|
|
|
Road Bike Reviews: The Giro d'Italia is the answer to the Tour de France
The Giro d'Italia has a fine history behind it, like the Tour de
France it was started to publicise a newspaper, just like the
Tour de France the organisers made the leaders jersey the same
colour as the paper, yellow in France from the...
Solid Retriever Training Turns Labs into Gun Dogs and Duck Dogs
Labradors are one of the best-loved dog breeds in the country.
According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), 2004 marked the
fifteenth consecutive year that Labradors ranked as the number
one purebred dog in the nation. The AKC also reported...
The Best Martial Art
Many people send us emails inquiring about the best martial art so we decided to write an article about the best martial art in our opinion.
It is a very difficult task to determine which is the best martial art so...
The World's Most Beloved Sport - The History of Soccer
By Rebecca Blain of http://www.everything-soccer.com While it is undisputed that the origins of modern soccer, or football, originated in Britain, there is a great deal of evidence that points to this beloved game as having an older history. ...
Vertical Truth – Surfing Vero Beach, Florida
Vertical Truth – Surfing Vero Beach, Florida Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
2004 Olympic Games and Yachting in Greece
Everybody knows that the Olympic Games are due to be held in Athens in 2004. Apart from the accepted consequences, positive and negative, for the city of Athens and Greece in general this sporting extravaganza will seriously affect the yachting fraternity from mid-July to mid-September.
Two major crises will afflict the greater Athens area i.e. transportation and accommodation. I will refer to certain aspects of transportation later but the accommodation problem will directly affect yachtsmen. How, you might ask ? I will tell you.
The Greek government is trying many ways to obviate the shortage of about 40,000 rooms. Athenians are being asked to offer rooms to visitors in their own homes and 11 cruise ships are being chartered and moored in Piraeus harbour for the duration of the Games. Not wishing to be left out of this possible bonanza, yacht owners will be offering their yachts as floating hotels in all the marinas along the Athens coastline, particularly Marina Alimos. Nor will this be restricted to Athenian yacht owners, as owners from all over Greece will be climbing on the bandwagon and will be moving their yachts into the Athens area for the Games. Many yachts are already booked to regular charterers and thus the prices for the period will go up to alarming levels, not to mention the shortage of available yachts.
Another serious problem will be the human waste from all these vessels. Piraeus harbour and all the marinas in the vicinity will become enormous sewage dumps. The people chartering these yachts as hotels are not yachties and will not know, or care, about
the use of holding tanks and will simply dump the results of the exercising of normal human bodily functions into the sea. The shore facilities in these marinas will be nine times overstretched.
I promised to refer to transportation again because there will be massive shortages of flights over the period. Don't miss the boat - book early your flight aswell.
You must also realise that the influx of yachts into Athens will produce shortages all over Greece, not only for the period from mid-July to mid-September, but beyond because of the positioning and re-positioning times of the floating hotels.
My advice, therefore, is that if you are a yacht owner avoid Athens for the period, unless you are going to watch the Games, and if you are going to charter - DO IT EARLY, not forgetting to book your flights at the same time. The "last minute booking" syndrome is not going to work in 2004 for the crucial period of the Games and the immediate pre and post period - say 15 July to 15 September.
Finally - how early is early enough ? I would say by Christmas 2003, at the very latest. This way you will both enjoy the early booking discounts, which most of the charter companies are offering, and get the yacht of your choice from the base of your choice. Almi Yachts statistics are showing that by February all yachts will be booked for July/August 2004 and only dinghies will be available !
About the Author
Alex. Vournas is the owner and managing director of Almi Yachts ltd, a yacht charter company in Greece. He is also the web designer and SEO of www.almiyachts.com
|
|
|
|
|
|