Port Police & Cruising Tax in Greece

I lived in greece most summers for last 10 years and there are very few places that I have not visited.Its not disregard the rules and see if ect .Its they dont bother happy smiling charming people .chill out be happy and you will find them the nices people on earth.Be an a---hole and they have rules and regulations for everything. cheers bobt
 
Sorry rtboss1. I tried the laid back smiling thing, which is really the only thing I knew anyway. I was confronted with men in uniforms and guns that said that they would confiscate my boat. That is when I woke up and realised that I had better start paying attention to the rules.

Happy for you that you have not had that experience yet, but in today's uncertain times; it is not a good idea to disregard the rules that some nations see as crucial to their security.

In Greece, they see border control and movement of boats as important to control. If you are in their space; you just have to accept that as a fact and play by the rules. It is their country and their rules, not yours.
 
Hi
This is the last time I am going to respond to this thread.
I do not care. sorry yes I do.I think you are the problem, not the port police as said lots of years crusing the area.ok in some places a pain in the arse policeman will try it on .But on the whole its a wonderful place ,and when your face is known ,as long as you give due regard to their customs NO PROBLEM I wish you a good time .cheers bobt
 
[ QUOTE ]
I merely repeated the published regulation on the two official Greek websites where any mention of yachts occurs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Charles, many thanks for your queries and inputs on this subject. Your point above has clarified for me how important it is (when advising people) to differentiate between the law and the practice of procedures, also to explain these differences where possible. As a result I've re-written my website and now need comments from anyone with experience of cruising Greek waters since Jan 2006.

My site now reflects current practice as verbally briefed by the Kalamata port police (yesterday), and confirmed by reports from Cruising Association members.

I hope it also reflects the possibility of meeting an experience such as Ladyjessie reports, but his is the only report I have received (post Jan 2006) where 'gaps' in the harbour record have been apparently criticised, and also the only case where 'threats' for infringing the rules have been aired.

There is still the possibility that different harbour offices may have different views about the boat length/number of days concessions. I'm waiting for several email replies to check this.

I would most appreciate it if anyone has experiences which confllict with my advice would contact me direct by email. Thru my site . . .

I like to quantify things if possible, so data such as 'no of days', 'number of ports or anchorages visited', 'number of entry/exit stamps', 'no of enquiries about gaps' and 'any threats' would give a really clear picture. But any comment is better than none, so don't let this put anyone off!
 
It may be possible that, if someone does (or is suspected doing) something illegal (e.g. speargun fishing at night, "private" chartering etc.) that although obvious cannot be proven, the authorities try to do things difficult for them. I am (really) not suggesting that LadyJessie or everybody that reports strict application of the law is such a case. It's just a thought...

[edit] BTW, the simple co-existence of SCUBA and speargun in the same boat is strictly forbidden.
 
Agreed. A bit like the Uk customs authorities, who have quite exotic powers to search, examine and confiscate if they have any reason to be suspicious of a boat or its crew. And as you pointed out earlier, drug running happens, and so does people smuggling. Profiling helps to catch such infringements.
 
I am finding it hard to see what all the fuss is about.

We spent a few months in Greece last summer. Entered Greek waters in Corfu, cruised the Ionian islands, transited the Corinth canal, hopped across the Cyclades, cruised the Dodecanese, over to Turkey, and back again via Crete.
I visited the port police office in every port we put into that had one. Mostly the officials were mildly disinterested, occasionally pleased to have something to do, but never discourteous, and sometimes the office was simply closed. In total I only had to get stamped in and out of 7 harbours. It was no great hardship. The only place there was any real officialdom was in Symi where the port police were on one side of the harbour and immigration the other. We checked out of Greece there for Turkey, and subsequently back in again, so had to visit them both, each way, to be stamped in and out. If you do this too, go to immigration first as there is one individual in the port police office who will otherwise turn you away if he is on duty, and its a bit of a trek. If, like us, you are mostly avoiding the bigger commercial harbours you may go for weeks without needing your log stamped.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I visited the port police office in every port we put into that had one. It was no great hardship.

[/ QUOTE ]
That is a great summary of what I was trying to say, but obviously failed. Show an effort of trying the get the stamps as often as you can and have a logbook that backs you up. It is not that difficult. You will then be treated very well. (With the possible exception of Rhodes where no amount of humble pie will get you a good treatment.)

When I got into trouble was only when the PP assumed that I had not tried hard enough to get my stamps and that I was knowingly disregarding their rules. And BTW; no, I have not been involved in anything that comes even close to illegality. I am an accountant.......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top