Hi. My wife and I are thinking about a 4-week cruise from Kos to Athens
in June. We have sailed throughout BVI and in the New York area, but
this would be our longest bareboat to-date. Does anyone have experience
and/or information about the best charter companies, times of the year,
and level of difficulty we are likely to experience in Greece?
Appreciate any tips/advice.
Thanks very much for any pointers!
Thilo

Hi, I single-handed from southern Spain to Turkey last summer, with a brief
visit to Kos. Currently my boat is at Crete/Greece.
I would say best time of the year is September, low season charges, marinas
less crowded, weather still excellent.
You may experience some beating into the prevailing winds en route from Kos
to Athens.
I have experienced some unpredictable winds, both in strength and direction,
I frequently have a reefed main sail. People told me about the calm Med, and
lots of motoring, but that is not my 2005 season experience.
Enjoy your sailing!
Martin
--
Martin's temporary email account at Bell Canada

"Captain-T" skrev i meddelandet
ups.com...
Hi. My wife and I are thinking about a 4-week cruise from Kos to Athens
in June. We have sailed throughout BVI and in the New York area, but
this would be our longest bareboat to-date. Does anyone have experience
and/or information about the best charter companies, times of the year,
and level of difficulty we are likely to experience in Greece?
Appreciate any tips/advice.
Thanks very much for any pointers!
Thilo

"Captain-T" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi. My wife and I are thinking about a 4-week cruise from Kos to
Athens
in June. We have sailed throughout BVI and in the New York area,
but
this would be our longest bareboat to-date. Does anyone have
experience
and/or information about the best charter companies, times of
the year,
and level of difficulty we are likely to experience in Greece?
Appreciate any tips/advice.
Thanks very much for any pointers!
Thilo

Four weeks, straightforward. We did a lovely cruise from Kalamata
to the Dodecanese and back in five weeks in May/Jun 2004 in a 40ft
boat, just two of us. We are experienced sailors.

Weather: Call it either settled, or unsettled. Settled is good
news - blue skies, predictable winds of varying strength from the
north, light at night, up to 6 (maximum) in the day (usually 4 at
that time of the year, or light!), very similar to winter BVI.
Unsettled meant there were big areas of clouds, in which case you
couldn't reliably predict the wind. That is about 20% of the time.
Local forecasts always gave a worst scenario (shudder) but that
only cracked in about 30% of (that) time. Bad news when it did.
Timing of winds is difficult in the Med climate. Some fronts
(luckily very rare in June) can be short and vicious. Rather like
the summer passage of a more vicious period of showers in the BVI,
but much cooler!

So, great sailing, with some winds heavier than you might hope
for. You will have some windward time, so broadly, to be
comfortable in the Aegean, you need to think 36ft or more, fin
keeled. Two aboard is OK, with an autopilot is easy. Four without
is very easy. Easy reefing (rolling main and rolling jib) is very
nice. Winds do change quite quickly.

You won't need to plan night passages. And some places are worth
planning to stay at for two nights - giving you a day ashore to
poke around. Taxis (and car hire) are cheap. Try wine tours in
Thyra (Santorini). Burying yourself in the local atmosphere at
Syros. Gawping at the glitterati in Mykonos. Or the hundreds of
offbeat and quiet anchorages in most of the islands.

Chartering among the bigger companies in Greece is very
competitive, good news for the punter. Sunsail and Moorings both
charter out of Kos - that's the top end of the price range. When
we were there, Kiraikoulis was a good alternative; google for
'yacht charter Kos' fo further info, but only the bigger companies
do one way yacht charters.

You'll find no marinas en route. It's all mooring bows to or stern
to, using kedge or anchor to hold you off the town quay. The town
quay is mostly a great spot - middle of the village, full of life,
cafes, restaurants nearby. Port police play a game with you -
you're meant to book in and out with every port you visit, but
they have arrangements with most charter companies to simplify
life. You'll be briefed on the spot. On my trip I only had to
check in and out of harbour about five times on 20 overnight
stops - and I wasn't a charter vessel.

More needed?

JimB
jim(at)jimbaerselman(dot)f2s(dot)com

"Captain-T" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi. My wife and I are thinking about a 4-week cruise from Kos to Athens
in June. We have sailed throughout BVI and in the New York area, but
this would be our longest bareboat to-date. Does anyone have experience
and/or information about the best charter companies, times of the year,
and level of difficulty we are likely to experience in Greece?
Appreciate any tips/advice.
Thanks very much for any pointers!
Thilo

You might also try posting this question on the uk.rec.sailing newsgroup as
this is a popular charter destination for UK and other European sailors.
They may have better insight into smaller charter companies.

Thank you so much -- this is great info! We'll plan on 40ft probably,
with easy reefing set-up, and also take your recommendations on the
days ashore.

How did you find the privacy of the bows to / stern to arrangement?
We're only used to the more-private set up in the Caribbean...

Cheers,
Thilo

Captain-T a écrit:

Hi. My wife and I are thinking about a 4-week cruise from Kos to Athens
in June.

