Cruising from Athens....any advice?

[Matata]

Chartering a cat, 8 on board. 3 keen bloke sailors,one bloke happy to come along for the trip and four sun worshiping wives. May be 30 miles per day. Harbour in the evening , breaky on board and lunch in a bay. Any ideas where to go over the next 6 days? Anything i need to know or look out for with rules, regs and chartering scams etc??? Ta Nik

 

[Tranona]

Buy yourself a copy of Rod Heikells Greek Waters Pilot and work out your itinerary from that. Go south as quickly as you can. Plenty of places in the Saronic Islands and Peloponese mainland to fill your 6 days. Lots of useful information on cruising in general in Greece and history etc to help make the most of your trip. The charter company will give you a good briefing as well. No particular scams to be aware of. Make sure you check the inventory and that everything is working on the boat. Practice mooring stern to - not too difficult in a cat once you get used to using the twin engines. If going in high season be aware finding space for a cat on a town quay may be difficult.

The waters off Athens are filthy and busy with shipping and not typical of the rest of the area, but you get free of them in 3-4 hours from leaving the Athens marinas.

 

[vyv_cox]

The waters off Athens are filthy and busy with shipping and not typical of the rest of the area, but you get free of them in 3-4 hours from leaving the Athens marinas.

Having cruised this coast very recently we found the comments about 'filthy water' in the Heikell pilot to be totally untrue. We anchored in Salamina for several days, very close to the anchorage off Athens, and along with many Greeks swam in the crystal clear waters. Further east we anchored close to many of the marinas and again noticed no more filth than anywhere else, which is mostly almost none. On the bus to and from the airport it was noticeable how many people were swimming in the sea well into the centre of Athens.

 

[jimbaerselman]

See www.jimbsail.info/mediterranean/greece/athens. That's got a pair of maps showing most of the local ports you can reach within in a fortnight, with text descriptions to help you select the ones you'd most like to visit.

Quietest/most laid back area to cruise is the E Peloponese - the Argolic gulf. But don't miss buzzing Poros and all the nearby anchorages. And if you're into rings of stones and a touch of opera, you may add Epidavros.

Blue spots on the maps referred to above are the "must visits"

 

[Tranona]

Having cruised this coast very recently we found the comments about 'filthy water' in the Heikell pilot to be totally untrue. We anchored in Salamina for several days, very close to the anchorage off Athens, and along with many Greeks swam in the crystal clear waters. Further east we anchored close to many of the marinas and again noticed no more filth than anywhere else, which is mostly almost none. On the bus to and from the airport it was noticeable how many people were swimming in the sea well into the centre of Athens.

I have also swum there further east off Glyfadha, but my memory of crossing the shipping tracks from Kalamaki to Aigina is of a stream of rubbish floating on the surface which does not leave a good impression. However as I suggested you get through it very quickly and are in another world once you get to Aigina.

 

[Matata]

Thanks for all that, committee meeting (wives) tonight to decide what nail varnish to bring so I'll put forward all suggestions on a chart to get their input. Ever felt the feeling they don't ming till it goes wrong and then they all stare at you.......

 

[Resolution]

Having cruised this coast very recently we found the comments about 'filthy water' in the Heikell pilot to be totally untrue. We anchored in Salamina for several days, very close to the anchorage off Athens, and along with many Greeks swam in the crystal clear waters. Further east we anchored close to many of the marinas and again noticed no more filth than anywhere else, which is mostly almost none. On the bus to and from the airport it was noticeable how many people were swimming in the sea well into the centre of Athens.

We had to visit Piraeus twice in August and not only did we find the amount of commercial shipping no bother at all, the water was 99% clean and clear. We swam mid "ocean" most days. Lots of tuna hunting smaller fish off the coast near Epidhavros, and a school of dolphins right outside ZEA marina at Piraeus. Very nice.

 

[Melody]

Just a word of warning if you are planning to visit Aegina on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights. A huge number of yachts going to/from Kalamaki come in then and it gets VERY busy. There may not be room for a catamaran to moor unless you come early in the day. If conditions are calm you can anchor in the bay just south of Aegina Town and go ashore in a dinghy (hope the wives are okay about that). There's an excellent restaurant, the Dromaki, next to Brown's Hotel right by the beach.

 

[soapbox440]

Agree that you either want to make a quick getaway, or very slow, to avoid the charter crowds. Just back myself, found plenty space in Poros and Ermioni (if you are heading that way) We actually spent the night at anchor outside Ermioni harbour one of the nights which was delightful. Lots of lovely anchorages around that area too.