Advice for Charter in Greece

[Chuteman]

Originally Posted by Camp Director G

Anyone have any general advice for chartering in Greece? My wife (just married!) and I are looking to sail Mid-September to Mid-October for a month on our honeymoon in the Greek Islands. Cyclades is preferred but will consider elsewhere. (As a side note, we're always willing to barter for tuition at our summer camp for kids, so any owners in the Med, please contact me.) Our sailing level - ASA Certified bareboaters with catamaran cert - low hours on cruising sailboats but a lifelong boater and sailor. Any advice on companies, the area, difficulty of Cyclades, the time of year, etc. would be welcome.

Just back from 2 weeks in Greece mostly in Cyclades.
Mid-Sept to Mid Oct = great time to visit, less crowds but weather still good
Charter Length = gives You lots of flexibility & casual pace which will minimize any weather i.e.; meltemi delays
Charter Bases - either Alimos or Lavrion which are away from downtown Athens or Kos across from Turkey. Some companies even have boats positioned in the Cyclades which can be reached by Ferries

Charter companies
1) Egiali - small, friendly, flexible, will customize & find the right boat even by brokering with various owners - Just used them & have used in the past 2x
Egiali Yachting - Yacht Charter in Greece - A Unique Sailing Experience In Greece...
2) Dream Yacht Charter - very responsive & good pricing
DREAM YACHT CHARTER - Rent sail boat, catamaran renting, cabin cruise, rent boat, rant motor boat, yacht renting
3) Kavas - saw many of their boats at Alimos
Yacht charter Greece | Up to 35% discount | Sail Greece now!
4) Sunsail & Moorings - Both have bases in Lavrion
Websites available thru google
Many other companies

Difficulty - I would say medium, there will be some open water especially if weather kicks up but mostly you will be in sight of land/islands. Harbors/Anchorages have a broad range (no two are exactly the same) which requires some "techniques' and patience at times. Med Mooring still rules. A few have tailed mooring lines others require use of anchor while backing in.

Uncertainty - Greece has been there for thousands of years and will survive one way or the other - I would always strongly suggest a good Travel Insurance policy to protect your significant trip / investment anyway

Enjoy

[himnher]

We usually sail out of Poros with Greek Sails (Sailing holidays, yacht charter, flotilla holidays & sailing courses in Greece).

Poros is an hour south of Piraeus and one of the most attractive spots we've found in Greece, so makes a great start and end to a holiday and for us is well worth the extra hour to get over from Athens.

We often sail out to The Cyclades and last year crossed all the way to Patmos and back again. Alternatively if the wind is up, and Jul onwards is Meltemi season, you can duck around the corner of the Peloponnese into the Argolic which is wonderfully unspoilt and well sheltered in comparison to being out in the islands.

Last year we did an overnight run back from Sifnos to Poros to escape the strong winds (a little calmer at night, but still recorded over 40kn of wind), but then found the Saronic a little too quiet, but it makes the point about you being able to select your style of sailing; Saronic or Argolic for more shelter, south eastern Peloponnese or the Cyclades for more 'adventure'! :-)

[Ruiner]

I would recommend Greece as well. Just back from week+ charter. Interesting weather this year, Force 6-8 Meltemi for long periods in June-July. I have been there with Sunsail and now with Kavas. In case of Kavas, I would recommend having a travel insurance that covers cases like someone scratching your boat in harbor because of ferry wake. Positive side of relatively small operator like Kavas is the flexibility with dates and arrangements. Nasty side was this attempted milking of insurance company that ended up increasing our charter price. I saw many boats from Olympic Yachts on the islands and they all had solar panels which I think is great. Its annoying running the engine to keep fridge cool, especially when there's plenty of wind for sailing. Roller furling mainsail is also a major PITA and I can't understand who in they right mind would put something like that on a sailboat. We had a brand new sail on the 46 foot Bavaria and it was impossible to get it in good shape when beating into wind. Down wind it was OK, but that's only halve of the time...

In any case Greek islands are excellent destination and they don't extort you with excessive harbor fees like for example in Croatia (an other excellent destination, less the harbor and anchoring fees). Worrying about Euro crisis is little bit silly, it only shows in Athens in a way that you should not keep you wallet in your back pocket in busy places. Still I think you have about equal change to get robbed in Athens than in Barcelona or Paris.