Southern Ionian

Routes

Routes around the Péloponnèse are pretty much a matter of following the coast around from Katakolon to Cape Malea. The prevailing NW-W winds will give you a sleigh ride from the Ionian to the Aegean whereas coming from the Aegean generally means a slog against the wind. For boats needing to get a move on there is a fairly well defined route either way that takes in Katakolon, Pilos or Methoni, Koroni, Porto Kayio, Sarakiniko on Elafonisos and on around Cape Malea. Reverse the route when on passage from the Aegean to the Ionian.

As in the northern Ionian, the prevailing NW-W wind will often not get up until late morning. If you are heading from the Aegean to the northern Ionian then you can make up some miles under engine if you leave early in the morning. When heading S and Ε it pays to leave a little later in the morning so you get a good downwind sail.

Anyone heading up into the gulfs will get a mixture of weather. Generally the prevailing wind will curve around and blow from the S-SW up into the gulfs. At times the I\IW wind will gust down through the valleys on the W side of the gulfs and at times these gusts can be severe. At the head of the gulfs there can be a pronounced land and sea breeze effect. The land breeze generally blows from the N-NE and the sea breeze from the S-SW. This means you need to choose anchorages carefully as although the land breeze rarely gets above F4, it can be enough to make it uncomfortable in anchorages exposed to a fetch from that direction.

The biggest problem most people encounter is getting around Cape Malea and into the Aegean. From the Ε you will usually have a NE wind to help you get around. From the W it is not unusual to sit in Sarakiniko on Elafonisos or at Neapolis waiting for a strong NE wind to die. Yachts have been known to wait a week and I suggest you read my notes for getting around in the section on Cape Malea at the end of the chapter. The advice is not infallible, but I have often found it to work, as have others.

In the winter there are more southerlies and route planning becomes more of a lottery. Really the only thing you can do here is get a forecast and make your plans from there. Remember that many of the harbours which are safe in the prevailing summer northerlies can be less comfortable and even untenable in strong southerlies.

OLYMPIA

Although it seems a bit of a trek from Katakolon, the site at Olympia is well worth the effort. The actual site is a rambling muddle of a place with a jumble of ruins overgrown by olive and maquis. The site itself, situated in a wooded valley with the twin rivers of Alfios and Kladhios running through it, is magnificent and even the coach park and tacky souvenir stalls cannot detract from it. It is difficult to imagine that this site hosted the ancient Panhellenic games for over a thousand years and that many of the Greek heroes we read about proved their worth on track and field here.

One of the wonderful things about these ancient games was that a sacred truce, the Ekeheiria, was observed for the duration of the games and warring states would put aside their differences to partake in the events, presumably resuming hostilities after the games. It evokes those wonderful moments in the First World War when the British and Germans laid down their arms and played a game of football at Christmas. At the first games the prize for winning was purely symbolic, a palm leaf and an olive branch, but later some professionalism crept in and winners could expect monetary rewards as well as kudos from their home state. Under the Romans large monetary prizes were awarded at the games at Olympia.

The modern Olympic games were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896 and when he died his heart was brought here to be buried at Olympia. There is a small Museum of the Olympic Games in Olympia town and an excellent Archaeological Museum at the site.

The Battle of Navarinon

At the very time when the Greek forces were at their lowest ebb during the War of Independence, the fortuitous naval engagement in the Bay of Navarinon changed the whole order of things and effectively won the war. On 6 July 1827, the Treaty of London between Great Britain, France and Russia provided that Greece should be autonomous but under the control of the Turks. This piece of legal chicanery was implemented so that the three powers might remain friendly to both Greece and Turkey and allowed for their fleets to guarantee the treaty. The senior admiral, Codrington, was given wide powers of discretion in the policing of the treaty.

Presented with the terms of the treaty, the Greeks agreed (they had little option) while the Turks did not. Codrington decided to enter the Bay of Navarinon where the Turko-Egyptian fleet was assembled, even though his fleet was outnumbered and outgunned (the allied fleet numbered 26 ships and 1270 guns; the Turko-Egyptian fleet numbered 89 warships and 2450 guns) and despite the fact that his country was not at war with the opposing fleet. The Turko-Egyptian fleet was anchored in a three quarter circle facing the entrance, in theory a trap in which ships sailing in would be caught by fire from all sides before they could sail out again. Codrington led his fleet in, the bands playing on the deck and the gun ports half open, and anchored in the middle of the trap. An Egyptian ship fired a shot and the battle began. "The bloody and destructive battle was continued with unabated fury for four hours; and the scene of wreck and devastation which presented itself at its termination was such as has been seldom before witnessed', Codrington wrote in his dispatch.

