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Hire a skipper
You decided to Hire a skipper
How We
Can Help
You have decided to hire a skipper for your sailing holidays . You don’t know what to expect and it seems a difficult task in your mind . Especially if its the fist time you do that , even more complicated .
Let us make it simple and enjoyful for you , in order to enjoy your holidays and not have to worry the factor of the skipper .
4 simple things to Remember
When you hire a skipper
Planning a route Together
Of the common issues in a skippered charter is the different opinions between the skipper and the crew about the planning of the trip . Our advise is to try to understand the nature of the sailing yacht and its limitations . For instance the speed of a sailing yacht for charter , using the engine is 6 knots . So you would need 5.5 hrs to leave Gouvia marina and go to Paxos . Imagine , some people asking , to leave Gouvia marina and go to Ithaka , where they need to do 13 hrs . The skipper must make them understand , that they cannot make this trip in a day 13 hrs straigt and they need to split it . This means that in a weekly charter , they will loose two days to just go in a destination . A lot of effort , fuel and time , not to mention the stress to cover all these miles on their way back .
On the other hand , if you listen to the skipper’s proposals , he will tell you the most , realistic route for your trip . Depending on the length of your , sailing holidays , 1 week or 2 weeks . At this point , we would like to point out two examples of an easy going and a more demanding trip on a week of sailing holidays , starting from Corfu , Gouvia marina .
Easygoing
week
1 week - 80 NM - 14 hrs - 40 L of Diesel
- 1st day from Gouvia marina to Lakka , Paxos - 28.6 NM - 4.44 hrs
- 2nd day from Lakka , Paxos - to Gaios , Paxos - 3.6 NM - 35 min
- 3rd day from Gaios , Paxos - to Mogonisi , Paxos - 1.6 NM - 16 min
- 4th day from Mogonisi , Paxos - to Parga in the mainland - 10.5 NM - 1 hr and 45min
- 5th day from Parga to Sivota-Mourtos in the mainland - 12.1 NM - 2 hrs
- 6th day from Sivota-Mourtos in the mainland to Gouvia marina in Corfu - 22 NM - 3.5 hrs
- All stops are night stops . During the day you don’t make more than 5 miles of an average distance in between your stops.
Demanding
week
1 week - 171.5 NM - 1day 4 hrs - 85.4 L of Diesel
- 1st day from Gouvia marina to Gaios , Paxos - 33.4 NM - 5.32 hrs
- 2nd day from Gaios , Paxos - to Vathi / Meganis-Lefkas - 44,4 NM - 7 hrs 33 min
- 3rd day from Vathi , Meganisi/Lefkas - to Sivota , Lefkas - 6.5 NM - 1h 4 min
- 4th day from Sivota , Lefkas to Mogonisi , Paxos - 49.7 NM - 8.5 hr
- 5th day from Mogonisi , Paxos to Sivota-Mourtos in the mainland - 13.5 NM - 2 hrs 13m
- 6th day from Sivota-Mourtos in the mainland to Gouvia marina in Corfu - 22 NM - 3.5 hrs
- All stops are night stops . During the day you don’t make more than 5 miles of an average distance in between your stops , except from day 2 and day 4 where you spend the half day to reach your destination covering an average of 47,05 NM per day which is almost 8 hrs per day.
Have a clear picture of how skippered charters work .
Most of the people who hire a skipper aren’t aware of the responsibilities of the skipper to them and on the other hand , their obligations to the skipper as well . When this happens , some situations can have an unpleasant tone to the whole trip .
The first thing you need to know is that the skipper ought to have its own cabin and his/her meals arranged by the guests . There are many misunderstandings around these factors .
Regarding the cabin , as you understand , after a long day under the hot sun with many different situations to handle , when the time to rest comes , the skipper needs a cosy bed to rest and some privacy .
Regarding its meals you can made the following arrangements:
- Prepare a proper meal on board . Especially if its going to be the main cource of the day . Light snacks are not considered to be , proper meals .
- Invite the skipper to join you in your planned meal , for exampe when you arrive in a port . Ask for their advise where to eat . Usually they know in every place the best spots for every cousine . In this way you earn from their , knowledge and you also create the necessary bonding for the trip.
- Offer him the chance to give him/her money for her daily expenses if you don’t plan , cooking on board or you don’t feel like inviting him to join you in your meals . Something between 20-25 € , will be enough .
Sailing or motoring ?
The common question among the guests that hire a skipper is , when he will open the sails so they can take photos or even participate in sailing. Some they are keen to help and they really enjoy it and some , they sit relaxed in their couch , reading , while the skipper , remains on the helm without really knowing if the guests will eventually , want to sail or not.
