Alternatives to Agios Nikolas for winter 2017/18

[Majic]

Hi All.
Our plans this year were to sail from the Ionian through the Cyclades and ending up in Crete. Unfortunately, a busy winter , house moving and a trip to Thailand, meant I never quite got round to contacting the marina until this week. I received a very quick response- "fully booked".
So we are looking for alternatives;
We intend staying on board untill mid-december, so somewhere where there is some town life and other liveaboards is needed. From December to April we would prefer hard storage.

Leros seems one possibility, though I'm not sure about any liveaboards. Turkey may be an option, though I'm not sure about the current political situation or which marinas would be suitable.

The new marina at Rhodes may be suitable, but seems very expensive.

This area is completely new to us so we would be very grateful for any advice/suggestions.

Thanks
Jon & Greta

 

[multihullsailor6]

Here are three possibilities in that area:

- Rethymno Marina in Crete, nice and secure marina but no hard storage
- Rhodes, both Mandraki Marina and the New Marina with two hard storage possibilities in Rhodes town
- Kos Marina

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hi Jon
There not that many places in Greece where you are going to find liveaboard Crete one so is messlonghi , Messilonghi comes with its own problems .
One place you will find a good liveaboad is in Lefkes Marina , but it you looking at staying on the hard , I some how thing your going to have a problem most places in Greece except Preveza , I understand all the three yards there will let you liveaboard .
There are a few other places where you find one or two liveaboard I think Corfu is one place and maybe Kos .
Hope that help

 

[NormanB]

Hi Jon
There not that many places in Greece where you are going to find liveaboard Crete one so is messlonghi , Messilonghi comes with its own problems .
One place you will find a good liveaboad is in Lefkes Marina , but it you looking at staying on the hard , I some how thing your going to have a problem most places in Greece except Preveza , I understand all the three yards there will let you liveaboard .
There are a few other places where you find one or two liveaboard I think Corfu is one place and maybe Kos .
Hope that help

Sorry to butt in - what's the problem with Messilonghi.
Only been there once and just being nosy - is it the commercial concrete jetty?

 

[sailaboutvic]

Messilonghi has had problem for some years now , one fact is over the last few years , all work has been stop including minor work , i.e. Polishing , people have been fined for Woking on their boat , the Marina hasn't got a licence to aloud work .
It a real shame as it was once a great Marina to winter out and it did have a very good liveaboard .
Has anyone who know the Marina the problem has been that one of the part owners is. Real pain in the Ass and although he been banned from having anything to do with the everyday running of the Marina , he causing real problem for Jo , his latest trick it , he reporting any work being done to the PP . His hope is that the Marina fold and he take it over ,
Give Jo his credit he has refunded haulout fees so people can go else where to get haulout .
As I said it is a real shame .
Just to make it clear , it maybe that the Marina now has the licence, but upto last oct there didn't , and people were being told it could take a few months to a few years .

 

[Majic]

Thanks for the replies.
Rethymno sounds possible, but I have read reports of it not being well maintained with broken mooring lines. If any one has recent information I would be grateful.
We visited Messolonghi last year. The town was nice, but found the marina was expensive for its location and facilities and deserted of people.
We are a bit wary of Kos at the moment.
Majic is currently in Lefkas, and returning around the Peloponnese is one option, staying in Lefkas until December and then storing on the hard in Preveza.
Has anyone here stayed at Leros?
Thanks
Jon

 

[Tony Cross]

Here are three possibilities in that area:

- Rethymno Marina in Crete, nice and secure marina but no hard storage
- Rhodes, both Mandraki Marina and the New Marina with two hard storage possibilities in Rhodes town
- Kos Marina

Personally I would advise against Rethymon for winter aboard, although a handful of people do winter there. The toilets and showers are public ones downstairs, they are cleaned fairly regularly but they still stink. Last time I was there the shower heads were missing too. It's also a long walk to the nearest supermarket and a long walk into the old town. I have also had reports of the sea coming over the outer wall in a northerly F9 a few winters ago and causing a lot of disturbance inside the 'marina'.

For winter 2018 in Agios Nikolaos you'll probably need to book before the end of September this year (or possibly even earlier).

 

[sailaboutvic]

Personally I would advise against Rethymon for winter aboard, although a handful of people do winter there. The toilets and showers are public ones downstairs, they are cleaned fairly regularly but they still stink. Last time I was there the shower heads were missing too. It's also a long walk to the nearest supermarket and a long walk into the old town. I have also had reports of the sea coming over the outer wall in a northerly F9 a few winters ago and causing a lot of disturbance inside the 'marina'.

For winter 2018 in Agios Nikolaos you'll probably need to book before the end of September this year (or possibly even earlier).

Tony what is your thought on wintering out on the hook in Spinalonga ?
I heard there the odd boat that does .
Any problems that you can think off ?

 

[noelex]

Tony what is your thought on wintering out on the hook in Spinalonga ?
I heard there the odd boat that does .
Any problems that you can think off ?

This would not suit the OP, but it is a good option.

You need good anchoring gear and also need to be self sufficient in terms of electricity, etc.

It is a pity so few people anchor in the Med over winter.

