This year we were thrilled to attend the much-anticipated return of the largest exhibition of professional crewed yachts in the world after a two-year Covid hiatus – the Mediterranean Yacht Show (MEDYS) held in Greece. Otherwise known as the Greek yacht show, this year’s event was the 7th edition of this famous yachting rendezvous designed to promote the charter industry and the yachts operating in Greece. The annual show is very professionally organised by the Greek Yachting Association, who merit great appreciation for the skill and diligence with which everything was seamlessly put together, and this year participants descended once again on the beautiful port of Nafplion to view the more than 90 yachts on display. This is a fantastic opportunity for brokers and industry participants such as ourselves to inspect the yachts we represent on an annual basis and to meet with the crews and receive updates on the fleet and options available to our clients.
A beautiful Peloponnese coastal setting..
We feel very lucky each time we visit Nafplion to view the yachts – it is one of the most beautiful mainland coastal towns in Greece, surrounded by turquoise waters, a quaint old town with narrow cobbled streets, and the imposing Palmidi Castle which sits atop a hill over-looking the show. Nafplion is so impressive it was the first capital of the newly born Greek state between 1823 and 1834.
The first stop of our visit, of course after a breakfast and strong coffee at one of the sea-front tavernas, was as always to ‘catch up on our catamarans,’ as we like to say. We headed directly to see the 19.5m (65ft) sailing catamaran Aether, whose huge hull cut an impressive figure moored directly in front of the marina main square. Fountaine Pajot have been making amazing progress over the last couple of years in the luxury space of the high end catamaran market and we wanted to check the hype for ourselves. Needless to say we were impressed with Aether’s seamless marriage of performance and style attributes, as well as her hugely impressive 35m2 flybridge and fore-deck jacuzzi. She definitely passed the inspection and is a huge plus to our portfolio. We spent the rest of the morning on a delightful tour of the presented catamarans, which included the gorgeous Sunreef 70 power catamaran Alteya, the even larger colossal sailing catamaran Genny (Sunreef 80) , and not forgetting to catch up with our 50 footer Lagoons, of which Moya is our favourite.
Next up, of course after a self-indulgent lunch gouging on meze at a rickety table in the old town, was a whistle-stop tour of many of of the beautiful motor yachts which had turned up to the show to exhibit their wares before the congregated industry professionals. We visited Star link , the wildly popular 90ft Falcon which has been a mainstay of Greek charters for many years with as many successful charter seasons under her belt. The crew told up they were almost fully booked for this year’s charter season! The rest of our tour of motoryachts took in the gorgeous 92feet Wide Liberty, the time-honoured Ferretti favourite Estia Yi, and one of our favourites the almost 100ft ferocious looking Admiral speedster Summer Fun.
We couldn’t leave without indulging a personal fantasy – a visit to the incredible 50m (165feet) height of luxury Perini Navi sailing yacht Baracuda, glistening in the sun as we approached and gently rocking in her mooring. What a sight ! If you ever get the chance to visit the Italian royalty of sailing yachts we earnestly advise you do not miss it. The combination of technology and sailing craftmanship make for a jaw-dropping feeling of sailing luxury and pedigree.
And so it was that our visit to Nafplion’s Greek Charter Show drew to a close. We were delighted to chat to other industry participants, the crews and organisers along the way, and we will surely be back to inspect more yachts next year. But for now, to the show’s organisers the Greek Yachting Association, a massive thank you and it’s bye for now. Efcharisto !
