If you're a veteran in
chartering yachts in Greece you probably don't need to read this (or
do you? ;-), if not bear with me for 5 minutes.
Oh no, got the wrong bag!
Every year I see
clients arriving in the marina with their Delsey rolling bags. The
bags are nice and it's helpful to have gone through the airport and
maybe the metro with, but dear oh dear, these bags are going to be
the main decoration in the boat for the week to follow, and you know
what, this is not funny. Personally I make it a routine to advise
customers again and again to bring soft bags that can be folded and
nicely stowed away, but still people will come with their rigid or
semi rigid bags. There is nothing square inside a boat and there is
no place to store rigid travel luggage (even in a 57 footer). So do
yourself a favour, get a bag that can be folded and if you search
well you will find bags that can accept a detachable wheel system to
go through the airport easier. If you can't find this just get the
soft bags. It will be a bit more difficult for a couple of hours, but
you will be rewarded with living in a boat that looks like a boat and
not a train waiting area.
Sunscreen and factors
I promise to one day
write a blog on how youngsters in the old times decided how and if to
approach a tourist, judging by her suntan. There were 3 stages: milk
white, lobster atomic disaster and properly tanned. For the purpose
of this here, let's stay in the lobster atomic disaster stage.
Factors on sunscreen
are there for people to calculate hours of exposure to the sun. I
would say take all this with a pinch of salt if on a yacht cruising
the Greek islands. The sun on a yacht is relentless. Most of the
surfaces are highly reflective white and you cannot hide away from
it. You will dip yourself in the water several times, you will ignore
the 12 to 16 hours no sun exposure warning and all this makes for a
cocktail that will very soon bring you to resemble a lobster. I know
that you probably come from Northern Europe and crave the sun but
believe me, a couple of days of patience will really help you achieve
your goal.
My personal routine is
to stay in the shadow for the first couple of days when the season
starts. I will take myself to direct sun only to swim or work. You
can't believe the tan you get by staying in the shadow on a boat for
a couple of days! I don't even use sunscreen because I'm not so
comfortable with chemistry on my skin. There is not much sense anyway
in splashing yourself in factor 50 sunscreen and then just grill
yourself on the deck at one o'clock in the afternoon for a couple of
hours.
Take the sun very
seriously, especially if you're of light complexion and/or have
freckles.
Hat and sunglasses
You should use both.
Your preferred cool cap
is trendy and is quite ok, but a wider breamed hat is better. Haven't
you noticed those guys going around with their nice cap on and their
badly sunburned neck? There are many nice wider breamed hats made for
yacht use (they need to have a string under the chin, otherwise they
will be gone with the wind). The good ones have a good ventilation
system and can be washed very easily. My personal preference is the
Tilley hat. Very easy to keep clean, great system with strings, a
lifetime guarantee and of course this very funny story with the
elephant that ate one, which I'm not going to repeat here since it's
lunchtime!
Sunglasses take quite a
beating while sailing greek waters, so don't use your trendy Dolce &
Gabbana pair while taking a reef in the greek meltemi. Get a purpose
made pair of sailing sunglasses or bring your bicycling ones. Rinse
them with soft water before attempting to wipe them, there will be a
lot of salt on and they will be scratched too easily. Keep the Armani
variety for strolling in the harbour later. By the way what are all
these people doing with sunglasses on couple of hours after sunset?
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Ok, I'm sorry, I'm
male, but I have to write this. Decide what clothes you're taking
with, pile them somewhere, then put away half of it and only pack the
rest.
I have never seen
anybody, male or female, come onboard a yacht with exactly or less
the clothes he/she needs for the duration of the travel
(unfortunately this includes myself). The norm is to come with double
or triple, but it doesn't add to the enjoyment of the vacation. What
you will need during the day is a bathing suit, maybe shorts and a
t-shirt. I'm afraid that during the night you will hardly wear more
than shorts and t-shirts too. Yes, yes I know “C'mon now, I'm a
GIRL after all!”. Sure but two “nicer” outfits for a week, not
two per day, and one pair of high heels (ok, ok one each to suit the
two “nicer” outfits).
Take a lot of swimsuits
with you, preferably those that dry quicker and avoid pure white
ones, they get instantly very dirty on the wet teak surfaces of a
boat.
Light sandals are a
must, if you forget them you will find a nice cheap pair in most
greek harbours. I would recommend a pair of proper boat shoes too,
like Docksides or equivalent. They will protect your toes from all
these nasty deck protrusions and they look good to wear and travel
with. There are many “sportier” looking boat shoes, but have yet
to find a pair to convince me.
Do you need sailing
gloves? Never used a pair myself, but many people with sensitive skin
swear by them.
Some quickies:
I'm a runner. I
sincerely hope you're an early riser too, after 8 in the morning you
can forget about it
I'm a snorer. They got
a spray for that. They got sharks too
I'm a music fan. Me
too. Here's my earphones if you forgot yours. Never saw a crew agree
on music
I'm a smoker. Place the
other people between you and the wind so your smoke doesn't bother
them. Get one of these small portable ashtrays with a lid and dispose
off your buts in the harbour bin, they don't smell good in the boat
garbage bin. NEVER smoke in the interior of the yacht.
I'm a nudist. I'm a fan
of yours! How was your name again? Cindy Crawford?
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