Athens Bareboat in May

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by smarcus3

Good to know about the lack of dock space so thats a major reason to stick with a mono. How would you double up med moor?

A few of the crew haven't been to Athens before so starting / ending there allows us to see the acropolis and various sites at the end of the charter.

Was there 2 weeks ago. Space was limited but available now. May is similar in terms of crowd.

The tourist thing in Athens can be ‘done’ in 2 days or less and not worth spending much time in unless you like dirty, smelly cities.

[smarcus3]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Was there 2 weeks ago. Space was limited but available now. May is similar in terms of crowd.

The tourist thing in Athens can be ‘done’ in 2 days or less and not worth spending much time in unless you like dirty, smelly cities.

Thanks for the crowd update. So you'd think either is okay? Still trying to collect as much information as possible. With everyone's advice I'm leaning towards a mono. It does seem that some harbors have anchoring as an option as well when quickly reading.

Only planning on a day or two in Athens for sure.

[Bob_a_p]

A great choice and some of my favorite places.
During May I think you will possibly have difficulty with finding space in Spetse and Hydra during a weekend. It is still very early in the season and relatively empty.
If you do decide on a mono, I am pretty sure that the boat will come with a bow thruster but personally i would charter a cat.

[smarcus3]

Originally Posted by Bob_a_p

A great choice and some of my favorite places.
During May I think you will possibly have difficulty with finding space in Spetse and Hydra during a weekend. It is still very early in the season and relatively empty.
If you do decide on a mono, I am pretty sure that the boat will come with a bow thruster but personally i would charter a cat.

Appreciate the input.

Right now with that itinerary those would be Sunday / Monday night stops. Perhaps mix up the stops a bit to make them Monday / Tuesday instead.

I was hoping for a bit less hectic than high season so it would be easier as I've never Med Moored before. Plus a bit more empty makes a larger beam easier to accommodate on the quay I was thinking as well. But still open to your guys' thoughts

Thanks!!!

[Skipa]

You might like to try these guys (or get a price), plenty of experience but a newish company ... based in London but run by Greeks, contact Yianis, Yacht4Less at yacht4lessltd@gmail.com

You will need an RYA ICC certificate for nearly all rental companies. And it's also the one most of the harbour masters/port police recognise.

Definitely the mono (with bow thruster) route unless you are very experienced with Med mooring a cat!

Good luck ... it's a great time of the year and that close to Athens, it will be busy enough for you ...

[Goodall_M1]

Originally Posted by smarcus3

How would you double up med moor?

Never done it with a cat but with a mono you normally drop your kedge anchor over the stern and put your bow between the bows of two boats that are stern on to quay (Put some fenders on your bow first!). Your bowlines are then made fast on their bow cleats. It is also best to lower your bow anchor down to the waterline to prevent it catching on their pulpits or guard rails. To go three out then the next boat comes stern on to your stern, after dropping their bow anchor. The best piece of "creative parking" that I have ever encountered was when we managed to put a flotilla of 15 boats onto a ferry quay that would only hold 3. Three on the quay, 4 "herring boned" onto them, 4 stern on to them, and the last 4 "herring boned" to make the fourth row.

The fun comes when you all try to leave, and find yourself lifting someone else's anchor with yours (but then that is Med mooring for you). The trick is to lift their chain high enough with your anchor to get a line under their chain and cleat both sides of the line off on your cleats to hold their chain up. Now drop your anchor to get it clear of their chain and then bring it up again. The final stage is to drop the shorter end of your line to let the chain go back down. Retrieve your line and away you go.

N.B.

At Hydra there is another bay (Mandraki Bay) just a bit east of the harbour where you can anchor and then walk or get a water taxi around to the harbour.

At Spetses you can usually anchor at the mouth of Belitza Creek (the inlet east of the main town). Anchor on the eastern side and take a long line ashore or tie it off to the anchor chain of one of the derelict tankers that are laid up there.

At Poros the pontoon at the north eastern end of the harbour is anchored to the sea bed using a very heavy chain parallel to the pontoon and about 70 ft out from it. Catch that one with your bow anchor and your windlass won't lift it to the surface. We managed to dive down to it by using our anchor warp, put a line under the chain and release our anchor, but couldn't get the line free afterwards, so it is probably still down there!

Vathi is another VERY small harbour which it pays to get to early. I ended up diverting to Palio Epidavros on one trip as one of the Athens yacht clubs had staged a weekend rally to Vathi. One of my mates got in early but called us up to warn us that you could actually walk all over the harbour as the moored yachts went right across it in one big raft.

At Ermioni it is possible to anchor on either side of the promontory if you can't get in on the quay.

[sailormed]

I chartered a 50ft mono the first week of May this year and did roughly the same circuit. But with only half or a third of all the stops you plan.
If you want to enjoy your trip I would skip roughly half of your planned stops. Getting out of harbours "greek creatively filled" can take a lot of time. Unless you are the last to enter the harbour, then you will be first and early out.

