officialdom in Greek/Turkey waters

[glenndraper]

We are considering extended visits to Greek/Turkey waters (2/3 yrs) and a friend of mine said he had heard that boaters have had problems with officialdom in those waters. Has anyone come across problems with extended voyage/ mooring in either Greece or Turkey please.

 

[Whitelighter]

The Greeks are ok, you just have to do everything right. You need your insurance in Greek, your ICC and RYA certs on you, plus you have to obtain a transit log and sign in and out of EVERY port, and for port read small town key with only a Donkey and a Taverna - there will be port police somewhere and you will have to go visit.

The Greeks are also understandably very careful about their boarders. If you are near turkey or look like you might have been to turkey you may get stopped. They seem to think every fast(ish) Mobo is people trafficking and they are determined to stop it. I have seen an Helenic CG boat up close and the big gun on the front said 'do as we say'.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Since Jan 2006 the Port Police Protocol in Greece has become very much more relaxed. EU flagged boats in the country are treated in very much the same way as the Greek flagged boats.

You'll find a definitive description of how it works (for vessels under 25m anyway) on my web site. Click the 'sailing' tab, go to the 'Greece Details' section, then scroll down to 'Port Police Protocol'.

 

[Whitelighter]

Not the experience I had in Greece summer 2006

 

[jimbaerselman]

I'd be very interested in any places which:

a. Asked you specifically to check in with them
b. Criticised you for any gaps on your DEKRA or other paperwork discrepancies.

So that I can re-word the site if necessary. Do pm or email me if you wish.

I've listed some ports which were late adopting the lighter touch. A particular policeman on Tilos has been critical of DEKRA gaps, while Rhodes, Symi, Samos and Patras have all asked for checkin and Rhodes has been particularly pedantic checking paperwork (but not queried DEKRA gaps). All this from a poll of some 40 crews over the last couple of years in addition to my own experiences.

 

[Renegade_Master]

you aint got a September date old boy, are you not coming out? G & N coming on 11th September party time /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Whitelighter]

Kos was the place. Though they are probably a little tighter due to being so close to Turkey.

Absolute PITA

 

[glenndraper]

hi jim - I have tried to get your sailing tab to work but it will not - the other parts of your web site is very good

 

[jimbaerselman]

Glenn,
Thanks for the comment. 'Sailing' tab should be working. If not, on the entry page, scroll down to the 'Contents' and click on the 'Greece, Detail' paragraph. Also, what browser are you using? I've only tested on Internet explorer and Firefox . . .

Jez,
Again, thanks for the comment. Was that the Kos town harbour police (who are a PITA) or the marina police (who are usually as charming as they come)?. And were you entering from Turkey? Which does spark off the paperwork . . .

 

[Whitelighter]

No it was Kos town harbour police. The Marina staff were nice as anything. Not entering from Turkey, the boat had changed from German to UK registration and they didn't like it one little bit.