It was an unremitting battle fought at anchor which Codrington won, proving that European gun crews were more efficient in the heat of battle than their eastern counterparts. Codrington was not censured over this action although the English government expressed regret over it. France mopped up any remaining opposition in the Peloponnisos and in the end Greece was free.

KALAMATA (Kalami, Kalamon)

BA 2404
Imray-Tetra G15

Approach

Straightforward by day and night.
Conspicuous The cluster of buildings of the small city is conspicuous. The exact location of the harbour is difficult to see from the distance but closer in a large flour mill at the W end of the harbour and the harbour breakwater will be seen. Yachts should head for the marina and not the commercial harbour.
By night Use the light on Ak Kitries Fl(2) 12s7M and the lights at the entrance to the marina Fl.G.3s3M/Fl.R.3s3M. The lights at the marina entrance are difficult to make out against the loom of the lights behind. The entrance to the commercial harbour is lit Fl.G.l-5s3M/Fl.R.l-5s3M. VHP Ch 69 for marina office. Call sign Kalamata Marina.
Dangers With the prevailing onshore breeze blowing there is some confused swell in the narrow entrance - more difficult with a fresh breeze than dangerous.

Mooring

Data 255 berths. Visitors' berths. Max LOA 30m. Depths 2-3-5m.
Berth Where directed. Marina staff will assist you to berth. There are laid moorings tailed to the quay. The rope tail is substantial and smaller yachts may need to tie a smaller diameter line to it.
Shelter Good all round shelter. The prevailing onshore breeze causes a little surge at some berths near the entrance which can be mildly uncomfortable.
Authorities Harbourmaster and marina staff. Port police office in the marina. Charge band 2.
Kalamata Marina, 24100, Greece
Tel. 27210 21054/21037 Fax 27210 26079
Email: kalamatamarina@yahoo.com
www.kalamatamarina.tsx.org
www.medmarinas.com

Facilities

Services Water and electricity at every berth. Shower and toilet block. Laundry operated by tokens.
Fuel Fuel quay near the entrance. Care needed of the rock ballasting near the W end of the fuel quay.
Repairs 30-ton crane. 50-ton travel-hoist to be installed soon. Hardstanding area for c.130 boats. Most mechanical and engineering work. The marina will carry out gardiennage and maintenance on the boat according to what is needed. Chandlers. Hardware shops in town.
Provisions Good supermarket a block away heading Ν from the entrance. Other good supermarkets with all sorts of hard-to-get items nearby.
Eating out A bar and café in the marina. Tavernas close by and others along the waterfront. Some good tavernas in the hills to the E.
Other PO. OTE. Banks. ATMs. Greek gas and Camping Gaz (from the service station Ε of the basin). Hire cars and motorbikes. Buses to Athens and most destinations around the Peloponnisos. Internal flights and some European flights.
Note A regular bus service operates past the harbour into the centre of town - Bus No.1.

General

Kalamata was once the principal port of the Peloponnisos, but now its commercial traffic is much diminished. The harbour and town are more undistinguished than unattractive. The recent earthquake in 1968 caused much damage and consequently parts of the town have an abandoned appearance while the rest is undergoing reconstruction.

Despite this, Kalamata is a place I like, a real Greek place supported by the agricultural hinterland, especially the production of fat black olives famous throughout the world as 'Kalamata olives'. Kalamata Marina is such a friendly well-run marina that it adds to the charm of the place and makes it a pleasure to visit here.

There are all sorts of surprises in the town. From the basin if you walk straight up from the W corner you will come to a park you can walk through nearly into the middle of town. The park incorporates the old railway station and on the tracks around it are numerous restored locomotives and carriages from all ages - a must for railway buffs and a pleasant walk into town for the mildly curious.

Kalamata was the capital for the Franks when they controlled the area and the redoubtable Guillaume de Villehardouin (1218-1287) was born and died here - above the town are the remains of the castle he built, though most of what remains are later modifications and additions from the Venetians. Modern Kalamata was built by the French in the 19th century, though many of the old buildings from this period have decayed. Kalamata is the nearest safe harbour to Messene and the safest harbour for visiting Mistra, although Yithion is also suitable.

Nisoi Kithera and Andikithera

(Kythera, Cerigo and Anti-Kithera, Cerigotto, Lious)

Kithera and Andikithera form an island bridge between the Peloponnisos and Crete. As a convenient lee or port of refuge, the islands have played an important part as stepping-stones on the ancient trade routes around the Peloponnisos to the Aegean and east along Crete. Near Avelomona, a small village on the south of Kithera, a Minoan trading post (c.2000-1450 BC) has been excavated. Later the Phoenicians (the island was reputed to be rich in murex from which the Phoenicians extracted their famous purple dye), Mycenaeans, Romans and Venetians used the island.

