Categories:
Join us for a sailing adventure this spring. Improve your skills and explore a picturesque sailing area. You’ll be on a big comfortable yacht with pleasant company. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, hurry and book a place on our May milebuilding trip to the Cyclades.
Our mile-building trip is an opportunity to experience big boat sailing in one of the world’s most famous sailing areas..
The Cyclades islands, scattered in the middle of the Aegean, are what most people think of when they imagine a Greek island. You’ll find the typical white buildings, churches, and blue seas that you’ve seen in photographs.
In mid summer a very strong wind, called the meltemi, blows through the Cyclades making it popular with experienced yachtsmen looking for challenging sailing. We’re going outside the main meltemi season but should still get good winds for experience building.
Dates
Start: You need to be at Kalamaki Marina, Athens by 16:00 on Saturday 16 May. (some people prefer to travel the previous day – we can assist with hotel details near the marina)
Finish: The yacht will return to Kalamaki Marina by 11:00 on Saturday 23 May. We can arrange taxi transfers to the airport and you are on the main airport bus route if you prefer to make your own way.
The Yachts and Crew
We’re running two yachts. April Update: – we now have four yachts taking part in the trip. Racing, anyone?
These are big, comfortable Cyclades 50.5s with 6 cabins, including a skipper’s cabin and one with bunk beds. The cabins are nice and roomy, large enough for two to share but we can also offer you single occupancy of a cabin.
Each yacht will be sailed by a crew of six, plus an RYA instructor who is there to keep an eye on things and to give tuition if required. The crew is divided into three watches and you’ll take turns being in complete charge of the yacht – steering, trimming the sails, navigation, as well as carrying out important duties like making tea/coffee and tasty meals.
As you can imagine, with three yachts, there’ll be an opportunity for some informal racing. We’ll put together the crews once we know everyone who has booked and try to make a good mix, taking into consideration age, languages, and experience.
The Route
This trip involves sailing on all 7 days of the week. You’ll join the yacht in Kalamaki Marina, just outside Athens, on the afternoon of Saturday 16 May. We ask crew to arrive around 2pm and you’ll leave as soon as everyone is on board and you’ve had an initial safety briefing. This means that you get a couple of hours sailing in daylight before going into your first night sail, arriving at the pretty island of Kia in the late evening.
From Kea you’ll head south and east through the Cyclades islands, stopping on the way. There will be some time for sight-seeing in the evenings and some lovely venues for evening meals ashore. The exact route will depend on the wind and weather at the time and will be decided by the instructor in collaboration with the crew. If possible, you’ll try to reach the island of Milos, in the south-west of the Cyclades.
From there you’ll do a long overnight sail up to the Argolic Gulf. This will give you a Yachtmaster qualifying passage to put into your logbook.
On the final day you’ll sail to our island base on Aegina where we’ll arrange a great meal and present you with a little souvenir of your trip. The yachts have to be returned to Kalamaki on Saturday morning so it will be a very early start. If you prefer we can book you into a hotel in Aegina for the final night and you can then make your own way back the following day.
The Weather
Subject to the strong meltemi wind in mid-summer, our trip takes place before it starts to blow too hard. Nevertheless, expect slightly more challenging conditions than in the more sheltered area of the Saronic Gulf. Normally the wind is F4-5 but you may get days with stronger winds (unfortunately it’s also possible to get one or two days with less wind but we’ve been lucky the past few years.)
What it Will Cost You
The majority of people on our milebuilders tend to come alone. We can offer single occupancy of a cabin for 1350 EUR. The cabins on these yachts are big and comfortable.
(Crew Club members price 1282 EUR )
If you’re coming with a friend or partner and are prepared to share a double cabin, you can get a reduced price and we’ll also put you in one of the cabins that has an en-suite heads. The price for sharing a cabin is 1000 EUR
(Crew Club members price 950 EUR )
What’s Included
The price includes the yacht and all yacht expenses and taxes – fuel, mooring dues, electricity, and it also includes linen, bedding, and towels. Food is provided for during the time on board but you’ll take 5 or 6 meals ashore during the trip, which are not included. You’ll have the services of a qualified RYA instructor and we’ll provide RYA-type auto inflation lifejackets (rather than the typical Greek ones) We can also arrange for you to borrow lightweight waterproof jackets to keep your luggage to a minimum.
The price doesn’t include flights or getting to/from the marina which is easy to reach by either taxi or airport bus. It doesn’t include about 6 meals which you’ll take ashore in local tavernas on the different islands you’ll visit.
Availability – LATEST NEWS!
All three yachts are now fully booked and we will run a fourth boat. Let me know if you want to sail on this trip as we only have a couple of cabins left and we definitely won’t be putting on a fifth yacht.
Read what some of our sailing students have to say, explore our course catalogue, and contact us for more information about each course and our availabilities to come and sail in Greece!