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Original poster

Boat hire in Rhodes - should I??

48 replies

blinder · 01/07/2022 15:10

I’m thinking of hiring a boat for the day in Rhodes. It’s possibly a stupid and risky thing to do, or I’m over-anxious. I can’t work out which.
risks:
I would be the only adult
I am not 100% certain that my 12 yo daughter can reliably tread water
I have never been alone on a boat before and never driven a boat

safety:
the boat hire people give you full training
there are life jackets
even without life jackets, we both have personal life buoys that we can use to snorkel safely
How difficult can it be?

Please, if you’ve rented a boat on a Greek island, tell me how to risk assess this.

OP posts:
justasking111 · 01/07/2022 15:12

Just don't unless there are rescue boats patrolling. I say this as an experienced sailor. I'm presuming dinghy sailing??

QuebecBagnet · 01/07/2022 15:19

God know. I nearly drowned with a small day motor boat on the Norfolk broads when the engine cut out and wouldn’t restart. I wouldn’t be going in the sea in a boat, inexperienced, on my own with a kid who can’t tread water.

NatalieSF · 01/07/2022 15:22

I was in rhodes recently, personally I wouldn't risk it unless for comfortable and know what your doing..

theres a day cruise along the harbour I think its called the romantica they take you out to different swimming spots and feed you all day, might be worth a look as an alternative

ToastedBunny · 01/07/2022 16:08

Do you know how to drop anchor? Moor up safely? We rented a tiny day motor boat in greece last year and there was a family of four who crashed into us trying to drop anchor. They were totally clueless. Lots can go wrong, trust me. And if something happens to you then your 12 year old will be skipper. Not a good plan OP

ToastedBunny · 01/07/2022 16:11

Oh and your Dd would need to drop anchor as you’d be steering the boat. And if you fall in when then moto( propeller) is running then obviously that’s obviously really really dangerous. Your naivety about the risk assessment is giving you the answer to your dilemma OP

ToastedBunny · 01/07/2022 16:11

Sorry about typos

ErrolTheDragon · 01/07/2022 16:18

justasking111 · 01/07/2022 15:12

Just don't unless there are rescue boats patrolling. I say this as an experienced sailor. I'm presuming dinghy sailing??

Given she says 'driving' then I'm assuming a small motor boat, which I'd have thought would be fine.

ErrolTheDragon · 01/07/2022 16:21

Hm.. maybe not as the only adult on the sea though.

Can you try hiring a little boat on a nearby canal or lake to see what you think.

But probably better to just do some sort of tourist trip.

ChimneyPot · 01/07/2022 16:21

We rented a boat on Rhodes for a few hours but with a captain and his son.
It was really enjoyable.

Skelligsfeathers · 01/07/2022 16:24

We did it in corfu and it was the highlight of the holiday. We spent all day diving in and swimming and then sunbathing. We had a picnic etc
Literally never gave safety a second thought but then we all swim quite strongly.

Lansonmaid · 01/07/2022 16:25

Motor boat or sailing boat? And just round the bay or further away, where there may not be other boats? Bear in mind that things can happen very fast and if you fell in your daughter would have to bring the boat back to you and recover you over the side. I can tell you that isn't at all easy. Full training might just be a brief 'here's how to operate the engine and steer's the boat' - sorry if that sounds cynical

Original poster
blinder · 01/07/2022 18:36

Thanks for all the responses.

It would be a small motor boat. There is also a GPS on it, and a dedicated mobile phone to reach the company if you have difficulties.

i wouldn’t go far out to sea, obviously, but just potter around the coastline in life jackets. The reviews of the company say that people felt very safe and secure after the lesson.

i think the thing that is giving me pause for thought is the idea that if something happened to me, DD would have to be skipper. But that’s true of the entire holiday…

OP posts:
Startuplife · 02/07/2022 08:21

No I wouldn’t. We had a similar size boat in Greece last summer but hired a captain with it. Coming back it all of a sudden got really choppy and we were being thrown around all over the place. No way would I have wanted to be in charge of the boat through that.

