Deluxe skippered charter, Greek Islands

[Spankerwrap]

There appears to be a glut of fifty to sixty foot catamarans complete with skipper and hostess to charter in the Caribbean, but when looking for the same in the Greeks Islands, I have yet to find one.

True, there are bareboat charter options which will supply a skipper for about £80 to £100 per day but it looks as if you have to feed him/her. Any ideas? Maybe a business opportunity?

Also, it appears that you can hire a typical bareboat fourty odd footer in the Greek islands for about the same price as a fully crewed, full board option in the Carib.

Is there really a demand out there to charter bareboat cats in the Med for up to £10,000 per fortnight?

Is it possible to set up a charter business in the Greek islands nowadays. I know it should be possible legally, but does anyone have practical experience at trying it?

Forgive the rambling note, but I have written thoughts down as I have thought of them

Cheers

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[Shakey]

Hiya,

I worked last year for a charter company in the Greek islands.

I wasn't really involved in the admin side of the business, just the operational delivery.

I know the Greek authorities made it difficult for foreign owned businesses despite us all being in the EU now. All the boats had to be Greek flagged, and for bigger boats ie. day tripper boats, the skippers had to be Greek. This is meant to be changing though.

The lack of skipper charter in Greece could be just down to the hassle, and perhaps more profit can be made in the Caribbean. Also the Greek islands are relatively easy to sail so there may be less demand for skippered charters.

They can also get very busy and do not have the same cachet as the Caribbean, they are the sailing holiday equivalent of the bucket n spade brigade at Majorca.

However, if you set up a Greek luxury skipper charter business please let me now, I might be tempted to do another season!

<hr width=100% size=1>It could have been worse - it could have been me.

 

[Melody]

Hi

We run a skippered charter business and RYA sailing school in the Aegean, and there are a few people offering all-inclusive owner-skippered charters with the sort of service you get in the Med. I'll put some URLS at the end of this post for you to check out.

As for running a charter business in Greece, it is now possible to do this if you are an EU citizen, but it isn't easy. The easiest approach would be to buy a boat that is already on the Hellenic Shipping Register as a commercial yacht; trying to bring a yacht into the country and register it as a commerical vessel is much more difficult.

You would need to either have a Greek partner or be a Greek resident, which means proving you have lived in Greece for at least a year. You'll need a Greek tax (VAT) number and will have to pay national insurance (tebe) on the value of your company, which will be the value of your boat.

There is quite strict paperwork that has to be done but it is straightforward (if cumbersome). You need a good accountant who understands the charter business and he'll keep you right with when you have to do what.

I should mention that Greece has suffered from a major decline in tourism over the past few years, due to a number of factors - cost of living rose with the Euro introduction, it is perceived by Americans as being in the Eastern Med and only a stone's throw from Arab/Muslim countries etc etc. So no big money to be made here I don't think.

Here are some websites to check:
http://www.yachtchartergreece.com
http://www.sailvalentine.com
http://www.charterayachtingreece.com

Cheers

Melody



<hr width=100% size=1>Melody McKay Burton
Yacht Valentine, Greece