The day had finally arrived when we were ready to leave Italy behind and set out across the Adriatic Sea for Greece. On Wednesday August 29, at 0430 we were awake and got the last minute preparations completed. An English boat, Zigizoo, had the same thoughts as our Canadian friends on the boat Thalassa VI, and us, and shortly after 0500 the three boats had left the port at Santa Maria Di Leuca behind. It was still dark when we left the port, but slowly the sky got lighter and lighter, and by 0615 the sun, glowing orange, had risen in the east. No wind at all was blowing in the Adriatic to begin with, but later in the morning we got light southwesterly breezes and then we were able to motor-sail. That's what we did the entire day; only one half hour of sailing only! The crossing to the first Greek island, Nisis Othoni, took a little over ten hours and we had come about 47 miles farther east. That first night in Greece we anchored in a bay, Ormos Ammou, and since that small island didn't have a "check-in port", we flew our quarantine flag and didn't go ashore! At last we were in Greece!

Plans, for the next leg of our journey, were discussed onboard Thalassa that night in Ormos Ammou. Since we would be going pretty close to the Albanian border on the east side of the island of Corfu, we all felt better if the three boats could stay close together. We had read and heard horror stories about sailboats being attacked by Albanians, who stole dinghies and other equipment and even killed people. We did not want to become sad statistics! By the time Zigizoo, Thalassa and Stress Relief arrived to the North Corfu Channel it was bright daylight with lots of activities going on, so we never felt we were in any danger. The sad stories probably happened to lone sailors at night, but with the sun shining and plenty of other day-tripper boats, sailboats, big ferries, freighters and the Greek Coast Guard going and coming through the channel, we never even saw an Albanian boat. It is only one mile between Albania and Corfu at the narrowest point, but it might as well be thousands of miles apart. The contrast in the land was enormous; Corfu was lush and green and covered with trees, but the coast of Albania was brown. Nothing but brown mountainsides covered in brown shrubs, brown rocks and brown dirt. The shoreline on Corfu was dotted with colorful houses and hotels everywhere you looked, and some even climbed up the steep mountainsides. The few apartment buildings and houses we could pick out against the brown land along the Albanian coastline, blended right in and looked exactly alike! Once we had passed the narrowest point on the Corfu channel, we said good bye to Zigizoo, as they were headed for another port than Thalassa and Stress Relief. We were headed to the port at Corfu to go through the lengthy check-in process and get out Travel Log.

We soon made our way up to the customs quay in Corfu, where we tied up. Dan, and Harry from Thalassa, wondered off with our boat papers and passports to find the customs office, the immigration and port police, as all three had to write or stamp our papers. Of course there was a charge for all this, about $30 or 10,000 drachmas, which we couldn't pay, until we had visited the local ATM machine to get some money! While Joan and I waited for our men to return, we were visited by a nice young man from the port police. Seemed that a big warship soon was about to arrive, and we were tied up in its spot! Since there was no good anchorage close by, the port police told us that we could move our boats over to the big commercial port and tie up along the quay. Sounded good, so we and three other boats, that had come in after us, headed across the port to the north side. The port in Corfu wasn't exactly protected from all directions, besides ferries, large and small, arrived and left constantly, so the water was quite churned up. By evening we were the only boat left along the quay, and it was not very comfortable. The boat rolled from side to side with the waves, plus jerked back and forth, but since it was dark already what could we do but stick it out. Surprisingly, both Dan and I could sleep that night, but the following morning I woke up with a start. Someone was blowing a whistle outside our boat, plus a lot of shouting was going on! I rushed out into the cockpit to see what was going on. All I could see was two sets of legs high above us, and someone shouting that a big warship was coming in so we had to move! With my heart in my throat, I rushed down to wake Dan, and we both rushed back out to the cockpit! Then we saw who the culprits were; Harry and Joan from Thalassa had come to look for us, as we had gotten separated the day before, and they played a prank on us! We found out, that Thalassa had found a spot in the old harbor the night before, and they thought we could fit there also. That sounded good to us, so with our friends onboard, we let go of the quay and headed over to the old port. It was a tight squeeze to get into the old port, but eventually we were rafted up to a small and abandoned sailboat, and there we stayed for three nights.

