What do we do in the winter? Yes winter DOES exist in Greece So the weather is not quite as miserable as a UK winter, but it can be pretty bleak. But at the same time, we enjoy some beautiful sunny days and if you're out of the breeze, you wouldn't know whether it was winter or early summer. So we can't really complain - but when we are used to the HOT temperatures of summer, maybe we feel the cold more? Or we are just getting soft in our old age... Anyway the first major change between winter and summer season as that we get weekends OFF - yes we get time off! During the summer we get time off during the week but anyone that has been on holiday with Sail Ionian will know that we certainly don't get the weekends off, it's by far the busiest time of the week for us and the idea of getting the weekend off is simply ridiculous. So come the first week in November once our lovely guests have departed, we enjoy our first weekend off in 7 months and oh does it feel GOOD. No setting the alarm, no breakdown calls to tend to - just peace & quiet. Seasonal staff in the area who work say May-October leave around this time too so it's a busy time with goodbye meals and the likes, but our little island of Lefkada soon starts to quieten down with no tourists and few English. I don't want to say we look forwards to this time because without our Sail Ionian guests we wouldn't be here at all, and we enjoy the amazing weather of the summer too, and popping to the beach after work for a quick dip is hardly something we can complain about BUT the winter is a lovely time of the year for us. Of course, we keep working 9-5 Monday to Friday like a normal job. The emails and phones don't stop, holidays are booked, boat shows are planned and most importantly our fleet of yachts are hauled out of the water into the local boat yard where they are propped up to spend the winter months on the safety of the land. The boat yard Hauling all of the yachts is a huge job in itself, there are jobs to do before we even think about taking the yachts out of the water - like washing and drying the sails and taking them down to fold up and store for winter, removal of all cushions on board for a good clean, the engineers cleaning the water tanks and the holding tanks (eww) and a massive deep clean of the yachts themselves. And then when we come to take them out of the water, it has to be arranged with the boat yard, and the weather has to be right, and the tractor driver has to be there...so it all takes time and patience! But 10 days into November and the fleet is strategically squeezed into the boat yard, tucked up safely. Through the winter months the engineers carry out numerous thankless tasks: Routine maintenance Engine services and repairs Modifications and improvements - for example adding gantries and solar panels to some yachts, or generators and air conditioning Re-varnishing the interior wood Thorough inspections of each yacht and it's rigging Aesthetic repairs And the skippers aren't sitting around doing nothing either: Derigging the yachts and washing all lines Checking and replacing all lines on board Antifouling - that's removing old antifoul and then re-antifouling Jet washing the hulls to prepare for polishing and sealing (to protect the hulls from discolouring from UV) Teak decks get cleaned and treated and fibreglass decks get polished Checking and cleaning all the cockpit lockers and re-coding the RYA yachts In the office, we still have plenty of bookings coming in and without an office in the UK, all calls come into our Vliho office. Plenty of admin to prepare for the following summer as well as the accounts, Greek contracts and many other behind the scenes tasks keep the office staff very busy! We work up until the 3rd week in December before most of the full time staff take a well earned break over the festive period, whether that be staying in the area for a traditional Greek Christmas, going skiing, making the annual family-pleasing trip back to the UK or jet setting much further afield to more sunshine... After a full on summer season, I think we've more than earned this time off so we make the most of it before getting back to work. January tends to be boat show month, this year we were at the London Boat Show and the Dusseldorf BOOT in Germany (and we've got the Amsterdam show coming up in March). And then by mid January, we are back on our beautiful Greek island enjoying island life. The weather this January was perfect when we returned from our travels, glorious days of sunshine with cool, clear nights. Some rainy days too but on the most part, we were very lucky - even manage a sea swim on 27th January!! Just before Christmas, the island had snowfall for the second year running - particularly hard to believe when our summers are so hot but nice for a few days around Christmas time. The fishing quay basking in sunshine Work continues as normal with less of putting the boats to bed and more waking them up again. So we are currently prioritizing which yachts we need to have ready first for our guests arriving on April 18th. And siga siga - slowly slowly - our small team of incredibly hard workers get the yachts looking spick and span for the 2018 season. The extensive winter maintenance and improvements are carried out through the whole fleet to ensure you have a trouble-free holiday with Sail Ionian, and so we live up to our reputation of having high-quality new, or like-new yachts year in year out. By the way, if you might be tempted by an early season sail, we have some rather good Special Offers for April/May... For me, although winter brings a relaxing time at work, it brings an even more relaxing time outside of work. When the weather allows I particularly enjoy exploring our island on foot and living opposite a huge expanse of olive groves provides a perfect opportunity for this. The small tracks through fields are especially interesting to wonder through, and you pop out somewhere you didn't expect but note it down for next time. It's so peaceful away from the main road, all we tend to hear when out walking is the baa-ing of sheep or the echo of a shotgun in the distance. There are hundreds of walks in the mountains, along the coastal paths and on the beaches. I would highly recommend any keen walkers who have the time in winter to head out here (via Athens) and see what the island is like on land. It's one thing seeing the islands from your yacht but behind the initial layer of trees that you see, there is a lot more than you may think!! Who knew Lefkada had a gorge? No, me neither until I had the time to walk it this winter. Or more fall upon it by accident but a great find. Does anyone reognise Dessimi bay without any boats in? A cool winter's morning looking out from our quay There are hotels open locally and although Vliho and Nidri aren't the liveliest places in the world through the winter, Lefkas town remains open - again somewhere you probably wouldn't visit on your week or 2 week holiday due to lack of time but here is a perfect opportunity to see it - and without the crowds and the heat of the summer. It's a shame really that all of our guests travel across Lefkada to our base in Vliho, but then hop on their yacht and visit our equally as beautiful neighbouring islands for the remainder of their holiday. Don't forget Lefkada! Why not combine your week afloat with a week ashore? Gorgeous evening skies out from Nidri It's now the weekend so I'm off to enjoy (fingers crossed) another peaceful couple of days of winter sunshine. Enjoy your weekends too! PS if you have a holiday enquiry, you can still reach our office on 0800 321 3800 (UK number). This post was written by admin