# Greece - Best Time of Year to Charter?



## CaptTony (May 22, 2011)

I have a group that wants to do a charter in Greece and hit some of the islands there. I understand they have seasons that would be different than chartering in the Caribbean. The group wants to charter in June. Is there anyone out there that has chartered in Greece who can give me some insight into the high, medium and low seasons and what to expect weather wise. The group has some very basic sailing experience, and I wouldn't want to put them in a situation where we encounter a lot of heavy weather (regardless of how much fun for me that would be 😁).


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## Hagai (Oct 25, 2020)

I have chartered 3 times in Greece. Always in September -early October. So I cannot say much about June except it's probably not low season (maybe early June before school's out). The things to look out for are the meltemi in the Aegean and catabatic wind on the Lee of some of the islands. The combination can lead to one of those 15 second switches from 5 knot winds and barely moving to 40 plus knot knockdown emergency. To avoid this possibility, I would stick to the ionian and saronic if you're taking a group of beginners. Those are relatively docile sailing areas. The ionian is fabulous.


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## CaptTony (May 22, 2011)

Thanks for your input. I'm familiar with the meltemi having researched it, but not the catabatic wind. I'll have to do more research.


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## Xoxonis (Apr 19, 2008)

June would be a great month (normally, now with the pandemic restrictions it is impossible to day). It is not yet high season, especially early June, and the weather is not so hot. Consider three sailing grounds with different wind conditions: first, the Saronic Gulf (easy start from Athens) with some beautiful islands, but some difficulty in finding space in harbours (no marinas) - expect winds around 2-4 Bf, mainly N - NE; second, the Ionian (you have to fly to Corfu or drive/bus to other islands to get your charter boat) with very beautiful islands, bit more crowded because of its very settled weather - expect winds mainly Westerlies around 2-4 Bf; third, the Aegean (again you could subdivide this into different zones, so I will speak about the Cyclades) with amazing islands, but potentially more demanding weather conditions: while the so-called Meltemi wind (strong N, NE wind blowing throughout the day at 4-8 Bf, but usually its season starts earliest mid-July).

In general, you will not find the weather conditions particularly challenging anywhere in June, but you will need to master Med mooring using an anchor, as it is rare to find any harbour with mooring lines, e.g. Milos. Double-check the following in any charter boat: (a) condition/size of tender and engine; (b) length of cable for electricity (no less than 20m); (c) length of water hose (no less than 20m). Diesel can be delivered in practically all harbours to your boat, but will not be as cheap as on the mainland - expect around 1,50 EUR per litre. Harbour fees are very low around 10 EUR, if a fee is requested.

Hope this helps ;-)


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