It is hard to describe the beauty of Greek Islands. You will find ancient places, challenging anchorages, even more challenging sailing conditions, and lots of sunshine. The local people are very friendly when you respect them and their country. Greece is a fantastic sailing destination. There are many online resources describing each sailing area in details so I will only highlight a few interesting reasons for sailing in Greece.
Thira or Santorini is one of the most desired destinations.
One of the most desired islands to visit in Greece is Thira (also called Santorini). Many sailors dream of sailing to Thira unaware of its dangers and limitations. Relying on pure lack may have some unexpected challenges. The only place to safely stay overnight is in the Vlikhada Marina. Since there are no good anchorages around the island, if you don’t find a place in the marina, you will have to sail away. The marina is full of charter boats and it has shifting silted bottom with unmarked shallows. You may find an empty visitors dock to realize that it has only 1 meter depth suitable to small catamarans at most.
Think about it before you go and check the weather. In the picture, on the left side you may see a dock empty on the far breakwater side. Surprise, it was too shallow for any boat to dock there in 2015.
Strong winds in Cyclades may challenge any skipper.
Strong summer winds make Cyclades as the best area if you want to challenge your sailing skills…and your guests onboard. Making sure everybody can handle rough sailing should be the priority for the skipper.
You may think this wind is light. From the distance, the wind measuring 20 knots seems to be easy to handle, but it will quickly build up the seas and make the passage very uncomfortable. On the other hand, these are the best sailing conditions. This is the reason why Cyclades have the best sailing conditions with winds exceeding 30 knots for several days in the summer months.
