Ferrying in July 2018 Part 3

Monday 16th July 2018 (the morning)
We woke early today, ready for EL VENIZELOS to arrive back in Piraeus at 7 a.m. There was time to remember that far more information about the ship's history, and many photographs of the ship in 2008, can be found at: http://www.hhvferry.com/elven.html I'm told that the El Ven has had a few more adventures since 2008, including her charter to GoInSardinia when ANEK cancelled the charter and sneaked her back to Piraeus. This was when we sailed on her to Chania four days after having had a cancelled booking on her in Sardinia.

The hot sun shone down on us as the ship berthed and we could see much activity in the busy harbour.

Hellenic Highspeed

Nissos Mykonos

I was standing near to the El Venizelos

Phivos leaving on one of her early trips to Aegena

Adamantios Korais, and look at what's coming from her funnels

Highspeed 4


As soon as we disembarked we hurried round to another part of the harbour. We have time at the moment for a quick trip across to Aegena (Egina) providing we can leave quickly.

Flying Dolphin Athina


It was decided to take the hydrofoil, for its speed, and so we had time to buy a cheese pie, coffee and orange juice to go, as we watched FLYING DOLPHIN ATHINA coming alongside. I know this craft was built in 1977 in Georgia, USSR, and can go at 28.8 knots once out of the harbour, but I and many others do find it really horrible to queue nearby because of the smell and sight of the engines, fuel, and exhausts. It's nearly as bad inside the hydrofoil, I think, but my coffee helped clear the throat. The saving grace was that all the arriving passengers soon got off and then we got on quickly, the doors were shut and we were away, soon racing fast across the calm water to the island of Aegena.

On board


My friends and others went to stand outside the stern doors, with permission. My attention must have been on my cheese pie or coffee, but I was told that we passed very close indeed to CELESTYAL CRYSTAL (ex-SILJA OPERA) which was just entering port. The MYKONOS PALACE had just returned, rather late, from her maiden round trip on Minoan Lines' new Piraeus-Chania route in competition with the EL VENIZELOS and was being prepared for some open day/press event with balloons etc.

Less than half an hour later we arrived at Aegina and quickly disembarked. At the end of the quay we could see our next ship: the lovely red-hulled PHIVOS of Nova Ferries. She sails frequently between Piraeus and Aegina, with an approximate journey time of an hour.

Phivos at Aegena


PHIVOS is a lovely little ship, one of four Spanish sisters who have been scattered to the four winds, one (her) in Greece, one in Cyprus, one in Benin and one sadly scrapped. She was built as PUNTA EUROPA in 1980 at 3,437 gross tons but since 2004 this fine looking little ship has been named PHIVOS and we always enjoy travelling on her. She seems to load vehicles and passengers quickly at both ports and as soon as we bought our tickets at the ticket booth at the end of her quay we made our way along to embark for our return journey to Piraeus. She seems to keep to her schedule.

One of her red funnels

Greek flag

Deck plan

I liked the blue curtains and blue lampshades in the lounge


As soon as we disembarked from her we could get on the free port bus to go round the harbour to where we had parked the hire car.

Festos Palace

Kriti II

Ionis

Mykonos Palace dressed overall


With bags in the boot it was time to head to the airport: El Venizelos by name!

Anemos, ex Moby Baby, seen from a road


A slight detour near the harbour gave us a view of ANEMOS, the ex-MOBY BABY, as we joined all the traffic also heading out on the motorway towards the airport. We had to buy fuel on the way but we were soon parked and returned the hire car; we had checked in en route and simply had to head for the Volotea airline bag drop. They saw the rucksacks and suggested we take them round to the Oversize luggage desk. We did that, they were happy, and we could then head for the boarding gate. By now we were in air-conditioned public spaces and this was wonderful - this morning in Piraeus it had been 38 C.

Eventually we were able to board the inevitable small bus to take us to the aircraft. Our plans are to fly from Athens to Bari in Italy, then get a train down to Brindisi, ready to embark on the good ship ST. DAMIAN this evening. We embarked on the Boeing 717-200 of Volotea Airline, and then had to sit and wait for clearance to leave.

Volotea Airline Boeing 717-200, from the passenger bus


We left about an hour late, not all of it waiting on the plane, and finally flew off to Bari.


Ships seen: El Venizelos, Celestyal Crystal, Horizon, Blue Star Paros, Blue Star Naxos, Blue Star Delos, Blue Star 2, Nissos Samos, Ionis, Highspeed 4, Adamantios Korais, Phivos, Nissos Mykonos, Flying Dolphin Athina, Apollon Hellas, Achaoes, Flying Dolphin XVIII, Flying Cat 1, Mykonos Palace dressed overall, with balloons, Kriti II, Anemos (ex Moby Baby), Aqua Solution, Zakinthos 1, Hellenic Highspeed


To be continued...

