Well, there we go, we have just signed a four-month contract with Mitilini’s marina, in Lesbos for wintering. We are therefore going to spend the coming winter months in the third-biggest island of the Egean Sea and the largest of the Eastern Sporades. Our wintering afloat came earlier than expected. We also had not considered  wintering at a marina, but the town harbour of Mytilene turned out to be unsuitable for a long stay. Therefore, we were left with two options : sailing back Southward or sailing farther North. We did not fancy any of these.

When we entered Mytilene’s harbour, the capital of Lesbos, coast guards stopped us and asked us to come alongside the East dock, which we did. But suddenly, a sailboat from a yacht company came close to us, asked us to clear out saying it was a private berth. So off we went, and started sailing around the harbour, looking for a place to berth, under their mocking gaze…There were two others docks ahead, with plenty of available berths but there was a reason for it. These docks were offering poor protection against Southern wind, with a sharp concrete edge along the floating line where the swell would surely damage the boat’s hull. As we did not have much of a choice,  we then decided after all to anchor, and make fast stern to the dock, going for the least bad mooring, in case of Southerly !

OUR WINTERING PLAN FALLS THROUGH !

There was an electricity terminal and water access but it did not seem to be working at that time of the year and we could not find the officer. Mooring at the municipal harbour is a bit like living on the street. The road is pretty close with a constant flow of cars and people. To put it short, as far as privacy is concerned, there is none ! Very contrasting with the peaceful small island of Oinoussa that we just left. So we agreed on the fact that wintering there would be out of the question.

SO, WHERE WERE WE GOING TO WINTER THEN?

We were very keen to stay in Lesbos. We wanted to go and discover it. Lesbos is considered to be the jewel of the archipelago of Eastern Sporade islands. There is indeed a marina, next to the harbour…So the next day, we decided to go there and ask for information on prices.

We were given a very warm welcome by the staff. After giving them all the details about the sailboat (length and beam), they handed us the price list from a one-month stay, up to one year. In short, the longer you stay, the less you pay.

WINTERING AFLOAT FOR SAUVAGE

Estimated cost for the whole winter months is €907.97. This price includes a four-month’s mooring and taxes.

9.98M X 3.40M X Price per square metre X Number of days

This is the price for our sailboat, size and shape. For information, if we had wanted to stay for 6 months, we would have paid €1117.65 or €1548.06 for one year.

Concerning Water and electricity, they are extra charge, depending on your consumption :

–          €5.27 for one cubic metre of water

–          €0.36 per Kilowatt hour

Mytilini Marina is a ten-minute’s walk from the lively city centre. All facilities are within reach : a bar restaurant and a chandlery. There are of course showers and toilets, always thoroughly clean, two washing machines that you can use at any time and free of charge. Other services are available on request at the reception (laundry services, Camping gaz, car rental, etc…). The staff was friendly and helpful!

Learn more about Mytilini Marina by clicking here !

The whole thing came up to €225.00 per month for the next four winter months. Five minutes were enough to make our minds up, and another five minutes to bring the boat into the Marina !

We then decided to make the most of these 120 days to go back to our business activities, browsing and discovering the island of Lesbos and taking care of our sailboat which had certainly deserved it ! We are considering sailing to Turkey next year, sailing through the Dardanelles straits and all the way to Istanbul…