Heesen have just launched MASA, their eighth yacht from the 5000 Aluminium Class. Omega Architects, responsible for designing the exteriors, created a stunning sporty profile. MASA will undergo extensive sea trials before delivery to her owners in time for the Mediterranean summer season.
C/O Dick Holthuis
Heesen Superyacht Masa will accommodate 12 guests in 6 stunning cabins. Accommodation spaces will include the main deck master stateroom, as well as five suites below deck. MASA runs twin MTU 16V 4000 diesel engines, which propels her along at a top speed of 23 knots. Wherever the owners cruise this summer, Masa will turn heads in every Mediterranean hotspot; watch this space Cannes, Monaco and St Tropez!
C/O Dick Holthuis
Although MASA will not be available for charter, Heesen Motor Yachts are superb charter yachts. Offering excellent craftsmanship and build quality, charter guests will enjoy impressive leisure facilities, entertaining spaces and unparalleled comfort. We have a fantastic range available throughout the world and your Boatbookings Charter Broker will be happy to prepare a presentation for your review.
An in depth sailing itinerary by someone who lived the route.
Day 1 – Lefkas
Arrive at Lefkas marina for 5 pm ready to board your own private yacht! The first evening will be spent in the marina where you will receive a handover of the yacht and some local information. Preavasia airport is a convenient 40-minute journey to the Marina which is roughly 25-30 euros.
Once you arrive at Lefkas Marina, you will then be taken to your yacht and the handover will start. There is a supermarket located in the marina where you can find basic necessities – look out for their figs, the owner of the supermarket grows them! The supermarket will also deliver the provisions to your yacht for free if you wish.
There’s also a Lidl located about a 20-minute walk (or 5-minute car journey) from the marina which offers a broader range of provisions which inevitably is cheaper. Collect a token from the harbor office (10 euro cash deposit) to enjoy onshore showers – really good, clean facilities. One shower costs around 80 cents, even for ladies!
Lefkas is a vibrant, busy town located a five-minute walk from Lefkas Marina. Here you are engulfed by various restaurants, bars and don’t forget the incredible ice cream shops! The ice cream parlous even have sugar free options along with a range of vegan options. In the square, central to the town is home to some of the best Pizza you can get!
Day 2 – Lefkas to Kalamos
Start early and get out of the Marina! The first day of your holiday! Head south, bear in mind it takes about 40 minutes to get out of the channel. Keep a look out for the larger yachts, they have a tendency to motor up in the middle of the channel, don’t let them bully you! Stay within the buoyage areas as the channel is dredged and it shelves off to under a meter in some places. Once you are out of the channel it’s time to get some sails up! It’s a wide-open span of water so perfect to get the feel of your yacht. The winds normally around force 1-2 in the morning and reaching F3-4 in the afternoons. This makes for relaxing mornings to your first lunch spot.
Over your port side as you head SW you will go past Greek mainland, various sheltered anchorages with good holding. As you travel down to the stunning Island of Kalamos get ready to anchor stern to or raft bow to stern. George, the unofficial harbormaster will come out and greet you on his white motorboat! He’s a really great chap who owns George’s Restaurant at the back of the town quay, great fresh food, locally caught fish. Can get fairly busy in high season, so best to call ahead or get in early and make a reservation.
This town quay does get fairly busy, flotillas come into the quay as well. It’s also possible to free swing near the entrance, which provides good holding. However, best to check the winds as the wind can funnel down through the bay. Limited provisioning here in this small town. You have a small bakery which is on top of the hill with the most incredible bread! Send someone fit and healthy as it’s a 15-minute walk with a very steep incline! Great views over the Ionian and across to Kastos (Kalamos’ sister island).
Wake up fresh and rejuvenated! Grab some fresh bread from the bakery and set the yacht for another incredible Ionian sailing day. Travelling NW, you will come across a beautiful little anchorage called Port Leoni, there are no tavernas only a small church in the hill which locals look after. Port Leoni was hit by an earthquake in ’53 and was deserted. As a result, it has left a quiet, stunning lunch spot with some of the clearest water. Really great holding here, very sheltered and can even be used as an overnight stop.