The town of Corfu was just across the small port, and all we had to do was walk around to shore, and we were along the street that hugged the waterfront. The big port was quite busy all the time, with ferries and cruise ships arriving from everywhere, but since it was getting late in August by then, the crowds weren't that big. Above us on shore, a big Venetian Fort looked majestic, but the narrow alleys, with stores selling everything imaginable, were more interesting to me. One night we wondered along these alleys and looked for a place to try some authentic Greek food. The smells from restaurants teased us, and we couldn't make up our mind where to stop. Finally, we reached a square where people stood lined up outside one Greek fast-food restaurant; our first try was a "souvlaki special", and boy was it good. The meat, whether beef or pork, was shaved off a turning stick, with very thin slices of the meat stacked on top of each other and rotated in front of the fire to cook it slowly. Later on we tried other Greek foods, and I must say that my favorite became the Greek salad with feta cheese.

Of course we needed to buy food so we could cook onboard also, and the necessities we found in town. Since we were planning to continue from Corfu soon, we had to stock up on bread, milk, eggs and fresh produce. New dock lines with rubber "springs" and short pieces of chain Dan bought, since our old dock lines had gotten chewed up pretty bad from cement docks. The Greek, Turkish and Swedish courtesy flags we found in a marine store, so now we could advertise that a Swede was onboard also! Every day Dan kept checking the weather to see when it was good for us to continue across to the mainland farther south, and since the weather report for Monday, September 3 looked good with northwesterly winds, we decided to continue then. Harry and Joan on Thalassa were not ready to sail yet; they were still working on projects, but we decided to meet up the next day in a bay at Mourtos, where we were heading.

Since it was only about 20 miles from Corfu southeast to Mourtos, we arrived without any difficulties and anchored in a bay called "Middle Bay". A few other boats were also anchored there and more arrived the following days. Across from our anchorage was the island of Ay Nikolaus, and beyond it the island of Sivota. It was very shallow between the two islands, so only small boats and dinghies could get through. We went around the island once in our dinghy, and at the shallow spot Duke and I went swimming. By Tuesday evening Thalassa had arrived and anchored close by. We all had a visit into town the following day, but when we came back out to our boats, we were warned by a local fisherman, that the bottom wasn't good holding for a strong northwesterly blow, that was expected later on. The alarm went from boat to boat and almost everyone moved farther out and behind the island of Ay Nikolaus, where we would be more protected than in the bay we had been. From Wednesday evening until Friday morning it blew very strong winds! Some boats dragged their anchors several times, and we weren't that comfortable with ours either. When a lot of grass is growing on the bottom, as it did in this place, our anchor has a hard time getting through to sand or mud and get a good bite, but once it is through we have no problems. As always, I was most thankful and happy when the winds finally decided to calm down, and immediately most of the boats disappeared in various directions.

Stress Relief and Thalassa decided to continue as well, and our next stop was planned to be at the island of Paxoi and in particular the big bay at Lakka on the north end. We had nice northwesterly winds, so we were able to sail only. Soon Thalassa breezed by and stretched out the distance between us. That was not to be for very long, as all of a sudden the winds picked up to 31 knots. Harry and Joan scrambled to reduce their sail area, and somehow try to fasten their dinghy they towed behind, while Dan just smiled, waved and sailed right by them. Duke and I weren't happy about zooming through the waves that fast, but the island sure seemed to get closer pretty quick, and that was good. Before we reached the entrance to the bay at Lakka, Dan started the engine to get prepared. The engine hadn't run long before the engine alarm light was glowing red, and the alarm howled. Did we catch something in the water intake? No, nothing flushed out, but still the alarm kept howling. Finally Dan figured out that the belt to our water pump was either loose or had broken. We made it into the bay with the salt water pump, pumping salt water through the engine to cool it off. Typical; we had given our water pump belt to our friend Tom for his boat XTC, back in Italy, and since then we hadn't had a chance to replace it. Once we were safely anchored, Dan checked the water pump belt and found it pretty chewed up and loose, so he tightened it and the engine could be used again. Lakka bay was protected from all sides except northeast, but if you did like we did, tucked way down in the bay behind a small breakwater wall, you were even protected from that direction. The bay was beautiful and the small town that nestled farthest down the bay, was very colorful and picturesque. I could have stayed there for days and days, but of course the captain wanted to see what lay ahead.

