Athens Charter Mid October

[Pete Carr]

Hello.

We are Chartering a Dufour 412 out of Alimos Marina Athens, 13th - 20th October, any advice on where best to go / avoid at that time of year would be welcome?

Is Alimos marina still as bad as the reports say, there doesnt seem to be much within striking distance for the first night (it will be getting dark around 7.30pm)

I have heard Aegina can be bedlam on Sundays and Thursdays being the closest stop to Athens at the beginning/end of charters, is that still the case this time of year, and does that affect the whole island or just Aegina Port. I was thinking of trying Perdika.

Hydra: Again I have heard horror stories of being rafted in and over crowding, has anyone been in October? is it still as bad?

Many Thanks

Pete

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hi Pete
There a few anchorages on Agina, personally I wouldn't bother with Perdika it nosy crowed and the last time I was there , there was a disco that when on till 5am
Unless disco your thing .
Poros is about 26 miles and if the NW are blowing it can be a quick sail you find plenty good anchorages around the island .
Hydra , last time we was there was very early spring , we didn't see many boats about for days until we arrived in the harbour , packed as ever, we have friends visiting in late sept , their wish is to see Hydra , there going to have to keep wishing .
It does get quietly in Oct but there still many about .
Athens house some of the biggest charter marinas in the Aegean.
Plenty of anchorages about n them parts .
Enjoy

 

[newtothis]

Hello.

We are Chartering a Dufour 412 out of Alimos Marina Athens, 13th - 20th October, any advice on where best to go / avoid at that time of year would be welcome?

Is Alimos marina still as bad as the reports say, there doesnt seem to be much within striking distance for the first night (it will be getting dark around 7.30pm)

I have heard Aegina can be bedlam on Sundays and Thursdays being the closest stop to Athens at the beginning/end of charters, is that still the case this time of year, and does that affect the whole island or just Aegina Port. I was thinking of trying Perdika.

Hydra: Again I have heard horror stories of being rafted in and over crowding, has anyone been in October? is it still as bad?

Many Thanks

Pete

Alimos was as good as any for departing and leaving from last time I was there. Bit of a hike to the nearest supermarket, but doable.
If you want to skip Aegina go straight over the top to Megalochori on the north of Agistri - flotillas should have left there by then if it's changeover day, but there's good anchoring in the bay as well.
With only a week, you'll need to decide if you want to stay north or Poros or go south. If you go south Hydra is a must, but better to anchor in Mandraki bay [carefully - the bottom is quite fouled in places] then walk over to Hydra to watch the car crash fun in the harbour at Hydra; but I've not been that late in the year so it may not be so bad then.
But there's plenty to do north of and including Poros. Vathi and Epidavros both good for stopovers and on the mainland you can go see the ruins if you want a shore break.
Only other things to mention are the lack of wind some days, and wind direction changes at night. Anchor into the wind and a few hours later you'll find yourself with a lee shore behind you.

 

[cmogs]

We found the Blue Sea hotel in Alimos family run reasonable prices handy because of our flight times - a new supermarket in between hotel and marina they will drop to boat but hotel will also assist if you ask nicely !
We have overnighted at Aegina harbour but were also advised to use berths/pontoons outside main harbor - check with your company. Methana also handy to overnight - use the main quay -don`t use Marina , we like Ermoni as well ,Poros or Vathi on your way back .
All a delight . -Enjoy

 

[Pete Carr]

Hi Pete
There a few anchorages on Agina, personally I wouldn't bother with Perdika it nosy crowed and the last time I was there , there was a disco that when on till 5am
Unless disco your thing .

Ah! and there was me thinking Perdika might be the quieter option? Thanks for the tip.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Ah! and there was me thinking Perdika might be the quieter option? Thanks for the tip.

It is as long as you have ears plugs
We anchored in Klima a few months nice and quiet just tie back to the rocks , it's a bit of a track but you can walk to perdika from there

 

[Pete Carr]

Alimos was as good as any for departing and leaving from last time I was there. Bit of a hike to the nearest supermarket, but doable.
If you want to skip Aegina go straight over the top to Megalochori on the north of Agistri - flotillas should have left there by then if it's changeover day, but there's good anchoring in the bay as well.
With only a week, you'll need to decide if you want to stay north or Poros or go south. If you go south Hydra is a must, but better to anchor in Mandraki bay [carefully - the bottom is quite fouled in places] then walk over to Hydra to watch the car crash fun in the harbour at Hydra; but I've not been that late in the year so it may not be so bad then.
But there's plenty to do north of and including Poros. Vathi and Epidavros both good for stopovers and on the mainland you can go see the ruins if you want a shore break.
Only other things to mention are the lack of wind some days, and wind direction changes at night. Anchor into the wind and a few hours later you'll find yourself with a lee shore behind you.

all good advice thank you.