 

[vyv_cox]

Very few people (none?) overwinter at Leros. The marina is secure in all weathers but the town, although remaining active all year, is a bit of a distance away. Skippers Bar at the marina closes in winter. I know people who have stayed until December but not after that.

 

[sailaboutvic]

This would not suit the OP, but it is a good option.

You need good anchoring gear and also need to be self sufficient in terms of electricity, etc.

It is a pity so few people anchor in the Med over winter.

Thinking more about us then the OP ,
I think we as self sufficient as one can be , only need to find somewhere to keep the odd cow, pig and a few chickens
As we normally sail till Dec it only be a couple of months anyway

 

[Tony Cross]

Tony what is your thought on wintering out on the hook in Spinalonga ?
I heard there the odd boat that does .
Any problems that you can think off ?

PM Nora Biron of this parish, they have wintered on the hook there for several winters now. It wouldn't suit me but if you don't mind fetching water in cans from a tap ashore and if you're electrically independent even when it's cloudy with no wind you should be fine.

There is almost no traffic in the lagoon in winter and plenty of space to lay out a good amount of chain. The bottom is good holding and the depth is nowhere more than 8m.

However, it does get very windy and gusty in there over winter, there is some chop too but no real sea to worry about. The boat can yaw a lot at anchor in the strong gusts, lesser boats have broken anchor rollers in there even in summer winds so you'll need a strop and you'll need to check it regularly.

Nora Biron can almost certainly give you lots more pointers than I can.

 

[noelex]

I think it is a good spot for winter. It is protected from 360° with good holding, although be prepared for a few rather vicious winter gales and storms. These are no problem with good anchoring gear.

My only criticism of Spinalonga, is that there are not a lot of other reasonably welł protected anchorages, that are suitable for winter, situated close by. This makes continuing to move around a little more difficult.

 

[macd]

PM Nora Biron of this parish.

Or even Norna Biron, who are more likely to respond

 

[NornaBiron]

We've just spent our fifth winter anchored in Spinalonga. We have excellent ground tackle and a heavy displacement boat so are very secure there. We generally anchor near the fishermen's slipway as then we are close enough for a short walk into town, however if strong winds are forecast we move to one of the smaller bays on the east side of the lagoon for more shelter. The holding, everywhere, is excellent. The maximum swell we have seen in the lagoon is 1-1.5 metres. We've safely sat out several storms of 50+ knots with only the odd sleepless night, certainly no more than those in the Ag Nik marina experience.

The town of Elounda is alive through the winter with a few bars and tavernas open, a couple of supermarkets, butchers, bakers etc, a weekly market and several buses each day to Ag Nik and back. There is an excellent hardware/chandlery store with English speaking staff who are very helpful. We have always been able to get water from the beach showers/taps and the quality is very good (despite the fact that the locals don't drink it). There is a large ex-pat community in Elounda, English is widely spoken.

Generally the climate is better than the rest of Greece, however this winter just gone we have burnt far more deisel for heating than is usual and there have been periods of several days when haven't got off the boat due to rain.

 

[NornaBiron]

Or even Norna Biron, who are more likely to respond

I'll answer to any variation!

 

[sailaboutvic]

We've just spent our fifth winter anchored in Spinalonga. We have excellent ground tackle and a heavy displacement boat so are very secure there. We generally anchor near the fishermen's slipway as then we are close enough for a short walk into town, however if strong winds are forecast we move to one of the smaller bays on the east side of the lagoon for more shelter. The holding, everywhere, is excellent. The maximum swell we have seen in the lagoon is 1-1.5 metres. We've safely sat out several storms of 50+ knots with only the odd sleepless night, certainly no more than those in the Ag Nik marina experience.

The town of Elounda is alive through the winter with a few bars and tavernas open, a couple of supermarkets, butchers, bakers etc, a weekly market and several buses each day to Ag Nik and back. There is an excellent hardware/chandlery store with English speaking staff who are very helpful. We have always been able to get water from the beach showers/taps and the quality is very good (despite the fact that the locals don't drink it). There is a large ex-pat community in Elounda, English is widely spoken.

Generally the climate is better than the rest of Greece, however this winter just gone we have burnt far more deisel for heating than is usual and there have been periods of several days when haven't got off the boat due to rain.

Thanks for that bit of info , very useful .i now remember Albert saying that you had wintered there

 

[bobthecook]

Another place to winter is Poros lake still have electric on the quay with free water .Move about the lake into a safer position when the wind blows and it does .There are a good few English locals for company, though not many liveaboards
Take your boat to Takis or Jordan's yard Aegina if you want to be ashore after December.
It may be a little too far North for you, but an idea if stuck.

 

[jimbaerselman]

All a long way from Crete:

Kalamata marina has a small international wintering community. A bit of surge in the biggest southerlies, but not unacceptable. 50,000 populations town - all mod cons.

Pylos (un-equipped) Marina is free berthing, but no electricity or water. Nice village, alive all winter

Ermoupolis (on Syros) had a similar marina to Pylos - nearly finished 3 years ago, but not operated, then free of charge, with several yachts laid up afloat. Big lively town, very good shipyards and yacht support, capital and ferry routing centre for the Cyclades.

All described on my web site - google "jimb greece"