On Monday September 10 we got up early and soon Stress Relief and Thalassa were under way again. Since it wasn't much wind that day we ended up motoring or motor-sailing pretty much the entire distance to Preveza on the mainland. During the day, dark, threatening clouds scurried in the opposite direction. Once when we looked back, we saw a tornado over the water; a genuine waterspout. We were close enough to see the actual water being slung around a few moments, and I for one was very happy to see it dissolve and move along. By mid afternoon we had come another 41 miles farther southeast and went bow-to along the town quay at Preveza. We had found out earlier, that we had problems with the lock-down pin to our outdrive leg, and since there were several boatyards with boat lifts available around Preveza, we figured that it would be a good place to put the boat up on "the hard" and do the needed repairs. On Tuesday, September 11 we were hauled at Cleopatra Marina and put on blocks. Later on that day we heard the terrible news on BBC about the terrorist attacks back home, and we could hardly believe it to be true. When we saw the devastating pictures on the television later on, it was true enough and much more terrible than we could imagine. It is hard to fathom that somebody hate the American people enough to do such a horrible thing!

As soon as Stress Relief came out of the water, she was power washed. Hardly any growth had started on its keels, but since Dan had ordered it, it was done. Once the boat was placed securely on wooden blocks, Dan started scraping the paint off the out-drive leg; the more he scraped the more we could see the damage that had been done to the aluminum. The sacrificial zinks were totally gone from the out-drive leg and only small chunks were left on the bottom of the rudders. Seemed we have had a lot of electrolysis; the aluminum was attacked, and consequently corroded away part of the lock-down mechanism. Once Dan and the marina's welder stopped arguing, the welder tried to weld a new piece back onto the lock-down pin, and he was somewhat successful, but Dan was not very happy with the man nor his welding. While all this was going on with the out-drive leg, we also cleaned off the green scum line above the waterline, Dan touched up the bottom paint with leftover paint, after the out-drive leg was repainted, and I had my front tooth re-cemented!

My front tooth had been a pain for quite some time, and even though I really didn't want to visit a foreign dentist, I finally had to. Before we left the US, I had obtained an emergency cement repair kit from my dentist, in case one of my crowns would loosen and fall out. That's exactly what one of my front teeth did, and of course I couldn't open my mouth without it, so out comes the repair kit. I think the cement was old and had hardened somewhat, but some kneading seemed to soften the tube, so out I squeezed the cement and the hardener. Too much hardener the first time, as the cement was rock hard on the tooth before I could open my mouth! I had to scrape it all off and try again. By the third try I got it, and the tooth stuck to its stump in my gum. I was so happy, and I could smile again! Of course the repair didn't last many days, even though I was very careful what I bit into. Once more the cement repair kit came out, and this time I would get everything right the first time. The tooth was carefully cleaned off and dried; so was the stump in my gum, and then I could mix the cement. Once the cement was on the tooth, I held the tooth between my fingers and horrors of horror, I dropped it! Thank goodness the toilet seat cover was down, so my tooth didn't land there, neither did it land in the sink, but where? I looked all over the bathroom, but I could not find it. I even had to enlist Dan's help, as by then I was on the verge of tears. If I didn't find my tooth, how could I show my face beyond the boat; without my one front tooth, I was competing for the wicked witch of the month picture! Dan groped around in the bilges and pulled up all kinds of nasty looking things, but no tooth. He finally found it in the little space between the wall and the long handle to the manual bilge pump, in scummy water, but I didn't care. I was so happy to have it! That's when I decided to have the tooth re-cemented by a local dentist and in Preveza it got done. The dentist's office was nothing like what we are used to at home in the US, not at all as sterilized and clean, but the lady dentist had the necessary equipment and chemicals to re-glue my tooth, and that's what was important to me.