Ferrying in July 2018 Part 2

Sunday 15th July 2018
At the Skopios Sea Side Hotel we enjoyed a good breakfast at 7.30 and were packed and checked out by 8.15, ready to drive to the Great Harbour of Piraeus. Last night the harbour seemed fairly empty for a Saturday night, but now it was filling up nicely with many ferries and we could take photographs. We parked near one quayside and soon boarded ANEK's big ship EL VENIZELOS, ready for departure at 10.00 a.m. We have a day cabin to use and enjoy, during our long sail south to Chania, Crete, where we are due in at 7 p.m.

Blue Horizon

Festos Palace

El Venizelos

Her funnel


For some of the background to the ship, maritime author Anthony Cooke says that in 1988, Fred. Olsen began planning a new 26,000-ton ‘mega-ferry’ to be given the hopeful name of BONANZA. The origins of this vessel were somewhat unusual. She was one of four over-night ferries which had been ordered from Polish builders by the Stena Line of Gothenburg as long ago as 1979. The shipyard workers of Gdansk and Gdynia were, of course, at the forefront of the brave Polish struggle for independence from Soviet domination in the 1980s but in the process they frequently ‘downed tools’ and disrupted production. By 1986, only two of the four ships had been delivered and Stena’s patience finally ran out. They cancelled the orders for the remaining pair.

The third vessel had been launched in 1984 without name or ceremony (although apparently the original intention had been to call her STENA BALTICA) and she lay, engined but otherwise unfinished, until 1988. Olsens saw an opportunity and bought her through a London finance company. They announced plans to send her to the Bremer Vulkan yard at Vegesack for completion as by far the largest ferry yet to run on their Kristiansand-Hirtshals route. However, in the event, she remained laid-up in Poland until the following January, when it became known that Olsens had sold her to the Cretan line ANEK. It was rumoured that they had made a pleasant profit on the transaction. Her new owners had her towed to Perama, near Piraeus, where she was completed. She entered their service as KYDON II in 1992, later being renamed EL. VENEZELOS.

My friends had told me about this chequered history and it certainly is out of the ordinary. She is 36,261 gross tons, registered in Greece, with her home port in Chania, in Crete.

Two of us have been on this ship before, but for my other friend it was to be what we described as a 'mini-cruise'. We were up on deck watching all the surrounding arriving and departing vessels in Piraeus, and I noticed that here on board the swimming pool was empty of water and netted. Oh dear, I'm getting used to that sight - what a shame. As we sailed away I remembered my out-of-date chart at home of Piraeus and the surrounding areas. Our car journey yesterday was so interesting because I could trace our route to Perama, on the ferry across to Salamis Island, and then our drive around part of the island hillside roads to look down or across to the ships.

Piraeus Harbour

Perama to Salamis Island


We set off on our long journey south to Crete, from here in Piraeus Great Harbour, and I was pleased to see that the broken harbour entrance light and jetty has been repaired. An MSC cruise ship damaged it a few years ago (goodness knows how), so I do hope they have paid for that building work.

Here we go

Mykonos Palace

Hellas Liberty

Nissos Chios

New harbour light and jetty


After we left the harbour I was able to walk around the ship and enjoy what I could see today. We spent time in the forward lounge, then walked aft, enjoying the flow of the design of this big ro-ro passenger ship.

Part of the Restaurant

Part of the Self-Service Restaurant

The double-height Disco and seating area

A ticket cover

We are at sea

Calm seas

List of decks

Forward Bar and Lounge

Routes

Real cabin keys

I loved the styling of the stairs

Life ring, earlier in the day


The sea was calm, the sun shone, we had the day ahead of us to chat, eat, sleep or do nothing to our hearts' content, and that's what we did.

By late afternoon we had to prepare for arrival in Crete and in fact we arrived earlier than expected at 6 p.m.

We had just disembarked at Chania

Lovely light in the golden hour


We disembarked in beautiful late afternoon sunshine, took a few more photographs, and then walked into the small town of Chania. A nearby cafe was offering cool delights and we could also watch part of the World Cup Football Match of France against Croatia: no wonder there was little traffic on the roads nearby.

A little later we could return along the quayside and check in for our return journey on EL VENIZELOS back overnight to Piraeus. We were able to board soon after 8 p.m. ready for departure at 10 p.m.

