News and Blog

Week 3 in Croatia was an international departure with two crews  from Liverpool, Essex and London UK, a third crew from Melbourne, Australia and the lead flotilla yacht guests from Ontario, Canada and Washington DC, USA. Leaving Split, the huge high pressure heatwave stalled any winds and it was hot and muggy all the way from Split to Brac, Stari Grad and Hvar town. The elusive wind finally arrived en-route to Vis with great sailing in 16 knots of winds.  At Vis we enjoyed Rockies Organic wine farm where guests toured the vineyard and ate delicious lamb, fish & local vegetable ‘pecas’ -giant casseroles cooked in charcoal ovens! We managed the heat with plenty of swim stops in emerald waters and eating at southern European time – after 8pm. Leaving Vis, the flotilla headed for Krka falls – another great way to cool down! It was a fun packed week with great banter between the flotilla boats – we always appreciate the British humour and them booking with us when they have so many other UK companies to choose from. We hope to see the Rawlings, Frenzels and Aussie Herriots again in Greece at some point in the future. Arriving back in Split last Saturday, it was with a slight twinge of sadness as we will not be returning to Croatia for our flotilla next year – rest assured we will be back at some point in the future, as we know can’t keep away from this wonderful saiiling destination! 

Poseidon’s second week in Croatia on flotilla was a mix of perfect sailing conditions and fun – renewing old friendships with repeat sailors. Two repeat racers from Ottawa joined aboard the lead flotilla boat while the Smith-Lavery families who sailed with us in Greece in 2011 reunited here in the Adriatic aboard flotilla yacht Tina, a Jeanneau 53. The boats have performed incredibly in the daily favourable winds of 5-18 knots and we’ve stopped in at Dubrovnik, Mljet, Korcula, Vrobaska and Omis – to see where the famous pirates of Omish came from. On the second week the highlights have been Stari Grad for a magical evening meal at La Gitana restaurant, followed by Bol beach, Hvar town, Vis, Solta and Skradin to see the Krka waterfalls! The best thing about Croatian sailing is that the daily sails are a perfect duration between island stops – much less  than the distances between Greek Cycladic islands!

Week 3 already and a big Greek welcome to our new crew aboard the lead flotilla yacht our 60ft stunner, Christianna. This departure we welcome a family from Virginia including two young sailors aged 8 & 12 (we like to start them young!) and two other North American couples.  The flotilla has an international vibe and our flotilla crews hail from South Africa, Manchester, UK and a group of Canadians aboard a brand new Lagoon 450 called SAO.

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.