sailing holidays in Greece

[quee]

we are moving to the Peloponnese in Greece next year and would like to know if any of you or your families might be interested in the following holiday ideas:

1 Skippered and hosted charter on our 42 ft. Gib,sea yacht for a week/fortnight

2 Bare boat charter of 33ft. Gib'sea for a week/fortnight

3. three days skippered and hosted charter and 3 in a lovely villa with wonderful sea and mountain view and swimming pool, 1.5 km from sea

4 Holiday based in villa as above and with 1 or 2 days out sailing as you wish

we are pondering some or all of these ideas and would be most interested in your views.

thanks

 

[Goodge]

They all have their advantages.

I have just returned from a week in Kefalonia. I spent 4 days on my friends boat and 3 days touring round the island sight seeing.

This balance worked very well.

Different holidays will appeal to different groups

 

[quee]

glad you had a good holiday, many thanks for your thoughts

 

[Emjaytoo]

Are your boats coded for charter under Greek Law?

 

[boatbuilder]

And I think you will find that they have to be run by a greek company. Greeks very strict about charter law , beware.

 

[woody001]

Very strict.. I know someone who sunk his fleet of charter yachts (about 7 i think?!) all about 30-35ft in itheka - you can still find them, because his business was being taken away by the greek gov, forcing him to have a full time skipper on a 30ft charter boat.
Very brave man - but he was back with the holiday company neilsons....then he sold out, what a guy.

 

[Dave99]

Apparently the laws have changed so boats don't have to be coded -not sure of the details but I was out on business earlier in the year and one of the locals who runs a dive boat said they had just changed the rules. Operartors wtill need a watersports license though i think. Not sure of the details

 

[woody001]

this was going back years - in the 80's.
Without this guy doing this,charting would not of been what it is now.

Otherthat or he just fed me a load of bullsh-t!

non coded boats seem a bit scary.

 

[Whitelighter]

Beware of the Greeks - Their legilastion is lengthy, dogmatic and only there to benefit the Greeks.

The people on the other hand are lovely (on the whole).

 

[quee]

thanks to you all for your input regarding Greek laws etc. there appears to be some confusion- we have very good contacts out there and we will make sure that we do whatever is appropriate for the sailing holidays we do run in our area.
any of you got any input on the original question??
thanks, Quee

 

[quee]

good heavens!! i am absolutely exhausted from reading your account of your 'delivery' trip! what a nightmare- and a great cautionary tale for us!! i do agree with you about the greek officialdom nightmare- it took us 5,yes five, attempts to buy property out there- the first four fell foul of the most unbelievable weird Greek laws!! still, we are delighted with our lovely new home near Petalidi in the Peloponnese- please take a look at our website www.swiftsailandski.co.uk to see pictures of the house and the area. thanks for your great write up- i feel i have lived every nail-biting moment of it with you! Quee

 

[Melody]

Hi
We run a sailing business in Greece so can give you some accurate information.

1. EU citizens no longer need to have a Greek partner. You can set up a NEPA company. If you don't live in Greece you may need to have someone who can receive tax bills etc for you - not sure about this.

2. All boats which are used commercially must be on the Hellenic Registry. Inspections are now bi-annual once they have been approved. They have tightened up some requirements such as radio and EPIRBs.

3. It is easier to get a boat on the Hellenic Registry if she is Greek flagged. There are also special rates in marinas and ports for Greek flagged commercial vessels. NEPA companies do not pay tax on the profits from Greek flagged boats (but you will have to pay VAT - 4.5% on charters)

4. If you want to use a vessel that is non Greek flagged you should first establish a business in that country and get a commercial licence there. Under EU regulations you can then operate in Greece as a business from another EU country.

5. You must charter at least 60 days a year to retain your commercial status.

Do not try to operate a private yacht as a commercial yacht in any country.

As far as the charter market out here is concerned, the past three years have been very poor, but this season was better for some companies. It is very competitive and you will have to work hard to get clients. Once you have been established for a few years word of mouth will help, but you should make sure that you have enough to live on for a few years while you get established.

I think there is a market for British skippers on charter yachts but be prepared for it to take time.

Where on the Pelopponese will you be living? How will people get to you? Which area do you intend to sail? What are your qualifications? If you give me more information I can maybe offer some advice and possibly pass on business.

I recommend contacting Adonis Mangos who is an accountant who specialises in professional yachts - he can help you set up a Greek company and keep you right on all the paperwork you will need. PM me for his contact details.

Personally, I don't think Greece is too bad for bureaucracy - you should try France! It is all pretty straightforward once you know what to do.

 

[quee]

hello Melody,
i have tried several times to send you a private message but it never seems to work. we would like to thank you very much for all the information you have given us regarding chartering in Greece, it is very useful and much appreciated. if you could send me a private message with the accountant's details that would be much appreciated. i will try again to send you a private message but i have not idea why they are not working.
anyway, thanks again for all the info. -Quee

 

[Melody]

Hi Quee

I've sent you a PM but will also post this on the forum in case you don't get it. Also it is useful if anyone searches for info on chartering at a later date.

The accountant's name is Antonis Mangos and his telephone number is :+306947309529. His email address is antonismangos@gmail.com

I don't think it makes any difference whether you are doing day trips or weekly charter. The issue is that you must have a commercial licence if you are carrying fare-paying passengers. If you are a Greek flagged commercial vessel you get certain rights, such as special prices, and can reclaim VAT. In order to stop private yachts registering as 'professional' to get these benefits the Hellenic Registry insists that you must show at least 60 days charter (I think it is actually 180 days over 3 years so you can build it up over time).

When you take out guests for a day or more you will have to get your papers stamped by the port police and this is how they know how much chartering you are doing. One copy of the papers goes to the VAT office as well!

I think that you are allowed to have maybe as much as 30 of the 60 days hired to friends. Antonis can advise you on this. We've never had less than 60 days per year so we haven't look into this.

I don't know of such a thing as Day Skipper commercial. You can get an RYA Coastal Skipper Commercial I think but I would suggest that your husband should really go for Yachtmaster Commercial if he will be the skipper. You may find that your insurance company wants that. However the Greek authorities will be quite happy with a Coastal ticket. Their standards for commercial skippers are not very high.

Good luck with your venture.

Regards

Melody

 

[Manos_Greece]

I can only recomend Adonis too. He is very well informed in the business and when I need something relative to the charter market or do research for the magazine I work for, he is the person that provides the most acurate answers. He is also a great man in the sense that he is involved and try to develop sailing for disabled people in Greece.