Med-Mooring in Greece in June

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by capnmatt

I just hope the sailing around Corfu isn't too mellow for us. We are also still open to other suggestions of places in the Med to consider. Italy? Spain? Or should we limit our options to Greece/Croatia for now?

• Greece: Good, but in my experience the only place with Mediterranean mooring with your own anchor. All other countries have mooring-lines installed, you don't need your anchor when docking.
• Croatia: Good
• Sardinia: Good
• Balearics: Good
• Corsica: Good (but I think a little more expensive)
• Turkey: Ok to good (Depends where, but I haven't been there much)
• France (Med coast, not Corsica): Ok, but expensive
• Spain (Med coast, not Balearics): Ok, some places good
• Italy (except Sardinia): Meh

All of the above places are safe and have decent infrastructure for sailors. If one takes your fancy, you can't really go wrong.

Late June early July is probably the best time to go for you. Never mind the German tourists. In August, you get all the French, all the Italian and all the Spanish in addition to the Germans and some Brits.

[wkg]

Originally Posted by girdasso

Bonefacio, Portovecchia and Madelana islands are beautiful and definitely worth a visit.

Also Capraia and Elba. Starting from Porto di Ostia - then Maddalena and Corsica.

If Med style mooring is a new experience I would start from Croatia. They have everything organized, marinas are very comfortable with mooring lines. The country has beautiful coastline.

The disadvantage is that you feel more like tourist than a sailor :/ Tourist with deep pocket

[capnmatt]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post......while Greece is good, I seriously recommend Croatia and there is an added benefit that you may want to consider. Sail Croatia, s to n, up towards the northern end, and then cross over to Venice....an easy 1 day(daytime) sail!!! We did just that, fprearranged a marina in Venice for a week, lived on our boat and spent each day playing serious tourist. We had a spectacular time seeing Venice, and via ferries found our way back to our boat each night. A week was enough, the 70nm sail back to Croatia was a piece of cake, and then we got to see Croatia, again, from north to south. It was absolutely the icing on the cake.....highly, highly recommend it!

This sounds very appealing. I was looking at that as a possibility but figured the charter companies would likely not allow it. I guess though it's really no different than sailing from island nation to island nation in the Caribbean - and probably even more straight forward being that both Croatia and Italy are in the EU.

Did you charter a boat when you did that? If so what company?

Any requirements in terms of customs & immigration or is it just a matter of checking in with the harbour master since they are both EU countries?

One other thing I noticed while looking on Google earth is that most marinas in Venice seem to have mooring posts that a catamaran would not fit between. Would finding a berth for a catamaran potentially be an issue?

Wonder if I could do a one-way from Split to Pula with a side trip to Venice. Dream Yacht Charters has a base in both of those locations and I've done several one-ways with them in the Caribbean.

Thanks,

Matt

[goboatingnow]

Most conventional charters in Croatia and Greece will not let you sail between countries.

As for anchor snubbers on cats we see a bridle being used generally

Don’t worry about the tension issue it’s not that cut and dried , I usually haul in until by my anchor is tight, fit the snubber and let out a little chain till the windlass is unloaded , many charters don’t bother at all.

The difference in tension isn’t enough to cause issues

[sailcrazy]

CaptMatt.... to answer your questions....we were in our own boat, not a charter. But at the time there were a ton of charter boats around, and we crossed paths with a few in Albania, so (at least at that time) going to multiple countries must have been doable? We used a small, out of the way marina on the very outskirts of Venice, and the end of a ferry run. The marinas near town center were as you describe, but where we were it was more like a normal marina. We ended up side-to a dock, with about 6 or 7 other boats all nose-to-tail along the dock; a cat would not have been an issue. Yes, we checked out of Croatia, and intended to check into Italy on arrival. But we never could find where to check in, after a couple of days the marina stopped asking....and we elected to play dumb! No one ever came by, challenged us, or asked. And after a week we sailed back to Croatia and checked back in-no issues! We later found out the checkin location in Venice was on the opposite end of the city, somewhere near where the cruise ships docked. After we sailed back down to southern Croatia, we crossed over to Italy, checked in, sailed around the boot, spent time in Sicily, and then ,up the western coast spending time in all the popular spots, to Genoa. Hell of a summer and fall!!!!!

[Tudorsailor]

If you go to harbours with Med Mooring, then a Trip Hook is well worth having. You may not need it for yourself but you will be Mr Popular if you help a neighbour.
Worth making sure you understand how to rig two lines before using it in anger the first time. I keep mine in a bag with two different coloured lines so I can tell someone else to hold one line and let go of the other.

https://jimmygreen.com/anchoring-acc...line-trip-hook

Yes you can do the same with a line passed under the chain but a Trip Hook makes it ever so easy

TS

[sailoray531]

I've sailed in the Med for a total of about 15 months over 5 years in a monohull that does not have bow thrusters, from Gibralter to Turkey and back visiting every country on the northern side of the Med. You are going to have to Medmoor in almost every marina in the Med. Most have lazy line setups to mooring balls; a minority require you to anchor and back in. If you are doing extended cruising, you are going to have to learn to do it and I did.

Unlike a lot of my fellow sailors who replied to your question, however, I suspect you'll ruin your vacation if you have to worry about this all the time. I'm a monohull sailor, but I suspect it is tougher to back down a cat than a monohull. Others can correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Generally speaking, the Med has a lot fewer good anchorages than the Caribbean, which requires a lot more staying at marinas. There are exceptions, and the Greek islands do have some good anchorages. Bottom line, I'd advise either hiring a captain and learning the skill while enjoying your vacation, or choosing a destination where this is not an issue.

