After sailing for many years in the UK the arrival of 2 children and our concerns for their safety put a temporary hold on sailing activities and we reluctantly sold our yacht to concentrate on bringing up a family. As the children reached their teenage years we began to charter in the Med, sailing between Greece and Turkey and the whole family developed a love for the area. With the benefit of this experience we decided that now was the time to look for our own yacht and started searching in February this year.
By the end of the month we eventually found what we wanted, a Feeling 416 on the books of YD Yachts in Athens. The yacht was under a Greek flag, but had been left in Turkey and neglected due to ill health. The boat was in good structural condition but many items of equipment had been stolen. Yiannis Drimousis explained that he knew the boat from new and gave us a very comprehensive description of its condition, including almost 50 photographs showing precisely the extent of the neglect – which was reflected in the asking price.
Based on this we decided to take a trip out to Turkey to see things for ourselves. Yiannis was constantly in touch, answering all of our questions and concerns and keeping us up to date with developments on the sale – which was more complicated than most. We received an independent inventory of the missing equipment and prior to our visit asked YD Yachts if they could arrange for a haul-out so that we could view the condition of the hull. It transpired that no haulage facilities were available at the yachts location – the marina was still under construction – but we agreed that if, after viewing, we decided to go ahead with the purchase Yiannis could arrange for the yacht to be transfered further along the coast for a haul-out and hull inspection.
We arrived in Turkey mid-March to view the yacht and found everything exactly as described. YD Yachts set up a meeting for us with the owners solicitor and made arrangements for the boat to be moved while we were there so that we could reach a final decision on the purchase.
The service from Yiannis was excellent – nothing was too much trouble. We were buying a Greek registered yacht requiring renovation, it was based in Turkey and had to moved for inspection and we were working on a very tight timescale. Everything ran smoothly and we decided to go ahead with the purchase.
YD Yachts handled all the paperwork, including deletion from the Greek Ships Registry, and we are now the proud owners of a British registered Feeling 416 currently being brought back to life. And it doesnt stop there – the after-sales service has been just as good, queries we have had in relation to equipment and costs have been quickly answered and resolved.
Thanks Yiannis – we couldnt have achieved so much, so quickly without your invaluable help and advice. I hope we can meet up with you in Athens this summer, when the project is finished.
Richard and Christine, Manchester, UK
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