Savarna sailing blog

Dodecanese, Kos and Autumn

Posted at 4:21 PM, Oct. 9, 2009

It has been over 3 weeks since re relaunched Savarna at Kos after two months on the hardstand. Great marina complex but the hardstand was obviously a dusty place while we were away and a heavy rainfall just before we returned converted all the dust to mud. The relaunching went smoothly with the 100 ton travellift meaning that we do not have to release the forestay or alternatively demount the radar post off the stern to accommodate the draft and give sufficient height for the lift.

Sophie at Kos marina looks after us like family and is fantastic – I am not sure how the place would operate without her. She organised us an apartment above the marina offices for when we returned and kept in touch with the sailmaker to ensure the various repairs were effected in time. On the sailmaker (his details are on an earlier blog posting) he turned out to be very good. His attention to detail and his enthusiasm in wanting to explain precisely everything he had done and why showed a thoughtfulness in his approach that I think is to be applauded. Good guy and I would certainly use him again.

We arrived in Kos on a Monday night, launched the following day and spent the rest of the week cleaning the boat and getting sails and bimini etc reinstalled. One of the slides in the mainsail battcar system had broken and I brought a new part back from New Zealand. That was the simple part – removing the bottom section of the mainsail mast track to enable me to install the new car proved a major. In the end after successfully removing one bolt and breaking the next (and with about 6 more to go) I called in Babis the local engineer/fix it up guy we had previously met and effected a redesign with the help of a metal cutting saw. All now working very well.

The week was also memorable as a consequence of a very active social round largely because we met up with Paddy and Carolyn from Christiane who we had met very briefly earlier this year after they had just arrived in Kos following a 15 month trip from Sydney. They are great fun and we spent several enjoyable evenings with them. Carolyn is also related to Ted Peacocke a fellow kiwi yotblogger. On the Friday night we also caught up with Brenda and David from Bandit, when they arrived in the town basin, a New Zealand yacht we have met up with several times over the last year.

Town square in Kos

So finally on Saturday 19^th September we did the “proper” thing and cleared out of Greece, sailed the 10 miles or so across to Bodrum, parked up on the marina there and paid an exorbitant fee to enter Turkey. It is required to use an “agent” now rather than clear in yourself and the fee charged by the agent on the marina at Bodrum is outrageous at EUR197 including the transit log. The agents fee was EUR140 of this - at Datca we found the agent there charged EUR30 and at Kusadasi the marina act as agent and charged EUR50. So all I can say is if clearing in at Bodrum find an agent other than the one within the marina complex.

On the evening of Saturday 19^th “Bodrum Transfers” delivered son Jason plus Emma, along with Hugo and Sabine. The latter being our 2.5 year old grand-daughter who we had not seen for over a year. She is certainly a livewire, very inquisitive might be the polite way of expressing it, and for her age has an impressive grasp of English and can conduct very detailed discussions. As fresh northerlies were forecast for a few days we figured we may as well head south to Datca about a 30 mile sail – it was a fast sail topping out several times at over 13 knots in a heavy rolling sea from astern which is always designed to establish who the survivors are - so Sabine had her one and only chuck up (over Jason) and after that well and truly established her sealegs. An exhilarating sail for some! This time around we did manage to successfully throw an anchor in the harbour, dropped the dinghy in and explored ashore. Nice beach adjoining the town and Sabine and Hugo had plenty of swimming. We then cleared out of Datca (being Turkey) and sailed the 10 miles across to Symi which is a favourite spot – no room on the town quay so we anchored in Pethi, the next bay over the hill from the town. Spent a couple of nights here but also scored a spot on the town quay, next to Bandit as it happened, the following day to clear into Greece. The advantage of Pethi was that there was plenty of opportunity for swimming off the boat and it is a pretty nice bay.

Jason with Sabine

Sabine - she likes the water.

So from Symi it was pretty much a couple of weeks of revisiting old haunts as we beat our way northwards towards Kusadasi where Jason and family were planning to leave the boat. So a good sail back up to Kos, overnighted in the marina. Then to Vathi, the fiordlike small harbour on Kalymnos – where we met Austrian yachtsman Gunter and his delightful daughter Rebecca (hope she had a good birthday Gunter!) and from there to Pandeli on Leros where we met up with and had dinner ashore with Vera and Daniel (aka Olive Oyl and Popeye on Yotblog). Had a most enjoyable night with them ashore and always interesting to meet internet friends!

