When Simon Morgan took a sabbatical to go sailing in the Greek islands, he quickly fell in love with the lifestyle and dreamed of bringing up children there. 22 years on, his dream has come true
Sailing has always been a major part of my life; my dad was an Olympic silver medallist back in ’64 and I’ve won a couple of National Championships in catamaran classes. Whilst living and working in London, I used to disappear to the South coast every time there was some decent wind.
Finally, I decided to take three months off and spent six weeks of that driving to Greece in a VW van with a catamaran on a trailer. I went to this place called Vassiliki on the island of Lefkas, where I’d heard there was a good wind every day. I stayed there on the beach a month and decided that I wanted to change my life – that here, rather than London, was a better place for kids to grow up, where they could be more in touch with nature.
This was back in 1987, and the following summer I started up my beach-based sailing holiday company, Wildwind. At that time I was living on the island in the summer and returning to London for the winter months.
In February 2002 I met my wife to be, Varvara, who sat next to me on a plane from Heathrow to Athens. I was going to spend a month at an intensive Greek language school and she was going to surprise her mother who was living out here (her mother is English, her father Greek).
We fell in love at first sight, and by summer 2003 had decided that we would both move from London and try and start a life together in Athens. We haven’t looked back since.
In the winter, we live in Vouliagmeni, one of the southern suburbs of Athens, a few metres from the sea and 14km from the city centre. I’d say it was the London equivilent of Richmond. It’s beautiful, with stunning views over Athens, Piraeus and the Saronic Gulf greeting us every morning from our balcony. It’s a two-minute walk to the beach. The weather is, of course, excellent, probably 300 days of sunshine a year, yet amazingly enough it’s only a 21⁄2 hour drive to go skiing in the Pindos mountains. There are actually about twelve small ski resorts throughout Greece.
In the summer, we move to where my company, Wildwind, is based. Vassiliki is a fishing village in the south of Lefkas island and a Mecca for watersports. We also got married here, in the Orthodox church. Frankly, it’s heaven; despite summer temperatures occasionally in the hundreds and the almost total absence of rain from the end of May to September, Lefkas remains green all year round and even exports water to its nearby neighbours of Ithaca and Cephalonia. The west coast of the island has some of the most beautiful beaches in all Greece and the whole island is really quite unspoiled.
In the summer I wake early, work a bit at home and then head on down to the beach for a staff meeting at 9.30. I do any chores that are necessary, and then head back to my office until about 3pm. At this time I usually take an hour’s siesta, then have an hour or so’s sailing, do a couple more hours of work, go cycling or swimming with Varvara and the children and eat later.
A typical day for me in the winter, back in Athens sees me getting up early with our two babies, Grace two, and Jake, three months. Then at 9am our babysitter comes in and we can work relatively undisturbed until about three – then a siesta, a little more work, an early dinner and an early night. Hopefully as the children get older this whole process will move a little later.
I’m used to how things work in Greece after 22 years here, and I like the siesta lifestyle.
Of course, Greek driving leaves a lot to be desired and their organisational skills are not as developed as the Brits, but their warm, friendly and relaxed way of living, with a major focus on the family, means much more to me.
Of course, there are challenges when it comes to running a business here. Bureaucracy is a nightmare and chaos is a Greek word. Evidently Greek bureaucracy ranks 130th out of 180 in the world!! It is still who you know that enables you to get things done, although the current government is trying hard to change that. Fortunately I’ve been around long enough to know the right people.
I speak Greek and I’ve integrated well into the local community. I organised the first ever European championships for catamaran sailing to take place in Greece in 2001, and am now responsible for the annual Vassiliki Watersports Festival – the biggest such event in Greece. I vote in Greece for local elections, and was myself elected onto the Board for the local Chamber of Commerce.
The one thing I miss about the UK is the variety of food you can get easily. Indian food, Chinese food, Thai food, Japanese food, and so on. The range of products at British supermarkets is much wider – we usually put in a big order at a major supermarket and load it along with our boats every spring.
If I could give any hints or tips to anyone thinking of moving here, it would be to be friendly and warm and you’ll be treated the same way. The Greeks are naturally ‘philoxenists’, or love foreigners – particularly if you make an attempt to learn their language (it’s a nightmare!) Their sense of humour is similar to ours, which helps a lot, too. Finally, expect everything to take at least twice as long. The Greek equivalent of mañana is avrio – meaning the same thing, tomorrow, but it seems like tomorrow never comes!
Anything else I would recommend? Greece off-the-beaten-track is unbeatable. Try trips into the mountains rather than the islands and you’ll be amazed. The highest mountain is Mount Olympus at 2,900 metres and the Pindos range is indescribably beautiful, with the deepest canyon in the world, deserted villages and monasteries perched on the edge of precipices. Everyone has also heard of Santorini, and its reputation is well earned. Finally beware the cost of fish at restaurants – ask before you buy or you may be in for a shock.
www.wildwind.co.uk
Sailing in the Greek Islands
The Greek islands make up 20% of the total area of Greece, and are an ideal yachting region, with a total coastline of more than 15,000 kilometres. The climate throughout the area is Mediterranean in character, with mild, moist winters and dry, hot summers.
The long charter season starts as early as March, when air temperatures rise above seawater temperatures, creating a stabilizing effect. From mid-May on sailors can expect very settled weather.
July and August bring the peak in high temperatures and sun hours, and this is the most popluar time for sailing. In October and November the sailing is still good but wetter weather is to be expected. www.sailingissues.com
