ARIVA

ARIVA — Alegria 67, Fountaine Pajot An Alegria 67 is one of the most convincing arguments for chartering a catamaran in Greece: the volume of a much larger yacht, drafts shallow enough for the coves the monohulls have to admire from a distance, and a motion at anchor that makes long lunches and late nights genuinely comfortable. ARIVA is exactly that platform, based in Corfu and cruising the Ionian. She sleeps ten guests in five cabins, each with its own en-suite. The owner's cabin sits at the top of the arrangement, with four further cabins in double-bed configuration — a layout that works as easily for two or three families sharing as it does for a group of couples, since nobody is left with the compromise cabin. Detailed bed configuration is available on request. Life on board happens outside, and this is where the Alegria's architecture pays off. The foredeck carries a jacuzzi, set forward where the breeze is and the view is uninterrupted — the natural gathering point at anchor, and just as good at sunset with the hull turned into the light. Aft, the cockpit flows straight off the saloon at a single level for al fresco dining, and the hydraulic swimming platform lowers to sea level so that getting in and out of the water, boarding the tender or helping less confident swimmers becomes a non-event rather than a manoeuvre. Deck space is generous enough that sunbathing, shade and conversation don't have to compete for the same square metres. A crew of four looks after the yacht and her guests — enough hands to keep the service attentive, the galley working properly and the itinerary flexible day to day, adjusted to the wind and to what the charter party actually feels like doing. From Corfu, the Ionian opens up quickly: Paxos and Antipaxos, the Lefkada channel, Kefalonia and Ithaca, with anchorages close enough together to allow slow days rather than passage-making.