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 We´re crossing the
Gulf of Argolis: 37"8´
N, 22"50´ E. The water
is placid, without a
breath of wind, which
is a bit of a disappointment - we´ve
come to Greece to sail, but today we´re
under diesel power, making nine
knots off Plaka on the Peloponnesian
Peninsula, about 70 miles southwest
of Athens.
"Delphini! Delphini!"
The yelling of our skipper, Spyros
Karayannis, disrupts the calm. He
throws down his mobile phone, checks
the helm´s autopilot, and scrambles to
the bow with the grace of a man who
has been dancing around deck cleats
and rigging since childhood. It takes
me a few seconds to realize what he´s
shouting about. Then I spot them:
four dolphins, about 150 yards off our
port side. They´re on an intercept
course and closing fast.
In the time it takes me to reach the
bow, the short-nosed dolphins close
the gap, fall in line with the boat´s bow
wave, and begin to show off.
They dart in and out, rubbing their backs on the
hull and propelling themselves into the
air. We hang over the railing and whistle
to them, and they occasionally turn sideways
to look up at us. After about ten
minutes, they break off to feed.
Karayannis tells my wife, Melissa, and
me that dolphins approach only when the
diesel engines are humming, because they
don´t know what to make of a large boat
moving silently under sail. And they like
surfing the wake of a boat under power.
Karayannis, 38, would know—he has been
sailing the Aegean Sea since he was a boy
and has skippered boats professionally for
17 years.
 In 2002, Karayannis and Ria Loukaki,
now 35, a Greek-American woman who
had moved to Greece from Chicago a
few years earlier, launched a charter
service in Piraeus, near Athens, called
Hellas easyacht (easyacht.gr). Their aim
was to cut out travel agents and middlemen,
whose commissions boost the cost
of sailing charters and who often make
promises to prospective clients that no
skipper could keep. Years ago Karayannis
once had to disappoint clients who
had been told by a U.S. agent that their
weeklong trip could range from the
northern Aegean to Rhodes and then Corfu, a distance of more than 1,100
miles; the trip would have taken ten
days of nonstop sailing under perfect
conditions.
To eliminate such unpleasant surprises
and offer lower prices, Karayannis and
Loukaki decided to work directly with
clients. They designed a user-friendly
website that clearly depicts their boats´
layouts, rates, and all additional charges
(say, for a cook in addition to the skipper).
The model allows easyacht to charge rates
that can be half as much as those of competitors.
That got my attention. But it was Loukaki´s willingness to answer all questions,
either via e-mail or over the phone,
that won me over.
"We don´t want to compete with larger
charter companies," says Loukaki. "We
want to have an ongoing relationship with
our clients. People are coming from afar,
and we aim to make their visit seamless."
Yacht charters can be attractive options
for entrepreneurs who are used to
running things, at work and at play.
Richard Kessler, 54, started a diamond
retail business 26 years ago in Menomonee
Falls, Wis., and has since grown
it to $22 million in sales and five locations
across the state. He and his family
have taken four trips with Ed Hamilton
& Co., always in the Caribbean, always
on catamarans. (For other options,
please see box.) On their last vacation
they sailed on the 51-foot Purrfection,
beginning their journey in Tortola and meandering through the Virgin Islands.
"The idea of going on a big cruise did
absolutely nothing for me," Kessler says.
"Too many people, too commercial."
Renting a yacht, he decided, was the ideal
alternative. "The first thing you do is sit
down with the captain. He pulls out his
charts, looks at you, and asks, ´What do
you want to do?´ The personalization is
unbelievable—I´m allergic to shellfish, so
there are never any clams on my boat. If
you like a certain type of wine, it´ll be
there. And, if you want, the captain will
teach you how to handle the boat."
Easyacht started with just four vessels,
including Karayannis´s Eleftheria, a 60-
foot sloop. (The name means "freedom"
in Greek.) The company now has arrangements
with about two dozen boat
owners who rent out their motor yachts
and sailboats through easyacht. Loukaki
screens all skippers, boats, and boat
owners before allowing them to join the
company´s ranks. If a boat isn´t kept in
top shape or if a skipper isn´t a congenial
host who understands high-level service,
he is dropped from the roster.
 Before launching the company,
Loukaki learned the travel
industry by working for American
firms, including Vail Resorts. She visited
Greece in 1999 to see family and decided
to move back. By 2005, easyacht, which
now has seven employees, was posting
nearly $1 million in sales.
My wife and I contributed $4,800 to
this year´s total, for a charter of seven
days. That covered the basics—boat, skipper,
and enough provisions to get us
started (feta, nuts, white wine). We could
have done it for less. The two of us certainly
didn´t need the five guest cabins
and many amenities on the 60-foot Eleftheria.
We didn´t need four bathrooms or
a teak, white-cushioned dining area with
enough space to host a dinner party of
six. We didn´t need a separate breakfast
nook. Clearly, the boat could have handled
more passengers—but we couldn´t.
After a stressful couple of years, we
wanted to be alone.
Space isn´t wasted here. The cabins are
tight; a real estate agent might call them
"cozy." The aft cabins, the largest on the
Eleftheria, allowed just enough space for
each of us to stand. (I´m 6-foot-2.) Reaching
for clothes, books, or supplies resulted
in what looked like a game of
Twister. But once nestled into the bed,
which was about the size of a full-sized
mattress, we were comfortable. The
boat´s rocking, the sea lapping at the hull,
and the ropes creaking conspired to
knock us out.
Plaka, a tiny beach resort just
outside Leonidio, was the third
stop on our trip through the Saronic
Islands, which stretch northeast from the Gulf of Argolis to Athens. Each
day we would stop at an island and explore
the local cafés and beaches. By the
time we encountered the dolphins off
Plaka, we had already visited the whitewashed
villages of Poros and the pinestudded
island Spetses, where one of the
small, excellent museums gives a succinct
overview of the life of Laskarina
Bouboulina. A national hero, Bouboulina
fought against the Turks in Greece´s War of
Independence in 1821 and is credited as
the modern world´s first female admiral.
On Plaka, we took a 15-mile taxi ride uphill
along precipitously winding roads to
reach our destination: the Panagia Elona
monastery. An Orthodox Greek landmark,
the monastery was founded in the 16th
century, carved into the cliffs above a
riverbed. It gave off a halogen glow in the
morning sun.
After a day on the island, we returned
to the boat an hour before sunset to
wash off the seawater and sunblock.
(Those looking for luxury should ask
about all facilities. Each of the small
bathrooms´ sink faucets is attached to a
long hose so it can double as a showerhead.
The water is hot, but the cramped
quarters make the experience akin to
showering in a mini-fridge.)
The sunsets and evenings were particularly
vibrant in Hydra, our last island
stopover. Karayannis nestled the boat
neatly into the picturesque marina, which
offered a nice balance of quiet and bustle.
From Eleftheria´s deck we watched the
sun paint the horizon in fire-burst orange,
sunflower yellow, and salmon pink.
The next morning we set out for Piraeus,
where Karayannis would deposit us on
the dock, relaxed and slightly sore from
the workouts we got setting Eleftheria´s
mainsail and jib.
Having never sailed on a boat larger
than a Hobie Cat, we got a thrill out of
cranking the winches to unfurl what
seemed like an acre of cloth. The first time
we caught a steady breeze I turned off the
stereo, so we could hear nothing but the
wind and the boat slicing through the
Aegean at nine knots. For a few hours I
was Odysseus. Sure, Odysseus with GPS,
a stocked galley, and twin diesels in case
anything went wrong, but nonetheless, it
was my moment.
Read the web article at cnnmoney.com»
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