Yes, it happens sometimes. If you know that you are susceptible to motion sickness, we can give you plenty of tips on getting around this. Meclazine, scop patches, wrist bands, ginger… different remedies work for different people.  The most effective sea-sickness cure is getting on the helm. Seriously!

For some people, it’s smart to stay up on deck for the first day; after that, we find that the vast majority of people acclimatise and are just fine. If you get sick on planes, trains, automobiles and said duckponds… it might not be your best choice.

We provide a “starter supply” of drinks to kick off the first couple of evenings’ Happy Hours – beer, wine, a few rounds of gin n’ tonics, etc.  After that, it’s up to you to BYO whatever you’d like to drink onboard.  There’s plenty of opportunities to grab stuff in Leros before we leave, or during the trip on the bigger islands. We’ll also have a supply onboard which you can buy from us at cost price.

A question which frequently has our skippers grinding their teeth! :).  We will always sail when it is logistically possible; it’s what we love too, after all.

But at times, when sitting in a calm harbour, it’s hard to tell what the conditions are like outside; so sometimes, we just plain don’t know until we get out there.

There are other factors which influence the decision too; eg, if the wind happens to be coming from exactly where we want to go….. it could take an age to get there, tacking backwards and forwards.  If there’s no time constraints, and the distance isn’t too long – then sure, let’s get that team-tacking on!  But if, for example, someone is getting miserably seasick – we’re not hanging around taking twice the time to get there; we’ll motor-sail as the fastest way to get to port.

Luckily, that’s actually rare; what is common however, is that we DO need to get a good dock space at our next destination. In most places, it’s first-come, first-served; there’s no reserving spaces.  With just a few little spots, where the local families have say over who gets space on their dock / buoy; they’ll keep us space.  But in most places, docks are public property and if we want to be sure of a spot, we can’t arrive too late.

Plus – this isn’t a full-on sail training trip; it’s a vacation where people also want to explore the islands, to experience the culture and meet the locals. If you’re a die-hard sailor who wants to sail from dawn till dusk, we’re not the right outfit for you. We keep the best balance we can with what each group /individual wants to do – our itineraries are not set in stone, and our skippers always go with the flow of what suits the group best.  We sail when it’s practical and fun to do so; when other factors kick in, then sometimes we’ll need to motor.

 

 

 

 

We have a detailed “suggested packing list” in the longer, PDF form of these FAQs; but basically – as little as possible!   Sailboat life is very clothing-casual; shorts, t-shirts, swimsuits are what you’ll mostly be living in.  In early/late season, some long pants and a jacket for the evenings at times.

There are some specific suggestions, like waterproof protection for expensive devices – much as we like to appease Poseidon, we don’t want to offer him too many digital sacrifices.

One item NOT to bring – any huge, hard-sided luggage. Everything you bring goes in your cabin, so unless you want to share your bed with said suitcase, bring something squish-able. For trips starting and ending in our home bases, we can store extra luggage at our house.

Our “sample itineraries” here on the website are just that – please don’t get too attached to them, like a train schedule!

One of the greatest things about being on a sailboat is the flexibility to change our minds and our route to suit personal preferences, prevailing wind conditions, etc. The start and finish points are fixed, of course – but all else is changeable according to the whims of the wind gods and those on board!