
Traditional Lugger Sailing Around the Greek Island of Lefkada
Good News for Followers of Dragon Drascombe
We are now able to offer clients the security benefits of paying for your
Lugger Sailing Holiday by Credit or Debit Card
New! Batten-Roached Main and Mizen sails with a generous Genoa foresail
Why not try these sail rigs this summer as a part of our sailing Villa and apartment packages?
Call Phil and book now for a Dragon Drascombe package
See what people are saying about our 2023 Lugger Charters
Great sailing pals come into assist others enjoy this outstanding sailing environment.
Both Andy and Dave Hiscock have returned year after year to join my Ionian charters and are the exponents of the use of the R&J Baton Roach sail sat up, see Andy’s past review on this topic. This past summer they chose the first week in September, a great month for a lower temperature and still warm seas. They were based at the Iris Hotel Apartments, this is our late afternoon meeting place at the pool patio bar where thoughts on the past days sail were chatted over and plans made over a beer and delicious Meza for the forthcoming coming day, it’s also close to Elaine’s supermarket. https://youtu.be/IH3HMmIMZZU They met up with my other Lugger groups from the Geni Garden Apartments and made a suggestion that on the following day they would make themselves available to join 2 of the crews for an instructional session sailing out of Oasis…
Pam and Pauls Sailing Holiday
Looking back now in November from a storm-tossed UK, September in the Ionian seems far away: blissfully warm sailing under blue skies, our very own Drascombe Lugger anchored in a secluded bay, bathing ladder down, crew swimming in turquoise sea. I’d never met Phil Osborne in person, though I felt I knew him well already. I recently renovated a 52 year old Drascombe Lugger which I’d bought cheaply – I fell in love with her name (Kingfisher to match the lovely but faded turquoise of her hull) and couldn’t resist the lure of setting her to rights again. I found Phil online while I was searching for replacement parts and timber. I could not have found a better mentor. https://justluggerjoinery.com/stories/kingfisher-rebuild/ I soon gained confidence and a skill or two. Phil was very generous with his time and expertise, and through his other company Just Lugger Joinery supplied new Iroko centreplate…
Sail Training in the South Ionian Sea
This sail training charter was a unique opportunity for both myself and Elspeth Rob, the following review is a joint assessment and review which highlights the value of my Sail Training Programme. To commence I will outline the background on what brought about this sailing programme for Elspeth and Rob. Back last summer they booked a week along with her sister and a great pal, so having 4 in the boat, this indeed for Elspeth was a ‘taster’ and much more of a holiday. However, on returning to the U.K. she went in pursuit of a Lugger to purchase, as a young woman her Dad bought an early Lugger back in the 1970’s and as a family they sailed this boat out of Salcombe. So this urge for a Lugger of her own goes back many years We have all done this, returned from a holiday and have this…
Richard, Gareth and Andrew
I am writing to thank you for the excellent week that I spent with my two brothers (Gareth and Andrew) recently with Dragon Drascombe (13-20th September). Initially the main reason for arranging this was as part of celebrating my middle brother’s 70th birthday – as we have started doing for each other and that was certainly successful. I had also hoped that I would learn some proficiency at sailing a Drascombe Lugger – I had mentioned to you at the time of booking that I had bought one and had it stored at a site in Pembrokeshire where I have a holiday home. I told you that I had only used on a few occasions and had not got on very well with it but that I felt that the tides in Pembrokeshire I had to allow for were not helping. So I hoped that trying to sail a Lugger without…
Sandy and John
Hi PhilBy now you will be very busy with the next group of sailors and we hope it is going well for you.We wanted to say ‘thank you’ for the ‘Dragon Drascombe experience’- we really enjoyed it and it was great to be able to explore the area even though the wind was so erratic. To have deep warm waters, no tides and a variety of local places to visit was a real bonus and our accommodation was top class.Please give our best wishes to Rob and Martin and you take care.Sandy & John Sandy and John’s visit really highlighted the social aspect side to Drascombe holidays. Meeting with other groups of Drascombe sailers who are generally like minded and great company. Discussing the days sailing and picking up tips from each other and sharing experiences. This all helps to make these Drascombe sailing holidays what they are.
Helen and Ben
We have just returned from 10 days of exploring the Ionian Islands in ‘Katerina’, one of Phil’s Drascombe Luggers based in Nidri – what a perfect holiday! We stayed in the Geni Garden Apartments (perfect location and perfect for our needs) and our lugger for our stay was moored on a pontoon in front of the apartments. Phil meets you on arrival and gives out all the necessary information on rigging and sailing the luggers, daily weather forecasts and information about the islands within reach for the day sailing. Phil also provides you with a chart, pilotage book, cool bag and picnic set for your boat! We sail a Cornish Coble in Jersey so, once assessed, Phil was happy to let us sail away. We went much further than I had imagined we would be able to and visited, Spartakhori, Port Atheni, Sivota and Meganisi, in addition to spending days…
Ralphs Recent Lugger Trip
“Thanks for all the pics Phil. I have a few from my holiday you may like. Just wanted to say again how much I enjoyed the week we had sailing the lugger. Ralph” Thank you to Ralph for the quick email and great pictures of his holiday.
Jenny and Tim
We had a fabulous week towards the end of June in Lefkada with Dragon Drascombe, staying at the Geni Apartments with Jojo, our Lugger for the week, moored on the pontoon at the bottom of the gardens. The Geni apartments and grounds, with swimming pool, are a superb location from which to be based and have pretty much everything one could possibly need. The taxi met us at Preveza airport & we were soon dropped at Gailos Taverna to meet up with Phil who is Dragon Drascombe. We had the first of many lovely Greek meals before driving the half a mile to Geni to settle in. Phil took us through all the necessary aspects with the Lugger, from fore and aft mooring to rigging and using the outboard engine. He made it all so simple and unhurried which does help when getting used to a new boat, but essential…
Ians recent Charter
I hope that you are keeping well and the current hot weather is not proving too challenging. Apologies it has taken so long to send you a few photos from the holiday as requested but as soon as I got back I was off to Africa and have only just got back today. Thank you for all your input, guidance and suggestions throughout the week. We both had an amazing holiday and thoroughly enjoyed exploring all the small bays and beaches that are inaccessible to the bigger keel boats. I hope that you have a great remainder of the summer. With kind regards
Nick and Anne’s Family Holiday
Sooo.. What to do to celebrate reaching your 8th decade? This was the question I (and my much younger wife Anne) had to consider in time for this Spring. It did not take us long to come up with idea of a ‘whole family’ holiday in/on/near water in somewhere warm and inviting. You guessed it – the Ionian. Anne and I had spent a couple of holidays ‘luggering about in the sun’ both pre and post pandemic and we wondered if we could expand our normal routine of late morning motoring to a quiet bay or taverna, afternoon sail back and then a relaxing evening stroll from our usual base at Geni Gardens to something which would accommodate the diverse needs of 4 very sporty grandchildren aged 7 to 13, and their discerning parents. A couple of emails to Phil and we had a plan which we hoped would suit…
First Family Booking of 2023 at the Villa Eleanor
To be absolutely sure of Andrew’s two week family holiday he booked the Villa Eleanor early in 2022. As you will note from its description on the website it’s a 3 bedroom private villa set amongst the trees and it’s own garden overlooking Vliho Bay. It has all the facilities a family group would need and more. This includes a great outdoor covered terrace for outdoor living and dining, bbq area and a delightful pool. To round it all off just 50m’s away through the trees to the waters edge is the pontoon used to moor the Lugger The family were not disappointed . To accommodate their 6 adults I provided an additional Lugger, to keep each boat with just 3 persons in. “Being a drascombe Lugger owner for many years this has been on our wish list and finally got round to organising it this year. This was a…
Rob and Jane
Rob and Jane gettiong to know the boat I fell in love with Drascombe boats on seeing one at the London Boat Show back in the ’70’s but never had the chance to sail one. I spotted one of Dragon Drascombes luggers while on Flotilla a few years ago and promised myself a trip one day, a dream I finally realised in May. My wife is a nervous sailor but Vliho provided a perfect introduction to the Lugger for her, the boats are really well laid out and maintained, the situation is idyllic and the accommodation is really good (we stayed at Geni Gardens), by the end of the week she was asking when we could come back. It was great to be able to pop into Nidri in the boat, pick up stuff for a picnic, then go and sail to a secluded beach for lunch and a swim.…
Γιατί να μην αναλογιστείτε τον Σεπτέμβριο και τον Οκτώβριο οι οποίοι έχουν το δικό τουs “Δεύτερο Καλοκαίρι” στο Ελληνικό Ιόνιο, το οποίο είναι εξαιρετικό!
Why not consider September and October, which is a “Second Summer” in the Greek Ionian. It’s just magnificent!

