Yesterday we made history at Freds!

[Loopylooloo]

Yesterday Fred Olsens Braemar made history by being the longest ship to sail through the Corinth Canal, sadly I was not there to see it, I was at my desk! . There were some amazing photos being shared of how close to the sides it was, and afterwards they had a big greek themed deck party.

If it works, here is a short video of this epic feat -

[mickey house]

I admit my ignorance because I had never heard of the Corinth canal until I googled it. It does look impressive.

[Loopylooloo]

The Corinth Canal is a 6.3 kilometre-long (3.9 miles) cutting through the Isthmus of Corinth which saves small ships a journey of about 700 kilometres (430 miles) between the Saronic Gulf and the Aegean Sea.

The first proposal for a canal was made in the 7th century BC, but the technology simply didn’t exist then for a successful cutting to be made. Julius Caesar also wanted to build a canal through the isthmus, but his assassination got in the way before plans could be drawn up. The Intention to build a canal at Corinth was a bad omen for Roman Emperors as Nero actually travelled to the area to dig the first sod of his canal project, and he had 6000 slaves continue his good work, although they were expected to toil at a much harder pace than the mad Emperor, but Nero died shortly afterwards, and his canal plans were also shelved – although the slaves did manage to get quite a good start on the project, as the modern canal follows the same route as Nero’s.

The canal was finally finished in 1893, after several companies went broke trying to build it. The Corinth Canal was eventually completed by a Hungarian company that had done a lot of work on the Panama Canal, so had some idea about what they were doing.

Although the Canal was adequate for 18th century ships to sail through, it is only 24 metres wide and too narrow for most modern ships, but about 11,000 smaller vessels do navigate through the Canal each year. The Corinth Canal has very steep sides, and the walls are 52 metres high at its highest point.

The Canal has submersible bridges at each end. So that traffic can pass, and when a vessel approaches, the bridges are cleared of traffic and submerged to allow the boats to cross them.

In 2010 Australian motorcycle daredevil Robbie Maddison discovered a new way to cross the Corinth Canal; he simply jumped over it on a motorbike. This method is not recommended for everyone.

[smithlane]

I too had not heard of the Corinth Canal but wow that’s very impressive! I bet the Captain was holding his breath the entire time 😅

[Loopylooloo]

Originally Posted by smithlane

I too had not heard of the Corinth Canal but wow that’s very impressive! I bet the Captain was holding his breath the entire time 😅

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I think everyone did!

I thought I was the only one who holds breath when driving through something narrow!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Loopylooloo

I think everyone did!

I thought I was the only one who holds breath when driving through something narrow!

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I hold my breath and clench my butt cheeks 😂

[Omega1]

Great video, thanks for sharing. A few years ago we went through the old locks on the Panama Canal on a Panamax ship. There were literally inches to spare on each side but not as spectacular as the Corinth Canal.

[Mexy02]

Wowsers , did they have to get permission to go through ? Looks spectacular

[Guest]

I see that ship in the North Sea going to Hamburg and Scandinavia quite a bit.

I enjoy watching the shipping lane down to Hamburg, sad but true, lol ...

[Loopylooloo]

Originally Posted by Cuxi

I see that ship in the North Sea going to Hamburg and Scandinavia quite a bit.

I enjoy watching the shipping lane down to Hamburg, sad but true, lol ...

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We are going on her next year to Scandinavia, Oslo, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Kristiansund 8 nights, cannot wait. Hopefully wont need to hold my breath or clench my buttocks!