flotilla sailing holiday - aegean - august - what to take?

duncan

duncan

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looking forward to happier times I wonder if others could cast their minds back (again possibly to warmer happier times) and let me know any vital must haves to pack .........

as outlined on another post jhr and I are, coincidentially, heading for the Northern Sporades - following in the footsteps of Provenjon. Boats an SO40 if that makes any difference.

advice to date includes

suncream
HH VHF
HH GPS
swim shorts
own good binos
sunglasses
leatherman
snorkel gear for the family

and, as tcm constantly reminds, us - credit cards!

I am thinking of adding the Cobb BBQ to my gear together with a water proof camera.

Already got the charts and am marking them up with info, as I aquire it, on tavernas, anchorages, water and ................

I am not proposing to take my own Sword anchor even if the boat is fitted with a CQR!
 
pencil and sharpener
the ones on the boat are either missing or broken
some natty burgee????
hat
gloves to protect those delicate hands that have only ever pushed throttles
 
To be honest I'd travel as light as possible. Many of the items you have listed will be on the inventory of most well found charter yachts. The inventory will include binoculars, probable a GPS set of some sort, VHF set, snorkelling gear, basic tools etc. Whether they are on boasrd is another matter, but you will be asked to go through the inventory before taking over the boat and can insist on any missing items being replaced.

The binoculars won't be brilliant but they will be adequate. If you are a very keen snorkeller then there is a case for taking your own gear but that supplied will be OK for most. If you take a Leatherman for goodness sake put it in your hold luggage not hand lugage or you'll lose it to the C&E family Christmas fund

The Sporades are a close knit group of islands and navigation is dead easy. There will be reasonable charts and a good pilot book on board. If you are fussy about the plotter you like to use (Breton, Capt Fields, parallel rules) take it but you probably won't use it.

Essentials to my mind are
High factor sun cream
After sun cream
Hat
Gloves (for hauling up all that chain when the windlass breaks down)
Sun glasses
Imodium (lots and lots).

After that it's just sensible summer clothing including a light waterproof jacket and maybe trousers
 
Setsail will give you a list - and tell you what they already supply.

Most companies include snorkel stuff, but if you've got your favourite mask . . .

This is line of sight navigation, so you won't need GPS (nor, for that matter, hand VHF - the box on the boat is quite adequate for the undisciplined inter-boat chatter).

Almost every anchorage will have a taverna, and every taverna has a charcoal grill, so, unless you're really keen on cooking for yourself, you won't need a BBQ (unless those letters stood for something else)

Sun protection:
Head (how much hair?)
Arms and legs (light cotton/polyester long sleeves and legs)
Lip salve

Eyes - polaroid sunspecs are very useful for peering under the surface to identify rocky bits and shallows
Sailing gloves - to handle chain/rope

Credit cards have limited applicaton - cash cards for ATM are preferable.

Light sprayproof/windproof top - for those occasions when you actually sail to windward rather than motoring! (Rare above F3 among charterers, and you'll meet F5 on several afternoons)

Good books . . .
 
I completely agree...
All charter boats MUST have binoculars, GPS, VHF, all have basic tools and almost all have snorkelling gear.

After all you can source anything in Greece if you find it missing and it will save you the hassle to carry enormous (and heavy=costly) baggages...
 
I would add Mosquito repellant to the list, according to Andy McNab this should contain more than 50% N-N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) to be really effective.

I don't know why but the little b****s do seem to pick on my wife more than myself, do they prefer female blood?
 
some great stuff - pencils wouldn't have made my list for example; and of course some downright rude.......... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif for which I also thank you of course!

snorkling gear will travel with us 'cos we all have a set (flipper sizes from 1 to 13!) and it will add little to the already little we appear to need to carry!

what about fishing gear? Saw some great pictures of tuna on some sailing holiday snaps from the area - are they, or other fish, common in the area? I do realise the marine park area has some restrictions though.
 
when it's dark it is very very dark! Much more so that in uk frinstance. So i was pretty smug about having a long dangly 12v light that could be plugged in below and reach to cockpit, needs about 12 feet. I nicked this from er another sunsail boat in the caribbee and left it on board the greek boat, so it wasn't realy nicking it, sort of.

Decent snorkels and masks, cos the freebie charter boat items will be knackered or wrong size.
 
Credit cards?????

Anywhere in the Med these days has a frightenly increasing cloning problem. By the time you go on hols there will be available (probably The Independent will be sponsoring one but there will be others) pre-pay travel cards. These are simple debit cards that you preload in the UK with euros (usually at a much better rate than any money changer) and you can then spend them as a cr/dr card or get cash from a hole in the wall. Means that your Bank/cr card a/c doesn't get raped after some dodgy **** nicks your details. All you can lose is what is on the card. They are reloadable so you can reload when on hols via internet or SMS. If it gets nicked you can stop the card and it will be pin protected.
 
I've only done one trip to the Ionian and made the mistake of not asking for advice on here first - result was 3 couples (6 peeps) travelling with a large sailing bag each packed to over-flowing and assorted extra luggage - wrong.
I could have probably gone in two Asda plastic bags. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Seriously we were with Sunsail and yes the nav equipment wasn't what you'd have on your own boat but then I've never been in a sailing environment where line of sight navigation meant exactly that - the water is generally so deep that you can get within a boats length of some rocks and still be in 20'+ of water.

Snorkeling gear wasn't the best but serviceable.

We took cash as well as c/cards and never used the cards - difficult to find anyone to take them. If you don't want to carry the cash all the time then there are plenty of places on a boat to "stash" it.

Clothes -
1 set to travel out/back in.
Plenty of tee shirts and shorts.
Loads of sun cream.
A hat.
Good sun glasses

Additional items
Insect repellent.
Small ball of string - for the wasp traps. PM me if you want to know how to manufacture you're own traps.

Peter.
 
Take a fishing rod and some tuna lures

Im sure this is teaching granny to suck eggs but you will be just the right speed for trailling for tuna
Met loads of people who did on theway to corsica ( i know your not going there) and caught massive fish eating tuna steaks for a week
Generally the fishing in the med seemsa bit hit and miss something to do with thefact it doesnt have enough oxygen in the water
Good luck
 
Re: Take a fishing rod and some tuna lures

definitely not sucking on the eggs stuff - my understanding of med 'angling' is restricted to mullet, bass (small and infrequent!), pretty little bream (best looked at swiming) and the odd grouper and wrasse that, at times, look indistinguisable but you wouldn't want to eat the wrasse!

I have some tuna handlines purchased in Ampuriabrava so they'll go with me if I can find them and saltwater fly gear (this is fishing not catching!!!) to fill in time in anchorages between drinks........ /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Re: Take a fishing rod and some tuna lures

Let us know how you get on,I found it very hardwork the little fish of which there seem to be millions nick your bait and your constantly re-baiting in the anchorages
You will need small hooks plenty of floats and a very fast reaction
By the way were relocating back down the solent next year and could do with a few tips or prefrably waypoints where i can try my luck
tryed drifting down the needles channel last time without a bite got any tips ?
Let me know if you fancy a dinghy sail in the spring ive got a nice wayfarer based in pompey
 
Re: Yo sailbad!

hi there
all the sailbads ( 4 of us now) well]
hope di and the boys good
i reckon we should get a proper list together
or at least suggest Duncan raids other boats for spare warps fenders anchor
dinghy engine etc.
 
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