Sunsail Holidys

[oakleyb]

Anyone been on the Kalamos Flotilla Sailing Holiday, its our first and i'm looking for any positive feedback

Thanks

 

[SarahJ]

Noticed your post on Sunsail Kalamos Holiday. We started off sailing as family with Sunsail in Ionian and really enjoyed it. This is one of their routes and harbours are really pretty. Their base at Vounaki is fine and if you need more provisions, Paleros is an easy walk providing it's not too hot. Do you get a free sail day? If so, there are loads to choose from but get in early if you want to be on the quay otherwise loads of bays to anchor in Meganisi or really anywhere. You will find loads of posts on here about stops in the Ionian. We found the Sunsail staff good and the boats well equipped.
Have a great time!

 

[Skylark]

I'm surprised that this post hasn't received more responses.

I've never done a flotilla but can't imagine that it would be anything but successful. Last year, our UK 2 week holiday aboard our own boat was such a wash-out that we quit after 3 days and booked a week at Sunsail Vounaki, playing with dinghies. Their flotilla fleet berthed there looks good. There's some relatively easy sailing to be done with some great views. I imagine that there's a great spirit between each of the boats. Warm, clear waters, nice taverna stops (albeit a bit like hearding sheep). Sunsail have been doing this long enough to present a very polished act to their punters.

If I didn't have a money-pit of my own, I'd have no hesitation to go on one of these flotillas. When my wife complains about wind, tide, rain, cold, multi-layer clothing, bad hair days and so on, she's just joking with me. She just loves the Irish Sea, really.

 

[tcm]

Yeah sunsail flot hols are fun. If anything goes wrong, you write a nice lettter telling them an they offer a massive discount off your NEXT sunsail holiday, and if things aren't quite right again you are in a cycle of sunsail hols from which it can take some years to escape ...

 

[mjcoon]

Sunsail have been doing this long enough to present a very polished act to their punters.

Though they do like to include the years before the merger of YCA and Island to create Sunsail as if it were part of their history.

But I haven't been with them for years (see Yachting holiday trips; 1974 to present) so I can't comment on their recent performance.

Mike.

 

[vyv_cox]

We see flotillas from all the major players in the Ionian and the Aegean. The attention given to the punters seems to be first class in all cases. We have ridden out some big blows in various anchorages and watched the lead boat crews working non-stop until late at night to ensure their charges are safe. On occasion we have berthed next to boats from Nielsen, Sailing Holidays and Sunsail and chatted with the occupants, who never fail to report that they are having a great time. Barbecues, games evenings, quay parties and similar entertainments always look like fun for all the participants.

 

[Seajet]

One has to wonder if the UK lot are the same outfit, and can only hope they decide to stick to what they're good at and stop blighting the Solent and South Coast then !

 

[vyv_cox]

One has to wonder if the UK lot are the same outfit, and can only hope they decide to stick to what they're good at and stop blighting the Solent and South Coast then !

Are you possibly confusing the charterers with the staff? My son Owen worked for them at Port Solent and in the Med, where his and the standards of most other staff were high.

 

[Seajet]

Vyv_cox,

I'm sure Owen would know better, but when visiting Port Solent I'm used to seeing the Sunsail fleet left in a diabolical state, poorly tied up with sail covers and everything else in disarray; when I mused about becoming a skipper years ago and Sunsail UK were hiring, I was advised ' it would look bad on my cv ', in the end I didn't follow that career anyway.

When visiting with the excellent Solent School of Yachting we joked that it appeared the SS fleet were delivered by Hercules to save waiting for the lock !

I agree about their average charterers, and the large gang of boats going around taking over harbours isn't exactly great for ' normal ' boat users either, but nothing to do with skippers apart from those on corporate or skippered charters.

 

[jimi]

Vyv_cox,

I'm sure Owen would know better, but when visiting Port Solent I'm used to seeing the Sunsail fleet left in a diabolical state, poorly tied up with sail covers and everything else in disarray; when I mused about becoming a skipper years ago and Sunsail UK were hiring, I was advised ' it would look bad on my cv ', in the end I didn't follow that career anyway.

When visiting with the excellent Solent School of Yachting we joked that it appeared the SS fleet were delivered by Hercules to save waiting for the lock !

I agree about their average charterers, and the large gang of boats going around taking over harbours isn't exactly great for ' normal ' boat users either, but nothing to do with skippers apart from those on corporate or skippered charters.

Having done a bit of sailing and training with Sunsail at Port Solent this is not a description I recognise. My experience was that they were a professional organisation. Obviously they suffer the odd clown as skipper as well as crew but I humbly suggest you are worshipping the god of stereotype rather voicing typical experience.

I would have no hesitation in chartering from Sunsail (other than they are a bit more expensive than some of their competitors). W have have a few very successful med holidays with them, encompassing villa, flotilla and bareboat.

 

[Seajet]

Jimi,

I wouldn't say it if it wasn't personal experience; of course I may just have been unlucky every time I've seen them !

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Having done a bit of sailing and training with Sunsail at Port Solent this is not a description I recognise. My experience was that they were a professional organisation. Obviously they suffer the odd clown as skipper as well as crew but I humbly suggest you are worshipping the god of stereotype rather voicing typical experience.

I would have no hesitation in chartering from Sunsail (other than they are a bit more expensive than some of their competitors). W have have a few very successful med holidays with them, encompassing villa, flotilla and bareboat.

I've done a few corporate days with Sunsail and I have to say I felt really sorry for the skippers (who were good) and frankly embarassed by some of the guests/charterers (not from my company as we were all regular sailors anyway). It's the corporate regattas that seem to cause the biggest grief with the stag do's, etc. a close second. When they have crews that go there to sail I think they're as good as any other. Unfortunately they do seem to target the corporate and stag-do sector a bit hence the reputation presumably.

 

[Seajet]

I can't help thinking that, obnoxious behaviour for other boats to endure aside, stag do's and boats seems a pretty dangerous combination...