Edit by Allan
This post is not from Mille but from Isaac Kopman.
The problems we are experiencing with the forum software causes some posts to appear under the wrong name and that's what's happened here.
Apologies to Isaac and to Mille who would probably love to own a yacht but sadly doesn't!
Let me start by stating - I love Symi. For the last 10 years or so I have visited symi a few times a year aboard my yacht. There were no formalities, we simply sailed in, tied up and for a few days enjoyed all that Symi has to offer. I am well aware that this is strictly speaking illegal but as no harm was done and we made a lot of local friends, the authorities turned a blind eye. I think that at the time there were only two harbour police who slowly patrolled the water front making sure that there was no antisocial behaviour and almost always there was none. Of course we spent substantial amounts of money in the various good restaurants, groceries, souvenirs, etc. and in the process became known and welcome by the various traders.
Alas all this has changed, paradise lost. A large number of police were employed (I believe about 30) who enforce the law to the letter ensuring that every yacht has strictly observed all formalities, this process, besides being laborious and time consuming, can cost about �150 per visit. Needless to say that many yachts-people, including myself no longer visit this beautiful island. I believe that local traders have also noticed a drop in their turnover.
Can anything be done to overcome this beaurocratic (spelling?) nightmare?