Finally, Saturday morning we were ready to be put back into the water, but before the marina would do that, we had to pay. That was almost the hardest part, as Dan was convinced the welding wouldn't hold. It's very frustrating to have work done on your boat when there is a language barrier, and since neither Dan spoke Greek nor the marina workers spoke English, only hand gestures could be used. By that time, all Dan wanted to do was to get away from the marina, so he was happy when Stress Relief was floating again. While we were on the hard, Harry and Joan on Thalassa had continued to Levkas Town on Levkas island, and that's where we also were heading, after we had gone into town and stocked up on food, and mailed some emails.

The island of Levkas is an island only because a canal was dug to separate it from the mainland, and on the north side it is very shallow with salt marshes and sand spits sticking out into the water. The entrance to the actual canal was very hard to see as we approached; seemed that it was a continuos wall of sand in front of us . When we were very close, we could see that we had to go behind this wall of sand, and once beyond that, the water opened up to a holding area for boats waiting to go through the canal. Every hour on the hour the swing bridge opened, and since we were there ten minutes early, we had to wait. Instead of tying up to the quay or going around in circles, Dan drove our front keels up onto the sandbar, and we didn't move until it was time to back off, turn around and follow the other five boats that were in a hurry to go down the canal. Once we were in the actual canal, we were in contact with Thalassa. They were tied up to the town quay, and had saved a spot for us. Soon we were tied up next to them, and were invited over to their boat for some wine and a chat. Later on in the evening we all wondered into town looking for a restaurant where we could eat supper. The town of Levkas was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1953, like so many other towns situated along the earthquake belt. The town was not rebuilt to any particular style; consequently the town is a riotous jumble of corrugated iron and brick houses leaning over narrow streets, according to Rod Heikell's cruising guide. We found that to be true, but to me that is what make the town so special and interesting.

On Sunday morning Dan was talking to a man who organizes and runs a particular fleet of rental sailboats from Levkas town. Come to find out that this man new the local distributor for Yanmar engines, so we were able to get a brand new water pump belt for ours. Dan had felt, that he didn't want to continue without one, especially since we would have to follow the canal a few miles farther south. Once Dan had the new belt, it was installed in a flash, and soon we and Thalassa were ready to leave Levkas town behind. Since we left Levkas early in the afternoon, we planned on reaching a bay by the town of Nidri, farther south on Levkas island, before nightfall, and as we had to motor pretty much the entire ten miles, we arrived well before sunset. In Tranquil Bay we found room for our boats among all the others already anchored there. Later on towards evening Joan called on the VHF and said, that she was watching a sailboat arriving to our bay, and she thought it said Discovery on the side of the boat! Could that be our Swedish friends? Out came my snooping glasses and yes it was them! I think Karin on Discovery saw us just as I saw them, as we both waved our arms in greeting! Once Discovery was anchored and tied stern-to the shore, Karin, her eldest son Daniel, and her niece came over in their dinghy for a visit. It was so good to see them again, and chance had brought us together once more! The following morning we were invited to their boat for coffee and freshly baked Swedish appelcake - yummy! Our friends on Discovery had decided to spend the winter in Levkas town, instead of continuing to Poros, which was their original destination. We of course wanted to go farther, so soon it was time to say good bye; they went north as we went south!