Sailing means teamwork and appropriate sailing conditions .
Means that everybody should have a role in the genoa or the main sail winches to get prepared for tacking. The skipper gives all the signals to make people , motivated and co-ordinated . Wind also plays a major role in sailing . If we really need to move with the sails from one destination to the other , we should have at least 12-13 knots of wind . In the Ionian this is not an every day case . Most of the times we need to use the engine .
How we organise our Provisions ?
Organising the provisions , means that we should decide , how many meals are we going to have , every day and which of these meals are we going to have them on board or perhaps in a nice taverna when we have the chance to be in a port or marina .
In our experience as skippers , a breakfast and a lunch usually are on-board meals and the dinner is somewhere , outside . Whether we are in a nice port or a marina or in a nice bay (which means we need to use the inflatable dinghy) we can always choose a nice taverna to have our dinner .
All ports and marinas have super markets , bakeries for our everyday provisioning . We also have a lot of bays that we can anhor and go ashore in a tiny dock , where we can also visit a place that might have a small grocery store or a kiosk (kiosks in Greece have sometimes all the basics that a grocery store has)
Best tips for a relaxed and a well planned sailing holiday
- Distances on board during the day shouldn’t be more than 3 hours per day , on a daily basis
- Ports get very busy during the summer from a very early stage of the day . If we really need to be in a port for provisiongs , Fuel or Water we must sacrifice our noon long swimm to get a place there
- Sailing needs time to experiment , especially if the wind is very low for sailing . Also most of the times , the winds picks by the time , we need to be in a port , early noon . Generally , its a good plan to spend the night in a bay if we want to sail or we must be prepared to sacrifice sailing and motor if we need to get a spot in the port . If we do sacrifice sailing we can still relaxe and have a nice swimm instead .
- The best time to book your holidays is between early June and early October . The weather isn’t hot , not too many yachts around , you can swimm in warm waters and the tavernas are still open to welcome you !
Thinking of hiring a skipper?
You have decided you would like a skipper on board, but you are not quite sure what that means in practice. Where does he sleep? Who chooses the route? Do we feed him? Can we still take the helm, or do we just sit and watch?
If it is your first charter these are fair questions, and nobody enjoys asking them. So here is how it works with us, plainly: what is included, how it works on board, and what a week actually looks like with a skipper aboard.
Our skippers work the Ionian every season. They know Corfu, Paxos, Lefkas and the mainland coast, they know which bay is sheltered when the afternoon breeze fills in, and they know which taverna in each port is worth the walk. You decide the pace of your holiday. They handle everything that would otherwise keep you awake at night.
Why people take a skipper
- Nobody in the group holds a sailing licence, but you still want the yacht to yourselves
- It is your first time in Greek waters and you would rather learn the area than guess at it
- You have sailed for years, but this once you would like to be on holiday rather than responsible
- Small children on board, and you want a second experienced pair of hands
- You want to sail properly, and you would like someone who can teach as you go
1. Planning a realistic route
A charter yacht does about six knots under engine. That single number decides your whole holiday.
Gouvia to Paxos is 28 miles, so a little under five hours. Gouvia to Ithaka is roughly 78 miles — thirteen hours, which nobody sails in one day. Split over two days, that is two of your seven days spent getting there, and two more getting back. Four days of the week gone, plus the fuel and the pressure of a deadline on the return leg.
So when a skipper suggests something closer, he is not being difficult. He is trying to give you a holiday instead of a delivery trip.
The most common friction on a skippered charter is a difference of opinion about the route, and it almost always comes from the same place: a plan made on a map, without the six knots in it. Tell your skipper on the first evening what you want from the week — long swims, good sailing, lively ports, quiet bays — and he will build a route around it. That conversation is worth an hour and saves the whole week.
Below are two real weeks out of Gouvia, one relaxed and one that covers ground. Both assume six nights aboard with disembarkation on the seventh morning, and both are calculated at six knots.
An easy week — 78 NM, about 13 hours under way, roughly 40 litres of diesel
| Day | From | To | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gouvia Marina, Corfu | Lakka, Paxos | 28.6 NM | 4h 45m |
| 2 | Lakka, Paxos | Gaios, Paxos | 3.6 NM | 35m |
| 3 | Gaios, Paxos | Mongonisi, Paxos | 1.6 NM | 15m |
| 4 | Mongonisi, Paxos | Parga, mainland | 10.5 NM | 1h 45m |
| 5 | Parga | Sivota (Mourtos), mainland | 12.1 NM | 2h |
| 6 | Sivota (Mourtos) | Gouvia Marina, Corfu | 22 NM | 3h 40m |
After the first day you never move more than a few miles. Mornings are free, afternoons are for swimming, and you are tied up or anchored long before the evening. This is the week we recommend to most first-time guests, and to anyone travelling with children.
