# Chartering in Greece



## Phileas

Hi all,

I''m planning to charter a bareboat in greece this summer.

After making contacts with a few charter companies, the one wich seems to offer the best conditions is EasySailing.

Have any of you, or someone you know, had an experience with this company?

Good Winds

Duarte


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## gurteen

never heard of this co and have been out there for many years. try skorpios charter. I have a yacht with them and obviously find the an excellent co to deal with


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## TSOJOURNER

Not heard of Easy Sailing before. We use Nisos Yacht Charter based on Levkas. Small family british outfit - really great people and top boats!
Also been with Kiriacoulis - not so good!


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## TSOJOURNER

try www.sailingissues.com

I''ve just booked with Nisos - but sailing issues reckond Easy are OK.

If you''re not proud & want the lastest dogs dooberies boat, would highly recommend activity-holidays.co.uk (almost without reservation!!)


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## TSOJOURNER

Just returned from a 2-week charter with Easy Sailing. We took Sophia III, a 2003 OceanStar 56.1 out of Alimos and did the Cyclades. We experienced every type of weather condition from Force 8-9 out of Folegrandos (very hairy exit out of the tiny bay entrance) to no wind and glass sea out of Ios to Paros. This boat was an absolute pleasure to sail in all conditions. We felt safe and relatively comfortable despite double reefed or motor-sailing conditions during the meltemi, and enjoyed the luxury of the generator-power AC during the hot windless afternoons.

Aghis and Christos of Easy Sailing are both very courteous, professional, and care a lot about their boats and the people who sail them. I called Aghis several times on his personal cell phone during the cruise for various reasons (we were changing crews midway and he helped coordinate the transfers of incoming crew), and he was always there to answer with a laugh and helpful advice.

I have bareboated extensively in the Caribbean, as well as 3 times in France, Corsica, and Italy. Most of the time, I have chartered with Sunsail and the Moorings due to their large size and reputations. I had many reservations about chartering in Greece from any company after hearing some horror stories (many of which are listed in these message boards), but our trip with Sophia III and Easy Sailing was a dream come true!


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## TSOJOURNER

When will greek charter brokers stop writting there own testomonials on this board? Seems that Easy yacht has a need to assure people that there business is going well, well I am sure that the general public would be interested in hearing that as a spin off company from GPSC, and a first year company they do seem to have a few charters out on the sea. But then using GPSC yachts and personnel makes it EASY to find american customers unfamiliar with GPSC"S record.
I think that readers of this board need to be careful of what they read here as the board has become so corrupted with Greek broker inuendo and lies that its difficult to sort though all this bull ****.....
When chartering in greece deal with a long established broker or find a good local broker in your country who knows the ropes in Greece, watch out for the new easy brokers and such like one years buisness does not make a reference of on going good buisness pratices....


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## TSOJOURNER

Actually, my message was unsolicited. However, "UK Broker''s" defensive and insulting tone (not to mention poor grammar; what is "easy yacht"? I chartered with Easy Sailing) does a disservice to this message board. How does his message not add to the "bullshit"?

I used this message board as part of my research for choosing among various charter companies in Greece last fall. I posted the message in order to ''repay the favor.'' If anyone would like to know the details of my experience, feel free to contact me. (I suppose you have no way of knowing for sure that I am not on the payroll of some charter company, other than the fact that I say I''m not) 

Honest people need to take back this message board.


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## spookipawz

Help please !
My partner and I want to island hop around Greece. He has sailing experience but no qualifications. I have no experience. Can anyone recommend a good company who will work with novices ? Web site addresses would be verty useful too ! Thanks all.


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## TSOJOURNER

Hi
I own a travel agency that sells "bareboat charters" to its clients. I can''t be everywhere and would hate to sell a charter group with a "bad experience" I would love to sort out the good from the bad and ugly experiences before I recommend a Greek charter. Help


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## mene

Hello Spookipawz,
Check out www.islandhopping.gr

We are always at your disposal for any further information you may require.


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## rickmerrill

Not to disagree, any of us can have a poor experience with any company and Greek charter outfits are notorious for problems. I just want to say that I sailed with Kiriacoulis and had no problems. 

