GREECE PELOPONNESE LAKONIA SKALA TRINISA

Ancient Trinisa

At Trinisa, north of Gytheion and close to the beach is a signposted archaeological site. It may be identical with the ancient settlement of Trinassos (or: Trinasus = "Three Islands") which was mentioned by Pausanias. It could have been the fortified harbour of Gytheion, but so far I could not find more information about the site. The walls in the very limited area indicate a quite late origin, probably Roman.

Shipwreck of Trinisa

Close to the archaeological site is the famous shipwreck of the "Dimitrios", a 67-meter freight ship built in 1950. It has been stranded on the beach of Valtaki since December 23, 1981.

One rumor relates that the ship was used to smuggle cigarettes. After being seized by the port authorities of Gytheion it was then deliberately stranded. Another less common rumor speaks of a ghost ship of unknown origins. The true story is a bit different ...

The former Chief of the Hellenic Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Christos Dounis (1935–2010), writes in his book "The shipwrecks of the Greek seas" that the ship made an emergency docking at Gythio on 4 December 1980 because her captain needed access to a hospital due to a serious illness. However, after the ship's docking, financial problems arose with the crew, as did various engine problems, coupled with insurance measures imposed by various lenders. The crew was then fired and the task of safeguarding the ship was assigned to Georgios Daniil and Vasilis Parigoris.

The ship was docked at Gythio until June 1981, when she was declared unsafe due to wear on the docking ropes and starboard list due to water entering her hull. The port authorities asked for her to be moved to an anchorage outside the port for safety reasons, but the owners did not respond until November 1981. The book states that "at approximately 12:30 p.m. on the 9th of November 1981 the ship was swept about 2 [nautical] miles [3.7 km] away due to severe weather conditions and it was temporary anchored". But the temporary anchorage did not last for long, as the ship was swept away again and finally stranded at its current location on the beach at Valtaki on 23 December 1981. The ship was then simply abandoned there and no attempts were made to recover her.