Aegina or Poros on a Friday?

[Seren]

I have a number of crew changes on Fridays in September and wondered which would be best for me to moor up and wait for crew to arrive by ferry from Piraeus. From memory there seemed to be plenty of room 'on the wall' in Poros but that was many years ago.
Any advice appreciated especially with reference to flotilla / charter stopping places before changeover.

 

[paulingreece]

Take your pick Poros should be ok, Ermioni is empty, and Porto Heli has space, so all down to personal preference.

 

[1bobt]

Argina is full friiday as boats stay to getback to Alimos.
Poros has much more space .

 

[Steve C Cronin]

Poros ANY day of the week. Aegina is boat damaging, vile, populated by rude people and no more than what Athens deserves on it's doorstep.

 

[syrbe]

The advantage of Aegina is that there are many more ferries and they run later. Most charter boats have to be back Friday evening so leave in the morning. Anchor off the beach to the south the night before (try to tuck in behind the breakwater to keep out of the swell, without running aground) and go in when you see boats leaving in the morning. The harbour is generally well sheltered, but it is not good holding and there is a lot of incompetent anchoring. Get away before the crazy new charters come in on Saturday night - they will arrive exhausted, not knowing their boats, will barge in, anchor over you, run over your chain and be abusive. Or stay anchored off and dinghy your visitors aboard.
Poros has a new quay and pontoon, but lots of crossed anchors because of the layout.

 

[fandancer]

That's a rather unfair and untrue comment about Aegina! It is a busy place but if you time it right you can get a space. I've been in there many times, never had a boat damaged, it is not a vile place and the people are lovely.

 

[Glyka]

That's a rather unfair and untrue comment about Aegina! It is a busy place but if you time it right you can get a space. I've been in there many times, never had a boat damaged, it is not a vile place and the people are lovely.

On the contrary it was a rather positive and polite post, considering the poster

 

[Steve C Cronin]

On the contrary it was a rather positive and polite post, considering the poster

We each must "say as we find" or (for Glyka) "Report only from our own experiences". Last September we had our anchor trawled by "professional" skippers twice and had to pay a diver to re-set as we couldn't actually get out of our berth on the main quay as we had been wedged-in. Our neighbour, a Belgian had his boat severely damaged when left unattended. We were threatened with physical violence when we refused to move over so that a boat from Alimos could get half his stern onto the inside wall of the water tanker berth - we would have had no chance to get ashore but within a few minutes the Port Police turned up and sent them off, helping us to re-moor afterwards. The bloke in the chandlers refuses to sell you what you want and will only sell you what HE wants you to buy. The tavernas are grossly over-priced. A large motorboat layed his chains straight over the top of ours just before we wanted to leave insisting that WE drag our chain out from under his, putting great strain on our deck gear. The ferries keep up high speed until only a couple of boatlengths off the quay setting up an enormous wash... Need I go on?

 

[grafozz]

Angistri is a good alternative , we changed crew there in June , using the fabulous flying Dolphins , pretty little port , water elecs .
very quiet , friendly place .
Try it , you,ll probably return .

 

[fandancer]

How can the chandler sell you something you don't want? Are you daft enough to agree to buy it? The Belgian and his boat was not your concern. It sounded like the port police were doing their job and helped you re-moor. All ferries create a wash, use more fenders and longer mooring lines to keep away from the quay. The motorboat owner and skippers you mention may not actually come from Greece. Aegina is a very nice place with some lovely people. A bit of give and take in the harbour is all it needs. There's hardly a harbour anywhere in Greece where you won't come across some problems. Bet you don't go to Hydra much then!

 

[Bertramdriver]

Angistri is a good alternative , we changed crew there in June , using the fabulous flying Dolphins , pretty little port , water elecs .
very quiet , friendly place .
Try it , you,ll probably return .