While researching the web I never discovered them, probably because they almost exclusivly deal through agents. As good fortune would have it, my Greek girlfriend''s brother-in-law knew a family member active in their business. We ended up with an offer that we could not refuse! I may not be able to give a totally unbiased opinion because of this but I will try...

We chartered a 43'' Bravaria to sail the Cyclades from Paros. The boat was about 2 years old and in excellent condition, I found nothing wrong. I am not a huge fan of Bavarias because they are not as heavy a boat ad I''d prefer and do not carry as much freshwater as I would like. We sailed in September to avoid the Meltemi winds and the crowds. I knew the Med can get rough, because of short steep waves and we wanted to sail the Cyclades. I wanted the biggest, heaviest boat I could get just in case things got rough. Well, it was rough most of the time, winds just below gale force, we got banged around alot and I would have preferred a much heavier 55'' Beneteau (and twice the water capacity).

I loved sailing Greece but I had a native translator aboard which helped. The major difference for me as an American was that we had to med moor (stern too) and the harbors included a town. We had never med moored before but did fine. We did have an incident when someone crossed our anchor, which happens, and had a huge international miscommunications fiasco ensued while trying to get ourselves free! One neat thing about Greece is that you will be surrounded by sailors from several different countries every night, truly an international experience.

I think Kiriacoulis is the second or third largest charter outfit in the world so eventhough they are not well known to most US charterers they are know as a large outfit to most of the rest of the world. They own all of their own boats, they are not on contract with the owners. They have a very serious and well educated staff at the top. I don''t think we received preferential treatment (we got a pretty irate response from a base manager when we told him we were going to be late returning but we wern''t going to risk dying to get back in time and he eventually took it all in stride).

I am not on commission and am not trying to tell you to go with this particular company just because of my favorable experience. I would suggest that you investigate Kiriocoulous as an option if you are going sailing in Greece.

Thanks for reading,
Rick


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## havasupai

Interesting to hear rickmerrill''s complimentary views on Kiriacoulis. Not quite true that they don''t have contracts with owners; they do but because of Greek law (typically in contravention of EU rules!) they retain title until the end of the (in my case) 6 season contract. 

My boat is actually bases at Marmaris in Turkey, though Greek registered, and Kiriacoulis'' agents or franchisees there, Pupa Yat, have been first class in every respect for two seasons now. Says something about the way Kiriacoulis does business, and it''s nice to hear good things about them on this site.


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## TSOJOURNER

Well its nice to hear that you all like kiracoulis, but Iguess they willbe heading down the road to ruin soon. Its not cool when a charter company is caught trafficing in Cocaine, and no less than 1600 kilos of the stuff. It''s even worse when its the owners son''s caught .
Yes....it''s a fact.... caught in Kalamata entering there own base on 2 chartered Ocean Star 51 the boys had some 1600 keys of cocaine. I guess they where smart enough to use another companies charter yachts, but short on the smarts when it came to landing the stuff, I mean come on just drive into daddys charter base and unload the stuff??? with over 47,000 miles of greek coast line you think they would have had a better idea??.
And what did the boys say when asked where did it come from, oh we did not see it in the bilges or on the floor in the spare cabins.....

Sorry Kiracoulis but your boys are going away for a very long time and will not be home any time soon, I guess all future charter guests should check there bilges and if you find any white powder, there ask for a new yacht, or just go with a more reputable company.............


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## eds928gt

Unless the management was in some way complicit, I don''t think they should be held responsible.

I''ll wait till there is more information. However till then, I''ll assume they''re innocent till proven guilty. Meantime, based on what has been said and written, at this point, I would charter from them. As a matter of normal practice, I always check the bilge(s) and holds of any boat I plan to charter.

~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~


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## TSOJOURNER

we have better experience, wider range of yachts, excellent information, services and prices with the wishful sailing company.

You can reach them via www.wishfulsailing.com


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## Jeff_H

I can see why your company is called ''Wishful''. You must be really wishful if you think that placing your blatant self promotion on a advertising prohibited site will get you a lick of business. Any company that shows such total disrespect for the rules of an Internet site could only be expected to have the same total disregard for other ethical conventions. From your clearly dishonest approach to advertising on sites where advertising is prohibited and the rudeness implied by your multiple posts, only a sucker would ever consider doing business with you, and while allegedly there’s one born every minute, even a real rube would spot you for a charlatan from a mile away. Just my thoughts here.


