Spent a very pleasurable 7 day break in Western Greece, flotilla sailing round the Ionian Sea.
Youtube link to the JustRetired50Plus Greece Sailing Video:-
To view the video select:- https://youtu.be/oIU73CZVDc0
Link to our How to Sail for beginners video, made in Rodney Bay, St Lucia.
Sailing in the Ionian Sea, Greece
As this was our first ever sailing holiday, it was both challenging, scary an exhilarating experience all wrapped into one.
We went with sailingholidays.com, joined a flotilla and sailed around the Ionian Sea, in western Greece, for a week. The climate was typical south eastern mediterranean and ideal for sailing, and just before the very high season part of the Mediterranean summer, when most Europeans take the month of August off as their annual vacation.
A sailing holiday may not be everyone’s cup of tea, however, there is an enormous sense of freedom, accomplishment and enjoyment having done one, and a good opportunity to meet interesting people. This sailing holiday was our first time to put our toes in the water at sailing.
A sailing trip, such as this, would involve high levels of activity, particularly if you are crewing the boat yourself. If you use a marine skill level scale of “1 - 5” for sailing, we would regard Ionian Sea flotilla sailing as a level “one” and this level only increases to a level “two” if you choose to do the free time lone boat sailing away from the flotilla.
Sailing in the Ionian Sea is relatively safe as there is little or no tide difference and you can time your watch by the wind. It blows between 13.00 and 17.00 each afternoon, otherwise it is relatively benign.
We moved up a notch in experience when we did flotilla sailing in more exposed sea conditions in other locations, such as around Mallorca and in the Caribbean. As with every sport, you build up your competency and confidence over time, and you are never too late to start.
Our voyage started on the island of Kefalonia where we set sail from Fiskardo and took in the neighbouring islands of Lefkada and Ithaca. After seven days sailing we flew directly back to Dublin via London. Some people on our trip opted to stay for a second week on shore to enjoy a beach-side vacation.
A sense of Sailing in Ionian the Sea, Greece
The official currency of Greece is obviously the Euro.
If you get an opportunity during your travels in Greece, to visit Athens, do so, as it is a unique experience in a beautiful south eastern Mediterranean city in a coastal setting.
Our general experience of the people from Greece, was that they are very friendly and they all seem to have a particular liking for small children. Within the port calls themselves all of the Greeks we met were courteous and friendly and thoroughly hospitable. The taxis are very reasonable and work on a system of a radius from their town of origin. The shops and the restaurants were all clean, traditional and very inviting, with a wide variety of delicious food, especially seafood. You get a unique perspective of the coastline from the seaward side while sailing.
Recommendations for Sailing in the Ionian Sea, Greece
There is no language barrier, if you speak only English. The vast majority of both young and most old speak English.
So it lends itself to undertaking trips that can be self directed. The hire cost of a car when you come ashore is very cheap in comparison to Irish prices, however, the on the road driving experience can be treacherous because of the narrowness and steepness of the small country road system.
If you have never done sailing before, think of it like "Glamping" on the water, for those familiar with the glamorous camping term. Counter-intuitively, the bigger the boat the easier it is to handle but this theory reached its point of diminishing return after boats of 50ft in length.
Generally, all overnight stops are at mooring buoys/anchor or alongside quays.
Overnight mooring costs are not paid in advance and are not included in the overall package cost. Payment can be made at the bar managing the moorings, or usually someone will come out to your boat to take payment. Dockage in marinas typically starts at one Euro per foot per night. The beauty of sailing in Greece is that in the smaller ports, the restaurants are set right along the quay wall. So you literally step off of your gang plank and into a restaurant.
Our must see recommendation for a trip Sailing in the Ionian Sea, Greece.
(1) The actual excitement and freedom of sailing itself, particularly in warm waters with the sun shining in all its splendour, is truly fantastic;
(2) Our second choice would be the availability of numerous excellent and very different ports and beaches;
(3) Our sail down around the mythical island of Ithaki was very memorable, it conjured up visions of Greek sailing ships of ore.
Cost, works out at the total cost of the one week boat hire 2,500 Euro divided by the number of passengers on board. The Oceanis 36i boat we hired had accommodation for six. As there was only 2 of us on board, we had ample space.
“You should travel away from home, to really appreciate the value of what you have at home, on your return.”
General sailing boat tips:-
- No matter how big the boat you hire, space is still at a minimum onboard a boat;
- When food and drink provisioning for a boat trip, try to resist the temptation to over provision on your first day shopping;
- The one provision to spend the higher price on is your water provision. A greater chance that your water will taste nice;
- Not everyone gets sick on a boat trip. For those who do, try getting a combination or all of:- wearing a sailing bracelet; wear a seasickness patch; take medication such as Dramamine or Bonine; eat lots of ginger biscuits;
- Boats do not have a ton of storage space so using soft-sided luggage, like a duffel bag or a soft backpack is recommended;
- Bring along ample cloths pegs for hanging out your cloths to dry;
- Cut back on bringing grooming equipment, but bring a lot more shorts, tee-shirts and underwear;
- Invest in a pair of lightweight waterproof footwear, preferably shoes that float, crocs fit the bill perfectly;
- Attach something recognisable onto your dinghy to make it stand out to you and others amidst a bunch of dinghies that all look the same in the dark;
- Do a thorougher check of all your boat equipment before you leave the initial base port to make sure everything is ship shape and Bristol fashion.
There are two types of boat hire, bareboat and flotilla sailing. A professional skipper hire is additionally available for either type of boat hire.
Bareboat charter is yacht charter holiday without a hired skipper, so one or more of the charter guests will be sailing the boat themselves. Sailboat charter on a bareboat yacht either requires a valid licence or proof of sufficient sailing experience. In some countries a second member of the charter needs to have sailing experience, too. Since there is no crew, the charterers of the yacht will also do any required provisioning, cooking, planning of itineraries etc
Flotillas are available for varying skill levels from Easy to Advanced level. Conditions such as wind, tide, distances and mooring methods determine the experience required to sail in each area. You can be as independent as you like, but your Lead Boat Crew are always nearby in case you need any assistance during your trip. They will also recommend the best anchorages, harbours, restaurants and places to visit.
A possible option for sailors who don’t have too much experience would be a combination of skippered and bareboat charter. They could hire a skipper to sail the yacht for the first few days and gradually take over until they feel confident to navigate the boat alone. Another possibility would be a flotilla charter with a lead boat and a guide that gives assistance.
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