[mountaindweller]

I will echo others comments about avoiding peak times in Greece. I made the mistake of "sailing" out of Lefkas the last 2 weeks of August one year and it was complete chaos and stressful. We actually rarely sailed as you needed to motor in the calm mornings to arrive at the town quay before noon to get a spot. The Saturday afternoon circus at the Lefkas fuel dock was the highlight, 30 plus boats aggressively positioning themselves for the few spots on the dock in 20+ knots of wind. No such thing as first come first served, with aggressive Italians, it was every man for themselves. Still a PR for the number of F-Bombs dropped in a 90 minute span. ! The Ionian is beautiful though, just not in August. Next Med stop for us is Croatia for 2 weeks in early JUNE! I'm slow but trainable! Cheers

[SV Coronado]

If it scares you a little and makes you nervous, then you should do it. You'll never improve in life (sailing, relationships, career, whatever...) if you stick to what is comfortable. After completing the trip, the pride you'll feel on the flight home from Greece will be worth the trip alone.

[capnmatt]

I think that we have things narrowed down to two potential options that we're seriously considering.

Timewise, we would want to spend 2-3 weeks on the boat beginning around June 18 or so and potentially extending into the first week or so of July. If we end up on the boat only two weeks then we would probably spend a week land-based visiting another country or two since we've never been to Europe. I like the idea of three weeks on the boat though. By the end of June/early July will things be crazy busy or just starting to ramp up?

Location-wise we are looking at either the Lefkas/Corfu area in Greece, or mid-to-upper Croatia with a potential run over to Venice. It appears that at least The Moorings allows their boats to travel between Croatia, Italy, Solvenia and Montenegro as long as you let them know in advance so that they can prepare proper documents and licensing. Dream Yacht Charters has always been very flexible when we've used them in the past about where we take the boat so I would be surprise if they don't allow it as well. I guess it's a discussion to have with the specific companies.

Thinking about med-mooring, I think we'll do fine - especially if there is a lazy line. Regardless, I'm sure after a few times doing it on anchor we'd get it dialed anyway. I'm really not worried about it if the wind is blowing 10-15 knots or less, mainly just if there is a strong crosswind. I've successfully backed into slips, anchored, moored, etc... in the Caribbean countless times so seems that it will be more a matter of making sure my crew has their jobs straight. I find I'm typically overly conservative when it comes to assessing my boat handling abilities.

Thanks for all of the help and advice - really helped us in nailing down some good options for our next charter.

[Gerrit Coetzee]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

I have sailed Greece, BVI 5 times, and just came back from two weeks in Croatia sailing one way from Split Dubrovnik. Absolutely the best cruising ground I ever sailed. Go to Croatia if you're destination is flexible. I can share all of the details with you.

If Greece is where you are drawn to, though, go there. You'll be fine. Most places have laid lines, now, so the process is a little different. After a few times mooring it becomes easy. Also, in June, the Meltemi isn't super strong yet. The closer to July, the winds really pipe up. Get Rod Hiekel's Greek waters pilot...a must read.

As far as anchoring, yes, you can drop anchor, but in some places there is a combination of rock and sand, and you need to find the sand.

Tell me where you're planning to sail I. Greece, and I can be more specific. I sailed the Athens coast and then the Cyclades, so each island has much different bottom characteristics. And remember.....sometimes you watch the show, and sometimes you are the show. Take it in stride.

Ben

remember.....sometimes you watch the show, and sometimes you are the show. Take it in stride.

Good one Ben.

[sailcrazy]

Captmatt-your comments bring back lots of great memories I feel complelled to pass on. While Venice is still on top of our list, with Croatia a VERY close second.....DO NOT miss Montenegro!!! We had no idea what to expect, and it turned out to be spectacular. It's not big, but it's really fine-the people are friendly, the scenery is spectacular, and it just felt good! Don't miss it!

[Woodgate Beach]

I have sailed Croatia twice with med mooring, once as crew and once as skipper. (lines, no anchor). Two comments from me would be that our charter company required us to be moored not anchored for insurance (although you could still use a mooring out in the bay) and that getting in early was the key to a pleasant experience. The more space, the easier it was.

[LifePart2]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Note in relation to Croatia. It’s get frightfully expensive and “ organised “. Way too touristy for me. When I see mooring buoy fields in bays , that me outta here

My wife and I loved Croatia so much we spent 4 months there, including a one week stopover in Venice. During that time we had to pay to anchor just 4 times. The other times were free. That was in 2013.

Some tips:

Med mooring is MUCH easier with three crew than two. One to manage the anchor, one to back up, one to do the sternlines. Laid lines also make it much easier, but WEAR GLOVES.

Fenders. Use them.

You WILL be providing entertainment for the spectators. Enjoy it. They were there once too, and may be again next time.

Get yourself one or two 60m floating mooring lines, maybe 14mm polypropylene on a rolling drum (get one of the spools they come on and put a broom stick through it). Really long lines make tying up to rocks or trees much easier. With floating lines you can swim them ashore, then haul them and the boat in once they are tied up.

in Venice anchor in the channel opposite Burano for free in about 2m on mud, go ashore in the dink and take a Vaporetto to visit elsewhere.

In Croatia if someone comes to charge you for anchoring, either move to the next bay, or threaten to do so, they will probably halve the price.

Greece was also great, we did the Ionian and Aegean sides. Many free town wall tie ups too.

More info on our blog.

Obviously try to avoid the busiest destinations though on a short charter that may be hard. Solution: go for longer!

You will love it.

[Donlin]

I have chartered in Greece twice, both in early May. Med-mooring was new to me but got the hang of it quickly.
More popular harbours will be busy in June and you would need to be on site by mid-afternoon. Less popular harbours had more than adequate space.
Anchoring will be questionable due to space/busyness.
Terrific sailing.