Why we don't chill out in Greece any more

[Skellum]

It's already the case that you need a certificate of competence for Greece. My (possibly incorrect? For discussion....) guess would be that people making these epic fails will tend to be folks who don't sail much except for a biennial charter holiday. Doing a week's course with a test at the end then not using it for a year or two isn't going to help much.

My recollection is that in Greece you need at least two persons on board with a valid skipper's license.

I wonder if in this instance skipper one says at the start of the video " I can't see how we could have made more of a mess of that", at which point skipper two says "Hang on, hold my beer". Nice matching crew shirts though....

 

[UK-WOOZY]

the greek comments on facebook from the person who filmed it said that the crew on Kon Tiki are all a skipper school

 

[sailaboutvic]

the greek comments on facebook from the person who filmed it said that the crew on Kon Tiki are all a skipper school

You mean they all have the same T shirt on , or they all got their ICC from the same sailing schoool ?

 

[dom]

You mean they all have the same T shirt on , or they all got their ICC from the same sailing schoool ?

Trouble is Vic, with the ICC there ain't no sailing school ?

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

I am in Greece at the moment, (near Oropos, opposite Evia). You will never see a Greek family sailing a yacht in areas where tourists go for sailing holidays. I am very fortunate that we don't have sailing tourists here and the non Greek, who sail around here, are very experienced indeed.

 

[BurnitBlue]

I realise I miss a lot of fun. I have not been on a quay for over twenty years. The last time was in Turkey i was stern to a quay with dozens of other yachts waiting for a storm to pass through. A very old Turkish warship (long and narrow beam probably coastal patrol) came in and muscled into the centre of the assembled yachts stern to with usual bow anchor and two stern lines. With one difference. Two bow lines were led from the bow to port and starboard at a 45 degree angle straight to the quay. This formed a tripod at the bow of the tatty warship. Stop it from swinging in the crowded space. The problem was that these bow lines went in a straight line threaded through the rigging of two yachts on each side. My boat was OK (in a way) as I was next to the warship. The bow ropes were way out in front. However knives were out on the four yachts that were threaded to the quay in case of emergency. These knives put my boat and myself in danger of being crushed should these lines be cut. I was just as trapped as everyone else.

I actually hadn't realised that I had not been on a quay since then until I read this thread. Unconcious preference to anchoring off rather than a decision maybe influenced by those three days of terror.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I realise I miss a lot of fun. I have not been on a quay for over twenty years. The last time was in Turkey i was stern to a quay with dozens of other yachts waiting for a storm to pass through. A very old Turkish warship (long and narrow beam probably coastal patrol) came in and muscled into the centre of the assembled yachts stern to with usual bow anchor and two stern lines. With one difference. Two bow lines were led from the bow to port and starboard at a 45 degree angle straight to the quay. This formed a tripod at the bow of the tatty warship. Stop it from swinging in the crowded space. The problem was that these bow lines went in a straight line threaded through the rigging of two yachts on each side. My boat was OK (in a way) as I was next to the warship. The bow ropes were way out in front. However knives were out on the four yachts that were threaded to the quay in case of emergency. These knives put my boat and myself in danger of being crushed should these lines be cut. I was just as trapped as everyone else.

I actually hadn't realised that I had not been on a quay since then until I read this thread. Unconcious preference to anchoring off rather than a decision maybe influenced by those three days of terror.

The last time we sailed a yacht from the UK to the Med was in 2009 I say the last time as I sailed two other yacht before the. To the Med , we had a cat and dog on board so we mostly kept away for town quays as we didn't want the cat to wonder on other people boats , not every one a cat lover .
And god am I glade we did the fu@kup day in and day out in Greece was just laughtable if it wasn't for all the damage done to people boats .
Now we petless we do go on the odd quay now and then but only if it's free although not in Greece .
Last year we used 8 harbour walls along the west coast Italy not once did we or see any problems .
I think Greece tend to attractive lots of novice because it's known for mildsummer wind although for us who sailed there also know tho mildsummer wind can soon become a hand full for novice sailors .

 

[BurnitBlue]

The last time we sailed a yacht from the UK to the Med was in 2009 I say the last time as I sailed two other yacht before the. To the Med , we had a cat and dog on board so we mostly kept away for town quays as we didn't want the cat to wonder on other people boats , not every one a cat lover .
And god am I glade we did the fu@kup day in and day out in Greece was just laughtable if it wasn't for all the damage done to people boats .
Now we petless we do go on the odd quay now and then but only if it's free although not in Greece .
Last year we used 8 harbour walls along the west coast Italy not once did we or see any problems .
I think Greece tend to attractive lots of novice because it's known for mildsummer wind although for us who sailed there also know tho mildsummer wind can soon become a hand full for novice sailors .

Have you seen some of those youtube videos showing yachts against a quay wall during extra augmented mid-summer winds? Also I know a skipper in ionion boatyard who always goes on a quay at the insistance of his wife. His stories of crossed anchors, stress, and unfendered collisions are proven by the gouges and repairs to his topsides. He counters my obvious suggestion with his one single experience of being at anchor. His problem is that he has no other experience except in Greece and the ionian. Maybe this year he will find out what a deserted anchorage or quay looks like.

 

[duncan99210]

Video looks like standard Greek mayhem, with typical reactions from those ashore or moored: scream, shout and pout! it’s why we do our best to avoid mooring and anchor off instead. Got to the stage now where we only moor anywhere for an hour or two for water.
When we do wind up moored somewhere for some reason and the usual drama kicks off, I’ve now taken to making sure the dinghy‘s ready to go with a couple of lines in it. Then wait until the anchor knitting has reached the stage of “how do we unpick this lot” and rowing out to help untangle mess. Not infrequently I wind up taking the helm on the boat and mooring the thing for them: faster, less stressful for all and, hopefully, a learning experience....