Just returned from the Sporades

[lufc71]

As some of you might remember, the last couple of weeks I've been on a flotilla (plus SWMBO and 2 non-sailing friends) in the Sporades on a Bavaria 44; the biggest yacht wot I've ever sailed.
As some of you predicted, the boat was very easy to sail. The only tricky bit was mooring a couple of times when the wind was strong and coming from 45 degrees off the bow or stern which tended to swing her around. This would have been more difficult had we been bare-boat. The Meltemi was blowing the whole 2 weeks but she was very stable and fast which was a lot of fun. Also, there was a lot of room. My 2 friends loved the sailing part, however, the one part which they hated... was the lack of sleep due to 'noise'; creaking warps, lapping waves, tinkling sounds, music from distant bars etc. One night we moored in this very quite little bay at Steni Vala. Unfortunately, one of the bars had a wedding booked and the very loud entertainment went on until 5.05am!! As they live in the sticks and normally sleep in absolute silence they were not amused! Maybe next year, I'll book us a boat plus a hotel room for each night

 

[little_roundtop]

Ear plugs. Essential bit of kit those.....

 

[RichardS]

I'm glad that you (mostly) had a great time.

We don't mind the "boaty" noises but I do agree that the Med in July and August can be a very musically noisy place!

We ususally select anchorages rather than town quays or marinas for that very reason but occasionally you pick a quiet anchorage and just as it's going dark (and too late to move) a "Club 18-30" flotiila rafts up out of nowhere or a wedding party arrives at that quiet little taverna by the shore.

Oh well - a missed nights sleep never killed anyone (unless a forumite knows better................!)

Richard

 

[SimbaDog]

Lovely sailing around there Have they instigated holding tanks yet?

 

[jimi]

I'll never forget Vathi on Kalymnos, there was a very loud Greek wedding with an electric violin that got louder and louder .. culminating in 2 loud explosions as someone threw a couple of sticks of dynamite in the air

 

[lufc71]

Ear plugs. Essential bit of kit those.....

They tried several types to no avail.

 

[lufc71]

Lovely sailing around there Have they instigated holding tanks yet?

On the boats? We had 2, which we never emptied in port....before 11pm

That was something that I forgot to mention; 2 heads great. Unfortunately, they forgot to add that the 2 heads are extremely small. It was the first time in my life that I've had to sit on the toilet for a shower!! Maybe next time I'll also take a crash helmet as you take your life in your hands when trying to turn around in there

 

[SimbaDog]

Last time we were there was about 6 years ago, boat we had didn't have holding tanks & neither did any others as far as we could see

Loved the Islands

 

[mjcoon]

Ear plugs. Essential bit of kit those.....

Or high-tech equivalent: noise cancelling earphones (playing your choice of silence!)...

Mike.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

As some of you might remember, the last couple of weeks I've been on a flotilla (plus SWMBO and 2 non-sailing friends) in the Sporades on a Bavaria 44; the biggest yacht wot I've ever sailed.
As some of you predicted, the boat was very easy to sail. The only tricky bit was mooring a couple of times when the wind was strong and coming from 45 degrees off the bow or stern which tended to swing her around. This would have been more difficult had we been bare-boat. The Meltemi was blowing the whole 2 weeks but she was very stable and fast which was a lot of fun. Also, there was a lot of room. My 2 friends loved the sailing part, however, the one part which they hated... was the lack of sleep due to 'noise'; creaking warps, lapping waves, tinkling sounds, music from distant bars etc. One night we moored in this very quite little bay at Steni Vala. Unfortunately, one of the bars had a wedding booked and the very loud entertainment went on until 5.05am!! As they live in the sticks and normally sleep in absolute silence they were not amused! Maybe next year, I'll book us a boat plus a hotel room for each night

Best don't take them again, loosen up and enjoy

 

[Nerissa]

Best don't take them again, loosen up and enjoy

+1

Were you with Sailing Holidays? We were thinking of doing that route with them next year, having done the Ionian with them a few times now.

 

[jhr]

Last time we were there was about 6 years ago, boat we had didn't have holding tanks & neither did any others as far as we could see

Ditto; four years ago.

Wonderful part of the world, and fabulous sailing.

 

[aquaplane]

I really liked Steni Vala when I was there, I bought the old bloke playing the ballalika (sp?) a drink. Sat there having a drink in the evening sunlight with the music just seemed so right.

I went with Sunsail in 1998 and the boat had a holding tank then

 

[lufc71]

+1

Were you with Sailing Holidays? We were thinking of doing that route with them next year, having done the Ionian with them a few times now.

