No more syndicate

If you read my most recent blog post about Nikea, you would have picked up a certain “vibe” regarding the syndicate. Nikea is an old boat. A Beneteau First 345 built between 1984 and 1988. As a fibreglass hull, and a great engine, she still has a lot of life in her. However, what she needs is time and money. Money to pay for some more modern equipment and the time to fix a lot of small but niggling issues. We could probably hire someone to do a lot of the work, or we could fly there and do the work ourselves. But Greece isn’t what it once was. It’s overcrowded and getting very expensive. Sure, you can still eat out and have a carafe of wine very cheaply, but mention “boat” in any purchase, and the price matches the worst excesses of everywhere else. But really it’s the overcrowding which ruins it for me.

Just this month (or last?), Yachting World mentioned “berthing anxiety” and specifically name-checked Lefkada. Berthing anxiety is that feeling, as you slip your lines, that when you arrive at your destination, there will be no room on the quay wall. This would be fine if anchorages were plentiful, but they’re not. This, more than any other aspect of sailing in the Ionian Sea, has persuaded me to motor from location to location, rather than hoist the sails and take my time. If you picked up anything from perusing this blog, you will appreciate that I don’t like to sail to a schedule. I especially don’t like the thought that “if I don’t get to Kalamos by 2PM, I might as well not bother…”

There are other reasons for the demise of our syndicate, but I can only speak about the ones which have helped me form my own decision. Although it has been a great ten years (notwithstanding Covid), it is hard to justify the complicated travel arrangements and a two week stint on a boat in a foreign port. Especially when so much time is taken up, doing repairs on location. While it is far more expensive, a charter makes more sense - the boats are much newer, you can choose to go somewhere else each year, and everything has been checked out ready to go, when you arrive. If you like cruising in company, a flotilla is an even better idea because they will pre-reserve the quay for you in each destination. Personally, I would give up sailing before going on a flotilla holiday, but that’s just me.

I did consider the possibility of buying out the other syndicate members. If I could bring Nikea to Ireland for a winter period, with some on-the-hard location to do the work, I think I could bring her back to her original glory with several months of weekend effort. But delivering a forty year old yacht across the Mediterranean Sea and up the west coast of Spain and Portugal would be a big ask, given that she needs some TLC. I don’t fancy flying to Greece in the off-season and trying to do the work there, either.

Probably the best solution is to sell her, as-is, to someone who does want to spend a bit of time fixing her up and having a boat in Greece (or indeed Turkey or Croatia). That leaves the Achilles 24, which is also in dire need of a lot of work. This year (2025) is the year of renewal in terms of sailing. It is time to think big, make hard decisions, and get back out on the water on a regular basis.

As of now, Nikea is currently on the market.