Buying a yacht in Greece to live aboard for a year - May 2019

[OZ-Sailor]

Hi all. I'm a 51yo long time sailor living in Sydney Australia. I have done both extensive recreational and some commercial sailing in the past (held Coxswain Cert 1 - NSW, skippering yachts on Sydney Harbour for a few years).

I am planning on taking a year's sabbatical you could say to sail the Greek Islands, commencing May 2019. I spent 6 weeks bumming around there in my early twenties and it's always been my dream to return.

I'd love some advice on where would be a good place to purchase a used 36' - 42' mono-hull with a max budget up to 45,000 euros to spend on the boat, with as little work needed to be done on her as possible. I will sell her when I wish to either move on to my next adventure or return to Australia.

I intend to fly over to Greece and can take my time to find a good buy once I have an idea where to start.

Also, I am only now clue-ing myself up on the licensing & VAT requirements so any tips and advice on this would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Nicholson58]

Check out the many threads discussing Shengen restrictions on extended stay in the EU. The basic tenant is you may only be in the EU 90 of any consecutive 180 days. There are boaters who ignore this, some who have work-arounds.

[greybeardloon]

Shengen is interesting, 90 days is pretty limiting. Skipping out into Turkey is a good way to extend. If you’re intending to register the boat the AMSA process is quite bureaucratic, expensive and slow. Like 1300 odd dollars. That’s required if you’re gonna sail it back to here. Plus for an MMSI number. I’m guessing you’ve got a radio licence and an ICC? Things break and get expensive. Insurance is a good idea and checked when you dock at a marina. Are you single handing or with crew? The Med is really seasonal. Summer is beautiful and stable. Winter is no joke. Short, sharp wavelengths compared to Sydney’s rolling swell. Gales that are pretty sudden. Having said all that, it’s absolutely amazing. Letsjustgosailing is my Instagram account if you want to see some stuff I’ve seen and sailed through. Mostly Turkey and the Dodecanese/Cyclades. Heading back from Sydney in Feb. If you’re just there temporarily how would you feel about chartering a boat- try something out to see if you like it. Just a thought.

[OZ-Sailor]

Thanks Nicholson58 and greybeardloon... I'm picking up on the requirements and weather, conditions etc... and am doing my due diligence. What I'm really looking for right now is to be pointed in the right direction as to what boatyards & brokers should I start checking out in regards to buying the boat... this will give me a starting point as to where I will land and what I can expect to get for my money in a boat etc...

[nickpapa]

Lefkas and the nearby marinas in Preveza have a lot of sail yachts for sale.
Same is true for the marinas in Athens.

[simonthepom]

As nickpapa said, loads of boats on the west coast (Ionian) around Preveza / Lefkas. We bought through David Rogerson from NYB Lefkas Ionian Yacht Sales| Yacht Brokerage Lefkas Greece, would definitely recommend him. Our boat was VAT paid, so no issues there.
4 years on from buying our boat from David, we're now back in Sydney with her, have sailed throughout the Med, Caribbean and the Pacific (absolutely the highlight of the cruise!) But the Med and Greece in particular is just great. The ability to just moor up to a town quay and pay hardly anything (8 euros/night!) and have amazing restaurants at your doorstep is unmatched anywhere else we've been. I would love to go back at some stage.
Enjoy, you'll have a ball!

[OZ-Sailor]

Thanks nickpapa and to you simonthepom, that's music to my ears. lol. Do you mind telling me what you bought, how much you paid?

[simonthepom]

Originally Posted by OZ-Sailor

Thanks nickpapa and to you simonthepom, that's music to my ears. lol. Do you mind telling me what you bought, how much you paid?

We bought a Jeanneau 45.1. We paid about 120K AUD, but this was 4 years ago when the AUD was 1:1 with the USD. A year later it had dropped 25%! We got lucky.

