Flotillas to the Sporades Islands

Following years of badgering from our regular customers for a flotilla in the Sporades Islands of Greece, we are thrilled to announce that 2012 sees the launch of a new two week route in this delightful area!

* Friday start/finish dates (1st June, 15th June, 29th June, 13th July, 27th July, 10th August, 24th August, 7th September, 21st September)

* Flights from Heathrow to Athens, with coach transfers just over two hours, plus a 45 minute ferry ride across to Orei, on Evia Island

* Suitable for our more experienced sailors, who have tried most of our Ionian Islands or Saronic Islands routes, and who are now looking for a new and exciting destination, offering slightly more advanced sailing conditions

* Beneteau 323, 331, 361 yachts, and one Bavaria 44 yacht (4 cabins, 2 heads) are available on this route

The Sporades Islands lie to the North of Athens, in the Aegean Sea. Amongst other things, they are famous for the regular summer Meltemi winds, the setting for the recent “Mamma Mia” movie, the National Marine Park of Alonnisos (home of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal at the islands’ eastern extremity), and an amazing history of pirate invasions during the middle ages, which has left a legacy of fortified “old towns” throughout the islands.

We have already visited the Sporades a couple of times this season, and we now know why people have been requesting our presence in the area for so long. We will be “feeling our way” a little with the route for the first season, though we can say for certain that it will start and finish from the village of Orei on Evia Island, and will likely visit the Gulf of Volos, before heading east, to the islands of Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnissos, Kira Panayia, Peristeri, and Skantzoura.

Our flights will be in and out of Athens, and from there we will transfer you north to Arkitsa in the North Evia Gulf, where you will drive onto the ferry for a 45 minute ride across to Evia Island and on, to Orei Town, where your yacht awaits.

This route will have the usual balance between larger villages with their hustle and bustle, and smaller settlements with one or two tavernas. However, having viewed the stunning clarity of the water and the beautifulness of the bays in the more remote islands that lie further East, a new feature of this route will be that we may spend a night or two cooking aboard, rather than dining ashore.

These nights will be spent anchored in uninhabited, sheltered bays, with just the twinkle of star light above you, and only the sound of water gently lapping on the beach (with the occasional tingle of bells from a lost and wandering goat!).

This is the most relaxing way to enjoy these outer islands, and we are sure that those of you who have yet to experience an evening dining in the cockpit by candlelight, swinging softly around the anchor, and waking up to the sound of the fish jumping to the start of a fresh new day, will enjoy every minute of this novel experience!

Another facet we will be offering on this route is more flexibility to spend some time ashore soaking up the culture, history, and wonderful views that the hills of these islands have to offer above their coastlines.

We are sure that the Kastro (fortified village on Skiathos Island), the Church of St John of the Small Castle (better known as the church nestled precariously on a rocky outcrop in the Mamma Mia movie, on the north eastern coast of Skopelos Island), and the once abandoned Old Town of Alonnissos, on Alonnissos Island, high up in the hills overlooking the island, will all prove to be very popular attractions to those sailing to these islands.

The wind in the Sporades Islands during the main part of our sailing season is generally from the north or north east, and is known as the “Meltemi” wind. It can be a fresher wind at times, and so this route is aimed at our more experienced flotilla sailors. The combination of the stronger winds and the flatter seas in the leeward sides of the islands will offer some truly invigorating sailing for everyone.

This flotilla will be an ideal next step for those who have perhaps “cut their teeth” on our easier Ionian Islands routes, then stepped up to the delights of the Saronic Islands flotillas, and who are now looking for the next destination, which will offer both new islands to explore, and a little more wind to get you there!

We will be taking a flotilla of our Beneteau 323s, 331s, and 361s yachts to this area. They will be delivered to the Sporades Islands during May, from Corfu (via the Corinth Canal and Evia Gulfs), and will be brought back in October, to a new base near Athens. For those who may be interested in these early and late season placement cruises, please give our office a call for further details.