The Hellenic Charter Brokers Association had its annual brokerage show, or “Symposium” as they call it, in Poros, Greece in May. Delightful setting I may add – Poros is a winner because it’s away from, the hustle and bustle of Athens (Piraeus) and is a beautiful little place that has some great food and great hotels. We stayed at the 7 Brothers Hotel which is in the village center and within walking distance to the show - reasonably priced and very clean. The other two major hotels are the Image and the Syrene that are outside the downtown area but may brokers prefer them since they are more luxurious. I use the word “downtown” carefully since Poros is really a quaint little village.
People tell me that the broker attendance at the show was down from last year, probably due to fewer American brokers being there. The airfares and hotels and transportation in Euros make things very expensive. Furthermore, the pricing of Greek charters reflects the current Dollar – Euro imbalance and makes them pretty pricey. The value of the Euro is really making it difficult for Americans to travel and charter yachts in the Mediterranean.
Certainly this year’s show emphasized motor yachts over sailing yachts. There was a huge selection of Mega Yachts, most of them built and owned by wealthy Greek businessmen for their own use and who charter them when not being used. There was also quite an array of medium sized Ferretti’s between 75’ and 90’ – these seem to be the favorites at around E20 to E30K a week.
Greek (generally European) designed motor yachts seem to reflect closer family and friends relationships since most are designed to accommodate 10 to 12 guests and some up to 14 and 16 guests..!! This is virtually unheard of in the US and Caribbean. This may be due to USCG regulations but I don’t know why that would affect the Caribbean??
The Greek ferry system simply amazed us, every island is connected by an incredible network of ferries, most of which originate in Piraeus, just West of Athens. The ferries are relatively inexpensive and pretty much run on time in good weather. We took the hydro-foil ferry from Piraeus to Poros and the darn thing travels at about 40 kts, cutting a 2 ½ hour ride down to one hour.
How to get to Poros: Take the ferry (Hellenic Seaways) from Piraeus to Poros. The same ferry takes passengers onwards to Spetses and Hydra so you can also visit these islands easily from Poros. For the record, these islands and generally the waters of the Saronic Gulf are much more protected than the Cyclades (Mykonos, Santorini). If the weather forecast looks iffy, stick to Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, and the Corinthian Canal and Gulf.
We got “sidetracked” to the island of Rodos (Rhodes), in Greece so as to take the ferry from Rodos to Marmaris in Turkey for the Marmaris brokerage show. This is easier than flying to Turkey, if you need to get to Marmaris which is kind of in the middle between the airports of Bodrum and Delaman in Turkey and you have to fly through Istanbul to take a local Turkish flight. Rodos is a trip – full of British, German and Russian tourists. Nice historical sites like the fortress and the “old city” that the Knights of St. John built in the 7th century and many other archeological treasures. Well worth the trip there, even if you are just passing through.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Marmaris Turkey 2007 Charter Show
Just got back from the Turkish charter yacht show and I have to say that I was really amazed at the warm welcome and very special service I received from everyone in this delightful country. Although Marmaris is a resort town, full of Brits, Germans and especially very rich Russians, the locals are remarkably “un-contaminated”. So far.
In our little yachting world, Turkey’s Aegean coast remains the poor cousin of the classic Med destinations - certainly in the minds of our American clients. Worries about Islamic countries, political unrest, terrorism, etc. cloud our vision of the realities of this great yachting destination. Friendly people who genuinely love foreigners and don’t really care where you’re from - delightful weather, pristine blue waters, forested mountains that reach right down to the ocean and very reasonable prices are certainly reason enough to rethink your travel plans and plan your charter in this country.
Turkey’s Aegean Coast pretty much starts in the city of Bodrum which is the furthest North of the yachting grounds, then it extends down to Gokova with it’s unspoiled forests, marvelous ruins and archeological treasures, then further South to Marmaris which is your classical resort town with great hotels and restaurants, and continues on down to Gocek, in the Fethiye Bay with it’s large bareboat population and where many of the crewed yachts are based.
Charters are generally organized from Saturday to Saturday and the best sailing, as all sailors know, is with the wind behind you. So in summer, with the prevailing wind from the North, charters that start in Bodrum and end in Marmaris or Gocek are encouraged. It's also possible to cross over from Turkey to the Greek Dodecanese islands and jump back into Turkish waters again although there are ports fees every time you switch.
