Finding TRUSTWORTHY Charters GREECE

[Bre]

Hello everyone. Through another website I heard there was a rather heated ongoing discussion about sailing charters in Greece and thought I would come over to check it out.

After reviewing some of the posts, it is disheartening to see that there are some major problems with chartering in Greece.

I have some experience boating, but ZERO experience sailing and therefore would be looking to find trusted companies in Greece where a crew would be provided.

In 2005, a very large group of us will be going to Greece for an extended period of time. We are now in the process of gathering a massive amount of information for this trip and will be building out a large website for this group which will also serve for anyone surfing the web a list of trusted merchants in Greece under a variety of categories.

One of these categories will be chartering/sailing around Greece. We want to make sure that after exhaustive research, the list will consist of reputable chartering companies in Greece. The best way to arrive at this is to ask those that know.

Simply put, we want to keep the crap out.

No system is perfect, but there needs to be some effort made in this area to spotlight those that are "doing things the right and honest way" and those "doing things the wrong way".

No one deserves to be scammed of their hard-earned money and have their trip ruined because they lack experience and are in a foreign country, especially since this involves thousands and tens of thousands of dollars.

We also hope to build relationships BEFORE we go with not only the reputable chartering companies but with many others in Greece which will enhance the overall experience an in turn provide a filter and guide for others travelers inside and outside of our group to make their travel experience that much better.

That being said, I propose those that have previous experience in chartering sailboats and even yachts in Greece help create a definitive list of trusted charter companies.

We would like input from as many people as possible on this.

If you would rather email a good and bad list, you may do so to pacificblue77@earthlink.net

We want to cover US, Greek and other foreign based charter operation that charter in Greece.

The website this will all be listed on is www.greece2005.com It will be up in a couple of weeks so there is plenty of time going forward to get this sorted out.

We also look to establish a list of "trusted" individuals in Greece that can serve as contact points for sailing and any other activities.

Please include as much info as you can about each company you recommend including personal experiences, web sites, contact names etc.

Chartering companies are welcome to chime in and toot their own horn, but they will be put through the paces before we post anyone ie. the community of clients will be the ultimate police based upon a pool of experiences that are combined.

So please reply away and if we need to clarify any part of this request or you have suggestions on what should/could be included and want to help build out essential things consumers need to know/ask before chartering, please list those as well. It too will be included on the site.

Thanks,
Greece2005
www.greece2005.com (coming soon)

[Garmisch]

In reply to Greece 2005, you are quite right that there is much to know about when chartering a yacht in Greece. We just returned from such a trip and would like to forewarn you about three charter agencies. We chartered in Rhodes with Aegeus Yachts through Westward Ho Sailing out of the UK. The yacht was provided by Vernicos Yachts. Our advice to you is to avoid any and all of these companies. Our experience, to summarize, is that we chartered and paid for a two-week charter, out of which we had a little more than one week of sailing because the yacht had not been maintained. It had a malfunctioning headsail, malfunctioning windlass,leaky toilet, not-functioning bilge pump, and on and on and on. We spent the first week dealing with their incompetance, and after it was over, they denied anything was wrong with the yacht and absolved themselves of any responsibility and would do next to nothing to set the matter straight. They offered one-half of one charter day refund. Please don''t hesitate to ask for further clarification. But be advised - these people are to be avoided at all costs. We have chartered numerous times with Moorings, in Europe and the Caribbean and have found them to be professional in all ways. Their yachts are in top shape and they receive the maintenance BETWEEN charters, not during them. You really can''t go wrong with Moorings.

[Sailor25_2001]

Well I would love to share experiences as I have chartered in Greece successfully 4 times with a group of 8-17 boats in my fleet. We also sailed Italy twice.
The only experience I had that resembles the horror stories was the Ionian Sea from Corfu at the end of the season and I think we used Vernicos, but by the same token I used them in the dodecanese and had great service. They had a larger base there.
I have a group of friends and we Captain our own boats. Many are Airline Captains and I have been a Marina Manager and have contact with many certified Captains. We do this all the time for fun. If I can help, let me know. Linda Morrissey sailor25_2001@yahoo.com