Yacht chartering

[jacaldo]

Next year we are planning to charter a yacht out of Skiathos for two weeks at the beginning of September and I would appreciate any advise from those in the know.
We have owned a share in a Jeanneau 35 sailing out of Prevesa for the last nine years, now sold we want to try other areas and have decided on Skiathos, I know there are many other places favoured by many but Skiathos it is.
We have made contact with a number of charter companies, big and small, all very keen to accomodate our needs and we are close to doing a deal with Cosmos, a Jeanneau 35 2003, it sounds fine and we are familiar with this make.
I would be grateful for the opinions and guidance from other previous charterers and anyone else who has a good knowledge of this area.
Thanks

 

[Caladh]

We cruised the N sporades this year, so have a look at our blog here -:
http://www.victoriashadow.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?id=122
Go to the bottom of the page to find the item you want to view. We went to Skiathos town by road (!) as it's quite open to the north although the harbour is sheltered once in. Even the local ferries are diverted in poor weather. Chatting amongst charterers (you can't avoid them !!) found some yachts well used/tired and not particulary well maintained.
The cruising area was fabulous, quiet out of season and a nice change from the Ionian and Saronic. You could also try other company's chartering out of Skopelos town (on Skopelos) - far bigger town and set-ups, although not perhaps any better. Enjoy anyway.

 

[mjcoon]

I know there are many other places favoured by many but Skiathos it is.

We've had some splendid flotillas around there, including into the Gulf of Volos. But you can have a rough time there, as anywhere, see Shredded mainsail, Skopelos harbour (consequence of mid-July gale!)

Sorry, no help re charter companies...

Mike.

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Chartered there about 5 yrs ago through Latesail.
1. Boat was poorly maintained. All the nav light bulbs had been removed. No nav info at all, if I hadn't taken Heikell with me I'd have been lost. Take your own lifejackets, the ones provided were foam only. I kicked off when we gave the boat back but I bet it made no difference to the next people!
2. Tender leaked air like my wifes sieve. Managed temp repair by generous donation of a bike repair kit from an American sailor moored nearby.
3. Boat agency couldn't have given less of a s--t if they'd tried. The first chap, when we picked it up was downright rude.
4. Strong winds in that area, katabatics at night mean a VERY noisy night. The winds tend to compress between the islands so things can get very lumpy.
5 Despite what Heikell says the chance of getting quayside moorings once you cast off are very poor. Spent a night at anchor in Alonissos harbour anchored fore and aft. Had 34kts of wind and spent the whole night at anchor watch.
6 Skiathos harbour is VERY noisy.

Now the good.
Fabulous place, lovely water, food etc. Make sure you visit Panormou bay, its (allegedly) the best natural harbouur in the med. Still very windy at night though.

TBH I'd go instead to Gocek in Turkey. Water is even better, free mooring from the bars situated all around the bay which is enclosed and feels safe. less wind and even felt 'friendlier'. Cheaper, it was too. Altogether a FAR better experience.
PS less wind at night, more during the day once the sun came up and breakfast was over!

 

[Victoria Sponge]

I'd second the recommendation of going to Turkey.

 

[KellysEye]

I am surprised that Champagne Murphy had a bad time in the Sporades and a bad boat from Latesail, CM did you ask for your money back, they generally give it if it was that bad. They get the money back from the charter company and won't use them again, so you would have been doing them a favour.

On the weather front the winds in the northern Aegaen are often less the the southern Aegean, although it can be windy anywhere. It was when we were there and we had some very fast sailing. I'm also suprised about katabatic winds though, we had none.

We picked up our boat in Skiathhos and went to, Skopolos and Alonnisos (recommended). Then we went to a circular island NE of Alonissos which I can't remember the name but it has a narrow entrance and is the top of an extinct volcano (reommended). We also dropped down to Skyros which few boats go to, it's an amazing place and highly recommended.

 

[Champagne Murphy]

I am surprised that Champagne Murphy had a bad time in the Sporades and a bad boat from Latesail, CM did you ask for your money back, they generally give it if it was that bad. They get the money back from the charter company and won't use them again, so you would have been doing them a favour.

