Med-Mooring in Greece in June

[girdasso]

Greece is a great place to sail and enjoy. I have sailed all over - two aegean rallies - and several chartas. My brother had a boat based in Piraes and he recommended May and September as the best times. Avoid the European school holiday period as it gets too crowded and mid summer is too hot unless you have airconditioning.
I hope to go back after the lockdowns and would recommend the Sporades up north or the Ionian sea such as Lefkas. The Croatian coast further north is also beautiful and worth a visit The Aegean is more spectacular and interesting but more crowded.
I never had a lot of trouble mooring backed up to the wall alongside other boats but that was in monohulls. If you have a larger cat I think you may have to drop an anchor further out most of the time.

[David B]

Originally Posted by capnmatt

I recently asked about chartering in Greece versus Tahiti next June and after listening to the answers and doing more research I am thinking my family would really like Greece. My only reservation is the requirement to med-moor and it is making me rethink our plans and consider just doing the Caribbean yet again. I have only med-moored once and it was with a mooring line, not the anchor. It did not go great and I ended up against the boat next to us before all was said and done. We did have a pretty stiff cross breeze and the real problem was that I was too timid and didn't use enough throttle. All ended up OK in the end and the French couple who owned the boat we drifted onto were very nice and understanding. Still a humbling experience.


So, now I am wondering how I would handle med-mooring in Greece. I understand the process, but there is a lot that can go wrong. If anyone can help me with the following questions it would be great.



How busy will Greece be in June? Will we typically be able to find a nice place to moor with plenty of room around us in case we get blown around? Or will the quays all be crowded with barely enough room to squeeze between two boats? I should mention that we'd be on a cat.



How often will we even have to med-moor? Can I typically just anchor out if we don't feel comfortable med-mooring? Are there other options besides med-mooring? Does this all depend on where in Greece we charter?


How often do people come in contact with the boats next to them when med-mooring? Is it just part of med-mooring and happen more commonly than one might thing or is it pretty rare?


Any other insight or advice?

I'm thinking if we go I might see about hiring a captain for a time and practice med-mooring with him/her until we are comfortable. I just don't want the stress of having to med-moor take away from an otherwise relaxing vacation. And of course I don't want to do any damage to anyone's property.



Thanks!

It's called practice, confidence, and planning.

I remember my first time - coming into Sete (South of France) at dusk after a full days sailing along the coast. Reverse up the fairway, turn to the berth, drop anchor and reverse in. All worked just fine except the guy next to us mentioned that "you don't anchor here - there are lazy lines"!

Fortunately we retrieved the anchor without lifting half the marinas ground tackle, did it again, and this time picked up the lazy line.

But really, what can go wrong? If you have plenty of fenders down both sides and a good couple on the stern, at the worst you end up resting on a neighbouring boat. Not so bad, just roll into the berth.

It's the ones who come in gung ho that cause problems for themselves and others. Work out where your pivot point is, and keep that to mind. If you have a largish boat, chances are it will come with a bow thruster. Use the bow thruster to position your stern, and just back in.

Most harbours have someone to take your lines - just give them a call on the VHF, and you will be fine. For the places that don't have lazy lines, come is and sus the place out, see where others have dropped their anchor, plan it, then go out, come in again, and do it. If there is a lot of wind, then stay out for a while, or go to another harbour.

From what we have observed over the years (usually we get in fairly early), it is quite common for a boat to squeeze in along side another - even go in bow first and make a gap by pushing the other boats to each side. Fenders are wonderful things - as long as you have enough of them, they are in the correct place, and you have them secured properly.

Don't let this stop you enjoying the Med - its a wonderful place, full of wonderful people (the locals anyway ....)

[dhmhtrhs]

i leave in a small vilage in pagasitic gulf.
There are many places you can visit in Greese.
In June is easy to find place in most of the SPORADES islands (skiathos skopelos alonnhsos skyros etc)you have to be there from 11 to 14 00.later will be dificult.
There are many islands with fantastic spectacular beaches and many others at the land coast.
yoy can see everything in GOOGLE EARTH.
You will find excellent food in very logical prices.People ready to help you in everything.

[goboatingnow]

Could I say that if someone picks up your chain , it’s generally your issue not theirs. I get mad when I see people ignoring it.

Don’t ever leave the berth and join them. That creates chaos. Release the tension on your anchor ( please ) so that the other boat can haul your chain to the surface.

