So narrow! So dramatic! As your yacht transits the famed Corinth Canal, you'll understand why SeaDream Yacht Club promises to “expect the unexpected” and we sail where the big ships can’t go.
Our elegant twin yachts carry you to breathtaking destinations that larger ships cannot reach, hidden islands and celebrated yachting harbors off the world’s most pristine coastlines. And the nimbleness of our yachts allows for unexpected and delightful calls along the way, including transiting the famed Corinth Canal.
The Paved Road Predecessor
The Corinth Canal was built in the late nineteenth century and created a new sea route by linking the Corinthian and Saronic Gulfs. Until that time, ships sailing between the Aegean and the Adriatic had to circumnavigate the Peloponnese Peninsula, adding about 185 nautical miles to their voyage.
However, in antiquity the Greeks had devised a way of solving the problem of communications between the two seas. In the late seventh or early sixth century BC, the tyrants of Corinth constructed a paved road called the Diolkos, which led from Schinous on the Saronic Gulf to Poseidonia on the Gulf of Corinth. The Dioikos was 3 to 3.5 meters wide, and it was paved with blocks of limestone set in a deep layer of sand and gravel. Along this ran the ancient olkos vehicle on which ships were borne overland from one side of the Isthmus to the other. Sections of the Diolkos can still be seen today; the deep parallel ruts in the road, 1.50 meters apart, are the marks left by the wheels of the olkos.
Nero’s Vision
The ancient Greeks had, of course, considered the possibility of digging a canal through the Isthmus. The first to look into the matter was Periander, tyrant of Corinth, who drew up a plan for a canal in 602 BC. Subsequent planners included Demetrius Poliorcetes, Julius Caesar, and Caligula. These plans were later adopted by Emperor Nero, who in 67 AD announced to the spectators at the Isthmian Games that he was going to join the two seas by digging a canal through the Isthmus; indeed, he went so far as to cut the first turf himself, with a golden pick, and to carry the first basket of earth on his back. But his plans came to nothing, as did those of Herodes Atticus, the Byzantines, and the Venetians in later times.
An Engineering Marvel
The canal we sail today was built in 1882-1893 by Greek and French engineers using the most advanced machinery of the day. General supervision of the enormous undertaking was in the hands of General Stepan Tupp, aide-de-camp to the King of Italy. The project was completed by the Greek Corinth Canal Company.
The canal is 6,343 meters in length. It has a width of 24.60 meters at surface level and 21.30 meters at the seabed, and in some places its sides are a dramatic 79 meters high. The canal is crossed by road and railway bridges, while communications between Central Greece and the Peloponnese are also served by two ferries in the form of submersible bridges, one at either end (Poseidonia and Isthmia).
Are you ready to transit the storied Corinth Canal and experience the secluded islands and playful yachting harbors of the Mediterranean? SeaDream provides you with an intimate view of these islands unlike any other boutique travel line. Click here check availability and reserve your next voyage.