A sailing tour in Greece The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island

group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete.[2] They belong to the Southern

Sporades island group. They have a rich history, and many of even the smallest inhabited

islands boast dozens of Byzantine churches and medieval castles.

My suggestion is that we fly in to Kos and sail to Patmos via the islands Kalimnos and Leros,

The exact harbors and tour I suggest we discuss dependent on what we want, weather

conditions and how much we enjoy being out sailing on the water contra how much time we

prefer to spend in bays and/or the small harbor villages.

The sailing yacht alternatives There are of course many alternatives and sailing yachts can be hires from different islands. My

recommendation is to hire a yacht on an island with an airport, so as to avoid spending less time on

travelling to and from our destination. Kos as an island is therefore a good place to start of from.

Living onboard a week together on a limited space naturally can be demanding. A larger yacht gives

more space, but also increases costs. There is also a limit to how large a yacht the firms are prepared

to rent without including a skipper.

Choosing a size around 50 – 60 feet gives us 4-5 bedrooms and often your own shower and WC. The

more modern the yacht is, the easier to sail and dock in harbors and bays.

The suggestions I have received for the second or third week in June, range from 7 000 to 9 000 Euro

for a week as this is high season. If we choose to sail later in the year from September – November

prices will come down to 5 000 – 7 000 Euro for a week.

Places to visit

Kalymnos as a town is a natural first stop as we leave Kos harbor. A larger village with shops and restaurants.

Patmos has a nice harbor directly below the monastery. It is nice to walk around in the town and there is shopping and restaurants to choose among. As we most probably have been to smaller villages before, it is nice to arrive to this larger village.

Vathis bay on the island Kalymnos. I have been in there with a 47 foot sailing yacht and I think we could come in with a larger vessel. A nice small village in a beautiful setting at the end of a small channel. A good place to pass on the way back to Kos.

On the island of Leros there is a well sheltered marina, but also several nice bays. I recall that we often choose to make our own dinners and stay in any of the less populated bays. Mind you this was 30 years ago, so who knows what it looks like now.

Kos is the main island and with the largest town. There is much to see even here, so perhaps we want to spend a day to investigate Kos before we sail of or as we come back.

Our roles onboard

Sailing a boat of this size is not harder than sailing a smaller boat. Modern boats have bow propellers

and electrical winches to set and trim sails. For me this will also be a new experience as my life

mostly has been sailing boats where we need to be up on deck, pulling and tugging.

Well out at sea, nothing needs to happen in a hurry. We have plenty of space on the water and I do

believe that cruising sailing is about enjoying ourselves. Part of this is not having to feel nervous

about what is happening onboard. How much the boat will lean due to the wind is adjustable and

this large yacht also feels very stable in contrast to a more ‘bouncy” smaller vessel.

Leaving and docking in harbors needs the cooperation of us all. Leaving is the easiest as it mainly is

about getting untied and getting out of trouble.

Docking in the harbors is where we need to cooperate the most:

Fenders are put out alongside to avoid damage to our and other boats, before we enter a

harbor. Two people need to keep a look out along the sides and report to the person driving.

We need an anchor or buoy person so as to get tied up in the bow as we reverse into the

dock.

One or two people need to get ready to jump of and tie us up.

We have several

experienced people with

us and I have no worries

about the fact that we

can handle our rented

boat. Maneuvering

Frank’s boat is much

harder than any of the

ones we are looking to

rent.

I suggest that we plan our trip together as we arrive at the boat and move along the above islands

dependent on weather conditions and how we agree upon what we want to see or do.

I have found that most guest have enjoyed getting up in the morning and having some freshly baked

bread for breakfast and then leave harbor for a couple of hours sailing. Than anchor up in a nice bay

for some lunch, swimming, book reading and then move on for a couple of hours sailing to our

harbor or bay for the night.

I have sent several request for quotas for boats leaving from Kos. Let me know what budget levels

we should aim for and which week or weeks we should aim for and I will make the reservation.

Looking forward to a good time in Greece