It had been a wonderful first day at sea on a very interesting ship.

Ships seen:
El Venizelos (ANEK) Line, Blue Horizon, Festos Palace, Apollon Hellas, Hellas Liberty, Nissos Chios,


To be continued...

FERRYING IN JULY 2018

Part 1

One Friday in July 2018 I realised it was time to pack the rucksack and set off for Luton Airport, one that is new to me. Luton is in the English county of Bedfordshire, and the airport is about 40 miles northwest of London.

Saturday 14th July 2018
An early flight brought me and one of my travelling companions to Athens airport in Greece, after a three hour flight. Another friend soon arrived and an air-conditioned hire car collected. We were now on Greek time, which is two hours ahead of British Summer Time. We have been enjoying (or not) a long heat wave in much of the UK for many weeks now but the even higher temperatures outside the port of Pireaus were still a shock, at 38 C.

A drive around various viewpoints at Elefsina on Elefsis Bay and Drapetsona gave us some distant views of other ships at rest.

Dion on the seafront at Elefsina

Alexandra has definitely finished with engines

Mytilini & Penelope A in Elefsis Bay over the other side

Majesty nearby

Zakynthos of Kefalonian Lines


After driving to Elefsis to see what could be seen from there, we headed to Perama.

Mykonos Palace being prepared for use

Ionian Sky over the water


Our first ship of the trip was from the little port of Perama, sailing over to the island of Salamis on the passenger and car carrying ALEXANDROS K.

Inside Alexandros K


The views from the island hills above Salamis port were lovely, although we could see various familiar ships below us waiting for repair or a different future. Some had obviously not been given the chance, and just sank where they were.

Round the bay

Vitsentzos Kornaros

Vitsentzos Kornaros and Ionian Sky from higher up the hill

Unexpected view of Golden Moon, ex Rasa Sayang, ex De Grasse, ex Bergensfjord of 1956

Car deck on Konstantinoz


Back in the port area of Salamis we drove on to the KONSTANTINOZ for our sail back to Perama on the mainland.

During this return trip to Perama I took a last photograph, showing some interesting things over on the Salamis Island side where we had been driving round earlier.

Okeanos I, see Note 1. below
Agia Zoni II, see Note 2. below


Then it was time to drive back to Piraeus and head for our overnight hotel along the coast. Parking proved easy near the Skopios Sea Side Hotel and we were soon checked in and prepared to go out for dinner. The recommended Pharos restaurant meal was worth walking to, before heading back to our hotel. Tomorrow morning we plan to enjoy an early breakfast before heading into the Great Harbour for our 10 a.m. sailing.

Ships seen:

From the plane by my observant travelling companion: European Express, Vitsentzos Kornaros (Lane Sea Lines), Mykonos Palace, Ionian Sky,

At Elefsis: Penelope A, Mytilini, (Thomson) Majesty seen over the other side of the bay; Dion, Alexandra near us on the little beach at Elefsina

At Perama/Salamis: Okeanos 1 (see note 1. below), Anna Maru, Alkyon 1, Swift, Elli T, Lisa I (ex-Spathoek, ex Schleswig-Holstein) in Salamis, Kalli P, 2 x newbuild double-ended ferries, tug Christos XXXIII, Panagia Agiasou (retrieved from her grounding earlier this year), Aeolos Kenteris I, Aeolos Kenteris II, Agia Zoni II (see note 2. below)

Note 1.
Picture P1120934 shows on the left of the picture, in dry dock, the brand new, Greek built car ferry for Italian Railways (FS/Bluferries), the Okeanos 1, which is destined for use on the Straits of Messina when finally delivered.

Note 2.
Picture P1120934 also shows a listing ship to the left of the big red crane. This is Agia Zoni II, a small tanker which I'm told sank last September (2017) causing huge amounts of pollution. See:

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2017/09/13/tanker-oil-spill-piraeus-athens/

https://medium.com/athenslivegr/a-small-tanker-a-huge-disaster-and-a-nationwide-issue-32f34f4098d0

Her recovery was quite interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er4t8sgn77s


At Drapetsona: Alkyon, Anemos, Aqua Solution, Zakynthos 1 (Kefalonian Lines)

Golden Moon, ex Rasa Sayang, ex De Grasse, ex Bergensfjord (built 1956), which sank near Perama on 17th August 1980

At Piraeus: Paros Jet, Phivos, Knossos Palace, Nissos Rodos (arriving), Blue Star 1 or 2, Andreas Kalvos (arriving), Champion Jet 1


To be continued....