Pete

 

[Pete Carr]

We found the Blue Sea hotel in Alimos family run reasonable prices handy because of our flight times - a new supermarket in between hotel and marina they will drop to boat but hotel will also assist if you ask nicely !
We have overnighted at Aegina harbour but were also advised to use berths/pontoons outside main harbor - check with your company. Methana also handy to overnight - use the main quay -don`t use Marina , we like Ermoni as well ,Poros or Vathi on your way back .
All a delight . -Enjoy

Fortunately we don't need a hotel, as our flights work well with the boat handover timings, boat company "Sail Greece" have offered to arrange our provisions to be delivered at check in, they just need a list, quite a nice touch I thought.

 

[dk]

We always try to reach Poros, where there are plenty of protected anchorages inside the approach channel (beware of the ferry wash tho). If not, Aegina should be fine in Oct, as will most places - including Hydra and Spetses. The weather can be a tad unpredicatble in Oct, with high winds often coming from nowhere in the early hours! So unless you have a good/strong crew I'd maybe stick around the Peloponnese rather than venture too far into the Aegean.

 

[vyv_cox]

No way would I go to Hydra in my boat but in a charter boat it might be noisy fun. Allow for lots of anchor delays.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

No way would I go to Hydra in my boat but in a charter boat it might be noisy fun. Allow for lots of anchor delays.

About 10:30 -11:30 am on a Friday is the best time, Charter boats have left and it to early for the Athens power boats to arrive.

 

[Pete Carr]

About 10:30 -11:30 am on a Friday is the best time, Charter boats have left and it to early for the Athens power boats to arrive.

Unfortunately, too late for us to get back to Athens by 18.00, as we are a charter too.

 

[Pete Carr]

Alimos was as good as any for departing and leaving from last time I was there. Bit of a hike to the nearest supermarket, but doable.
If you want to skip Aegina go straight over the top to Megalochori on the north of Agistri - flotillas should have left there by then if it's changeover day, but there's good anchoring in the bay as well.
With only a week, you'll need to decide if you want to stay north or Poros or go south. If you go south Hydra is a must, but better to anchor in Mandraki bay [carefully - the bottom is quite fouled in places] then walk over to Hydra to watch the car crash fun in the harbour at Hydra; but I've not been that late in the year so it may not be so bad then.
But there's plenty to do north of and including Poros. Vathi and Epidavros both good for stopovers and on the mainland you can go see the ruins if you want a shore break.
Only other things to mention are the lack of wind some days, and wind direction changes at night. Anchor into the wind and a few hours later you'll find yourself with a lee shore behind you.

I think we will only have 2 or 3 hours of daylight at best once the boat is handed over, so even Aegina would be tight on time.
Once the initial crossing is made the distances between places do not seem that great, I'm surprised you think that North of Poros and as far as Hydra isnt achievable in one week, but I will certainly take your suggestion on board, as always it depends on the weather, and who knows where we will find ourselves.
If we get to Hydra, I will take a view on whether it is do-able or if your suggestion of Mandraki bay is the better option (I saw a YouTube clip of Hydra in late October and there was lots of room, but also lots of overnight wind)
Poros appears to be a bit hectic, any recommendations where best to try and moor?

Many thanks for the advice, it is really appreciated.

Pete

 

[Pete Carr]

I just thought I would write a little update now we are back.
We didnt make it out of the Marina on the Saturday after all, so set off Sunday Morning.
Perdika: was rather lovely, no hint of noisiness or anything remotely like a disco, it was full with a flotilla so we anchored off the small quay opposite.
Poros: Nice enough bigger town, well sheltered.
Vathi: an absolute delight, my favourite spot of the week.
Palaia Epidavros: Pleasant enough for a bigger place.
Agistri: lovely bays on the S/W for lunch. but Megalachori was a bit dissapointing, marina served a purpose, Taverna was a bit ropey, and then the Disco pumped music over the marina until 2am,

Sadly we didnt make it to Hydra, Another time I think I would charter out of Poros, rather than Athens.
But on the whole a very pleasant week.

 

[mjcoon]

I just thought I would write a little update now we are back.
We didnt make it out of the Marina on the Saturday after all, so set off Sunday Morning.
Perdika: was rather lovely, no hint of noisiness or anything remotely like a disco, it was full with a flotilla so we anchored off the small quay opposite.
Poros: Nice enough bigger town, well sheltered.
Vathi: an absolute delight, my favourite spot of the week.
Palaia Epidavros: Pleasant enough for a bigger place.
Agistri: lovely bays on the S/W for lunch. but Megalachori was a bit dissapointing, marina served a purpose, Taverna was a bit ropey, and then the Disco pumped music over the marina until 2am,

Sadly we didnt make it to Hydra, Another time I think I would charter out of Poros, rather than Athens.
But on the whole a very pleasant week.

Poros can be awful (like anywhere in the Med if unlucky!). Last time we were there the wind was whistling up the narrow gap making parking very tricky...

Mike.