Our next port was planned to be at Vathi on the island of Ithaca. Harry wanted to see the island, which according to Homer was the home of Odysseus. Both Harry and Joan are retired school teachers from Canada, and they know an awful lot about history. They were our very own private walking encyclopedias, and from them we learned a lot, which I hate to admit didn't stick very long! Once we left Nidri and turned south, we could see the island of Scorpios, where Onassis had his home. Scorpios island was quite large, but it was nothing elaborate about the island; it looked like the rest! As we reached the southern tip of Levkas island and came out into the open sea between Levkas, Cephalonia and Ithaca the wind and waves decided to come almost straight on the nose. As usual we were motoring by then! We saw Thalassa almost disappear down into the approaching waves, and our boat was pounding along, so that was not a very comfortable trip. By 1900 that evening we had come almost 26 miles farther south, and were safely anchored in the bay at Vathi. The view from our boat was spectacular; high mountains all around and the town of Vathi, with its colorful houses, churches and hotels stretched around the huge bay. Along the town quay the local fishing boats were tied up, and even the small fishing boats were painted in very bright colors, and every one had a name!

Since it was pretty cheap to rent a moped in Vathi, we decided to do that, rather than try to get ours off the boat. One nice, sunny day, Dan and I on one moped, Harry and Joan on another, set out to explore the island and look for Odysseus' palace, which most likely could be found in Stavros, one hour drive north. We had a choice of roads to get there, and going we opted for the longer road, that wound its way up and along the steep mountain side on the eastern side of Ithaca. What spectacular views we had from high up! We could see straight down into the bay at Vathi, where our boats lay anchored. We could see many other small and large bays along the island, and to the west we glimpsed the island of Cephalonia. Since it very seldom is totally clear in the Mediterranean, we couldn't see that far, but since the distance between the two islands at the narrowest spot is only about one and one half mile, we could see the eastern side of the Cephalonia pretty good. After bumping along the winding road up and down the mountain, we reached Stavros in the early afternoon; time for lunch at a local restaurant! I can't remember now what I ate, but I am sure it was good. Once we had finished at the restaurant, we just made it to the museum, before it closed for the day. We saw many interesting artifacts they had dug up from various sites on the island, and supposedly one "dig" was still going. We decided to find it and have a look. We passed a sign that declared "School of Homer", but no dig was visible, so we continued. Dan went ahead on our scooter, but soon he returned and said he couldn't see anything that looked like a dig farther along, so we turned around. Instead it became very important to find a gas station, as our moped ran on fumes by then! Down towards the town of Frikes we found a gas station; both mopeds were filled to the brim. Since both Joan and I felt that we were filled to the brim also, we inquired if we could use the bathroom? My first encounter with a bathroom that had only a hole in the floor! It wasn't a regular bathroom either; only a spot in a storage room. Since I had to go pretty bad by then, down came the pants and I squatted over the hole and hoped my aim was good. No toilet paper, nor water to flush with, and others before me had missed the opening also, so it looked and smelled pretty gross. What a relief to be done! Into the town of Frikes, out to the point at Akrotiri we drove, before we turned around and headed south along the road on the western side of Ithaca. Since it was still pretty early in the evening when we reached Vathi, we decided to continue southeast and find Arethusa's spring. We found the sign that pointed down through shrubs, with enormous spikes and thorns on the branches, and since we weren't dressed for that kind of a hike, we never reached the spring, much to Harry's disappointment. Since we had been on Ithaca for three days, and thoroughly enjoyed the place, it was hard to think about leaving. It was even harder after we had talked to a man on another Canadian boat, who said that he had heard on the "cruiser's net", that a lot of American boats were pulling out of Turkey and heading for Greece, because of what was going on between United States and the Muslim world! At that moment Dan didn't know if we wanted to continue towards Turkey or not, but at least he wanted to go to Athens, so we made plans with Thalassa to leave the following morning.

On Thursday September 20 we left Ithaca early in the morning and headed almost straight east. Since we made real good time sailing, we altered our course from the original destination to behind Oxia island to Mesolongion on the mainland, farther up the Gulf of Patras. The anchorage in Mesolongion was reached by going up a marked channel for about two miles, with very shallow salt marshes on both sides. Thalassa was in front of us by quarter of a mile! All of a sudden Dan said, that he thought Thalassa was stuck! She was, as Joan soon was on the VHF warning us to stay away from the area. Seemed they had found a sandbar and dug in quite good, as they could not get loose on their own. We anchored in front of them, Harry brought over a towline to our boat, and by pulling in our anchor and powering at the same time, we were able to pull them off. Soon both boats left "Harry's sandbar" behind and anchored farther up in the harbor.