Turkey is also home to that very unique Turkish sailing ship the Gulet. (Spanish speakers please note the origin of the word “Goleta” or small sailing ship). These beautiful wooden vessels are still being built today and come in two basic flavors: the very large variety that can accommodate up to 16 or 18 guests and the smaller ones that generally carry 8 to 10 passengers. The master cabin is generally aft and large, the identical, generally spacious, guest cabins with en-suite heads run port and starboard off a long fore and aft corridor. The crews are Turkish but most are English-speaking, the service is excellent and the food delightful. We had several at the show – one had been launched only a few weeks ago and had that amazing smell of new wood. Built in Bodrum, she can accommodate up to 16 guests.
There is also an excellent and exciting assortment of motor yachts including some very new ones all of which can accommodate from 10 to 12 guests, however, the price of fuel being what it is especially in Europe, motor yacht itineraries need to be carefully planned to maximize fuel economy.
For the budget-minded, there is also an assortment of owner operated and generally smaller crewed monohull sailing vessels and a couple of crewed cats that operate either out of Gocek or Marmaris that can accommodate from 4 to 8 guests.
Bareboats are also available in all three major locations whether these be from the larger international companies or from smaller local companies, they all look pretty good. Bavaria seems to be the marque of preference here.
How to get to Turkey? Several options: fly into Istanbul and then take a local flight into either Bodrum or Gocek. (Delaman) Fly into Athens and take a local flight (Aegean Airlines) to the island of Rhodes and then take the ferry over to Marmaris. This is a favorite with charter brokers going to the Marmaris show.
In our little yachting world, Turkey’s Aegean coast remains the poor cousin of the classic Med destinations - certainly in the minds of our American clients. Worries about Islamic countries, political unrest, terrorism, etc. cloud our vision of the realities of this great yachting destination. Friendly people who genuinely love foreigners and don’t really care where you’re from - delightful weather, pristine blue waters, forested mountains that reach right down to the ocean and very reasonable prices are certainly reason enough to rethink your travel plans and plan your charter in this country.
Turkey’s Aegean Coast pretty much starts in the city of Bodrum which is the furthest North of the yachting grounds, then it extends down to Gokova with it’s unspoiled forests, marvelous ruins and archeological treasures, then further South to Marmaris which is your classical resort town with great hotels and restaurants, and continues on down to Gocek, in the Fethiye Bay with it’s large bareboat population and where many of the crewed yachts are based.
Charters are generally organized from Saturday to Saturday and the best sailing, as all sailors know, is with the wind behind you. So in summer, with the prevailing wind from the North, charters that start in Bodrum and end in Marmaris or Gocek are encouraged. It's also possible to cross over from Turkey to the Greek Dodecanese islands and jump back into Turkish waters again although there are ports fees every time you switch.
Turkey is also home to that very unique Turkish sailing ship the Gulet. (Spanish speakers please note the origin of the word “Goleta” or small sailing ship). These beautiful wooden vessels are still being built today and come in two basic flavors: the very large variety that can accommodate up to 16 or 18 guests and the smaller ones that generally carry 8 to 10 passengers. The master cabin is generally aft and large, the identical, generally spacious, guest cabins with en-suite heads run port and starboard off a long fore and aft corridor. The crews are Turkish but most are English-speaking, the service is excellent and the food delightful. We had several at the show – one had been launched only a few weeks ago and had that amazing smell of new wood. Built in Bodrum, she can accommodate up to 16 guests.
There is also an excellent and exciting assortment of motor yachts including some very new ones all of which can accommodate from 10 to 12 guests, however, the price of fuel being what it is especially in Europe, motor yacht itineraries need to be carefully planned to maximize fuel economy.
For the budget-minded, there is also an assortment of owner operated and generally smaller crewed monohull sailing vessels and a couple of crewed cats that operate either out of Gocek or Marmaris that can accommodate from 4 to 8 guests.
Bareboats are also available in all three major locations whether these be from the larger international companies or from smaller local companies, they all look pretty good. Bavaria seems to be the marque of preference here.
How to get to Turkey? Several options: fly into Istanbul and then take a local flight into either Bodrum or Gocek. (Delaman) Fly into Athens and take a local flight (Aegean Airlines) to the island of Rhodes and then take the ferry over to Marmaris. This is a favorite with charter brokers going to the Marmaris show.
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