Why Vasiliki, Lefkada is a high vacation spot for watersports lovers

After per week of crusing across the South Ionian, we discovered ourselves spending a number of days in Vasiliki within the south of the Greek island of Lefkada. This can be a place that does watersports in model – it’s not loud or lavish in the way in which some Mediterranean hotspots may be. As a substitute, there’s an understated magic right here and a reliability within the climate because of a day wind recognized affectionately as Eric.

Why Vasilki?

There’s a purpose seasoned windsurfers, Olympic sailors, and wide-eyed first-timers preserve returning to Vasiliki. It isn’t simply the beneficial circumstances – quite, it presents all of the requisite circumstances for various watersports lovers, spaced out all through the day.

Mornings are quiet, with barely a breeze – good for paddleboarding, kayaking or e-foiling – in a bay that’s sheltered and shallow.

However then the tempo modifications.

By early afternoon, the air shifts. The wind comes cross-shore, daring and unrelenting, and similar to that, the water turns into alive—dancing beneath the agency grip of Eric. It’s a constant, clear wind and one which brings out skilled sailors and windsurfers of their a whole bunch.

It’s oddly reassuring because it’s a sample that occurs every single day and, in contrast to different coastal spots the place watersports really feel like an add-on, Vasiliki pulses with aquatic power.

The season runs lengthy—from April by way of October—with peak winds and social buzz cresting in July and August. However even exterior these months, the circumstances are enviable. It’s the type of place the place you’ll meet individuals who got here for per week and quietly by no means left.

E-foiling with E-VASS

Some experiences defy sufficient description. Flying, for example. Not within the seatbelted, pressurised cabin sort of manner—however actually flying. On water. On a board. Our sons had lengthy needed to strive their hand at e-foiling and this was our likelihood to provide it a go.

At E-VASS, a smooth little outfit that sits halfway alongside the bay, we met Might—our teacher— although she mentioned that if we forgot her identify, “any month would do”. She made e-foiling look easy, however was additionally affected person and inspiring once we tried our hand at it and made it look rather more tough.

We went out a brief manner into the bay with an outsized paddleboard that was anchored and used as a floating island, so we might take turns at studying to grasp our steadiness. The method begins humbly with you on all fours initially, familiarising your self together with your steadiness on the e-foil. As you speed up utilizing a handheld motor, you’re feeling the board begin to raise up and out of the water – it’s an unbelievable sensation, as if you’re defying physics.

Due to Might’s tuition, we had been in a position to progress and get some success in standing and foiling in simply our first lesson, even when it was solely transient and invariably adopted by some spectacular falls. Each wipe-out was met with raucous laughter and renewed willpower.

When you ought to occur to search out your self in Vasiliki, that is an exercise we might throoughly advocate, particularly for anybody who enjoys a superb dose of adrenaline. And with E-VASS’s meticulous steering and encouragement, possibly you can also fly.

Crusing with Wildwind Holidays

While e-foiling was a completely new expertise for us, crusing with Wildwind Holidays was a return to extra acquainted territory. For our boys, each seasoned sailors, it was much less a lesson and extra a homecoming—albeit with boats they’ve hardly ever sailed.

The morning started with a Hobie Cat—swift and agile, even in comparatively light winds. The sunshine breeze was good for some playful tacking and strategic bursts of pace. The bay, nonetheless waking up, supplied the perfect stage.

By afternoon, as Eric took the reins, they opted for one thing a bit of extra acquainted – the RS500, a lean, quick and exquisite boat that had them racing throughout the bay. The important thing distinction between this and the boat they normally race (the RS200) is that it has a single trapeze for the crew, enabling increased speeds in stronger winds, and a bigger spinnaker (which means quicker downwind speeds).

Wildwind Holidays isn’t any newbie operation. With many years of expertise, world-class instructors, and a spread of boats that will make any yacht membership blush, they cater to each the curious and the dedicated. Whether or not you’re new to crusing or trying to refine your racing methods, they have you ever coated—suncream not included, however extremely suggested.

Windsurfing and different watersports

In fact, no point out of Vasiliki can be full with out windsurfing. It’s the game that put the village on the map and continues to outline its soul. From youngsters studying their first waterstart to grey-haired veterans carving elegant jibes, the bay is a canvas of windsurfing tales in movement.

However the palette right here is broad. You’ll discover wingfoiling in addition to sea kayaking alongside the rugged shoreline, stand-up paddleboarding by way of the calmer coves, scuba diving within the depths, and extra. So, it doesn’t matter what your watersport of selection is, there’s one thing for everybody.

And with locations like E-VASS and Wildwind peppered alongside the shoreline, you’re by no means wanting knowledgeable steering, high-quality package, and a heat, enthusiastic welcome from like-minded lovers.

The ultimate verdict

Vasiliki is a watersports paradise.

It’s a spot the place even the wind has a reputation and the circumstances are near-perfect, if not good.

So sure—come for the sports activities. Come for the circumstances. However don’t be shocked should you keep a bit of longer than you deliberate, or end up coming again prior to you’d imagined.

Disclosure: Our experiences had been sponsored by E-VASS and Wildwind Holidays. Our journey was sponsored by AEGEAN Airways.