Sailing to Byzantium - 15

The port at Zakynthos town

We Docked at Zakynthos at 10 a.m. and refuelled for the next stage of the passage up to the Corinth Canal and further to Athens. Fuelling a yacht is normally a lengthy procedure involving getting on and off various docks, but an enterprising man with a fuel tanker drove along the quay and inquired if we required diesel. Within a short space of time we had taken on 600 litres with little or no fuss and then Moritz and Steve set about tackling a number of issues with the engine.

Detail from a Byzantine frescos rescued from St Andrea's Monastary built in the 16th Century and now situated in the Byzantine Museum

Zakynthos has had a long and arduous history and was first referred to by Homer. Under the Roman and then Byzantine Empire the island of Zakynthos was incorporated into the themata system along with Corfu and Kephalonia. The themata were regional administrative structures developed after the Arab attacks during the 8^th Century, continually reorganised up until the 11^th Century; they stretched from Anatolia and Armenia in the East to Longobardia (southern Italy) in the West. With a little time to spend wandering around for the afternoon, I visited the Byzantine Museum in Solomos Square and discovered a fresco and icon dating to the 12^th century. The orders, structures, symbolism and representations used in Byzantine religious art remained present in the religious art produced for the Greek Orthodox churches in Zakynthos up to the 18^th century.

In 1953 Zakynthos was badly shaken by a series of catastrophic earthquakes. Very few original buildings survived these seismic events and the buildings in the town today are largely modern constructions.

Icon of the 'Virgin and Child' attributed to the 12th century damaged in 1953

We departed the port of Zakynthos just before 6 p.m. and reached across the Strait separating the island from the Peloponnese accompanied all the way by dark shearwaters gliding in the troughs of the waves. We quickly passed into the Gulf of Patras and Papas Point was abeam by 10 p.m.; Fenix averaged 10 knots of boat speed for most of the evening. My next watch began at midnight with about 12 miles to run down to the bridge crossing between Rion and Andirion, joining mainland Greece to the Peloponnese.

Reaching across the Zakythos Strait into the Gulf of Patras

As the wind had moderated, I was welcomed on deck by the sweet scent of thyme wafting down from the surrounding hills in the peaceful dark night. From 12 miles out the bridge structure dominates the night’s dark horizon with its bright lights. With the passing of every mile the Gulf of Patras narrows and the suspension bridge becomes more impressive as it stretches across this not inconsiderable two mile neck of water.

Computer generated chart with weather ovrlay for Friday June 4th 0045 hours

From 7 miles out you are required to notify Patras traffic control of your approach to the bridge. They inquire of your overall length, type of vessel and mast height after which they allocate an area for you to pass under the bridge. With one mile to go you are required to contact them again to inform them of your final approach and presumably the fact that you still exist. Once through the bridge we emerged out into the Gulf of Corinth and gybed our way downwind passing a number of points and headlands over the 60 miles that lead down to the entrance of the Corinth Canal. This proved to be a quick passage for us as the wind built up to 23 knots and Fenix was cruising at a comfortable 10 to 12 knots. My six hour watch passed very quickly because of the navigation involved, the great company on board and the magnificently mild conditions. The teak deck was dry under foot and you could wander with surefooted ease and safety around the deck while gybing the boat and carrying out manoeuvres.

The western entrance of the Corinth Canal

H. M. Denham wrote a useful pilot book entitled “The Aegean, A Sea-Guide to its Coasts and Islands”. Published in 1963 the book sets out, region by region, experiences and points of interest for the mariner. Mr Denham noted the following in connection with the Cornith Canal based upon his travels in the late 1950s early 1960s:

“A yacht wishing to leave the Aegean and pass through the canal is sometimes met by an official in a launch; but if not, it is advisable to go alongside the rickety jetty where an official may come on board to calculate the canal dues. For a 20 ton yacht this may amount o about £7, which is more expensive than the charges at Kiel, Suez or Panama. One then waits for the Red Flag to be hauled down, when the yacht may proceed through the Canal under power without having to take a pilot. This dull 3 mile cut passes through vertical limestone cliffs 250 feet high on either side. The Canal, 80 feet wide and 26 feet deep, is much used by caiques and local steamers which thus save a distance of 140 miles on the sea route around the Peloponnesus via Matapan. Steamers passing through must proceed very slowly, the larger ones having to be towed…. The sides of the Canal are continually breaking away and have to be repaired; this operation, which is performed on Sundays, involves closing the Canal, vessels being advised by ‘loud hailer’ as they approach the entrance.”