Yes, everyone loves Geni Garden
Always a firm favourite with our Lugger clients, Geni Garden Apartments are the perfect base for your holiday
Your Dragon Drascombe Geni Destination for Sailing in the Sun, 2023
We are based in Vliho Bay near Nidri on the Island of Lefkada in the Southern Ionian. With a range of accommodation options, all with water’s edge access and the Megannissi channel just out of the bay, it is a perfect start for both day sailing and island hopping. Come and go as you please, sail as much or as little as you like.
Scroll down for sample prices.
Phil Osborne
Email: info@dragondrascombe.com
Phone: +44 7812 562579

Enjoy Beautiful Vliho Bay
What a place to sail from! Join us at Dragon Drascombe in the quiet hamlet of Geni

Family Activities
We’re excited to be teaming up with GetActiveLefkas to offer road and trail biking sessions, as shown on our Cycle and Sail page, along with hiking opportunities in the beautiful countryside of Lefkada.
Both offer great value for active or family groups who wish to experience new skills or to upgrade existing interests. We take care of booking these sessions and can arrange transportation to the venues.
Lugger Restoration
If you love our beautifully restored Luggers, why not check out our sister company Just Lugger Joinery. We can provide you with the parts you need to update your own Lugger, made to the same high standards you find on our boats in the Ionian.
And starting this October we will be offering a refit and repair service to our clients.