Friday morning we left Mesolongion, without even going ashore, except Dan for cigarettes, and continued up the Gulf of Patras. At one spot in the Gulf, the mainland and the Pelo- ponnisos are very close, only one mile wide at Rhion and Anti-Rhion, and that particular spot is considered the western entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Like between mainland Italy and Sicily, there were numerous ferries coming and going at the narrowest spot, but Dan timed our arrival at the crossing just right, so we made it without any trouble. There was also lots of construction going on in the channel; a bridge is being built between the mainland and the Peloponnisos for the upcoming Olympics! We couldn't help wondering if it ever would get done, as it seems so many projects are started in Greece but never finished. Once we were through the narrow strait, the wind picked up with force, so we kind of flew towards the island of Trizonia, where Stress Relief was headed. Harry and Joan wanted to see the medieval harbor at Navpaktos, but since that harbor was very small, we didn't want to chance getting stuck in there. Thalassa caught up with us the following day, and together we spent a couple of wonderful and relaxing days on anchor at Nisis Trizonia. Duke and I went swimming around our boat to cool off, and then I noticed that the welding job to the out-drive leg pin had broken again. Not the news Dan wanted to hear! Before we could leave the island, we had to beach our boat, so Dan could do temporary repairs to the lock-down pin, as we were sure to need reverse.

By late afternoon on Monday September 24 we arrived at the harbor at Galaxidhi on the mainland farther east in the Gulf of Corinth. Dan and I had not planned on stopping there, but hearing Harry and Joan talking about visiting "center of the world" at ancient Delphi, we, or at least I, wanted to see that place. Early the next morning we walked up to the local bus stop and bought our ticket to Delphi. Seemed we would have to change busses in Itea, but that was no problem. The first bus was packed with ordinary people going to work, and we ended up having to stand, packed like sardines, the short distance to Itea. Once we got on the bus heading for Delphi, we all found seats. That leg of our journey was 18 kilometers long, taking us up steep mountainsides on narrow, winding roads, with hairpin turns and the most magnificent view, down over the countryside we had come and out toward the Gulf of Krissaios. All of a sudden we had arrived at Delphi, and if other people hadn't gotten off and said something, we probably would have stayed on and continued with the bus. The town of Delphi seemed to cling on the edge of the steep mountain, and thank goodness the one-way main street went straight through the shopping district, so I didn't have to look down! We found our way over to the museum and bought a map over the ruins, and on we marched to the entrance. Dan was not enthused over having to gawk at yet another pile of rocks, and that's exactly what the site looked like to begin with. The Delphi ruins sit amidst ravines, rocky bluffs and sheer cliffs on the side of mount Parnassos, and in the hot sun it was an exhausting climb to reach the top, where the ancient "stadium" spread out in front of us. From that vantage point we had a gorgeous view looking down over the crumbling ruins, and from there it didn't look like piles of rocks anymore. The Temple of Apollo was sort of the center point, with all kinds of ruins around it. The theater was also magnificent, and it carried the sound all the way up to the highest row of seats. Some young people were holding speeches at the bottom trying out the acoustics! The best artifacts from the site were stored and preserved in the museum, and before we left Delphi, we walked through and had a look at everything. A late lunch with a cold drink was what we then needed after spending the day in the hot sun. Towards late afternoon we caught the bus back down the mountain, and then we didn't have to change busses, but could go straight for Galaxidhi. The port police in that town had charged for tying up to the quay, so we had decided to stay for only two nights. Once we came back from our sightseeing day, we headed for stores to stock up on bread and groceries, as we planned to continue towards Corinth Canal the following day.

