Boat Handling in tight quarters..

[goodall_m1]

This one is for Rod and anyone else who has to manouver into tight spaces...

Two photos I took while crossing the Corinth Canal earlier this month:

The first shows the canal looking north west from about the mid-point.

In the distance beyond the last high level bridge you can see a dot on the water.

When I zoomed in this is what I got:

Vessel is the Coral, a small cruise liner, 14,000 tonnes and 72ft wide.

I wouldn't have liked to take her through..

The yellow and black stiped objects in front of her are the ends of the final (low level) bridge.

This has been lowered into the bottom of the canal and she is clear to exit...

[Hockham Admiral]

You'd be braver than me to trust yourself on that ship!

[Antares_9]

Nice and sheltered from crosswinds though.

[goodall_m1]

Nice and sheltered from crosswinds though.

Not where you emerge from the gorge section, the land is low at both ends of the canal.

In the gorge it is either calm or blowing directly up or down, get to the low bit and then you find the real wind...

The hills that the canal is cut through mean that you can have different wind directions at the two ends, we came up to the southern end in a northerly, had it calm in the gorge, but found it was easterly when we came out half an hour later.

I reckon that someone has possibly found that the wind was westerly as they came out of the gorge, hence why he is off centre, or perhaps he is allowing for the side wind to hit him from the east.

I came through the following day but the crosswind was less of a problem with a rag and stick under engine (with no rags up) and a hull that meant that the deck was about level with the banks. Something with the windage of the Coral must be a real handful at the transition point.

There is also the very slight problem of a current of up to 3 knots in the canal to contend with.

It can run in either direction depending on the water levels in the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf.

No a lot of tidal movement in that part of the mediterranean but pressure differences in the Ionian or Aegean can have quite an effect.

[Guest]

Looks a lot like the New Cut to me

[loribear]

Looks a lot like the New Cut to me

NAH, looks more like harecastle tunnel on the cheshire ring to me with it's roof off, i was absolutely terrified going through there, especially when i heard the fans going off before we entered, & it was so dark in there, & just before we got to the end we broke down & nearly had a very large barge up our backside, but managed to get it going again, very scary, lori

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Hi Martin,

Cant offer any useful explanations of how this is done as this feat of navigation has always amazed me

Rod

And ELUDED you by the sound of it, and are you relieved it Has eluded you Rod?.

[jillR]

jill