Sailing Jollies

The Sailing Jollies concept is simple. Each April Richard Rowe organises groups of skippers to move the Omegasail charter fleet from their winter base in Athens to their summer base in Corfu. Each October he does the same in reverse, from Corfu to Athens. Rich has a contact list of skippers he has used before and the same skippers and crews tend to participate each year. Most of the organisation is through Facebook and word of mouth as past participants invite their friends.

It is a great format for new skippers, being a bit more challenging than a flotilla holiday because passages are longer, but with plenty of support and cameraderie from Rich and the other skippers. Steve’s first Sailing Jollie was in October 2019, when he answered a request on Facebook for a skipper able to take part at short notice because one of the existing skippers and crews had cancelled at the last minute. It was, literally, agree to do it on the Wednesday, book the flights on the Thursday and fly out on the Friday! Debbie hadn’t wanted to go because 1. she was working and 2. she thought the weather would be rubbish that late in the season. The weather turned out to be fantastic, Steve had a great time and Debbie was jealous.

A year later we had spent most of 2020 in Covid lock-downs and isolating so were stir crazy and in need of a holiday. By October travel restrictions had been eased but the UK still had restrictions on the number of people allowed to meet, social distancing rules etc. We thought a sailing charter where it was just the two of us on the boat and there would be little mixing ashore, beyond the other people on the Jollie, would be a relatively low risk way to have a holiday, so we booked up.

The logistics worked best to fly out to Corfu on Friday 16th October and get a room for the night close to Gouvia Marina, from where the boats were setting off on the Saturday. Most of Saturday was spent sitting around in the marina, waiting for the boats to be ready and doing the provisioning and paperwork and checking inventories. Mid afternoon we set off for the short hop from Gouvia Marina to Mandraki Marina in Corfu Old Town. This was really a shake-down sail, enabling us to check everything was OK with the boat before we set off properly on the Sunday. In the evening Rich had arranged a group meal, which was a great opportunity to get to meet everyone on the various boats. It was wonderful to be able to meet (outside) in a group after the social isolation we had endured in the UK.

Sunday 18th October Mandraki Marina, Corfu to Plataria, Mainland

Our first proper sail was about 27 nautical miles from Mandraki to Plataria Harbour on the mainland. Rich was skippering the largest and fastest boat, which meant he could get to each destination first, sort out where to berth and send notes and photos to the other skippers using a WhatsApp group. Then when we arrived there was someone on hand to take our lines – see what I mean about plenty of support?

Our fleet was soon all nicely moored up, stern to, along the harbour wall with the bows pointing West towards the setting sun. A couple of sundowners aboard, then find a taverna for dinner.

Monday 19th October Plataria to Gaios, Paxos

Our next stop was Lakka at the top of the Island of Paxos. Again, around 27 nautical miles. This was much smaller and as we lined up along the quay we were the only boats in.

Tuesday 20th October Lakka to Lefkas

Tuesday’s voyage was to Lefkas, which is always an interesting journey. We sailed along the East coasts of Paxos and Antipaxos before making the crossing to Lefkas. Lefkas is connected to the mainland by a floating bridge, which rotates out of the way to to let boats through. Then we moored up along the town quay at Lefkada.

Wednesday 21st October Lefkas to Kioni, Vathi

On Wednesday we headed due south, along the east coast of Lefkas and between Lefkas and Meganisi before making the short crossing to Vathi, Kefalonia’s little sister. Some of the boats in the group decided to try different destinations, with one stopping at Sivota, at the southern end of Lefkas but we stayed with the main group and mooring in Kioni on Vathi.

Thursday 22nd October Kioni to Nafpaktos

From here we headed east into the Gulf of Corinth, passing under the Rio–Antirrio Bridge (one of the longest suspension bridges in the world). There is a protocol to be followed where you have to radio ahead and let bridge control know you are coming, then again when you are closer. We also got permission to pass under the bridge on the left span because we were heading to Nafpaktos, Steve’s favourite port.

Nafpaktos is a beautiful medieval harbour enclosed by a castellated wall. There is room for a couple of boats inside the harbour but also a visitor’s pontoon just outside the wall, where we moored.

Friday 23rd October Navpaktos to Galaxidi.

The next day we continued our voyage along the Gulf of Corinth to Galaxidi. Not the most scenic port but an opportunity to refuel and a jumping off point to visit the ruins at Delphi. Steve had visited Delphi the previous year so stayed to help with the refuelling while Debbie and some of the other crews hired cars to drive to Delphi (cheaper than a taxi).

The ruins at Delphi

Saturday 24th October Galaxidi to Kiato, Corinth

Sunday 25th October Kiato to Epidavros.

Our plan was to go through the Corinth Canal at dawn with the hope that we would get some decent photos of the sun rising over the canal. So we were up at 5am and setting off in the darkness.

The Corinth canal is always a great sailing experience. Canal control alternate eastbound and westbound traffic so you have to hang around the entrance keeping a radio watch to learn when you can start going through. Then they are constantly on the radio nagging you to go faster!

The steep sides, occasionally spanned by bridges, are a spectacular sight and it is amazing to think that cruise ships come through with only a few inches clearance each side. It has a long history; first considered in the 7th century BC, started in AD 67 by the Emporer Nero (and abandoned), and finally excavated from 1881 to 1893. It is frequently closed by landslides, most recently shortly after our passage in January 2021 forcing Sailing Jollies to have to sail around the Pelaponese penninsula for the next few years.

Once we had stopped at the far end of the canal to pay for our passage we headed to the port of Epidavros where we had a final open air group dinner.

Monday 26th October Epidavros to Piraeus Marina, Athens

The final hop was across the Saronic Gulf from Epidavros to Athens, dodging the big commercial shipping. There wasn’t a lot of wind so we motored most of the way. Our destination was Piraeus Marina, where the Peace and Friendship Stadium is a distinctive landmark to aim for. Some of the crews were heading off that evening while others, like us, didn’t have flights until the next day. Rich and a few of the other skippers headed off to the airport to fly back to Kos and do the whole thing over again with the remaining boats and new crews.

There was nothing left for us to do but wander around the marina, admiring some of the superyachts, have dinner ashore and then the next morning hand our yacht over to the boatyard crew to move it to a lift out on the hard for the winter. Then a taxi to the airport and flight home.

Sailing Jollies are a great next step for any skipper who has recently completed Day or Coastal Skipper and perhaps not feeling confident enough to take on a completely independent bareboat charter. You are cruising in company, with plenty of support, and there’s always someone at hand to ask if you are unsure of anything. For crew there is the opportunity to move between boats on different days’ passages to make new friends and learn new skills.