Yacht Week Planning
Without serious help and detailed research, our yacht week planning would have failed miserably. Fortunately, I ran into great people through online sailing websites and our (eventual) sailing company.
Unsurprisingly, the first question I received when I told people about our yacht week trip was how on earth did you know where to look?! To help those who aspire to live like millionaires on fancy sailboats, catamarans, and yachts, I wrote down our methods - especially before I forgot the details!
[divider class="" ]The Idea
In a world far far away from home, I like to think the original idea came from a friend I met while in Belgium. She just came from a two week trip in the Greek Isles and she was so tan. She said the islands were so lovely, food so cheap, and the memories were priceless. Thus, the obsession was born…
Before Mary Frances and I moved to the United Kingdom, our good friend and MF’s travel companion, Kathryn, sparked the idea that we should do it in 2018 as a way to bring over US friends to Greece and all see each other. Obviously, this idea generated loads of interest from both US and UK friends. I should have counted, but we initially had about 15 people interested in going.
[divider class="" ]The Research
I initially began my research in August 2018 as a fun way to keep in touch with US friends and to give me something to do. In hindsight, it is a miracle I had time for this initial research as I had an ongoing and slightly complicated move to a foreign land, a big decision coming up, and planning for all of our new European trips!
In the beginning stages, I started my researched with companies who also did sunrise or sunset cruises from Athens with the logic that they might have long charters available. My next step was to obviously google “rent a sailboat in Greece.” Unfortunately, while I found companies, it was a very frustrating and slow process.
I must admit my sailing googling took me to some interesting and very sketchy websites. I was struggling. Then, sometime in October 2017, I stumbled on an amazing website - sailingissues.com run by a terrific person - Diedrik. He hails from the Netherlands and has sailed the Greek Isles (and other places!) many, many times! I immediately called him my Dutch best friend as I learned on his website and advice.
[divider class="" ]So. Many. Options.
Throughout the process, I believe I reviewed over 30 boats. It was very exhausting - especially for a first time sailor! I would highly recommend just looking at the type of boat that will fit your crew most importantly, the cabins and bathrooms!
One other option we had was to sail either one way to Athens or roundtrip from/to Athens. Several operators offered to begin sailing from Mykonos or Paros and then spend the 14 days sailing back to Athens. In hindsight, this would have been a great option as it would enable us to not spend 10+ hours sailing just to and from Athens.
The one way versus return should have been a bigger debate in our group as it would have massively changed our schedule. We definitely would have been able to see more of the Cyclades. Reviewing my old emails, we probably should have done the one way, but now we know for next time!
To add to our confusion, we originally wanted 10 days so we would have 4 or so days to explore mainland Greece. We quickly learned all operators sail on a weekly basis and do not have 10 day options. Looking back, 14 days was not enough on our boat!
[divider class="" ]The Decision
Through Diedrik’s website, he sent out about 5-6 offers to various sailing companies based in Athens that he considered legit. Through the next few weeks, he tracked the companies, chased them down if they weren’t responding, and basically chose our boat!
From his website, he sent out a general request for more information. Most companies then sent an email that looked similar to this one below from our company - DMS. The email lists about 5-6 boats in our general price range and then any extras.
As mentioned above, Diedrik essentially chose our boat. I would send him the offers from these companies and he would advise on three key things: 1) rental price to the boat 2) eventual/possible route choices with the boat 3) boat “amenities.” Without his help, we would be paddling on a rowboat outside Athens!
[divider class="" ]The Boat
In the end, we decided on the Beneteau Oceanis 54.5 monohull. The Beneteau is his favorite manufacturer, while he really enjoyed the oceanis brand. Although he recommended the Oceanis 50 layout, we preferred more room and opted for the 54.5.
[divider class="" ]DMS
Ultimately, we chose DMS Sailing for a few reasons:
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Great boat for the price
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Very Helpful through email
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No Hidden Fees
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We liked the Athens to Athens and they offered one way route choices
For planning this trip, we decided our “fixed” costs needed to stay around $1,500 per person assuming 8 people. The cost breakdown initially was the following (in euros):
- Boat: 7,900
- Skipper: 2,100
- Gas: 450
- Cleaning: 140
[divider class="" ]The Booking
Once we decided on a boat, we had ten days to put a deposit on it. DMS required a 50% upfront deposit which appeared reasonable. However, it felt very strange as we were wiring a lot of money to a Greek bank account…
This is where I believe we made our first mistake. While we generate a ton of interest for the boat, we should have required a non-refundable $500 deposit from these interested parties to hold a spot. We assumed two more people would pay so Nick and I initially covered for 2 people each.
