BIKES AND BOATS

SALLY
This year has been one of the windiest sailing years we have experienced, but around the middle of the season, there was an unexpected 7 day lull forecast with the weather maps showing glass like conditions. In 2013 we had tried to sail to the Fourni islands not far from Samos, but we were forced to turn back when we hit the notorious windy strait between Samos and Fourni where the wind blows harder and the seas are rougher than anywhere else in the Aegean. Faced with these unexpected calm conditions, we swiftly changed our plans and set sail for this miniature archipelago of 13 pristine islands and reefs, many deserted. 

We had heard about the remote Fourni islands, untouched by tourism with fish rich turquoise waters and one of the largest fishing fleets in the Aegean, but the number and beauty of the traditional boats in the main harbor of Fourni overwhelmed us.

Life went on around us as if we were not there. Very few tourists, no other sailing boats, just fishermen going out, coming in, mending their nets, fixing their boats, bringing in their catch.

Traditional wooden Greek fishing boats have fascinated us seen we first started sailing. Some are so tiny they look like toy boats that belong in a child's bath tub, and some are large caique’s built for trawling. Almost all have beautiful elegant lines, some so low in the water that you wonder how they do not sink with even the smallest wave; some with top heavy cabins that make them look like they might tip. But most are perfectly proportioned with sweeping curved lines. All are built for a purpose and are practical, but they are usually fantastically colourful and are often decorated with creatures from the ocean or mythical figures. They sometimes have simple names of loved ones or evocative names of saints or ancient gods. 

We were excited to find out that a few years ago a shipwreck graveyard was discovered in the Fourni archipelago by a Greek American expedition. It is one of the most significant finds of ancient shipping vessels in Greece with a total of 45 shipwrecks dating between 525 BC and 1850 having been found, proving that this was part of a major Mediterranean shipping route for millennia. The area was known as a safe anchorage for ships, and it was noted on maps from the Ottoman Empire and the Royal Navy as a safe stopping point, but finds show that other ancient cultures stopped there too.

We had to leave as promptly as we came with a heavy blow forecast so we could not find out more, but for anyone who dives, Fourni is a must. Sailing out of Quarry Bay where we had anchored for the night, with 2000 year old marble columns and plinths from the quarry lying scattered around the bay, we hit a heavy wind that did not register on the forecast – perhaps testament to at least a few of the wrecks!

HENRY

Boats and bikes have been my passion since I can remember. I have sailed since I was 14 and was arrested for driving an illegal motor bike when I was 17. But, that is another story! Architecture is my other passion and one which is related in a design sense to the inspiration I get from both boats and motor bikes.

It took me a few years to recognize what it is about the design of bikes and boats that makes me so passionate about them. And a few more to learn that the principles can be applied to architecture.

A Michael Sutton design in Kefalonia blending with the landscape 

A simple church with no stylistic references made from materials found on site 

Contextually designed modernist house in Plomari by local architect Panagiotis Theodoridis

Both bikes (the best ones, and more often the older ones, at any rate!) and boats are designed with functionality as the core principle. Bicycles also qualify! Cars are ‘styled’ and usually don’t. I am suspicious of style as a design principle and I try to make sure that this works its way out in my architecture.

Essentially, there should be nothing on a motor bike or a boat that is not essential to its purpose. That does not preclude elements of style though. The figurehead of a ship, the painting of colours, ornate brass work and rope tying were all part of old ships. Of course the styling is important; it is how we judge the age of something. But it cannot be the basis of the design.

The Greek boats that we see on the islands are wonderful examples of a traditional design passed down through generations, for hundreds of years, to the present time. The designs have changed little, in essence from the days of sail; a transition to steam and then diesel.

We have visited boatyards where traditional boats are still made. There are no plans as there would be in a modern shipyard. The proportions of length to breadth and depth, the subtle curves of the timbers, are governed by a common understanding and knowledge amongst boat builders. The shape of the boat at the waterline makes it very easily driven but the overhangs on the sides helps to make it stable. The deck has a distinct curve designed to shed water that waves deposit on it and the sometimes boxy ‘cabin’ prevents water from getting below while allowing the skipper to get down into the hull, repair the engine and so on.

The motors of many of the fishing boats are single cylinder Lister engines, made in England and date from just after the Second World War. They can be repaired over and over again, just like the bikes.

Bikes on the islands provide transport for everyone. Young and old. Men and women. Families. Rich and poor. Everyone rides a bike through the narrow streets, up steep roads made in the days of animal transport. They are often ridden with great enthusiasm, almost always without helmets, but, it seems to us, with remarkable safety despite the fact that there are virtually no traffic police. The community itself will sanction the drivers that drive dangerously and the streets are safe for the children, as young as six or seven, that use the same spaces.

The bikes are certainly not examples of high design but rather of utility! They are sometimes in appalling condition and wouldn’t pass a roadworthy test. Often ‘chopped’ down to expose the very essence of the machine. They are not always easy to live with! Young boys exchange the silencers for megaphones that amplify the exhaust noise to make a 50cc bike sound like a 1200cc Harley Davidson. The noise really is a problem for us on occasion; conversation has to cease while some testosterone goes past!

But somewhere in all of this, Sally and I are captivated by these machines and find their simplicity and every day usefulness fascinating.