Trizonia Island and the Gulf of Corinth

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Thu 30 Apr 2009 19:23
38:22.1N 22:4.5E

Left Messolonghi around 8.15am under grey skies and very little wind.

Uneventful motor through the Gulf of Patras, past the city of Patras (second
largest city in Greece) and headed for the spectacular Rion-Andirron
suspension bridge which is the longest cable stayed bridge in the world! No
sea traffic here at all, but still had to call up the bridge traffic control
for permission to transit under it.

Once we were through, the wind picked up dramatically from the west and
suddenly we had 20 to 25 knots behind us. This was the cue for us to test
our downwind 'Simbo' rig of twin downwind sails run up the twin grooves of
the forestay in place of the genoa. Took a little while to sort out the twin
whisker poles and guys etc. but the result was spectacular and Serafina
fairly flew down the Gulf of Corinth to the island of Trizonia which lies
close to the northern shore of the gulf and is the only inhabited island in
the Gulf (38 persons apparently).

This tiny island and its village have a fair sized, elderly but unfinished
marina nestling in a bay with good protection from the prevailing North West
winds, which was handy because the wind kept blowing at 20+ knots all
afternoon and evening!

There is no charge to moor up here and it has become, not surprisingly a
refuge for the long term 'live aboards' from all over the world who are
seeking long term winter and even all year round moorings. It also seems to
have attracted more than its fair share of catamarans, presumably for the
same economic reasons as well as a large sunken yacht. Anyway despite this,
we were able to find a good alongside berth in the lee of a concrete quay
and patted ourselves on the back for a good day all round....

Had a stroll round the village which is delightful but has virtually no
facilities but it does have a small shop/taverna which seems to open on
request! You can order bread here, which is delivered by boat the next
morning.

The pilot book talked of laundry facilities but this turned out to be a
false promise, however, we did get collared by an English (well Yorkshire!)
couple who live aboard a 55' boat here, who were keen to tell us everything
we needed (and a lot we did not need) to know. They were not short of
opinions and so we had to go back to Serafina after a cup of their coffee to
sort out fact from fiction.

Photos will be posted as soon as we can get wi-Fi at www.rhbell.com