Dear ……: 

The Easy Sailing charter that we did this past October in the Cyclades was excellent.  The boat, an Oceanis 40 was built in 2008.  It was in top condition.  The owner of the vessel gave us a first rate briefing.   We have chartered many times in the Caribbean with the Moorings and Sunsail, and one couple aboard has chartered in the San Juan islands near Vancouver.  We all agreed that it was the best briefing we have had to date.  Our charter date was near the end of the season and the weather forecast for our week was not the greatest.  We had some difficulty tuning in to the marine forecast in English but were able to obtain daily weather updates from the owner via text messages.  This was a big help.  Knowledge of a predicted 1 – 2 day wind shift to the SE, allowed us to visit Santorini, (one of our goals for the charter), and then make our way northward to Amorgos before the predicted force 6 – 7 north winds set in.  By the time the wind shifted north we had set ourselves up for two days of reaching on the last two legs of our journey to Naxos and then back to Paros.  On our last day of sailing we had gusts up to 40 knots but this was no problem for the 40 footer as we reached our way across the Naxos-Paros channel at 7.5 knots under a 3/4 jib with no main. 

Helena at Easy Sailing, was the lady who helped us set up the charter.  She was helpful and responsive at every step of the way and promptly answered any questions that arose via e mail.  You will likely have a different owner out of Rhodos but if the level of service and equipment we received at Paros is typical of Easy Sailing charters you will be well pleased with your choice.

Feel free to contact me again if I can be of further assistance in any way.

                                                                       Fair Winds,          Paul …..     M….., Florida, USA

New customer wrote:

Hello,

Pardon the intrusion.  I am considering a bareboat charter with Easy Sailing from Rhodes this summer.  They gave me your address in a list of former customers.  I would very much appreciate any information you can give me about your experience with this company, such as comments on their boat condition, service, reliability, etc.

Thank you very much for any information you can provide.

H…………

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photo by Klearchos Kapoutsis

Many people wish to sail the Aegean sea in order to see the 2 famous islands of Myconos & Santorini.The following refers to those who…
plan to see the 2 two Greek islands/areas or just Santorini island within one WEEK CHARTER o­nly.
We welcome their wishes and in order we avoid any misunderstandings or non-feasible planning, we have to say in advance that in the Aegean Sea there are often N winds blowing with force 20-40 miles per hour.
For experienced sailors this can be “a piece of cake” but for others …no.

Another issue is the distance and the duration of charter:
Mykonos is WSW at 90 Nautical miles away from Athens and
Santorini is SSW at 120 Nautical miles away from Athens and
the distance between Mykonos and Santorini is some 70 miles or more.
A sailing yacht makes 5-8 knots (or nearly the same in miles per hour), and it is easy to calculate lots of hours o­nboard for a trip Athens-Mykonos-Santorini-Athens just in order to cover the distance.

Putting figures down it comes out about 40 hours NON-STOP sailing. No time spent for eating, swimming, hopping, relaxing, exploring, resting or sleeping. In general, it is all more reasonable for a duration of one week charter, you plan to see just one of 2 islands and especially Mykonos which is much closer to Athens. Athens-Santorini-Athens could be done within one week, but will surely create fatigue, and the plan’s success will also be subject to the weather conditions. After all, sailing upwind for 120 miles… is more like work than a holiday.
EASY SAILING has a charter base in Paros island right in the middle of the Cyclades islands.
Then why not charter a round trip out of Paros?
First thing is that people will have to run after taxis, getting to Piraeus port or Rafina, take ferryboats, check connections and time-tables both to reach and leave Paros isl. – many times a nightmare.
A second thing is that the little port in Paros can hold a small number of charter boats and availability is very limited. Most of the yachts are booked quite in advance in Paros isl., so do not be surprised if your suitable boat type will be only available from Athens (Alimos Marina or Lavrion port).
It is also expectable in the Cyclades area that when winds blow strong all smaller charter yachts up to 37 feet long, will have a hard time with waves of 2-3m or during maneuvering.
EASY SAILING may transfer the yacht especially for you to Paros base (for skippered charters can do deliveries to other islands too), though the “empty-run” time will be part of your paid charter time and an extra one-way fee will apply.
If you would consider/afford sailing holidays for 2 weeks or for a minimum of 10-11 days then there is ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM – just prepare your crew for the possibility of a bit “rough” seas for a while and set sails (!).
We feel your holiday time is very valuable….and thought sharing the above information with you.

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