+1 I don't know how long it will stay quiet though. Maybe the shoals around the approach scare off the PITA charterers

 

[Bertramdriver]

Why doesn't anybody use Methana. Interesting place, genuinely Greek and side on mooring if you want. One of our favourite places vs Angina

 

[Chris_Robb]

We each must "say as we find" or (for Glyka) "Report only from our own experiences". Last September we had our anchor trawled by "professional" skippers twice and had to pay a diver to re-set as we couldn't actually get out of our berth on the main quay as we had been wedged-in. Our neighbour, a Belgian had his boat severely damaged when left unattended. We were threatened with physical violence when we refused to move over so that a boat from Alimos could get half his stern onto the inside wall of the water tanker berth - we would have had no chance to get ashore but within a few minutes the Port Police turned up and sent them off, helping us to re-moor afterwards. The bloke in the chandlers refuses to sell you what you want and will only sell you what HE wants you to buy. The tavernas are grossly over-priced. A large motorboat layed his chains straight over the top of ours just before we wanted to leave insisting that WE drag our chain out from under his, putting great strain on our deck gear. The ferries keep up high speed until only a couple of boatlengths off the quay setting up an enormous wash... Need I go on?

Ah - that guy in the Chandlers - I had a monumental argument with him, and gave him a bloody nose! Never done that before - just lost my temper totally with him!

Friday and saturday night in Aegina - we had our nav lights busted by a german boat whose owner i think belonged to the waffen SS - right little chit he was.

Crowded as hell - double tier parking.

 

[Bertramdriver]

Ah - that guy in the Chandlers - I had a monumental argument with him, and gave him a bloody nose! Never done that before - just lost my temper totally with him!

Friday and saturday night in Aegina - we had our nav lights busted by a german boat whose owner i think belonged to the waffen SS - right little chit he was.

Crowded as hell - double tier parking.

I think Spiros the Chandler is much misunderstood. Granted he's brusk but you must appreciate that as a busy and very rich man his time is precious. So his ad hoc approach to pricing (up for locals and higher up for visitors) and take it or leave attitude can be misconstrued. Inside his earnest exterior beats a heart of pure gold ( paid for by his customers)
For info in the street adjacent there are two chandlers who although with a lesser range are much more reasonably priced.

 

[Steve C Cronin]

How can the chandler sell you something you don't want? Are you daft enough to agree to buy it? The Belgian and his boat was not your concern. It sounded like the port police were doing their job and helped you re-moor. All ferries create a wash, use more fenders and longer mooring lines to keep away from the quay. The motorboat owner and skippers you mention may not actually come from Greece. Aegina is a very nice place with some lovely people. A bit of give and take in the harbour is all it needs. There's hardly a harbour anywhere in Greece where you won't come across some problems. Bet you don't go to Hydra much then!

The arrogant [edited] were from Athens, Kalamaki, actually. Now stop trying to tell me about that [edited]hole. Been going to/ avoiding the place since 2001

As to Hydra - you MUST be joking when you've got such a great place as Ermione only a few miles away. Avoid Porto Heli, they try to kill people there with their Greek Machismo!

 

[NornaBiron]

Now stop trying to tell me about that s h int hole. Been going to/ avoiding the place since 2001

If you've been trying to avoid Aegina since 2001 why do you still have recent stories about the place - if you find it that bad then go somewhere else. There are plenty of lovely places with easy access to Athens in the area e.g. Poros, Angistri, Methana, Ermioni etc.

 

[1bobt]

Hello
I am sitting in Alexander bar Aegina .The port is already full with large motor boats from Athens, already a verbal fight as a over large power boat forces itself well in to a space much too small, snapping a shore line to the small yacht to its right.
Latter we will see professional skippers drop their anchors across us lesser mortals, so their crew can have a last night out , getting back to Alimos before 10;00 am. tomorrow

It is still very nice though.

Cheers bobt

 

[Bertramdriver]

Can't wait to join the melee. Have already sharpened my bolt cutters and boat hook. All I need is a dose of raw caffeine.

 

[Carmel2]

Hello
I am sitting in Alexander bar Aegina .The port is already full with large motor boats from Athens, already a verbal fight as a over large power boat forces itself well in to a space much too small, snapping a shore line to the small yacht to its right.
Latter we will see professional skippers drop their anchors across us lesser mortals, so their crew can have a last night out , getting back to Alimos before 10;00 am. tomorrow

It is still very nice though.

Cheers bobt

How many deep are the charter boats on top of each other, or some poor sod who nipped out for some milk?

 

[fandancer]

Just thought I'd let you all know that we have just arrived in the lovely harbour at Hydra, 1430 Saturday, been here many times before. It's empty! Where is everyone! Didnt need fenders! It's all about timing. Like going to Aegina.......