News and Blog

Six weeks can fly by so quickly and as the first half of our sailing season came to an end in Greece, we went through the travel vortex to arrive in Croatia with yet more wind! The Croatian summer Bura wind, meant the first day was a longer stay in Kastela.  The winds at the marina topped out at 42mph but were consistently over 30, so we opted to spend a day exploring and resting and some guests visited the Roman ruins at Salona. Monday we were off on our brand spanking new Hanse 415 covering 45 miles to beautiful Lastovo. The Hanse is a precise, sure footed boat with a good engine that zips along at 7.5 knots. The oversize main and smaller self tacking jib have allowed us to broad reach and run all day at the same speed as under engine. ‘Elena’ as she is called, is a joy to sail and offers ample room in a huge sweeping cockpit. The Adriatic is a endless deep blue and the islands are green emeralds, it is so nice to be back in the Dalmatians!

The start of the 3rd two-week flotilla trip continued with the heatwave on Day 1, meaning the new crew got the chance to enjoy ‘surface star fish’, ‘shark bait’, Tarzan swing and synchonized jump’! In stark contrast to the first day, the wind then arrived.  On the more challenging Cycladic flotilla route we sail, you can always expect the Greek God Poseidon to arrive at some point, but this week he came with a strong blast that has lasted 30-40 knots for 4 days. This of course changed our itinerary, and in two cases meant that the smaller yachts decided not to continue into the Cyclades with us. We were sad to see the Jeanneau 37 with crew from Qatar and the Oceanis 38 with two crew from the UK leave the flotilla and remain in the Saronic Gulf. Their decision was based on knowing their own sailing capabilities, the number of crew they had onboard and we fully respected that was the safe decision to make. The lead 60ft flotilla yacht, Christianna with 8 guests from Quebec, Canada and one from California, USA, breezed through the wind. Christianna stretched her wings has she flew, followed closely by the Jeanneau 50 with the crew from Toronto. We are currently in Sifnos, running a day behind and waiting fto make a dash across to Ios in time for the next cabin charter crews to arrive.

Our second 2-week flotilla came to an end under a European heat wave last Saturday. France, Germany and Italy have passed on their 42 degree temperatures to the central Aegean area. There was a light breeze as we came back into Athens which offered some reprieve but an air-conditioned restaurant was definitely where we headed as soon as soon as we docked! The weather has been so calm that there hasn’t been much sailing this week but our trip award will be go to David Smith for successfully skippering his huge Lagoon 450F flotilla boat through 400 miles and dozens of tiny Greek harbours – this requires Med Mooring stern to tie up. It’s not easy and David managed admirably! The other award will go to our new Poseidon Charters crew mate Lana, who arrived last minute to help us out when our hired summer crew had sudden family matters to attend to. Onwards and upwards, our next flotilla group is a 6 yacht flotilla starts on Saturday July 1st – Canada Day and Canada’s 150th birthday. We’ll celebrate by flying a huge Canadian flag from the mast! 

The first week of our two-week round trip always ends down in the Cyclades and the island of Ios. Yesterday, we arrived quite early so many guests chose to explore the island in a fun way by quad bike. The bikes are only 50hp so for sure you get the see the beauty of the island when slowly climbing the many hills of Ios where the goats are walking faster than you are going in some cases!  Our new crew, Lana from Glasgow, set off with a few of the guests as this was her first time to Ios, we know Ios will become one of her favorites! We’re pleased to have Lana onboard with us, newly qualified with her STCW95 certificate, she is not only trained in all aspects of safety and first-aid onboard, but she is also proving to be wonderful with the clients too – she has a great future in the yachting industry and we look forward to following her career.

As the two-week flotilla circuit makes its way back to Athens, the 3-yacht flotilla group took a democratic Greek vote on Syros vs Mykonos and after visiting ancient Delos to see the sites they decided on a calm sea to Syros. Guests were greeted by port master Thanasis with his matching red port shirt and shoes, big smile and sky blue eyes! Syros offers yachtsmen electricity, water and wonderful showers. The island has a rejuvenated waterfront and now has a fabulous modern boardwalk and port facilities. Back on lead flotilla yacht Christianna, our two Lion King guests celebrated an anniversary over a delicious stir fry lunch served by the crew on a beautiful ceramic platter. The surprise for them at the end of the meal was to turn the empty platter over. They were very touched to see that guests and crew had signed the back for the couple to take home as a memento of cherished memories of their Greek Island sailing tour and their new-found friends. 

