Chartering a Sailboat in Greece

[Ted Hoppe]

She is worth 7k tops in this market. I would gladly rent her to you cheap if I get her for the right price.

I have a place in France to keep her about a hour outside Paris. A friend of mine could register it in France for us. I am sure someone else on the forum from the EU has an easy idea on what we could do too.

[Joe (SoCal)]

Free market I can ask what I want. Right now it’s more valuable to me to have kids learn to sail on the Hudson for the foreseeable future

[Nicholas Carey]

^^ When we pulled out of the Roadtown marina in the BVI on the Frers 50 that drew probably 8’, I was on bow watch and I hollered excitedly to my buddy on the helm that I could see bottom! He said the depth sounder showed 60’. I said we didn’t yet know if the sounder was accurate. Turns out it was, but coming from the PNW waters, if you can see bottom, you’re probably already aground.

Sailing into Eagle Harbor and Winslow one day, I cut the corner at Wing Point, well inside of the red channel marker.

I figured, "It's well above low water, and we only draw 6 feet. What's the worst that could happen?"

It was touch and go for a bit. Thin water, and there's a lot of big rocks on the bottom.

Don't do that.

[stromborg]

Sailing into Eagle Harbor and Winslow one day, I cut the corner at Wing Point, well inside of the red channel marker....Thin water, and there's a lot of big rocks on the bottom.

Don't do that.

Deceptive isn't it? Boats get stuck on one side or the other of the channel on a regular basis. That shoal off Wing Point comes up fast!

[Andrew2]

Joe, while out there, I picked up a copy of 'Gates of the Wind' a guys experiences in the 60s around the Outer Sporades with the people and way of life. He eventually built a house over a bay and we moored just below it.

Amazon has it. The title referes to the winds (Meltami) that blow from the north past the islands.

And... Ken Duxbury wrote the Lugworm Chonicles about cruising the islands in a Drascombe in the 70s. The three books are now in one from Lodestar Books in UK.

I also see that there is a house/Drascombe combo for rent down there.

[JanB]

https://www.sailingchoices.com/ has very good write-ups of all the sailing areas in Greece and the rest of the Med. We booked through Jeremy this past summer and he was always available to give sound advise to first-timers.
The chartering industry in Greece was started by the British, so the default minimum qualification is usually RYA Day Skipper, but ICC is also good. Check with the charter company how strict they and the authorities in their area are.
Charter boats in Greece start from about 34'. I cannot see why two people would need anything bigger.
Don't ignore flotilla as a stress-free option. Our flotilla had two very experienced ocean racing sailors who preferred flotilla's for a family vacation.

[George.]

Hi Joe.

One suggestion.

The Aegean is full of incredible islands with amazing things to see and do. Your first temptation might be to plan to visit a bunch of the best ones. Don't do it. The best way to enjoy a week on a sailboat, IMO, is to plan short legs. Stuff you can get done in a few hours even if there is too much or too little wind. Legs that will leave you time to relax, go ashore, etc., even if coming into the anchorage, anchoring, securing the ship, etc., takes longer than anticipated, and even if you didn't start as early as you planned.

Pick an area with a bunch of short sails, maybe one or two longer ones, and enjoy it at a sailing pace. Then fly or take a ferry to that must-see island 50 miles to windward.