Kalami Beach is a lovely beach for sunbathing, etc., but there’s only so much lying down and baking you can do before getting bored. When that happens the best thing to do is get the adrenaline pumping! Sakis Watersports is based on the lefthand side of the beach (if looking out to sea) on a big floating pontoon, and can’t be missed. They do water skiing lessons for all levels of experience and also ringo and hot rod rides. The company prides itself on having instructors qualified and registered with the British Water Ski Federation.
My brother tried out the beginners’ skiing lesson and had great fun. He paid €30 for a lesson (half hour) and found it very entertaining and good exercise too – he was shattered when he got back to the beach! My mother, who can ski already did the ski tow (€22 per tow – 10 mins approx) and found it really challenging, which must be good. They also do beginners’ mono ski lessons for €25 and it is possible to get discount cards if multiple ski sessions are bought.
The ringos are more my style, so my boyfriend, my little brother, and I decided to try them out. We had great fun! I think with the ringos, the more the merrier, the three of us kept bouncing off each other and that caused more capsizing than the waves alone! The ride lasted about 10 mins, but my heart was still going about an hour later. I’d say it was well worth the money! The ringos cost us €11 each as there were three of us. A single ride (1 person alone) would have cost €18 and per person for a double ride it would have cost €13. Personally I think the triple ride is the only way to go. The boat drivers are very sympathetic to the age and confidence of whoever is in the ringos. For this reason they can be recommended to families as well as young adults. We saw children going on the ringos and they had such an easy ride compared to us!
Sakis Watersports was very safety conscious, which was obviously good. The prices all included insurance. They spent time checking that each person was wearing the correct sized safety jacket and that it was correctly fastened. All their equipment looked new and in good condition, as did their boat (by this I mean I saw no jackets with rips or skis with broken bits).
I highly recommend everyone to have a go water skiing or on the ringos, even people who are not competent swimmers should consider it – with the safety jackets, there is no need to swim anyway!
Sakis have a Website: www.corfuboats.gr and their phone no is 26630 91646 (don’t forget the Greek international dialing code: 0030)