Methóni

BV with her new riding sail   

Anchored off the Venetian fort at Methóni with a forecast of rising winds, we decided to dig out our sewing machine and the new sail cloth that we had bought in Porto Kheli. It took the entire afternoon but by the end of it we had a strong riding sail. The thinking is that most modern yachts have too much windage forward because of furling headsails which causes them to shear around when at anchor in strong winds. In >20 knot winds BV certainly has this characteristic and we have found watching the weight of the yacht pulling at the anchor from ± 30˚ disconcerting. The new riding sail certainly works and BV sat very steady, pointing directly into a 25-knot wind whilst we watched the white yacht to our right shear around and snatch at her anchor.

Town square and Venetian well   

Making the riding sail meant that we missed the opening times for the castle and so we left our trip ashore until the following day, Friday 21 April. We left our dinghy in the corner of the old harbour and walked under the castle walls to the modern town. There’s a pleasant looking square lined with cafés and tucked away is an old Venetian well.

Moat and 14 arch stone bridge over it   

The main attraction, however, is the castle. As with the castle at Koróni, this one was perfectly positioned on the main east-west trading route and it played an important role in keeping Venice informed of activities. Over the years, it too flipped between being controlled by the Venetians and the Ottomans. The earliest constructions in the castle date from the First Venetian Rule (13^th-15^th century) and it was continually improved, not least of which, to try to strengthen the walls to allow them to withstand the impact of cannon balls after gunpowder was used in warfare.

The stone 14 arch bridge over the moat we walked across to enter, replaced a previous wooden one and it is believed that the stone bridge was built quite late on by the French expeditionary force under General Maison (1828-1830).

The wide moat was dug during the Second Venetian Rule (1686-1715). It was extended to the sea line in an unsuccessful attempt to get the sea to fill the moat and isolate the castle from the mainland.

Piazza d’Armi   

Once through the main gateway we found ourselves in a wide, open area. Surrounded by narrow streets of wooden buildings, this great “Piazza d’Armi” was a focal point for the social life in the city during both Venetian and Ottoman rule. In its centre still stands a purple granite column (3.67m high) known of as the “Shipwreck of the Columns” which had been recovered from an early Christian shipwreck nearby.

Several of the buildings have been sympathetically restored giving an idea of the scale and grandeur of the castle. We also visited 2 hamams (Turkish bath houses) and could see the base of a large tower; possibly a minaret from a mosque. As we walked along the path across the centre of the “Piazza d’Armi” we were surrounded by swallows and swifts and similar birds. There were hundreds of them, all chasing tiny insects which we could not see. It was truly quite an amazing spectacle.

Turkish tower   

The castle area is very large and it took a while to walk around the whole site. The highlight, however, was walking out to see the Turkish tower. Construction of the tower started just before 1500 by the Venetians but it was completed by the Ottomans during the 16^th century. The surrounding walls and battlements were added during the Second Venetian Rule (1685-1715). Most likely it was used as a lookout tower for guards but possibly also as a lighthouse, prison, or potentially bastion of final resort in times of siege.

Whilst we were ashore we checked the weather and decided to move BV in the anchorage. Overnight the wind was due to be light but it would veer through 180 degrees which would push us towards the shore. We had dropped the anchor in quite shallow water, safe in the knowledge that, at the time, the wind was going to blow from the northwest for a couple of days and therefore blow us away from the shore. With the wind forecast to come from the southeast, we didn’t want to be blown too close to the shore, potentially running aground, so moving into the middle of the outer harbour area where there was lots of swinging room was the sensible plan.

That gave us a slightly different perspective on the castle and we were spoilt with a beautiful sunset.

Methóni, Greece