On the weather front the winds in the northern Aegaen are often less the the southern Aegean, although it can be windy anywhere. It was when we were there and we had some very fast sailing. I'm also suprised about katabatic winds though, we had none.

We picked up our boat in Skiathhos and went to, Skopolos and Alonnisos (recommended). Then we went to a circular island NE of Alonissos which I can't remember the name but it has a narrow entrance and is the top of an extinct volcano (reommended). We also dropped down to Skyros which few boats go to, it's an amazing place and highly recommended.

Absolutely. Agree with all that, BUT; speak as I find and all that, it was as stated. A lovely place but not helped by the weather. My research, basic though it was, seemed to show less likelihood of difficult winds in the Ionian or to the East in SW Turkey. One more point, Turkey was considerably cheaper but it was some time ago.
By the by, I did call Latesail. They were not particularly interested, something along the lines of Oh dear, I am sorry. Certainly no recompense offered for the poor boat state (not their fault about the weather issues) but then I didn't contact them for that, I did it to try to get them to fix the problem for the next customer.

 

[jacaldo]

After some research I believe the conditions September time in the Skiathos area are pretty good, although I know from experience (Vliho September 2010) that the proverbial can hit the fan at any time. I have now cancelled the charter with Cosmos after reading some horrendous reports on other forums, so we are back to square one again. Do you think we would enjoy a flotilla, after sailing on our own for the last nine years, at least with someone like Sailing Hols or Sunsail we would be using their boats which should be in good condition?

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Never tried it, don't like crowds! Boats should be in fair shape though, I know Sunsail have an 'owner partnership' scheme and the owners get time on the boat every year. Owners like their boats in good order

 

[mjcoon]

Do you think we would enjoy a flotilla, after sailing on our own for the last nine years, at least with someone like Sailing Hols or Sunsail we would be using their boats which should be in good condition?

The company we have been on flotillas with for several years sent the following recently when asked whether the flotilla distinction could be blurred somewhat (possibly with quite a large crew):

The Sunscape ethos has always been to provide 'freedom' for the more experienced, whilst giving support and when required and a social scene on all our flotillas. Your second crew and the skipper are more than welcome to take one of our Beneteau Cyclades 50.4's sailing loosely within the flotilla environment, having the benefit of a planned itinerary operated by a lead crew who can provide advice and technical support (if required) as well a social option. Your crew can when they choose break away and sail independently (bareboat) as and when they choose, perhaps re-joining the flotilla after a few days or not at all - the choice is theirs.

Mike.

 

[jacaldo]

Ok, thanks so far for the replies, we are struggling here to make a decision. I personally think it has to be chartering as opposed to flotilla, I like the idea of finding things for ourselves and making our own mistakes, not big ones I hope. One of the companies we spoke to was Nautilus, they have good feedback on a number of forums, anyone used these people? Thanks

 

[Paddy_N_Murphy]

just a quick note to add.

Turkey is great, however it is no longer "cheap" - however nor is the rest of EU in my opinion!

Other comment is that the Boats available to Flotillas - generally - max out at 40ft / 4 cabins, so if you like you boats big, and luxurious I find it hard to with a Flot.

 

[dormilon]

Ok, thanks so far for the replies, we are struggling here to make a decision. I personally think it has to be chartering as opposed to flotilla, I like the idea of finding things for ourselves and making our own mistakes, not big ones I hope. One of the companies we spoke to was Nautilus, they have good feedback on a number of forums, anyone used these people? Thanks

we did flot with nautilus in skiathos in sept love it great lead crew and good boat also this year in feb had 2 week charter in b v i with agent latesail who where ok but sunsails boat was looking a bit tired in june done 3 weeks in turkey with nautilus first 2 on flot great lead crew real nice boat third week bareboat was iffy because the boat so sh..t but they are all only agents

 

[Caladh]

After some research I believe the conditions September time in the Skiathos area are pretty good, although I know from experience (Vliho September 2010) that the proverbial can hit the fan at any time. I have now cancelled the charter with Cosmos after reading some horrendous reports on other forums, so we are back to square one again. Do you think we would enjoy a flotilla, after sailing on our own for the last nine years, at least with someone like Sailing Hols or Sunsail we would be using their boats which should be in good condition?

