Crete is the southern edge of the Aegean and the last European stop before a long stretch of open water. Agios Nikolaos Marina on the Gulf of Mirabello is the island’s principal yacht harbour, and yachts that come here are usually either working the south Aegean properly or staging for a longer passage east toward Cyprus and the Levant.

Being the last European stop is the practical point. A yacht heading east from here leaves the easy EU supply chain behind, so this is where a cellar should be filled rather than topped up. We would rather size a Crete delivery for the passage and the season beyond it, and we will be straight about what the timings look like for anything further east.

Orders travel from our French cellar on EU logistics, no customs frontier, duties and paperwork handled, typically three to four working days from confirmation. Crete is a long island with poor cross-island road links, so tell us the marina rather than the island: a delivery routed to the wrong end of it costs a day.

Cretan wine is the island’s best-kept secret and is having a genuine revival. Vidiano makes textured, serious whites; Liatiko and Kotsifali make distinctive reds that suit the local lamb; and the ancient sweet wines of the island are a real after-dinner conversation. It is the sort of local list that makes a charter feel like it is somewhere rather than anywhere.