TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Thinking about a Greek Islands Charter

I know this is a BVI sub but clearly it's also a de facto "Chartering in General" sub so I hope you'll indulge my questions.

Life long sailor with ten-ish charters in BVI's and St. Martin. I'm thinking about trying the Greek Islands but I have some questions/reservations taking this next step. Here are some of my concerns (in no particular order).

Certification - Seems like I've read that you need some kind of certification but I'm unclear on the details

Med Mooring - I've watched the YouTube examples but I've never done it. Seems like it's easy in the calm and a potential disaster in cross winds.

Provider - For better or worse, I'm just more comfortable with using The Moorings but I think I read that they outsource their service to others in Greece. What's the scoop on providers?

Logistics - How much of a hassle is it getting to and from the charter area and what are the best places to go?

Language - I sadly only speak English - how much of an issue is that?

I'm really on the fence on this. I like the idea of exploring a new, exotic area but I'm not sure I want to deal with the extra effort of getting there and dealing with the extra stress. Interested to hear your thoughts, experiences and any other words of wisdom you might have to help me decide.

Thanks!

ASA issues a license (the IPC) if you have already passed ASA 101, 103 and 104, it's not an ICC per se but accepted as equivalent by European charter bases. You just have to pay a few and they make you join ASA.

https://asa.com/international-proficiency-certificate/

We did a Greece charter aboutt 10 years ago... opted for a Sunsail flotilla and was not sorry, as the support with mooring and communicating with harbor masters was much appreciated.

We have a Croatia charter planned this summer, will also be joining a Sunsail flotilla, so unfortunately 4-cabin boat for just the 2 of us. We may be looking for crew :-)

Hmm, I don't have any formal training/test results. I guess if I have to get all that it's yet more friction added to the process...

Good point about the Flotilla. That would indeed make it easier and give a safety in numbers reassurance.

Croatia you say... :-)

We chartered in Greece twice. Hubby has his Masters so not an issue but they were particular about credentials.

We used a company called seafarer holidays and joined a flotilla.

It was incredible both times. Sailed a mono in both the Dodecanese and paloponese areas.

Food and culture is spectacular. I have made many posts over on the world forum about our trips.

And yes the med Moore is difficult in some places. One small Harbour ( Symi ) was particularly challenging but we did it!

We loved the area so much we spent 3 weeks land based in Greece last year.

I've been thinking about the same. We (three boats) did Turkey in October and really enjoyed it. The Med sailing is much different from BVI - distances are longer and depths are far deeper. Almost no mooring balls, so all anchoring and med mooring. Wasn't a problem with the Jeanneau 64, it had 300ft of chain. One of the other boats only had 100ft and that was a challenge. Once you get the hang of med moor it isn't so bad, but it can have a steep learning curve.

License wise - you will need an IPC at the minimum - if you are ASA103/104 or US sailing bareboat grad they can facilitate it for you. First time I've had to show my credentials in a decade!

I'm thinking of chartering for a week out of Lavrion and sailing around the islands. You really need two weeks to cover the area though. Send me a DM if you're interested in joining up as a flotilla. I will likely have 2 or 3 other boats with me - I am an Instructor for a couple sailing clubs.