It’s always sad when a charter comes to an end and people go their separate ways. Week 1 ended on a high on the island of Ios, and as guests said their fond farewells, we busied ourselves getting lead flotilla yacht, Christianna ready for new arrivals. At 5pm, guests arrived to a glass of local kókkino (red) wine before heading up for sunset and dinner in the Chora (town) of Ios. This week, we welcomed repeat and new guests from Canada, the States and Cuba along with a newly married couple from the hit Broadway show the Lion King – we’re looking forward to hearing Robbie sing like a Hyena! Sunday was a touring day on Ios, with a top picnic stop at Manganari beach and a homage to Homer. Homer was among the greatest poets in ancient Greek history who wrote epics like the Odyssey and Iliad. Legend has it that it was on the island of Ios where Homer took his last breath and now he lies buried in his grave at the northernmost part of island on a hill.

Everyone always asks us why can’t we find recent feedback about Poseidon Charters on Trip Advisor? Well, the simple answer is we are not allowed to have Trip Advisor feedback – we have tried! Trip Advisor’s regualtions stipulate that only accomodations, restaurants and day trips are offically allowed to be reviewed. If you find a 7-night sailing tours or bareboat charter reviews on TA, it’s because they are listed as a one-day tour initially and get around it that way. As we don’t offer anything for just a day, we can’t be on there! You will however, find a few snippets about us on Adventure Travel forums on TA but our main source of feedback is really our Youtube channel where you can see genuine reviews from people who have been on our trips speaking directly to you – via the camera of course! In recent weeks we’ve also been asking our sailors to review on Google and you should be able to read just from a google search.  We’ve just finished the first week of our 2017 sailing season and love this photo from Poseidon’s facebook. Safe travels home guys. 

The wonderful thing about sailing the Greek islands at the beginning of June, is that we catch the end of strawberry season. Our new Greek/American crewmate Johnathan helped out with the provisioning at Hydra island market and decided strawberries were in – can one ever have too many strawberries? Tuesday morning we left the cobbled laneways and roman architecture of Hydra behind, to catch up to flotilla yacht Ealis and her crew relaxing on deck and Capt Kostis holding a steady course for Kithnos. Upon arrival at Kolona bay, the girls from Ealis were among the first to ever hike up to the ridge overlooking the bay and they snapped some stunning images – thanks for sharing Ealis crew. Just a short hop around  the corner is Loutra harbour where a thermal spring just off the beach is perfect to hop from hot water to cold sea – we’re told the hot and cold contrast therapy can help relieve pain, heal the body, and rejuvenate the mind which gave us the spirit to enjoy our first pirate night of the season – we even found a little four-legged pirate begging to join in! Tonight, well, we’re enjoying fantastic food at Mamma Mia’s restaurant in Sifnos a mix of Greek and Italian, what a combination!See the pics so far this season. Remember you can now follow us on instagram and share your best sailing pics at #poseidoncharters.

Finally, the 2017 season is underway, as we left Athens yesterday on a windless passage to Poros. Our first day included a lunch stop for a hike to the temple of Aphaia in Aegina. Later in the day we arrived for an overnight in the Poros channel where we enjoyed a delicious dinner of fresh fish and lamb kleftiko at Garden Taverna. Looking stunning as always, Christianna VIII has welcomed aboard cabin charter guests from Canada and the States.  Following on flotilla with us are two monohulls and a 44ft catamaran, again with guests from the States and Canada. As the sun sets behind the hills, we’re now camped out in Hydra for the night after a few guests took a hike up to the spectacular monastery. Our Floridian crew aboard the catamaran Georgina, are proving they can take good care of themselves after docking the yacht perfectly in Hydra…not the easiest port on our itinerary!