I'd rather do the contrary : Athens to Kos.
From Kos to Athens in June, you should mostly experience N-W winds, i.e.
right-in-the-nose winds all along the journey. Be aware that these winds
can be very strong around certain islands and that the Mediterranean is
not the Atlantic ocean (waves are shorter and more difficult to manage
for a similar wind force).
Except in case of a big piece of luck (no Meltem wind in June this
year), this will be a tiring trip with the risk to stay blocked for some
days in a island or another, waiting for the wind goes down. I have
escorted many boats (including mine) from Turkey to Athens in this
season and this happened to me several times. Conversely, Athens to Kos
should be a very pleasant trip with the wind (and the sea) backward most
of time.

We have sailed throughout BVI and in the New York area, but
this would be our longest bareboat to-date. Does anyone have experience
and/or information about the best charter companies,

In this area, the best charter companies are to me Kiriacoulis (Greek)
and Sunsail (international). I don't now whether they operate in Kos
today. Avoid small Greek companies, they are unsecure (specially when
you are depending on precise dates for flights).

times of the year,

End of May-very begining of June. End of September-very begining of
October (with shortest days than the former period).
But in 2005, there have been very strong winds in June and a pleasant
wheather in July and most of August, again strong winds at the end of
september and also, some days, till the end of October. This is unusual
but this can happen.

and level of difficulty we are likely to experience in Greece?

Navigation during the day is not difficult (very few dangers, no tides,
no strong currents). The only difficulty is the wind (and in some places
the sea) when you go North or North-West and night trips (very scarse
and tiny lights, a lot of speedy ferries and cruise vessels).

Appreciate any tips/advice.
Thanks very much for any pointers!

You're wellcome

--
Peio

"Captain-T" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thank you so much -- this is great info! We'll plan on 40ft
probably,
with easy reefing set-up, and also take your recommendations on
the
days ashore.

How did you find the privacy of the bows to / stern to
arrangement?
We're only used to the more-private set up in the Caribbean...

Bows to gives you greater privacy (and it's easier to manouevre
into a slot between two other boats!) but not all charter boats
are set up to run out a stern anchor.

Yes, when you're stern to, your cockpit becomes part of the
quayside life. People come and gawp, ask about the boat, whatever.
And your neighbours are just a fender's width away from you. I
enjoy this, but I can imagine some people find it a bit intrusive.
Watching other arrivals is great entertainment, better than
television. And there are lots of people handy to take your ropes.

Departures are another matter. As your neighbours depart, watch
your anchor line to make sure nobody lifts it. If they do, you'll
be providing half an hour's entertainment yourself. So don't leave
your boat untended at the quay unless you're sure the guys next
door won't be leaving while you're away, alternatively, you're
sure they're well clear of your ground tackle.

Luckily, (except around some of the marinas near Athens, the usual
'big city' problem) security is not an issue in Greece. In some 25
years sailing in the area I've only heard of four or five episodes
of theft, and none affected me. Many people don't even lock their
boats. For me, this is one of the most attractive features of the
country.

JimB

"Pierre Aubineau" wrote in
message

I'd rather do the contrary : Athens to Kos.
From Kos to Athens in June, you should mostly experience N-W
winds, i.e.
right-in-the-nose winds all along the journey. Be aware that
these winds
can be very strong around certain islands and that the
Mediterranean is
not the Atlantic ocean (waves are shorter and more difficult to
manage
for a similar wind force).

Pierre is correct, the wind is more favourable going W to E. But
there are strategies for coping with the other direction if you
prefer, especially when you have four weeks to play with.

From Kos, initially work north through the Dodecanese up to
Patmos. The winds are lighter here, the sea well sheltered, and
the legs are shorter. Also, Patmos is well worth the visit (as are
Pandeli harbour, on Leros, and Lipsi).

If you set your heart on Thyra (Santorini) though, you'll have
some beating to windward to get north again (first to Ios, only 25
miles away). At that stage if the wind's not too uncomfortable you
can keep on working NW to Paros, Syros and Kithnos. If the wind's
a bit heavy, go Folegandros, Milos, then take a long trip (65nm)
to Monemvassia, on the SE corner of the Peloponese (a wonderful
mediaeval village, and visit the ruins on the top of the peninsula
if your lungs and heart can stand it). Working north from here is
with the (locally) prevailing winds, so fairly straightforward.

Your best pilot book for the area is 'Greek Water's Pilot' by Rod
Heikell, published by Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd in UK. I
believe the ninth edition is the currect one, but try
www.imray.com/

It's going to be worth your while doing the reseach for the trip
before hand!

JimB

Thank you JimB! You've just made us feel a lot better about the East to
West direction, which we really want to try, especially given the time
that we have. Thanks also for the pilot book tip.
All the best!
Thilo

Captain-T a écrit:

Thank you JimB! You've just made us feel a lot better about the East to
West direction, which we really want to try

I'll cruise in my boat not far from Kos next June.
I'll think in you, looking at the forecast in my computer
Good luck !

--
Peio