Come the afternoon the wind picks up so time to shake out the sails and get going! Head up to Meganisi, to the town of Vathi, nicknamed Little Vathi, as not to be confused with Big Vathi on the island of Ithica. Great provisioning in the town, with some of the best Gyros in Greece, only 2 euros! Restaurants and bars line the harbor wall with a great vegan restaurant. On the port side as you enter Vathi a sunken airplane is just below the water level which is great to snorkel around. Water and electric available on the town quay.
Day 4 – Meganisi to Kioni
Slip the lines and head SW to the most beautiful island in the whole Ionian! Ithica, a beautiful lush green island that sits next to the famous Kefalonia. Head straight onto the town quay, or long line to the port side of the bay for a quieter evening. Kioni is a tiny little village littered with fishing boats and stunning restaurants. Kioni provides great holding, there can be some deeper patches on the sea bed, so our advice is to motor in and find a good depth to anchor.
Kioni does have the tendency to get windy from 6 pm but dies off towards 8 pm. Do make sure that if you’re long lining that you have both port and starboard tied off and anchor are set properly. The wind is caused by the NW prevailing wind that funnels between the hills around the village. The water around Kioni is some of the best around this island for several reasons.
It’s really clean and clear, so great for snorkeling and discovering shoals of fish, come the evening you can expect to see phosphorescences! As you disturb the water on your midnight swim underneath the stars you will notice sparkles, this is the Algae, they emit a glow whenever they are jostled!
As you leave the stunning bay of Kioni, why not pop round to the island of Kefalonia. The famous Fiskhardo town filled with high-end shops and upmarket restaurants. There’s a bay just south of the town called Foki bay. A stunning inlet where tall green ferns grew, we named it Little Canada when we visited! Once you’ve moored up you can either go to the small beach or explore the disused limestone mine which is home to a labyrinth of tunnels. Takes shoes and a torch, no flipflops as your feet will slide everywhere! You can access the caves by dinghy, or you can swim. Foki Bay can be used as an overnight stop but is exposed to easterlies.
Head North to Vassiliki, a popular destination for windsurfers due to the anabatic winds. It is our advice that you get onto the quay before 2 pm or after 3:30 pm. The prevailing winds travel from west to east and can affect your mooring on the quay. It has been known to reach F6. within 10 minutes. If you are wanting to explore the land, we can recommend going to Porto Katsiki by car, or day charter from the harbor.
Poto katsiki provides blue warm waters with bright white cliffs offering dramatic landscapes for miles. This side of the island is very exposed to the prevailing winds, so our advice is to not sail around there but to go by car or ferry instead.
Day 6 – Vassiliki to Sivota
Why not start the day off with a walk along the sandy beach of Vassiliki? Don’t forget your swimming costume! The water is so warm on this coastline due to a large sandbank that retains its heat. Stop off on the way through town and pick up a freddo cappuccino at one of the many town quay coffee shops.
Crossing anchors in this harbor can sometimes happen, keep a look out on any unusual vibrations or strain on the windlass. Head out and travel NW. There are some lovely anchorages on the east side of Lefkada island, all providing great shelter and supremum swimming opportunities, head past Sivota to the next bay around – Poros for a swim and a spot of lunch. Head back around to Sivota, a hidden town up in the hills. Sivota is a small town with a row of restaurants, be sure to pop into the Pirates and 12 Gods, one of our favorite restaurants with great service. They also have a quay which has water and electric for free if you eat there. They also have onshore showers for free! Phone beforehand because they do get busy! There’s also the opportunity to free swing in the bay, but it does get busy.
Leave Sivota and head across back to the western side of Meganisi to explore the incredible Papanikolis Cave! It’s too deep to anchor here, so someone will have to say on the yacht. Go in by paddleboard or dingy, watch out for the bats! Do not sail into the cave, although it looks big enough it isn’t!
As you come further north you will come across the island of Skorpios, keep well away from this island! It is privately owned, and there are armed guards that patrol the grounds and the surrounding waters. The channel between Skoripos and Sparti is blocked off and is also out of bounds. Up along the coast, you have various points of anchoring, one of which is the town of Nydri.