We've added all sorts of stuff for long term cruising (watermaker, new generator, etc.) If you're just staying in the Med, you don't need any of this stuff as power and water are freely available. Find a good boat in the style you like and don't worry about all the bells and whistles You'll have more fun enjoying the Med than fixing stuff you don't really need...

[OZ-Sailor]

Well done simonthepom! Yes, my thoughts on not spending too much time / money on the bells & whistles... I hope to buy well, maintain and improve her condition without going overboard (pardon the pun) and then sell again... hopefully for close to the price I pay for her. I have dropped a contact email to NYB Lefkas already and it was David Rogerson in the auto-reply.

[jasbee]

Hi Oz Sailor
We have a NZ built Gauntlet (double ended) built in NZ Kauri (similar to Tasmanian Huon Pine) and copper and bronze fastened currently in a boatyard in Turkey. She could be available for 25,000 Euros or offer.
Currently there is a verbal agreement on her but she is not "under contract" as the contract is not yet signed.
Her situation is a little unusual but needs explanation by email correspondence. We also have a Turkish yacht broker based in Bodrum who is handling the sale. We can put you in touch with him and give you all relevant information should you be interested.
She is arguably the best Gauntlet in the world and just needs some superficil work to the hull and she would be capable of many more thousands of miles of cruising. She brought us from NZ to Thailand over 3 years from 2011 to 2014 and we never had a moment's worry.
You could contact me on tiare.taporo3@gmail.com if you were interested in pursuing the matter further.
Cheers
Jim Donald

[OZ-Sailor]

Hi Jim, I've read your other post and your blog regarding your predicament. I'm sorry to read what you are going through. I like what I see in your pics. I'll be up front with you in that I'm leaning more towards a GRP Sloop - something like a 2002 model or later Bavaria or Jeanneau, and am not able to leave Australia until around April May next year. This is not to say I'm definite on both counts - the model or the date!! I must say she does look like a lovely boat and has all that would be needed to be comfortable on her that's for sure.

[chuckr]

Do not underestimate Schengen - 180 days in 180 days out - the Greeks are beginning to do a lot of checking - depending on the port - and the fines can be very high or worse - We had an act of God problem and overstayed - it took a lot to not pay a fine -


and do not underestimate the weather - right now we got friends sitting in Athens and the boot of Italy waiting weather - take a look at windyty right now for the area - both carry passports that allow them to stay but still they will be sitting for a long time - last year during the sailing season we sat 3 different times waiting weather in Greece - one time for a week and we had a charter boat come in on day one of the blow and could not get out for a week -


But you big issue is Schengen - we have working with it for 5 years

[OZ-Sailor]

okay - so in a nutshell (I'm trying to make it easy for any response to be yes or no answers)

Schengen means the following (as a non-eu citizen):

1) I can only stay in Schengen countries for a maximum accumulated total of 90 days in any 180 - correct?

2) so hopping from one Schengen country to another still adds to the count of the 90 days of the 180 - in other words it is not counted PER COUNTRY?

3) If the answer to #2 is yes, then at least half of every 6 months needs to be spent outside of any Schengen country?

[Budawang]

Hi Oz Sailor, I'm an Australian about the same age planning to do almost exactly the same thing as you next year. May fly over there before Christmas (as now is a good time to buy) or in April. Looking for a production yacht in the 40 to 45 foot range 2000 to 2010 with a max budget of $200K AUD including repairs but hopefully less. Prepared to buy anywhere in the med. Plan to keep it there for a couple of years and may sell or start the long trek back to Australia. I have a pretty good handle on the Schengen issue and some possible workarounds. I will follow this thread with interest.

[smjack1]

Hi all.

We are looking at doing the same, except planned arrival from Oz to the Med is early 2020. Similar yacht plan except targeting a production cat around 40ish feet with max price around USD400k (looking for a comfortable cat relatively well fitted out with all “stuff” that just works).

Current, likely naive, plan is to get serious in about one year with making contact with Med brokers, possibly through Ant at Multihull Solutions.

Also very interested in following this thread to hear from those with experiences in making these dreams come together.