[smarcus3]

Originally Posted by sailormed

I chartered a 50ft mono the first week of May this year and did roughly the same circuit. But with only half or a third of all the stops you plan.
If you want to enjoy your trip I would skip roughly half of your planned stops. Getting out of harbours "greek creatively filled" can take a lot of time. Unless you are the last to enter the harbour, then you will be first and early out.

Do you mind sharing your route? I believe I'll toss several stops to simplify for sure.

[smarcus3]

Originally Posted by Goodall_M1

Never done it with a cat but with a mono you normally drop your kedge anchor over the stern and put your bow between the bows of two boats that are stern on to quay (Put some fenders on your bow first!). Your bowlines are then made fast on their bow cleats. It is also best to lower your bow anchor down to the waterline to prevent it catching on their pulpits or guard rails. To go three out then the next boat comes stern on to your stern, after dropping their bow anchor. The best piece of "creative parking" that I have ever encountered was when we managed to put a flotilla of 15 boats onto a ferry quay that would only hold 3. Three on the quay, 4 "herring boned" onto them, 4 stern on to them, and the last 4 "herring boned" to make the fourth row.

The fun comes when you all try to leave, and find yourself lifting someone else's anchor with yours (but then that is Med mooring for you). The trick is to lift their chain high enough with your anchor to get a line under their chain and cleat both sides of the line off on your cleats to hold their chain up. Now drop your anchor to get it clear of their chain and then bring it up again. The final stage is to drop the shorter end of your line to let the chain go back down. Retrieve your line and away you go.

N.B.

At Hydra there is another bay (Mandraki Bay) just a bit east of the harbour where you can anchor and then walk or get a water taxi around to the harbour.

At Spetses you can usually anchor at the mouth of Belitza Creek (the inlet east of the main town). Anchor on the eastern side and take a long line ashore or tie it off to the anchor chain of one of the derelict tankers that are laid up there.

At Poros the pontoon at the north eastern end of the harbour is anchored to the sea bed using a very heavy chain parallel to the pontoon and about 70 ft out from it. Catch that one with your bow anchor and your windlass won't lift it to the surface. We managed to dive down to it by using our anchor warp, put a line under the chain and release our anchor, but couldn't get the line free afterwards, so it is probably still down there!

Vathi is another VERY small harbour which it pays to get to early. I ended up diverting to Palio Epidavros on one trip as one of the Athens yacht clubs had staged a weekend rally to Vathi. One of my mates got in early but called us up to warn us that you could actually walk all over the harbour as the moored yachts went right across it in one big raft.

At Ermioni it is possible to anchor on either side of the promontory if you can't get in on the quay.

Thanks for all the details. Appreciate it. Going to order the Greek Waters Pilot: 13th Edition by Rod Heikell shortly.

[DEAN2140]

The Sardonica Gulf is nice and easy sailing with moderate winds. No drama. Our favorite stop was Poros. (I tried to attach a photo but no luck.) We actually anchored near the main part of town and it was lovely, with the sunset lighting up the city. This double and triple med mooring is new to me.....and I hope it stays that way!

[Rver]

Greetings from Ociatannie, France, if you've room for a single [my family don't share my love of sailing :-(] I could be available in May to share costs and my RYA & ICC certification. Please PM me if interested.

[spaman]

Originally Posted by alex_sauvage

You are hitting all right places. It is a bit ambitious , but in May days are long and crowds are thin, so you might be OK. I would choose monohull for this trip: you will be at the dock every night and it will be easier to find space for monohull. Just make sure it got bowtruster for Medmooring.

how can you use a bowthruster with your anchor down? I have been in Greece for 11 years and the only time the bowthruster can give real assistance is when getting into my berth at the marina if windy.
Rafting up is always a possibility when harbours are full (whether your neighbours like it or not). A "space" can usually be found if you are creative.
Crossing anchors/chains is a way of life in many of the small ports, so make sure any boat has a chain hook to avoid having to dive in dodgy waters.

[sailormed]

Originally Posted by smarcus3

Do you mind sharing your route? I believe I'll toss several stops to simplify for sure.

I was skipper on a boat of the ECC sailing regatta in May of this year.
You will find the planned route in bulletin 5 on the ECC Sailing website.

https://eccsailing.files.wordpress.c...bulletin-5.pdf

There is more information on the eecsailing website.
Be aware of the Athens TSZ when in the gulf!
Hope this helps.

[smarcus3]

Originally Posted by sailormed

I was skipper on a boat of the ECC sailing regatta in May of this year.
You will find the planned route in bulletin 5 on the ECC Sailing website.

https://eccsailing.files.wordpress.c...bulletin-5.pdf

There is more information on the eecsailing website.
Be aware of the Athens TSZ when in the gulf!
Hope this helps.

Thanks for sharing. Whats TSZ?

How busy where the ports in May? Espically Spetses and Hydra. Thanks!!!!!

[alex_sauvage]

Originally Posted by smarcus3

Thanks for sharing. Whats TSZ?

How busy where the ports in May? Espically Spetses and Hydra. Thanks!!!!!

Traffic Separation Zone: sort of highway for big boats. Runs parallel to the coast , sort of, around Athens. Just cross it quickly and watch out for ships.