Greek Bareboat advice

[cannoli_724]

Hello Cruisers! Long time lurker, first time poster

Seeking input on sailing grounds selection and charter company for first Greek island bareboat trip end of April 2024.

We are Two ASA 104 Bareboat certified captains, sail and charter experience (BC Gulf Islands, BVI, Long Island Sound). 9 year old son who's sailed w/ us since he's 2, will be his first charter longer than 2 nights. He/we are very interested in Greek mythology, and hope to do some wetsuit swimming/snorkel... so looking for warmest conditions we can find.

Want the Cyclades for short distances between islands (2-3 hr sails) to keep son from getting bored. Hoping winds are consistently under 17-18 knots in April - thinking it's before Meltemi???

Looking at Istion Yachting out of Paros. Are they reputable? I've seen mixed review about the quality of their boats - lots of great reviews, but a handful of less so.

Can we do what we seek at end of April in Cyclades? Are my assumptions correct from my research? Are there other recommended charter companies with boat quality and importantly service?

Thank you in advance!

[yeloya]

Istion is one of the best. But generally speaking, greek charter boats are not well serviced. April 24 will be pretty cold there particularly at nights. Check a boat with heater if possible. Regarding the winds, Meltemi will not be set by then, almost for sure. So you can have all kind of winds but most likely south easterly and there are few shelters for these kind of winds there.

Cheers

Yeloya

[nmuir]

A few thoughts. As per yeloya it can be cold, and that translates to cold water. You will want your wetsuits. The other thing is there is not a lot to see underwater compared to the Caribbean. You might be disappointed in the snorkling. If you are really keen on cruising a shoulder season you will find the water far warmer in Sep/Oct over April.

[capnmatt]

We are chartering the Cyclades in September and after researching many charter companies we landed on Octopus Yachting. There weren't a ton of reviews for any of the companies, but what reviews I could find for Octopus seemed to be consistently good. Istion looked good as well, but we couldn't find the right boat with them. I'm hoping we made the right choice with Octopus and I would be interested in comments from anyone that is knowledgeable about the company.

Also chose September time period as it should still be pretty warm (air and water), but less crowds (hopefully) and the meltamis will be tapering off (hopefully).

Will be interested to hear about your experience cannoli.