Travelers
to Greece who have sailed the Greek islands agree that chartering
a yacht or sailboat or joining one of the sail-cruises and flotillas
is the best way to see the country.
I took a trip
in
August of 2001 and you can
read about it at
www.greecetravel.com/sailing
and since then I have been longing to do it again. Even if you
have never sailed before I recommend it. If you are afraid of
getting sea-sick... half the people on our boat were afraid
and nobody got seasick. And if you are a true sailor then you
will discover that the Aegean and the Greek islands are probably
the best place to sail in the world. Distances are short and
at the end there is a beautiful island, great restaurants, beaches
and if you go with a skipper, a guide and host that will make
everything at land and sea run smoothly, evening helping you
order from the menu and introducing you to the friends they
have in every Greek island port..
David Econopouly has a company based in the USA called GM Yacht
Charters that works
with several sailboat companies and individual skipper-owners in
Greece to find the customer the best and most suitable
boats at the best price. Whether you want to charter a
large sailboat with some friends with a skipper or on your own,
or join a group of boats called a flotilla, he does the research
and gives you the choices. A great service and very helpful
whether you know little about sailing or are an experienced
skipper bringing a group and looking for the right boat. He
also does power yachts and sail cruises as well as cruises for
disabled, cruises with pets, student party cruises, winter
charters, naturist charters (that means naked), archaeology
charters and more.
See www.greecetravel.com/sailing/gm-charters
David is also the
booking agent for superstar-skippers like Billy Joe Leck and
Stefan Richter. German born Stefan has one of the biggest
and best sail boats in the Aegean and is a terrific Captain
and host. His boat the Caraya II is airconditioned and has heating
and he can sail at any time of the year. He is an amatuer archaeologist
(since his wife is a professional archaeologist) and like many
skippers a fine story-teller and cool person to hang out with.
And Billy Joe Leck is a legend of the Greek seas.
Another option
for those who want to avoid the crowds of
traditional cruise ships
is to consider a private
cruise on a 6-25 cabin
luxury sailing or motor
cruiser either in Greece,
or
Turkey. Get a group together and
they will arrange for a
flotilla sailing
experience or just book for
you and your family by the cabin.. Boats of all sizes
and catagories including
air-conditioned 50 foot or
larger sailing
yachts. Charter an impeccable
sailing yacht of 50 foot
or larger, with a
skipper/captain and sail
the seas of Greece or
participate in a one-week
guided diving safari, with
or without lessons either
in Greece or even in the Red
Sea. Also look into their small
island cruises on wooden boats with10 to 20 cabins that visit
the popular islands but also go where the cruise ships can't.
For More info
see www.greecetravel.com/sailing/gm-charters
See Also:
Greek Island Cruises and Matt's Sailing Page and if you plan to spend time in Santorini be sure to see Captain Ted's Santorini Day Sails
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