Have you been through the Corinth Canal?

[PeteTheDeliverySkipper]

I have been through many times now and it really is stunning. On my last trip, a yacht delivery from Italy to Turkey, I took a little bit of film on the way through (I hope you enjoy it):

https://youtu.be/PW-MDz7_pgs

If you have been through, when was it and on what type of yacht? Some of the bigger ships seem to squeeze through and it is an amazing sight!

Pete

[btrayfors]

Pete:

Thanks for that....really nice video.

Brings back memories. I did a delivery in the late '70's from Piraeus to Dubrovnik aboard a 38ft wishbone-rigged Carol ketch. It was breathtaking then, as now.

When we were spat out the west end of the Canal, we carried a breeze of wind across the Gulf of Patras and, as I recall, most of the way to the Lefkas Canal. Great trip.

Good sailing and thanks again for the video.

Bill
s/v Born Free
currently lying Rockland, ME

[robert sailor]

It's a fun experience, we went thru the canal a few years ago but sailed south thru the Peloponnese area on the way out of the Med. Windy area down south.

[boatman61]

Been through a couple of times.. once when taking a Catalac from the UK to Pendick in Turkey and again on an Elan434 from Samos to Malta..
I found it a bit of an anti climax in a way.. felt the same when going through the Panama Canal.. the hype is so often more than the real deal..

[SaltyMetals]

Come on Boatie ! Going through Corinth Canal is a special event. Time to get the cameras out and record it. Truly special.

I have done it many times in both directions.

[Goodall_M1]

Originally Posted by PeteTheDeliverySkipper

I have been through many times now and it really is stunning. On my last trip, a yacht delivery from Italy to Turkey, I took a little bit of film on the way through (I hope you enjoy it):

https://youtu.be/PW-MDz7_pgs

If you have been through, when was it and on what type of yacht? Some of the bigger ships seem to squeeze through and it is an amazing sight!

Pete

Been through 4 times , first was with a Rival 32, and the others with a Beneteau 36.

I still reckon it is one of the most expensive bits of water in the world, I think that it was 120 euros for a 36ft yacht the last time I did it. That works out at about 40 euros a mile!

Can be a bit daunting when you have a big ship coming behind you and not very happy about how slow you are going.

Saw a small cruise liner go through (from one of the bridges, thank God), and she when I looked up her stats she was about 1 metre narrower than the official water width. Talk about a tight fit.

It is the only place where I have ever seen "sinking" road bridges. The first and last crossings drop down into recesses in the canal bottom in order to let the boats through (you can see one of them almost at the end of that video) just before he heads over to starboard to moor up and pay his dues.

Look out for the wild-life as you potter along the canal, there are kingfishers living in the cut.

[Paul Kelly]

Nice video! Went through twice with end of season Flotilla delivery trips from the Saronic to the Ionian in the early 1980s, though I don't recall going through at quite the speed of the video. On one of the trips one of the Flotilla yachts lost its propeller somewhere between Epidaurus and the start of the canal and we had to tow it through. Strictly against regulations I believe.

[CarinaPDX]

Fun video. I went through eastbound in 2002 and returned in 2006. On the latter trip I fell in with a Swede and we took and exchanged photos of each other.

Greg

[GarthGregory]

I have been through a number of times - Canal control is only on the Eastern end - yachts always follow ships and motor yachts as speed is the issue ( steerage ) - my boat , a Beneteau 473 in 2016 cost Euro 240 .00 - so not a cheap transit , but still a great experience , especially if you read a bit of the history i.e. the Roman emperors who started digging and then were side tracked by uprisings in the colonies in Gaul etc. The canal is in need of real TLC at present , but times in Greece are tough at present . All great fun Garth

[Vladis]

Hello,

I came from East to West last July ... and next June will go from West to East. I have a doubt about the next crossing as control is on the East side. Should I use VHF or telephone on the West side and then pay at the East end?

And yes - it is a remarkable experience!

Vladis

[HalfHitch]

The Corinth Canal is beautiful. The pleasure is heightened exponentially by thinking of how the ancient Greeks dreamed of a passage that would connect the two seas. Amazing to sail the same waters imagine them in the garb and ships of a millennia past!

[pjmrichard]

Stadt Amsterdam 3masted tall boat October 2012. Are we going to touch ?

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Vladis

Hello,

I came from East to West last July ... and next June will go from West to East. I have a doubt about the next crossing as control is on the East side. Should I use VHF or telephone on the West side and then pay at the East end?

That's how it was done when I went East.

Greg

[TheThunderbird]

Too expensive
Why skipping the southern peninsula?

[Lambretta]

Thanks for sharing and really enjoyed the video.
do you know what the mast height limit is for the canal?
I assume they control the access from both sides but you only pay on the one entrance? Is it well controlled, cant imagine going half way down and finding a large freighter coming towards you
Is it open 24/7?
Did you wait long for your stream of boats to access the canal?
I went over the canal years ago in a train ....... even that fleeting glimpse was impressive!!