The merchant sea voyage and the shipping enterprise

Details about the 19th century merchant sailing ships, the adventures of the voyage, the dependence on the weather and all the uncertainties this brings, and life on the ship can be found in the ships’ logs that are exhibited.
The role of the newly founded Greek State in the merchant marine is evident from the official ships’ documents, such as the Port Register, Nationality Certification and Captains’ Diplomas, Seamen’s Books and Bills of Health.
Valuable information about how the shipping enterprise was managed is available in the various documents and ledgers that are also on display.

Also descriptions of the voyage and details about the cargo are found in the ships’ logs, ledgers and freight contracts. Unfortunately only a few of these records have survived.

In the Galaxidi sailing ships the owner was often the captain too. The voyage had a definite destination determined by the freight contract, but the length depended on the peculiarities of the sails, weather, sea currents, season. Apart from the Corinthian Gulf and the Ionian Sea, the larger Galaxidi ships sailed to all the ports of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Sea of Azov but also to northern Europe and across the Atlantic.

A picture of the 19th century sea trade can be drawn from the study of these documents.