Before we could leave Galaxidhi on Wednesday, September 26, Dan wanted to back our boat across the small harbor and try to get the back end of our baot into shallow water. He wanted to check to see if the temporary repairs to the out-drive leg lock-down pin had held; we thought we didn't have reverse when we tried to use it in arriving three days earlier! The stainless steel wire Dan had somehow wrapped around the lock-down mechanism was still intact; Dan made sure the pin was locked in place, before we moved the boat again. Since it was getting late in the morning by the time we and Thalassa were ready to leave Galaxidhi, we decided to only move down to a cove and anchor there till the following morning, when we would head out bright and early! The Anemokambi Bay was almost a land-locked bay, but that didn't stop the winds from blowing, and that first night was a bit choppy. The next morning we were very much undecided whether to leave our bay and head out across the Gulf of Corinth or not, as it was blowing quite strong still, but finally the votes were taken and it was decided to leave! Once we left the bay and headed out towards open water, the wind seemed to increase in speed. When we were totally away from land influence, the wind gusted up to 32 knots, and that didn't bode good for the long sail to Corinth, so we opted to turn around and go back to our nice cove. As Dan swung the boat around, so did our main, but with such force so it ripped out the boom hold-down. The main and the boom flew as far forward as it could, and I in the confusion though we had lost the boom! The lines were whipping back and forth like crazy, and of course touched the tip of one wind generator blade, breaking it. When the sail blew forward with force, it smashed into one of our radar deflectors and ripped it off the wire high up the mast. All this happened within seconds, and that was enough damage for one day. I was so happy to get back into much calmer water in the bay we had just left. On Friday the winds had calmed down enough, so we could sail and motor down to Corinth town, where we stayed over night.

We were hoping to be able to go through the Corinth Canal on Saturday, September 29 and as soon as we woke up, we turned the VHF radio on and listened to the canal traffic. When we heard a big motor-sailing boat call and ask about the procedure for going through the canal, we thought we would do the same. We were told to proceed immediately to the entrance of the canal and wait for further instructions. Before we reached the entrance, we saw two big freighters being hooked up to tugboats, and they were the first through the opening going east. The big motor-sailing boat came next, Stress Relief after that, and last Thalassa. At the western entrance there is a road bridge low over the water, so road traffic has to stop and wait for the boats to go into the canal, before the bridge can be closed and the cars will be allowed to drive on. Both Stress Relief and Thalassa had their engine full throttle, but even so we were left way behind the others. The current was over two knots against us, but most of that could have been wash from the tugs! The beginning of Corinth Canal was far from impressive, as the sides were not very high and what was there seemed to be falling down. Actually, every Tuesday the canal is closed for repairs to the crumbling sandstone walls and for dredging, and we could now see why! The canal in itself is 3.2 miles long, 81 feet wide, and the maximum permitted draught is 23 feet. I wasn't concerned with the depth as much as the width. It didn't seem any 81 feet wide to me, and I really wonder how much space the big ships have on either side when they are going through? Corinth Canal has no locks; it is a straight through canal, as the water level in the Gulf of Corinth is the same as the Aegean Sea. There are four more bridges spanning the canal farther in, and since most of them are located at the highest point they can be stationary. The highest point reach 250 feet above sea level, and going through the canal at that point was fascinating. Our boat must have been just a small speck on the water, as were the people standing high above on the bridges watching us. Forty-five minutes from when we entered the canal on the west end, we came out at the east end and were now in the Aegean Sea! It sure was a good thing that there was a control tower monitoring the traffic in the canal, as a big tug towing a huge ship, was very anxious to go through to the west, before Stress Relief and Thalassa had made it through. I could see the tug and the ship in my binoculars, and I must say I was a little concerned to begin with! As soon as we were heading out of the way to tie up to the official dock at the east end, the tug and ship went through. We guessed it isn't any set times to pass in either direction; traffic moves in one direction when it is clear! Going through the Corinth Canal wasn't exactly cheap, $77.00 for our boat, and the price is based on the length. Of course it saves many hours and days not having to sail around the Peloponnisos, and it was an exiting experience!