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## TSOJOURNER

try with www.vipsailing.gr she has an exelent sailing boat with good prices


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## svebor

hi, everyone! something else:
Am trying to find out if it is a paperwork hell to sail Turkish vessel in Greek waters. Anyone had any experience? I''ve got a great boat offer from Marmaris, and that sunds just great to sail Dodecanese. Since first time chartering n Greece(did one transfer from Croatia to Marmaris before), I don''t know how Greek harbour authoritise look upon a Turkish vessel. Do they make it more hassle, more expncive or not? thanks if anybody could and wanted to answer. Enjoy life!
svebor


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## pmon

I am planning to purchase a boat with Kiriacoulis and put it in Corfu, Greece for management. 

Anyone here doing the same or is now owner of one boat after 5 years ?


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## TSOJOURNER

I chartered a yacht out of Kos this summer with Blue Reef Yachting ( www.bluereefyachting.com ), and they were great. The yacht was in it''s second season and the local staff were very helpful. Hope this helps.


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## Hazzy

*Does anyone know how i can go about chartering our skippered yacht in Greece?*

We are looking to charter our yacht in Greece. Does ayone know how i go about authorising it? Do we have to set up a company/ register in Greece/ or what?? Any help welcomed, or point in the right direction. Have already contacted Greek Tourist Board with not much success. Awaiting any helpful comments.


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## chrondi

*Does anyone know how i can go about chartering our skippered yacht in Greece?*

Why not try one of the Greek bareboat chartering companies. If you boat is reasonably new (not more than five years old), you shoud normally not encounter any problems entering a contract under their management. For a start, I suggest you contact people at the following website:
http://www.athenian-yachts.gr/
In the contrary, older yachts are hard to charter and you would rather have to skipper and look after them yourself, thus offering different than bareboat services.
Good luck and happy ending


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## Hazzy

*To Chondri*

Thanks for taking the time to reply! x


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## crewtvab

Try www.kiriacoulis.com Ive had Great experience with them year after year. They are the biggest in Greece and quite good boats. Scott


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## amangos

Hazzy said:


> We are looking to charter our yacht in Greece. Does ayone know how i go about authorising it? Do we have to set up a company/ register in Greece/ or what?? Any help welcomed, or point in the right direction. Have already contacted Greek Tourist Board with not much success. Awaiting any helpful comments.


Dear Hazzy,
You need to set up a company and to register your boat in Greece. Your boat will be inspected according the Greek regulations, then you can get a charter license for 5 years.


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## amangos

If an E.U. citizen or an E.U. Company, wishes to charter a vessel in Greek waters, then they need to have a Greek Professional License.

*A)* In case that we have a vessel owned by a UK Limited Company, we need, inter alia, the following documentation to obtain the said License:
1.Certified copy of a Registration certificate (it is preferable that the vessel is characterized as 'commercial'). 
2.A document or declaration from *mca*, concerning the above company's lawful right to chatrer vessels and carry out sea transportation in UK and therefore in Greece 
3.A Safety Certificate as to the suitability of the pleasure boat to be characterised as professional in accordance with the provisions of (Greek) Law 2743/99 
4.Certified copy of a Commencement of Business by the competent Greek Tax Bureau. 5.Receipt for payment for relevant dues involved. 
6.Certificate of registration from the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Shipping. 

7.Company's Articles of Association 
8.Certificate of good standing (Declaration from the Companies Register that the company is not in liquidation and continues to be in operation). Also, 
9.Minutes of the Board of Directors and 
10.Power of Attorney, 
*-Please note that the documents (2,7,8,9,10) must be with the note APOSTILLE* (according to the Hague Convention of 1961).
All the documentation in English, must be translated in Greek.

*B) *For an individual to get the Greek Professional License, we need all the above, save the nos7,8,9,10) 

*C) *In order that a UK Limited Company gets the above certified copy of a Commencement of Business by the competent Greek Tax Bureau , it must establish a branch in Greece.


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