Five hours into our madcap race, we feared that we weren’t going to make it. We knew the odds were stacked against us, but we had no choice but to motor on, slamming against a five-foot swell that shook High Flight, our Bavria 40, to its 25-year-old core.
Our Greek marathon sail began at 2200, but really it all started at 1400 on 3 October 2022. This is when Greek authorities announced on a government website that the Corinth Canal would close at 0700 the following day – for eight months. Never mind that the same office promised us a day earlier that the canal that bisects the mainland and Peloponnese peninsula wouldn’t close for repairs before 15 October.
Unaware of the stealth afternoon announcement, we received the first hint of a changed plan when the harbour master greeted us at Trizonia Port in the Gulf of Corinth.
‘, welcome,’ he said as he tied off the bowline