A fuller week — 169 NM, about 28 hours under way, roughly 85 litres of diesel
| Day | From | To | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gouvia Marina, Corfu | Gaios, Paxos | 33.4 NM | 5h 35m |
| 2 | Gaios, Paxos | Vathi, Meganisi | 44.4 NM | 7h 25m |
| 3 | Vathi, Meganisi | Sivota, Lefkas | 6.5 NM | 1h 05m |
| 4 | Sivota, Lefkas | Mongonisi, Paxos | 49.7 NM | 8h 15m |
| 5 | Mongonisi, Paxos | Sivota (Mourtos), mainland | 13.5 NM | 2h 15m |
| 6 | Sivota (Mourtos) | Gouvia Marina, Corfu | 22 NM | 3h 40m |
This week reaches Meganisi and Lefkas, which is as far south as a Corfu week sensibly goes. The cost is days two and four: around eight hours under way each, most of the day at sea. Everything in between stays short. If you want the southern Ionian without those two long days, take two weeks.
Fuel figures assume motoring the whole way at roughly three litres an hour. Sail where the wind allows and you will use less.
2. What is included, and what is not
Most guests booking a skipper for the first time are unsure what the arrangement actually involves — on both sides. Here it is in plain terms, so there are no surprises on day two.
Where the skipper sleeps
The skipper needs a berth of his own and somewhere to keep his bag. After a long day in the sun, handling everything from the anchor to the mooring lines to the weather, he needs proper rest and a little privacy — for your safety as much as his comfort. How many berths that leaves for your group depends on the yacht.
If you are a full group and want a skipper, tell us the numbers when you enquire and we will put you on the right boat. It is the easiest problem in the world to solve at the booking stage and the hardest one to solve on the pontoon.
Meals
The skipper’s meals are arranged by the guests. There are three ways people usually do it, and any of them is fine:
- Cook aboard and include him. A proper meal, not a snack — if it is the main meal of the day, he eats what you eat.
- Invite him ashore with you. This is the option most guests end up preferring. He knows the ports, so ask him where to eat. You get the local knowledge and the group gets to know him properly, which makes the rest of the week easier for everyone.
- Give him a daily allowance. If you would rather not cook or would prefer your evenings to yourselves, €20–25 a day covers his meals and he will sort himself out. No offence taken.
One thing worth saying clearly: the skipper is not a cook, a host or a cleaner. He sails the boat, keeps you safe, and knows the area. On a crewed charter you would have a hostess or a cook as well, and we can arrange that if you want it — just ask.
Cost and licences
The skipper’s daily fee is charged in addition to the yacht — ask us for the current rate when you enquire.
With a skipper aboard, nobody in your group needs a sailing qualification. None at all.
Who decides what
The skipper has final say on anything to do with safety: whether to sail, when to leave, whether a bay is tenable overnight, and when a forecast means changing the plan. That is not a formality — it is the reason he is there, and it is what your insurance rests on.
Everything else is yours. The pace, the stops, how long you swim, whether you eat aboard or ashore. If the weather forces a change he will offer you alternatives rather than simply announce a new plan.
3. Will we actually sail?
Honestly? Some days, yes. Some days, no. Here is why, so you can plan around it.
To move a loaded charter yacht properly under sail you want at least 12–13 knots of wind. In the Ionian in summer that is not an everyday thing. Mornings are usually calm. The northwest breeze fills in during the early afternoon, builds through the middle of the day and fades towards sunset. So the best sailing hours are roughly between one and six in the afternoon.
Which creates a choice, because that is exactly when the ports fill up.
- Want to sail? Plan to anchor for the night. Leave late morning, sail the afternoon breeze, drop the hook in a bay in the early evening. No pressure to be anywhere.
- Want the port? You will motor. Leave early, arrive before the berths go, and take a long swim instead of a long sail.
You can have one or the other on a given day, not both. Most weeks are a mix, and your skipper will build the route around whichever you tell him matters more.
If you want to sail, say so on day one. Some guests are keen to work the winches and learn to tack. Others are perfectly happy with a book and a cold drink while the engine does the work. Both are completely fine, but the skipper cannot guess, and a crew that wants to sail gets a different route from one that does not.
When we do sail, everyone has a job — genoa winch, mainsheet, someone on the helm. The skipper calls it and the boat comes alive. It is the best part of the week, and it works far better when the whole crew is in it.
