Evripos Canal (Khalkis/Chalcis) : Profile

Location

Between Euboea (Evia) Island and mainland Greece, the Khalkis bridge only opens at slack tide or when ships can pass with a following tide, as there is a very strong current at other times.

The bridge usually only opens at night, and sometimes not at all on a Friday. Cruisers also report it is now closed on Sunday night. It is recommended to contact the Port Authority (Tel: 22210 28888) to avoid unecessary delays in transiting.

The town of Khalkis is the capital of Evia and its waterfront an attractive area. Evia is a beautiful island and well worth a visit by car if you are stuck waiting and seek some alternative to sailing.

Last updated May 2011.

Clearance

The Port Police office is on the east side of the bridge on Evia itself. Go straight ahead after crossing the bridge on foot, past a large blue "Parking" sign. The Port Police building is about 50 meters up on the right side but the entrance is hard to find because it is up a small, unlikely looking alley just before you get to the building. This may change once all the surrounding building work is completed.

It is necessary to go with your boat papers to the Port Police to notify them of your request to go through the bridge and to pay the fee. Once you have done this, call them on Ch 12 at a specified time to find out the specific time of bridge opening (at slack water between the hours of 2200 and 0400). The Port Police will call you by boat name when they want you to proceed. You need to be up and ready with anchor weighed because you only have 10 minutes maximum to pass through once they have called.

The toll for the Calcis bridge is about 20 euro (Euro 18.60 for a 14.6 meter boat on a Saturday night, July 2009). This includs the additional charge of 25% for night-time passage (yachts are only allowed through at night). There is an additional charge of 75% for passage on a Sunday or holiday.

Docking

Anchor south of the bridge under the fort with good holding. Take the dinghy ashore on the jetty north of the bridge on the west side. NOTE: there is about a 2.5ft tidal range here at springs.

There are good shops ashore and water on the quay.
NOTE: It has been reported that there are a large number of rats about in this area.

It is not so clear where to stop to go through the formalities on the way back south. The jetty to the north on the east side is often very busy and the nearest anchorage is two miles or so away.

Additional Note: The direction of the buoyage changes here - the bridge itself is the port.

Last updated August 2009.

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