Auntieobem · 02/07/2022 08:22

Don't be so bloody stupid.

motogirl · 02/07/2022 08:25

Don't overthink it, they give you life jackets (wear them however hot it is) and follow the (very simple) instructions. Most of all check there's sufficient fuel and you can restart it if it's a rip cord (I never can, and yes I had one run out of fuel). I've rented one many times, absolutely fine safety wise, do stay in the recommended area they are keeping an eye out. I sail dinghies mostly, no engines

ErrolTheDragon · 02/07/2022 08:32

Maybe pass on this ... but for the future, I'd really recommend thinking about doing some proper boating courses if you think it's something you might enjoy doing together. There are all sorts available, many with RYA certification available.

Original poster
blinder · 02/07/2022 20:38

Thank you all except for @Auntieobem who offered nothing of any worth 😂

I think I’ll do this, making sure I stay in the expected areas, near to the shore. I’ll carefully consult the weather forecast. I’ll make sure we have our life jackets on and full batteries on our phones. I’ll check I can easily start the engine.

In terms of boating lessons, I’m mostly interested in the placid and glassy Aegean but don’t think we would do this on grey British waters, honestly. If we love it though, we will certainly think about it.

I also watched DD snorkel, float unaided, and tread water confidently for a couple of hours today, so I don’t feel quite as anxious. But I will be safety minded. Very grateful for the advice.

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 02/07/2022 20:44

Some British waters can be lovely too!Grin

Auntieobem · 02/07/2022 21:10

@blinder Thank you all except for @Auntieobem who offered nothing of any worth 😂

I thought I was succinct, to the point and saying what lots of folk would be thinking.😁

I sometimes apply the tabloid coverage rule - so if something went wrong and it ended up in the papers what would people think. In this case I think they'd think "why was she so bloody stupid?"

Original poster
blinder · 02/07/2022 21:42

I mean I’m not denying that I am bloody stupid!

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 02/07/2022 21:46

Skelligsfeathers · 01/07/2022 16:24

We did it in corfu and it was the highlight of the holiday. We spent all day diving in and swimming and then sunbathing. We had a picnic etc
Literally never gave safety a second thought but then we all swim quite strongly.

Same here but there were 4 of us and the teens are strong swimmers. Plus DH is an experienced sailor who has sailed extensively.
The safety info etc was virtually non existent , lasted 5 minutes.
In your shoes I wouldn’t do it

Original poster
blinder · 02/07/2022 21:54

@Hoppinggreen were you sailing or using a small motor boat? Did you hug the coastline or go out to sea? I think there are big differences between the two, but I don’t know what I don’t know, iyswim.

OP posts:
Orangio · 02/07/2022 22:00

Hmmm I wouldn't. We did it on a holiday in the Med, but DH has a powerboat ticket. Just as well, as the engine refused to start a couple of times and he had to tickle it into life. I couldn't have done it.
If you want to snorkel you'll need to anchor. Are you comfortable with that? Chuck in a piece of metal on a rope, and if you don't know what you're doing you'll just have to hope you have a good fix. Then you and your 12 year old go swimming, and hope the boat is still there when you get back? That's the boat with the phone on it...
If you still want to go ahead, I'd familiarise yourself with a good chart app in advance. You might need to pay to download the charts local to the area you're visiting.
Good luck!

Hoppinggreen · 02/07/2022 22:01

Small motorboat, despite DH wanting to sail out to sea
We hugged the coast but you need to make sure you are far enough out not to ground it. The boat owner probably won’t want you to go too far out though .
I have sailed at sea a bit with DH (hated it) and done small sail boats on a lake but you need to be careful as a couple of large yachts almost took us out.

Original poster
blinder · 02/07/2022 22:06

Hmm, okay. I’ll look into a chart map and maybe watch some tutorials online about the model of boat before I decide. Definitely don’t fancy sitting in a boat I can’t start.

The Google reviews indicate that the anchor is very easy to operate. And I doubt we would swim more than a few meters from the boat. We would be just snorkelling around it, most likely.

OP posts:
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