Greek Island Hopping

How to Sail in style between the Greek Islands

Greece has more than 2,000 islands and islets. Only 169 of them are inhabited. Some of the best places include the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, the Ionian, the Sporades and the Northern area of Greece. In fact anywhere in Greece is a sight to behold when arriving by sea.
So how do you travel in style by [...]

Using a Wind USB Modem in Greece

In previous articles I’d mentioned the merits of pay-as-you-go mobile broadband in Greece.
‘Wind’ are a recent Internet provider that’s predicted to dominate the telephony market within Greece in the next couple of years. (Reuters)
Walking into their local shop on the Island of Lefkas. I purchased a ‘Wind USB Modem’ plus 7 days of pay-as you-go [...]

Heavy Weather Sailing Advice

As a sailing enthusiast. The progression of learning to sail generally starts from Dingy sailing. After that, the next level of learning is probably on a Flotilla sailing Holiday. Then maybe a charter or two in which you go bareboat and sail to destinations without the watchful guidance of a flotilla skipper. It’s at this [...]

Mini Market Saviour – Frikas, Ithaca.

Kiki is a treasure; she runs the minimarket on the waterfront in Frikas Harbour. Fluent in English (Husbands an Australian). When running into trouble with an old back injury. Kiki phoned the pharmacy in the next village ‘Stavros’ and offered to talk to the pharmacist to get the best anti -spasmodic that doesn’t need a [...]

Sailing into the Sunset and how to do it! – Part 7

following the previous post ‘Buying a yacht’… in part 6.
Living on a yacht in Greece has its own set of rules. Everything revolves around the wind and the summer heat so pacing yourself is important. My routine is getting up in the morning around 8am when it’s still cool and have a cup of coffee [...]

Sailing into the Sunset and how to do it! – Part 5

following the previous post ‘Education’… in part 4.
Taking the plunge without the risk: Another option is a flotilla sailing holiday in the Ionian. There are numerous Sailing companies based in the Ionian that teach sailing and run flotillas. A sailing holiday as part of a flotilla has a lot of advantages.

Why sail here? Between the [...]

Sailing into the Sunset and how to do it! – Part 4

following the previous post ‘Size of yacht’… in part 3.
If you have never sailed before and have no idea how to go about it… but want to try. The best place to start is with your local dinghy sailing club. You may think… what do dinghies have to do with sailing a yacht in the [...]

Sailing into the Sunset and how to do it! – Part 3

following the previous post ‘Introduction’… in part 2.
Size of yacht… Most would assume the bigger the better and in a way they would be right. The bigger the yacht the more room you have below. With the extra space you can spread out and feel less cramped. If you have the money to spare and [...]

Sailing into the Sunset and how to do it! – Part 2

following the previous post ‘Introduction’… in part 1.
Types of yacht… Fibreglass is by far the most popular material for building yachts, low maintenance and ease of repair makes this material a good choice when buying a yacht. However, it does have its own problems typically ‘osmosis blisters blistering’ in which seawater seeps into the hull. [...]

Sailing into the Sunset and how to do it! – Part 1

Some considers sailing off into the sunset a romantic idea full of pitfalls, yet the costs involved are only a fraction compared to owning a second home in the sun. When I lived in Greece I came in contact with a sailing community that sailed in the summer and returned home in the winter.
This community [...]