Nydri is prone to being busy during the high season which can affect anchoring space. Inland Nydri is host to a collection of natural waterfalls that can be accessed by car or tour bus. Surprisingly Nydri has a brilliant Chinese restaurant that is well priced on the quay wall! This town is great for trinkets and gifts for those at home.
Keep traveling North up the channel and you are back where you are started! The channel can get busy with Sunsail yachts, as their base is in Lefkas harbour. The flotillas and bareboats are normally filled up with diesel at Lefkas fuel quay by 5 pm. Once you are in the harbor, head over to Portos Cafe for a refreshing drink and talk about the holiday! Lefkas also has a fantastic laundry department which iron, clean and fold 1 load for 15 euros. Head into town for the last dinner and enjoy the last moments of your Ionian holiday!
Check out our Lefkas bareboats if you would like to experience all of the above!
Should we fly in on the morning of embarkation day or the night before?
The Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel makes your decision simple. New and ready for summer 2019, you will unwind in unadulterated luxury, sampling world class Japanese cuisine and be completely relaxed ahead of your summer Greek yacht charter.
C/O Four Seasons Hotels – Astir Palace Hotel
The Astir Palace Hotel is perfectly positioned to make the start of your holiday simple, located just 20 minutes from the international airport and 15 minutes from Agios Kosmas Marina. Set on top of a hill, you will enjoy unrivalled views over the bay of Vouliagmeni with the Saronic and Cyclades islands just a short hop away.
C/O Four Seasons Hotels – Astir Palace Hotel
Summer is fast approaching and Greece is more popular than ever before. Your Boatbookings brokers will recommend the best yachts with experienced crews, aligned with your preferences and requirements. Whether you’re looking for one of the finest crewed catamarans, sailing yachts or luxury motor yachts, we will assist in planning an unforgettable yacht charter vacation this summer.
On visiting the Amalfi Coast, you can avoid clinging to the cliffs along the narrow wind roads by chartering a yacht and instead fall in love with the stunning cliff faces dropping away into the sparkling Mediterranean, the quaint century-old fishing towns that climb precariously up the hillsides and of course the many tastes and scents of the exquisite food grown and cooked on this vibrant coastline.
Discover one of the world’s most prestigious culinary landscapes, from Naples and its pizza to magnificent seafood dishes served on this coast, there is a flavor for everyone and it is always fresh and tangy.
Cannes is known for its luxury lifestyle, with the Croisette being the hub of high-end couture brands and ultimate celebrity spotting destination. Along this promenade, there are so many beach clubs to choose from; we’ve rounded up our favorites and why so you can make the most of your time in Cannes!
Great for: Families with children and larger groups
Vega Luna is located in the middle of the Croisette, opposite the InterContinental Carlton Hotel; it boasts a large seating area for dining undercover, and many sun loungers, perfect for larger groups. It is always very popular with families as it is child-friendly, with a kids menu for those under the age of 12.
Maema Plage
Great for: Lower prices and a relaxed atmosphere
Maema Plage is a firm favorite amongst the Boatbookings team; it is located further from the center of Cannes, past the Radisson Blu Hotel, making it less busy and more inexpensive than the other Beach Clubs along the Croisette. Their Thai Salad and House Burger are delicious and food always comes quickly and is freshly prepared! Sun loungers are only €12 for the whole day, starting at 9 am till closing time at 6 pm.
Z Plage
Great for: Afternoon drinks and the best music
Z Plage is Hotel Martinez’ Private Beach Club, at the left end of the Croisette near Port Canto. It features a chic ‘Rotonde’ circular bar that is perfect for cocktails or some Provence Rosé. Sun loungers are available for the day for those wishing to bronze themselves before dipping into the cooling waters of the sea!
O’key Beach
Great for: Friendly staff and tasty seafood
O’key Beach is also located on the further side of Cannes past the old town and therefore is usually less busy than other beach clubs along the Croisette. The staff are friendly and some incredible seafood dishes include the Lobster Spaghetti, Salmon Burger and Seafood Pasta; portions are generous and the wine is delicious!