Yes, SailingHolidays. This is a new route for them so they are not yet quite up to speed with local knowledge but I would highly recommend it. The area is stunning, very good sailing, loads of nice spots to anchor and there are not many other yachts around. The locals were also very welcoming to us wherever we went which was nice. The best harbour in the area is at Achilion. There is a German charter company there called Ecker Yachting who have the quay set up with lazy lines and also damped mooring warps so all you need is fenders. They also help everyone in; even us! This was possibly because they charge 5 euros for shore power/water/showers if you require it. All this helped make this place the only one where my friends got a good nights sleep. Unfortunately, it was the penultimate night. Maybe we should have moored there every night

 

[mjcoon]

Yes, SailingHolidays. This is a new route for them so they are not yet quite up to speed with local knowledge but I would highly recommend it.

Back in May we went on (the 1st half of) the delivery trip for that flotilla from Corfu to near Athens. The winds didn't allow much sailing, unfortunately, but at least we visited places where flotillas do not usually go. A few photos are here.

I have cruised the Sporades, and Gulf of Volos, several times since the 1970s and rate it a splendid area.

Mike.

 

[Nerissa]

Thanks for the info. Do you mind if I ask a few more questions? - I need to sell this one to my three teenage daughters and the first thing they want to know about is the onshore facilities - ie showers! When we went on the Faraways flotilla they complained a little about the lack thereof at several of our stops. The other thing that bothered them about the Faraways trip as opposed to the South Ionian flotillas we normally do was the length of the hops - 25-30 miles on some days and to be honest that's not ideal for us either if there is very little wind as you end up motoring to keep your average speed up when on a shorter hop you can ghost along quite happily.
From the point of view of my OH and myself we are hoping for a bit more wind than the Ionian and less crowded sailing waters as we are necessarily confined to school holiday times for the foreseeable future.
Also, the brochure suggests that there would be nights where you would anchor off and eat onboard - did this happen much?
Hope you don't mind all the questions - I'm suffering from sailing envy at the moment as I'm not in a position to get out anywhere so have resorted to planning next year instead!

Mike - those photos are great - I'd love to do a delivery trip one year - maybe when the kids leave home. The Corinth Canal looks fun.

 

[ridgy]

Try the SH Saronic route. We went early september and there was a steady F3-5 almost every day in the afternoon and not many other boats about. Some decent nightlife in Poros where we stayed for 3 days. Most hops were 10-15 miles.
Wonderful area.

 

[lufc71]

Thanks for the info. Do you mind if I ask a few more questions?

No problem

Showers - A few places had them; Achilion, Steni Vala. Plus a couple of beaches had open beach showers. I am sure as they learn the route they will find/arrange others. This is also true of available restaurants/supermarkets etc. One I would highly recommend is one in Glossa which is a small village high above Loutraki (you could walk or take a cab) which overlooks the whole area. Breathtaking views and very good food
Length of hops - the longest was 32NM to Achilion on the penultimate night as we wanted to get as close to the final port (Orei) as possible. The rest were around 10-20 but obviously you could stay out and sail around until late afternoon if you wanted.
Wind - Up to f8 on the main islands for the first few days which kept us 'trapped' in the Orei area. We ventured over there when it dropped to f5. We had good wind every day.
Anchored nights - we had only one, and that was a party night. We rafted up in Peristera Bay which was a lovely little spot. One of our group spent most of the fortnight free sailing and anchoring.
Delivery - One of our group did the Sporades delivery also. He said it was very tiring due to the early starts and long daily mileage to achieve.

 

[RichardS]

Thanks for the info. Do you mind if I ask a few more questions? - I need to sell this one to my three teenage daughters and the first thing they want to know about is the onshore facilities - ie showers!

A bit left-field but you might consider a catamaran charter?

You will normally get two large showers separated from the toilet by a full height glass door just like at home. There are four of us and with the huge water capacity on a cat we each have a shower every day. Even if we are in a marina we still use our own showers as they are often nicer than the marina and certainly a lot more convenient.

Our fresh water tanks will last over a week so even a two week holiday only means one re-fill.

Just a suggestion!

Richard

 

[jhr]

Anchored nights - we had only one, and that was a party night. We rafted up in Peristera Bay which was a lovely little spot.

Even nicer when there isn't a large flotilla there (we teamed up with a couple of other families on free sailing days )

We found showers somewhere in Skopelos Town but I can't now remember where, I'm afraid. The Lead Boat crew should know.

I second the comments about Glossa - great views and fab food. My recommendation would be to take the bus or a taxi up. You can walk back down but I'd take a torch with you