A family adventure sailing through the Corinth Canal

Sailing through the Corinth Canal to explore the Saronic islands was a breezy blast for Heather Prentice and family

The timing was tight. I took the call 24 hours before we were due to fly. Alex kindly asked me if she could help stock the boat. We were scheduled to join our Seafarer yacht in Kiato after midnight and to sail first thing in the morning. Alex sent a link to a local Greek supermarket. I tapped a few items on my phone – the Greek alphabet blurring my choices. The goods would be delivered to the boat and stowed for the trip. Unbelievable service! And so our family sailing holiday began.

We boarded the Bavaria 37 Stairway to Heaven, rather nicely named, at 0130 – Alex, the first mate, gallantly stayed up to greet us. This holiday would help us – Milen, Siena, Christian and myself – hone our sailing skills as a family while exploring a more challenging sailing area rich in classical history.

To the Saronic Gulf

We set off early, heading through the Corinth Canal for the sheltered bay at the village of Korfos on the western side of the Saronic Gulf. As we headed out beyond Kiato harbour, the wind whipped up to around Force 6 – a lot of white water for a first day.

The lead boat Argo, helmed by South Africans Keenan and Nathan, led the small fleet through the four miles of the Corinth Canal. For us, this was the first time and it was spectacular – azure water the colour of the sky, towering cliffs and road and railway bridges high above us.

Someone was playing music on one of the bridges. The awe-inspiring 250ft sandstone cliffs also carry the distinctive marks of ancient chiselling dating from Nero’s first attempt to dig the canal in 67 AD.

The transit at a measured 6 knots took around 45 minutes. Once we were through, the seven yachts spread out. The wind was still strong so we sailed with a reefed main and had some fun dodging between the cargo ships anchored in a holding pattern at the top of the Saronic Gulf.

As the evening approached, the wind abated and we switched on the engine. We were determined to sail as much as possible, but not to arrive after dinner! We chose to anchor in the bay of Korfos, preferring the tranquility and the beautiful views to the quayside. The first thing we did was to go swimming off the boat. The water was warm and clear. Siena and Christian loved jumping off the stern platform. I swam a slow, lazy arc round a neighbouring boat.

Later we took the dinghy ashore, gliding silently through the water powered by the electric outboard. We joined Alex, Nathan and Keenan and our fellow crews from around the UK for welcome drinks, accompanied by delicious local cheeses and snacks. We then walked to a local restaurant. The charming proprietor of our chosen taverna decided our choice of food was not correct: instead he brought out a Greek salad, fried courgettes, spinach, tzatziki, followed by two seafood platters with calamari, sardines, whitebait and small prawns. So much better.

Breakfast in the cockpit is always a joy. It was interesting as my order choices meant we had ice cream, not yoghurt, almond butter and a few other oddities to choose from as well as the bread and homemade jam in the welcome pack from Seafarer.

We set sail for Old Epidavros, passing the sunken city which lies two metres under the sea, near the shore south of Korfos. Archaeologists reported the ruins are the remains of a Roman villa dating from the second century. There was no wind today and the water was glassy calm. On our way, we saw tuna fish leaping out of the water – a welcome surprise.

We arrived in Old Epidavros in time for a shaded lunch aboard. We decided to go scuba diving. For Christian and Siena this would be the first time. After an introduction, safety procedures and learning the hand signals for octopus and lionfish, we motored around the headland.

There, instructor Vicky took Siena and Christian by the hand and led them gradually down to the sea bed below. ‘It took us a little bit of time, but we ended up going eight metres down on our first dive, which was quite crazy,’ Siena recounted. ‘Underwater we saw lionfish, giant sea urchins, octopus and ancient stone vases and some Roman pottery,’ Christian added. ‘Quite amazing.’

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The next day, we set off very early, avoiding the heat, to visit the nearby Sanctuary of Asklepios. The Sanctuary was the most important therapeutic centre of the ancient world and saw the transition from belief in divine healing to the science of medicine.

The archaeological site includes the temples of Artemis and Asklepios, a library, baths, sports stadium, hospital and the Theatre of Epidaurus, built in the 4th century BC and still used for concerts. What was interesting was the combination of both physical and spiritual healing to treat illness.

We later cast off mid-morning, heading for the town of Aegina. We stopped for lunch and swam in the shelter of the island of Agistri. We tied up to the quay in Aegina, a lively, chic port with regular ferries arriving from Athens. We explored the shops and ice cream parlours in the ancient, narrow streets before stopping to dine on more fresh seafood.

Next day was a short hop round the north end of Aegina to the quiet harbour of Aegina Marina, also served by ferries from Athens. The harbour was beautiful with a natural swimming pool just behind the boats. We later went for a dinner overlooking the harbour and a quiet drink in the evening in the nearby cafe.

Government storm alert

The following morning, we walked up the hill to visit the Temple of Aphaia, dating from 500 BC. The Doric temple is well preserved and is situated on a spectacular location, easily visible historically to ships passing on the trade route between Athens and the Peloponnese.

Legend has it that Aphaia, who was said to be very beautiful, had taken to sea to escape the pursuit of King Minos of Crete when she was rescued by fishermen and taken to Aegina. She was seen going up the hill of Artemis, who helped her escape by vanishing – the name Aphaia meaning invisible. Aphaia was revered as a hunting goddess who protects shipping – Aegina was an important centre of trade in the region.

As we were immersed in the history and stunning views, the smartphones of all nearby visitors suddenly bleeped loudly. This was an alert from the Greek government about an imminent storm. The local sailors take these warnings seriously. As we were due back in Kiato the next day and had a long sail to get there, we decided to leave promptly ahead of the bad weather.

We cast off slightly nervously as other boats were coming into harbour. However, it was only a three-hour sail to our next anchorage at Kanakia, on the west coast of Salamina. We were sailing nicely, but then we saw the dark clouds gathering on the horizon.

We switched on the engine so we were beam reaching at a spirited 8 knots. It then became a bit of a race against the weather. As we approached the island of Salamina, we could hear the thunder and see the dark shadow of wind in the distance.

Shortly after, we dropped anchor, thankfully, in the sheltered bay. Siena and Christian counted the seconds between the thunder and lightning – according to them the storm passed around 2km to our west. Torrential rain followed, but then gave way to a spectacular sunset.

In the morning we set off with the sunrise and had breakfast en route. We were through the Corinth Canal late morning and shortly afterwards back at Kiato. Our holiday was a breezy, colourful odyssey that certainly helped us improve our skills together as a family. We would love to return and explore other islands in this stunning, historic sailing area.

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