Athens Bareboat in May

[slcsail]

We chartered a 42 foot catamaran in mid June this year and anchored at Hydra and Poros. Both are beautiful and you cant go wrong. We managed to find space for the cat without trouble but the key is getting there early. Boats are generally leaving harbor at 10 am so you have to time your entrance for that. It is invaluable to have hands on the boat to fend off when you are getting into tight spaces. I thought the maneuverability of the cat is a big plus. Not even a scratch on our moorings. Poros has some great inlets on the north side where the kids went cliff jumping...but they brought along their climbing shoes, so not recommended for non-climbers.

Keep the itinerary simple and enjoy the ports. You will have a great time.

[bensolomon]

I have chartered from Athens to the Cyclades. My advice based on my experience, and some echoing of others:

1. Heikel book...mandatory reading.
2. Cut your stops in half, and enjoy the few places you stay.
3. Spend two or three land days after charter in Athens in a hotel. Don't "waste" those days on the boat. Marina is awful and can be super hot.
4. Pay the extra fee and do a one way charter. This way you can see more and relax the pace.
5. Use the fast ferry system to island hop, where possible. Much faster than sailing around. You'll get to see and do more.
6. Get your own charts for the regions you are visiting before you go. Imray is the publisher.
7. The Meltemi ( usually later in the summer) has a thermal component. It gets worse as the day heats up, and peaks mid afternoon. If you find yourself in that situation, leave early in the morning, as in first light towards your next destination to minimize the impact of the wind and sea.
8. I second the monohull, if you're not used to a cat for many reasons. Berthing being primary reason, and familiarity a second. The Med isn't the Caribbean, and not a great place to learn cat sailing and maneuvering. If you do get a cat, most importantly, reef by the numbers. There should be a placard on the boat describing wind speeds and what reefing configuration to use. Honor that and you will be fine.
9. Enjoy your trip!!!!

I apologize for the verbosity. I honestly didn't think I would ramble so much.

Ben

[ErnestV]

Originally Posted by joeelliott

I'm not sure but I think you need a RYA certificate to charter in Europe. You should check with the charter company. I have chartered with the Moorings for over 30 years and was told that I wouldn't be able to charter with them in Europe. Just a heads up before flying in and having to have the additional expense of a captain.

Nope, RYA is not required.

Basically it is the insurance companies requiring that the charterer needs to hold an ICC for at least 20nm (200nm are better), and a second member of the crew must have reasonably proof to be able to get the boat into the next harbour.
The charter companies themselves look more into your sailing record than at your licenses, however the insurers' requests need to be fulfilled. You should send the charter company an image of your license and ask them about their usual proceedings.

Chartering from Athens is fine, the Saronic Gulf is a wonderful area, maybe still a bit cold in May for swinning. You might look for an alternative to start from Lavrion which is just around Cape Sounion, providing a fine starting base for either the Saronics or the Aegean.

Finally consider the mooring habits of us Meds we're used to back into the slip, method called "roman catholic" for what reason ever

[ErnestV]

Originally Posted by smarcus3

It does seem that some harbors have anchoring as an option as well when quickly reading.

A side note and a small story on using bow anchor in greek marinas...

Some marinas will never be finished. Most of them plan, in the first stage, to offer mooring lines and install quite heavy chains as a base for the moorings. Being greek they then either change minds, change ownership, or "didn't yet get around to", or simply forgot to continue - with the outcome that using your bow anchor is prone to be caught by the mooring chain.

Have been victim to this myself in the "new" marina at Mykonos a couple of years ago. Meltemi blowing us in circles around an anchor that was tangled in the mooring chain. Not funny but managed to dive it free after a couple of hours.

What I learnt: whenever using the bow anchor in a marina or harbour I go for an inspection snorkel before leaving so I can be sure that my anchor will become free when I need it. Marinas are usually not too deep so in case the anchor got caught by a chain it would be possible to skin dive down and free it manually.

[ErnestV]

Originally Posted by smarcus3

Going to order the Greek Waters Pilot: 13th Edition by Rod Heikell shortly.

The best idea you might have when boating in Greece!

[Medea]

In May the water is a bit chilly for swimming but definitely no crowds.
Spetses and Hydra are more expensive and the less friendly of the islands you mention with challenges in mooring
Kea to the east of Cape Sounion (Poseidon's Temple) is a nice town quay to spend the night
Beautiful bay on the south east of Kithnos (south of Kea) to anchor in with absolute peace and quiet.
Enjoy

[Edu Flint]

Hi, Smarcus! Nice choice! We cruised the Saronic Gulf just past May also and was delightful!: no crowds at all (specially during the week, more boats at ports at the weekends), incredible landscapes, healthy and cheap food, warm people and relaxing sailing!!
I wrote an article for a nautical magazine. It is in spanish but sure google can help you with the translation:

https://www.expansion./nauta360/turi...a628b4762.html

We also made a video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oOEehnRfVQ8&t=20s

Enjoy the ride! Fair winds!

[Imkalaur]

We did Saronic in May and the water was quite brisk. No problems getting into marinas or long line ashore. Loved Epidavros and Erimoni.

Re licensing, something formal is required. ICC, SLC, or IPC.

* ICC hard for Americans to get b/c very very few RYA schools in America (one in Florida, a few in Canada).
* SLC www.nauticed.org/SLC. Can bypass the stair step process of ASA/US Sailing and just do the work/assessment
* IPC. Complete 101-104 and convert 104 into IPC. Uses training vs assessment paradigm.