Kithera has another claim to classical fame and it is that Aphrodite was born here, though other islands, notably Cyprus, also lay claim to the goddess. Her worship was probably introduced to this lonely rocky island by the Phoenicians and when she was later adopted by the Greeks, her birthplace was assumed to be Kithera. This seems as good a place as any to let Lawrence Durrell describe this most human of goddesses:

‘Under her title Urania, she stood for pure and ideal love; as Genetrix or Nymphia, she was the protector of lawful marriage and favoured all serious unions; as Pandemos or Porne she was the patron of all prostitutes and favoured all lust and venal love. Everything to do with passion, from the noblest to the most degraded, came within her scope. It is her completeness, compounded of many attributes, which wins our hearts. Her loving had a comprehensiveness that accepted every human foible, good or bad. Nor was she averse to using her powers mischievously -as when she took it into her head to light a short fuse under the chair of Zeus in Olympus, which gave him one of the worst attacks of skirt-fever ever to win a place in the Olympian version of 'The Guinness Book of Records'. Was there nothing sacred, he asked her, all lit up like a Christmas tree? Yes, she must have answered, everything is sacred, without distinction, even laughter. Especially laughter.’
Lawrence Durrell The Greek Islands

When the Union of the Seven Islands was declared, Kithera and Andikithera were declared to be part of the Heptanisoi, despite the distance separating them from the other Ionian islands. After the War of Independence the islands gradually came under the administration of Athens. Today a few tourists who enjoy quiet places visit Kithera, but on the whole the island remains a comparatively untouched spot.

Eighteen miles south of Kithera lies its diminutive Andikithera (Anti-Kithera) - a pitted rocky island rising sheer from the sea and inhabited by around fifty hardy souls. Few yachts call here as the only harbour is unsafe in all except calm weather. Early this century a wreck of the 1st century BC was discovered near the island and a number of valuable bronze and marble statues recovered. These are now displayed in the National Museum in Athens.

PLATIA AMMOS

36°22'·ΟΝ 22°57'·7Ε

A small bay approximately 2 miles SE of Ák Spathi. A short mole provides some shelter from NE winds, although even a moderate NE breeze makes it uncomfortable in here and if it blows strongly from the NE it is untenable. With westerlies there are strong gusts into the bay.

PELAGIA

Approach

The old ferry port lies approximately 4 miles SE of Ák Spathi. The mole for the ferry is easily located.
By night The end of the mole is lit Fl.R.l-5s3M.
Dangers When close, care is needed of the shoal water off the coast in the vicinity of the mole. Mooring If there is room go alongside or stern or bows-to the mole. Alternatively anchor off on either side of the mole. The bottom is sand and weed, good holding.
Shelter The harbour is useful only in calm weather or light offshore winds. With westerlies there are strong gusts into the harbour and it is completely open to NE winds. With any wind from the NE you should vacate the harbour and go elsewhere. Authorities Port police.

Facilities

Water At the root of the mole.
Provisions Minimarket near the mole.
Eating out Tavernas around the waterfront.

General

The harbour and village have become a bit of a ghost town now that the new ferry port at Dhiakofti has opened, although there is still a modest tourist trade here, and during the summer a ferry runs to Palaiokastro.

DHIAKOFTI

The main ferry port for Kithera, situated on the W side of Makronisos.

Approach

Makronisos joined by a causeway is easily recognised from the Ν and closer in the breakwater sheltering the ferry quay will be seen. The wreck of the Nordland cargo ship on Fidonisi is conspicuous, especially from the S. It looks like the skipper had a run up to attempt to perch it on top of the islet.
By night Use the light of Makronisos Fl.lOsTM and the light on the end of the breakwater Fl.R.3s3M.

Mooring

Go alongside or stern or bows-to the S side of the quay. Most of the W quay is for the ferries and hydrofoils running to Kithera. An alternative in W winds would be to anchor on the Ε side of Makronisos tucked under Vrakhoi Mikro. Care is needed as Mikro is only just above water. The bottom is sand and weed with some rock, mostly good holding.
Shelter Shelter is better than it looks when tucked under the breakwater. With strong NE winds it may get bumpy in here and with easterly gales could be untenable.
Authorities Port police. Customs.

Facilities

Water On the quay.
Fuel Outside the village.
Provisions Minimarket.
Eating out Tavernas on the waterfront, some of which have good fresh fish.
Other Exchange. Ferries and hydrofoil to Neapolis and Yithion.

General

Until the construction of the ferry port this was a sleepy little fishing hamlet. A few more buildings have gone up since the ferry port was constructed, but in a sympathetic way and the village largely remains a peaceful little spot. The only real activity is when the ferry arrives.