Greece, Lefkas: Report on the Marina
SV Swanie stayed in Lefkas marina for several months and sent this report of their experiences.
Published 8 years ago, updated 5 years ago
We are on a 44-foot catamaran sailing the Ionian Sea and have made the Lefkas marina our base for the past months. Lefkas is about 60 NM south of Corfu and 25+ NM north of Ithaca and Cephalonia. There is a canal that bisects Lefkas Island with a floating bridge that opens on the hour to the north and a dredged canal to the south. The marina is between the two with easy access and good shelter. This was a great choice for us for two reasons, the Lefkas marina and Paleros Yacht Services. I will cover both in this report.
Lefkas Marina. Email communication with the marina is outstanding. The email address is [email protected]. I found my emails being answered promptly, often within an hour with perfect English by the marina manager, Spiros Dallos. When I had special requests (see below), he was always accommodating. The prices are quite reasonable for such a great location. Water and electricity are programmed into an electronic fob and read by the utility pedestal on the dock. There are two well-stocked chandleries and many yacht services of all types plus a “supermarket” and laundry service on the marina grounds. Customs and immigration (port police) are close by and very friendly. And you couldn’t ask for easier access to a good size Greek town with dozens of tavernas literally within 5-10 minutes from the marina.
Paleros Yacht Services ([email protected]). I had to replace my nine-year-old house batteries. I was referred to Robert Meyer, the managing director with his offices and shops on the marina grounds. Robert has been at this location for over a decade since the marina opened. He is an engineer by training and speaks perfect English and (as I am told) Greek, My house bank is very large (840 amp-hours) with the cabling runs set up for Lifeline batteries made in California and warehoused for Europe in Denmark. The warehouse does not sell direct to consumers so Paleros wired the funds and received the batteries directly. The marina made available an alongside berth because of the size and weight of the batteries and our high freeboard – this was absolutely essential. Spiros did this even though alongside berthing space was normally occupied by charter catamarans and nearly full. Everything was done perfectly in two days. Paleros was swamped with work at the beginning of the season but fit me in nevertheless. I strongly recommend them.
Michael Lutz
SV Swanie
I was in Lefkas Marina, I agree that it is a very good marina but it was really overpriced and way too expensive for normal boat owners.
It is mostly used by charter companies as their base, however, they are charged at a discounted rate. I have also used PYS to service my windlass.
I was quoted 250 euro but at the end, I had to pay over 600 euro. Ridiculously too expensive, I wish I had done it by myself.
While Paleros YS may be good for help with work while you are there, we would not recommend signing up for their “maintenance programme”. They will “check your mooring and stern lines”, but do absolutely nothing to fix an issue.
Our lines were seriously chafed when we got back to the boat after an emergency 6-week trip back to the US. They also did not adjust our lines to prevent the boat next to us from rubbing up against our hull.
They also do not provide local 24-hour support – it is strictly 9-5. After hours the phone is answered by a woman who was incredibly rude to us. When we got back to the boat earlier than expected.
The same woman shouted down the phone at me for 5 minutes about how there was no one within 6 hours of the boats who could return the boat keys. Based on how we were treated by this one woman, I would not recommend Paleros Yacht Service.