From our experience thism year I still wouldn't be put off by the doom mongereres here ! The weather in the main was great AND we actually had some great sailing up there (cf the Inionian where you motor around a lot). Nice short hops from a to b to c. Scenerery stunning. Yes keep an eye on the weather and maybe our oppo was just unlucky during his visit there. If you enjoy the comapany of others then perhaps a flotilla is a good idea especially if you are not that confident.

 

[KellysEye]

>By the by, I did call Latesail. They were not particularly interested, something along the lines of Oh dear, I am sorry. Certainly no recompense offered for the poor boat state

I'm really surprised, that's not like them at all. They are the world's largest late availabilty charter company, so with the large amount of money they spend with charter companies they have real clout. If you weren't handled by or talked to Dan Lockyer, the MD, then it might be worth calling him will full details of the problem and asking him to review their decision to do nothing.

I would be interested to hear what he says, he should refund at least 50%. Good luck.

 

[Nico]

If you enjoy the comapany of others then perhaps a flotilla is a good idea especially if you are not that confident.

One comment purely on the subject of bareboat versus flotilla is that flotillas are often bound by timetables and numbers, so you find yourself going upwind all the time, or at sea when it's flat calm and sitting in harbour when the wind blows, and sometimes missing out on harbours because they aren't big enough for the whole flotilla.

Bareboating you can choose to go the opposite way, or just do a short hop if there's no wind or too much. The social side can be good though.

 

[Champagne Murphy]

>By the by, I did call Latesail. They were not particularly interested, something along the lines of Oh dear, I am sorry. Certainly no recompense offered for the poor boat state

I'm really surprised, that's not like them at all. They are the world's largest late availabilty charter company, so with the large amount of money they spend with charter companies they have real clout. If you weren't handled by or talked to Dan Lockyer, the MD, then it might be worth calling him will full details of the problem and asking him to review their decision to do nothing.

I would be interested to hear what he says, he should refund at least 50%. Good luck.

Too long ago, we did use them again in Turkey and were quite satisfied. Sometimes things just don't work out I guess

 

[KellysEye]

>Too long ago, we did use them again in Turkey and were quite satisfied. Sometimes things just don't work out I guess


OK understand, glad all was well in Turkey. The charter company that gets the most complaints is Kiriacoulis because of their old boats, although they do have some new cats.

 

[Victoria Sponge]

Ok, thanks so far for the replies, we are struggling here to make a decision. I personally think it has to be chartering as opposed to flotilla, I like the idea of finding things for ourselves and making our own mistakes, not big ones I hope. One of the companies we spoke to was Nautilus, they have good feedback on a number of forums, anyone used these people? Thanks

We've done both charter and flotilla. We've found the biggest advantage of a flotilla is that you can stay out sailing all day and the lead crew save you a space for the night. When we chartered we sometimes went in late afternoon and couldn't get a berth. We ended up some days going in at lunch time just to make sure we could berth and get a meal out that evening.

With the flotillas we've been with they pretty much let you do what you like anyway. We're going with Neilson next year and have already booked. They came highly recommended.

 

[jacaldo]

I understand your thinking behind going with a flotilla, we started off doing three with Sailing Holidays from 1999, we then got a bit fed up with being tied to the lead boat even though we had our free sailing days. In 2003 we bought into a share in the Ionion and that's where we've been since although as an existing syndicate we did buy another boat. We have a good knowledge of the Ionian and down to the Peloponnese but next year we are looking at a new area to us. I know that in the Ionian you have to get in early at some places if you want a space on the quay, but we tend to anchor off most of the time, this will be different in the Sporades as we will want to have a look around the towns and villages. A flotilla would be good for this reason but we have decided to charter and try our luck. Thanks