bit of upwind angle he could muster. Eventually we made the entrance of the harbor without tacking more than a couple of times. With relief, we found a place on the dock of the Patras Yacht Harbor. 

Patras is a lackluster town, but a major thoroughfare for cruise ships, commercial vessels, ferries, train and bus connections, and even seaplanes! Thousands of tourists transit through Patras on their way to somewhere else. Our slip was next to the receiving dock for the seaplane which landed morning and evening. It was a unique and nerve wracking experience to watch a seaplane come directly for our boat, then suddenly halt a few feet from our deck with turbines screaming in reverse thrust.

Seaplane lands in Patras	Boy that's close!

Patras is seemingly the headquarters for authorities in “training” in the bureaucratic Greek Merchant Marine. Within an hour, we were approached on the dock by Port authorities requesting our presence in their nearby offices. Soon we were sitting in front of the desk of a young female officer who scowled at our paperwork and declared it “out of order”. Nine days before we checked out of Corfu and were told we were free to cruise Greek waters. We heard anecdotes from other cruisers about the possibility that we would be charged a cruising tax upon checking out of the country. Greece does not publish any policies in English in accordance with maritime law, but deem that any non-European Union yacht in their waters over 90 days must pay a “cruising tax”. This punitive tax was abolished three years ago by the Brussels Court. The reprimand declared that taxing EU yachts and "third country" yachts is an illegal customs duty. Unfortunately, while officials acknowledge that the law is illegal, Greece continues to charge non-EU yachts whenever possible.

Our tax was nearly $800 USA dollars. The young officer, her boss, and her boss’s boss, haggled over our paperwork for 72 hours before settling on the amount of our tax and penalty. We paid the tax and the penalty was dismissed after many phone calls. Obviously the officials were perplexed and embarrassed. . . as there is no clear procedural guidelines for them to follow. They were distressed as they feel their jobs are about maritime issues, not tax collection. We scurried out of Patras wondering why Greece would make tourists feel so unwelcome.  Anyhow, we were on our way to Athens to raise some hell.

The Gulf of Patras and the Gulf of Corinth divide mainland Greece from the Peloponnese Island. After motoring early in the morning under the huge multiple span bridge that divides the Gulfs, we were thrust into a “washing machine” of waves for two hours. Eventually calm seas carried us to the charming town of Trizonia on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Greece has many marinas that were built twenty years ago when they first joined the European Union. After spending the EU dollars to get the projects underway, Greece frequently never came up with the rest of the money to complete the marinas. So, cruisers benefit from finding concrete docks offering free mooring and protection. There is no water or power or maintenance, but the safety of a dock nevertheless. We side tied at the unfinished marina in Trizonia, and spent a week waiting out serious thirty knot winds before heading south to the Corinth Canal. The winds funneled between the mountains in Trizonia and blew day and night. The charming village tucked on the other side of the bay offered respite from the winds, and had a lovely small beach and a surprisingly elegant Greek Orthodox church.

Miss Lizzy's in Trizonia	Trizonia Cemetery	Village of Trizonia Greece

Finally the winds abated and on a Thursday we made a fast passage to Corinth. We hoped to go through the Canal at 6pm, but as it got late and the seas built  we turned into the tiny Corinth Marina for the night. The small marina is modern and sits less than a mile from the entrance of the Canal. We were fortunate to get an “end tie”. The officials at Corinth examined our paperwork, charged us a few Euros for our slip, and declared that everything was in “order” on Limerence. Every yacht entering their harbor must visit the official office which infuriates EU citizens, but is a fact of Greek beaucracy. As a non-EU yacht, we were charged 86 cents and given a “sailing permission” slip.

Corinth Yacht Marina	Greek village in Ionian Sea

We got our first taste of the famed Meltemi Winds while in the Corinth Marina. We woke to clear skies and pounding winds from the NW which lasted three days and nights. It was difficult to walk against the wind on the dock, but the city of Corinth proved to be modern and quite pleasant. We shopped for provisions and enjoyed the cafes. We took the local bus up to Ancient Corinth which in Julius Caesar’s time (46 BC) was the capital of the Roman Province of Achaia. St. Paul visited the city in AD 50 working as a tent maker! We scampered around the ruins and imaged the city as the glorious cross roads of trade thousands of years ago.

Ancient Corinth	Ancient Corinth main street	Ancient Corinth baths

 Early Monday morning the winds were light and we called the Corinth Canal Authority to ask what time we could pass. He said to be ready at “7:00 AM”. We motored over to the entrance immediately and waited in the holding area for the lights and horns to signal our entry. The Canal is 3.2 miles long and narrow enough to give you shivers in a thirteen foot wide boat! Well, it’s 81 feet wide, but it looks much narrower because it’s 250 feet tall. There are two chain bridges across the Canal at each end, in addition to suspension bridges. The chain bridges lower into the water and you hear the sound of sirens stopping road traffic to permit boats to simply motor across!  Small ships transit the Canal and are pulled by tugs. We entered all alone in the morning mist and could see the nesting birds in the ancient limestone walls. This Canal was started by Nero! We paid our bill of $143 Euros at the end of the Canal which took us thirty minutes to transit. Cruisers joke that it’s the most expensive canal in the world!  Then we sailed toward Athens.

 The professionally operated K & G Marinas are very tourist oriented. We were welcomed to the marina in Piraeus (a suburb of Athens) and assisted in many ways over our five day stay. K & G is the largest marina management company in Greece. The management helped us make our case to the legal counsel for the Minister of Tourism in Athens, regarding the illegal cruising tax that is being charged to non-EU yachts. Doug met with the American Embassy as well. All officials we met with understand the negative impact these bureaucratic regulations governing yachting bring to tourism. Unfortunately the office of Merchant Marine refused a meeting. We will keep you informed over the next months. Most boaters grin and bear it when crossing through Greece and don't think it's worth it to take the time to confront officials about these antiquated procedures. We were encouraged to take a stand!

Corinth Canal 7am	Piraeus Marina in Athens	K & G Marina Mgt.

If you want more information, visit Jimmy Cornell’s website www.noonsite.com.We continue to navigate through Greek bureaucracy that frustrates even its own citizens. Many cruisers have contacted us with stories of their own, and this cruising tax is something the Greek officials will have to eventually address. We thought we retired and moved aboard our sailboat  to experience blissful years of non-political days and endless nights of star gazing. We couldn't pass on this one.

Fair winds friends,

Doug and Judy

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