When they drop your chain you may or may not have to Re anchor


PS. To the OP don’t sweat Med moorings you’ll just be one of thousands all screwing it up. Even the pros get it wrong from time to time

You’ll get lots of help

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

[capnmatt]

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. Sounds like I shouldn't stress too much about it. I guess just put plenty of fenders out, don't go too fast, and bail out and try again if things aren't going right. Still chatting with my family about the trip, but I am hoping it's a go. We would be there towards the end of June and possibly the first week of July. Will look into Croatia as well.

[David B]

Originally Posted by capnmatt

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. Sounds like I shouldn't stress too much about it. I guess just put plenty of fenders out, don't go too fast, and bail out and try again if things aren't going right. Still chatting with my family about the trip, but I am hoping it's a go. We would be there towards the end of June and possibly the first week of July. Will look into Croatia as well.

Its getting busy into July - and hot. June would be much better. Europe goes on holiday in July - need I say more?

[Anders]

Originally Posted by David B

Its getting busy into July - and hot. June would be much better. Europe goes on holiday in July - need I say more?

Northern Europe goes on holiday in July.
Rest of Europe goes on holiday in August when it's hotter and extremely busy.
In August we either lift out and go home for a month or hide where the crowds won't find us.

[goboatingnow]

Yes Southern Europe , Italy France august is the holiday month

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by capnmatt

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. Sounds like I shouldn't stress too much about it. I guess just put plenty of fenders out, don't go too fast, and bail out and try again if things aren't going right. Still chatting with my family about the trip, but I am hoping it's a go. We would be there towards the end of June and possibly the first week of July. Will look into Croatia as well.

The best month is June in my opinion , July is next best especially as early as possible as the crowds and the heat are still building ( though this year we had a heatwave in July in Greece )

Just try and avoid august , too hot too crowded. This year was crazy crazy due to lifting of restrictions on travel.

[capnmatt]

One additional question about mooring stern-to with anchor. Do people use a bridle or do they generally just let the tension stay on the windlass? It seems like it would be a hassle to get the correct amount of chain out so that once you attach the bridle you will end up the desired ~3' off the dock.

Based on all of the responses here I'm thinking Corfu/Lefkas will be the best choice for us for this trip. I would really like to see the area around Lavrion, but figure it's probably best not to tangle with the Meltemi on our first Med charter. Not that we haven't dealt with higher winds and swell on some of our previous charters, but I don't want to pile that on top of getting comfortable with the mooring requirements. If we did decide to sail out of say Athens and stayed inside the Saronic and Argolic Gulfs would we still be exposed to Meltemi winds? 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?

Thanks!

[wkg]

La Maddalena arcipelago near Sardegna + Corsica's Bonifacio.

[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!

[David B]

Originally Posted by Anders

Northern Europe goes on holiday in July.
Rest of Europe goes on holiday in August when it's hotter and extremely busy.
In August we either lift out and go home for a month or hide where the crowds won't find us.

Yes, but guess where those northern Europeans go. We find the first week of July is about it - after that too busy for us.

[David B]

Originally Posted by capnmatt

One additional question about mooring stern-to with anchor. Do people use a bridle or do they generally just let the tension stay on the windlass? It seems like it would be a hassle to get the correct amount of chain out so that once you attach the bridle you will end up the desired ~3' off the dock.

Based on all of the responses here I'm thinking Corfu/Lefkas will be the best choice for us for this trip. I would really like to see the area around Lavrion, but figure it's probably best not to tangle with the Meltemi on our first Med charter. Not that we haven't dealt with higher winds and swell on some of our previous charters, but I don't want to pile that on top of getting comfortable with the mooring requirements. If we did decide to sail out of say Athens and stayed inside the Saronic and Argolic Gulfs would we still be exposed to Meltemi winds? 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?

Thanks!

Not a full bridle - just a line with a chain hook. Get organised, get everything just right, with a little more distance from stern to dock than the pasarelle will reach, then chain hook through spare roller to cleat, chafe guard, take tension off windlass, and with engine in reverse, take in the stern lines so the pasarelle reaches, cleat off, finished with engine. Done.

Corfu - love the place. Could stay there for weeks. Corfu Sailing Club is a great spot, and under the old fort, pretty special.

[girdasso]

wkg is right. Bonefacio, Portovecchia and Madelana islands are beautiful and definitely worth a visit. There are so many beautiful and interesting places in the Med but you cant get to them all in the same trip unless you plan to sail the whole summer. The Med can get pretty nasty in the winter and occasionally in the summer.
I would avoid the european holiday season which you can check on line.