Fenix passing through the Corinth Canal

Today the Corinth canal radio controller announces himself over the airwaves as “The Canal”. We saw no sign of the blue or red flags described on various modern pilot books, and the main query from the radio controller was whether our payment was to be made in Euros or Dollars. You were actively encouraged to increase your speed by the controller passing through the entrance, albeit subject of course to the apparently unpoliced and unpublished speed limit of 7 knots. It is not surprising the Canal continues to suffer from erosion, and whereas in the past it was closed on Sundays, Tuesdays are reserved for maintenance work. Nevertheless, passing through the Canal is an amazing experience, not as "dull" as Mr Denham may have you believe, and as you proceed you cannot but marvel at this great feat of engineering, which in its own way must rival the other great canals of the world at Suez and Panama (and of course Dublin).

The eastern entrance to the Corinth Canal

The spoof police paid a visit on board after clearing the Canal. I reported radio traffic to our skipper Moritz concerning the Canal authority hailing a yacht "Fenix" for a speed violation on the Canal. He was visibly shook and inquired about the possible penalty involved. I stated that leaving the vicinity of the Canal in the manner we did could only attract the maximum financial penalty. I suggested we hail the Canal authority and deliver up our credit card details and negotiate some form of settlement. Looking very pale (possibly due to exhaustion) he was motionless and visibly sank into the chart table seat. Every member of the crew played a key role in this cruel deception. As we entered Zea marina in Piraeus five hours later, he was still asking me what will happen. I could only say “Only time will tell”.

Exiting the Canal we rehoisted the mainsail and continued our passage eastwards through the Saronic islands finally leaving the island of Salamis to port and turning north east towards Piraeus and Athens, passing large container ships and car transporters, finally arriving in a civilised manner observing the harbour speed limits shortly after lunchtime. Being quite tired after our arrival in Athens we decided to indulge in a little light entertainment on board watching “From Russia with Love”. Throughout the movie there were repeated heckles of disappointment rained down upon the skipper, who was practically asleep at this stage; comments such as “We should have been there” and “We should have seen that...” were not infrequent.

Computer generated chart with weather ovrlay for Friday June 4th 1000 hours

Plans and routes remain at the behest of others, and to that end Fenix will begin a new adventure and a season of charters from Athens. My Byzantine adventure has come to an end but has created an interest for me in the political world of the medieval Mediterranean states and Empires, where Venetians, Arabs, Turks, Russians, Slavs, Bulgars and Franks competed against each other in a contest of conquest. Expansion and retention of territories, and of course wealth, were the primary motivations for many of these nations’ rulers from the 8^th to 15^th Centuries, but it is important not to lose sight of another vital backdrop that was continually played out during this period; the expansion of the Christian and Muslim religions.

Many borders of kingdoms created during this forgotten period of history influenced the borders of modern states and national identities. As important were the newly created medieval borders created by the themata, or regional administrative provinces, put in place from the 8^th to 12^th Centuries by the Byzantine Emperors. Sailing through the islands and along Mediterranean coastlines you witness at first hand the vestiges of this struggle for power, territory and wealth, where Venetian hilltop fortresses guard and protect hinterland rarely distant from Byzantine Churches, and some of these lands and islands document the continual Ottoman Turk marauders on these shores. You can familiarise yourself further with the exotic and fabulous Byzantine world in Judith Herrin’s book entitled “Byzantium” which has opened a window for me into this world.

A trip to Athens is not complete without visiting the Acropolis - still under destruction