In the end, wiring money wasn’t that big of a deal. I did verify the existence of DMS through TripAdvisor but it did feel strange wiring a lot of money in October for a trip in June 2018!
[divider class="" ]The Lead-Up
Before our trip began, DMS informed us of three “big” decisions:
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Pay the remaining balance
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Decide on the route
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Provisioning / Other Athens Activities
In the emails, we would have to pay the remaining boat balance of 3,900 euros one month before our trip. This made me very nervous again as I hadn’t heard anything from the company since I sent them money! It was a very long two days before they responded to me!
Thankfully, they responded that the remaining balance of the boat, skipper, cleaning, and any other miscellaneous could be paid on arrival. They said they accepted card and preferred cash for the skipper fee (since it may or may not be a pure cash transaction!). It was very helpful knowing this!
Regarding the route, Eugene from DMS was very relaxed about it. They had the below sample route on their website. I also ran it by our Dutch BFF and everyone seemed to approve. To make matters more complicated, Abby would be joining mid trip so we had to settle on something that looked like a route so she could buy her flight to Mykonos!
| Destination | Arrival | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Athens (Kalamaki) | Kea | 38 |
| Kea | Kythnos (Loutra) | 19 |
| Kythnos | Syros (Finikas) | 21 |
| Syros | Mykonos | 25 |
| Mykonos | Paros | 21 |
| Paros | Ios | 32 |
| Ios | Santorini | 22 |
| Santorini | Sikinos | 22 |
| Sikinos | Sifnos | 29 |
| Sifnos | Serifos | 19 |
| Serifos | Sounion | 25 |
| Sounion | Athens | 24 |
| Total miles: | 297 |
For provisioning, they had a standard list of food and other toy related items that we could buy and it would be delivered to the boat. It is very helpful! We went with the following list and found it okay. Since we didn’t really know what we were doing, I went with more general “group” food items as I figured we would be eating out on the islands.
DMS also offered transfers from the airport or hotels. We even tried to arrange an Athens tour for Saturday, but I think we left for the last minute. Leading up to the big day, DMS was very helpful.
I should note other companies appeared to do the provisioning part for the yachts as we ran into a few third party suppliers who would run to the grocery store, pick up the supplies, then deliver to the boat. If we appropriately planned, we should have gone grocery shopping ourselves as the shop is across the street from the marina!
[divider class="" ]The Arrival
Our arrival to the Athens Alimos marina was really easy! From the city center, it is about a 25 minute ride via taxi and costs about 20 euros. From the airport, it is about 45 minutes and costs about 40 euros. DMS is located on pier 6 so we made our way there! As we drove through the marina, I spotted so many companies I considered for our yacht week! It was like driving through memory lane!
Our company questioned us why we took so long to arrive but we honestly didn’t know any better! They made it seem like we could have left at like noon, which would have been nice! The instructions state 5pm but we could have come at noon to get the paperwork, payment, and provisions out of the way.
Paying the remaining balance was really easy. If one person isn’t paying for it, then be ready to split it all with the amounts. I made everyone withdraw a bunch of cash for the skipper fee (per instructions!) but we could have paid everything via card. We shall know for next time, right??
[divider class="" ]The Departure
Obviously, departing the yacht was not even close to the planning bit of the trip, but we really had no idea what to expect before, during, and even the departure morning!
We sailed back to Athens on Friday afternoon which allowed us an afternoon and evening to explore the city. We were allowed to spend the night and they even arranged for our transfers to the airport and to the city center. It was rather easy!
Our departure morning, although very glum, was very easy and peaceful. We did clean up the yacht a bit, but I really don’t think it was absolutely necessary as I saw other boats in worse condition than ours! DMS stated we had to leave the boat by 9 so they could begin their cleaning process so we simply just left the boat. It was really that simple!
Thanks
Again, my research would be very poor and minimal without the help of Diedrik (sailingissues.com) and DMS. All parties were very helpful regarding every aspect of the trip!