4. Food and provisioning
Provisioning is really one decision made in advance: how many meals a day will you eat aboard, and how many ashore?
In our experience most weeks settle into the same pattern — breakfast and lunch on board, dinner ashore. Whether you are in a port, a marina, or anchored in a bay with the dinghy in the water, there is almost always a good taverna within reach.
Where to buy. Do the main shop in Corfu before you leave — Gouvia and the surrounding area have full supermarkets and the prices are better. After that, top up as you go. Every port and marina has a supermarket and a bakery. Many of the smaller bays have a dock, a grocery or a kiosk — and Greek kiosks often carry most of what a small shop does.
Bring cash. Small tavernas, kiosks, harbour dues and fuel are often cash only, and cash machines are not on every island.
We can also arrange provisioning before you arrive, so the boat is stocked when you step aboard. Send us your list and it will be waiting.
A day on board
Coffee in the cockpit at eight, while the bay is still glassy. Breakfast, then away by ten for a short passage — two hours, maybe three. Anchor somewhere quiet for lunch and a long swim off the back of the boat. Under way again in the afternoon, sails up if the breeze has filled in. Alongside or anchored by four, showers, a drink in the cockpit as the light goes. Ashore for dinner, and back aboard under the stars.
Six days of that, at whatever pace suits you, with someone who knows the water taking care of the rest.
Best tips for a relaxed, well-planned sailing holiday
A few things we have learned from skippering these waters every season. They apply whether you sail with one of our skippers or take the boat bareboat.
1. Keep the daily passages under three hours
At six knots that is about 18 miles — enough to change island, not enough to spend your holiday watching the chartplotter. Leave after breakfast, anchor for lunch and a swim, be secured by mid-afternoon. Almost every week that goes wrong went wrong because it was planned on a map instead of on a clock.
2. Ports fill up early — decide in advance whether you need one
In high season the popular harbours start filling from late morning and the good berths are gone by early afternoon. If you need a port that day — for water, fuel, provisions or a shower — you have to give up the long midday swim to get there in time.
So ask the question the evening before: do we actually need a port tomorrow, or would a bay do? Half the time a bay does, and the day is far more relaxed for it.
3. Know the wind, and plan the day around it
The Ionian summer pattern is reliable: calm mornings, a northwest breeze filling in from the early afternoon, easing again towards sunset. That is when the sailing is, and it is also when the berths disappear.
If you want to sail, plan to spend the night at anchor and give the afternoon to the wind. If you want the port, accept that you will motor — and take a swim instead. Trying to do both in one day is how people end up frustrated on a beautiful holiday.
4. Sail in the shoulder season if you can
June and September are the best weeks of the Ionian year. The sea is warm — September is warmer than June — the ports are not full, the tavernas are still open and busy, and you are not sailing in 35 degrees.
July and August are hot and lively, and every bay has company. That suits plenty of people, especially families tied to school holidays, but book early because those weeks go first.
5. Provision in Corfu, top up as you go
Do the main shop before you leave Gouvia, where the supermarkets are big and the prices are better. After that buy little and often — every port has a bakery and a shop, and the bread is better bought fresh anyway.
6. Bring cash and soft bags
Cash for tavernas, kiosks, harbour dues and fuel. Soft bags because there is nowhere on a yacht to put a hard suitcase — pack in holdalls that fold flat and stow under a bunk.
7. Ask about mooring before you need to do it
Med mooring — going in stern-to with the anchor out — is the single thing that makes first-timers nervous. It is not difficult, but it is much easier the second time than the first. Ask your skipper to talk it through on a quiet afternoon rather than learning it in a crowded harbour at six in the evening with an audience.
Planning a week in the Ionian? Tell us what you are looking for and we will suggest a route and a boat.
our skippers
Experienced , Motivated , Driven and Positive minded
Let us introduce you our skippers that will make , you have a memorable , sailing holiday !
Potis
Patient and Calm
Potis took his first offshore sailing license back in 2000 , before he gets his driving license . He loves monohull yachts and likes to cover long distances . On 2016 he did hos first Trans-Atlantic trip covering 3.000 NM in 25 days with non-stop sailing . Experienced in heavy weather and in local weather . He is 45 yrs old a non – smokker and he has a specialty for families with kids .
Tasos
Confident and Joyfull
Tasos has a long time , experience around the sea , started from large fish trawlers when they were sailing in the Aegean sea , with his father . Owner of Paxos our Bavaria 46 Cruiser , loves to sail and share this experience with his guests . He is 55 yrs old , a non – smoker and he usually skippers , groups of friends and couples .