Greek fishing village - just like the brochures

Northerlies still prevalent and the next night we spent at Lakki on Leros, on the west side of the island where we had not been before. A good anchorage until the coastguard screamed at us to move the next morning – so we did so immediately! Had a solid beat to Patmos with one reef in the main and wind in the low 20’s gusting to 26/27 knots. Good powerful sail regularly clocking 8.4’s unless the helmsman missed a wave. Got onto the town quay at Patmos. The following day Pam and I hired a scooter and explored the island (and later Jason and Hugo – who couldn’t stop smiling also headed off).

Motormower style around Patmos!

Jason and Emma bussed up to the most impressive monastery we have come across to date (reported in previous blogs) and we took the opportunity to catch up on a few chores.

Hugo the water boy!!

All well on board, Sabine and Hugo are really enjoying their first sailing holiday and apart from one heavy rain squall early one morning we have had fine, and reasonably warm weather – temps in the 23 – 26 degree range I would pick. By and large plenty of wind so the diesel consumption is running at a low level. In fact in the past 5 days we have only run the engine 5 hours – genset getting some use to keep batteries charged though.

Getting several emails about slack blogging performance so will get another posting up very soon.

Cheers

Keith & Pam

Kalymnos to Kos

Posted at 8:42 PM, Jul. 6, 2009

Savarna is now perched on the hardstand at the marina in Kos where she will remain until we return in September. The process of lifting out became something of a drama as we had booked for a 1000 hrs lift out and about 15 minutes beforehand I went to the office to check that all was in order for the lift and was asked whether I had paid the tax. Despite all the paperwork the previous day the issue of tax had not been mentioned. The upshot of this was that as we were “leaving” i.e. the boat onto the hardstand, we had to pay some sort of local tax and we had no idea of how much. Further it had to be paid to the tax office and could not be handled by the Port Police office at the marina. So I spend two hours sorting this out - cycling around Kos trying to find the tax office, once found queue up at the first queue to be assessed and the second queue to actually pay – all done in quadruplicate and then back to the Port Police who want all the boat docs, insurance stuff again. When I told the woman that I had given it all to her yesterday and she had copied it she said but I need it again because this is for a different matter. The good news arising from all of this is that the tax we had to pay was only 88 cents – something is wrong with the system somewhere.

Our favourite boat

The lift was rescheduled for noon and duly happened about 1300 hrs and we sat in the sling for another hour or two before they moved us to a sealed section of the yard and propped us up so by 1500 hrs we were able to get back on board and complete the cleaning up process.

June and Tim from Perfect Lady (and Keith)

On Thursday 2 July we had a look around Kalymnos and in doing so came across a Benetau 40.7 tied up on the gullet berths that had come in right behind us the previous evening. I asked him what the depth was as it seemed ok to tie up to the quay where he was and it looked a better place than the shallow spot we had found further around the harbour. It was 4 meters as a matter of interest so this is where to head for in the harbour for sure. They were just in the process of leaving and he asked whether we were on the big boat that had come in ahead of them – when I said yes he said OK I read your blog. I suggested he put a posting here and I did not recognise the flag they were flying. So hope to hear from you guys.

Greek orthodox church priest (and Keith) taken in Kalymnos

Kalymnos Sponge Institute

Interestingly enough the process has changed in Turkey and now on arrival it is compulsory to use an agent to clear in as all the forms are now typed and entered into an on-line computer system. The transit log now only specifies the area in which the boat will be cruising – in our case we said from Cesme to Antalya which is a large area and well beyond what we were planning. After we got the transit log there was no need to call into Port Police at each port and the only time we had to effect amendments was when there was a change in the people on board at which time we had to go to an agent and add/delete crew. Checking out was EUR90 and changing the crew list was EUR50 – so not a cheap exercise but not possible to do oneself.

Final day of relaxation (and new cockpit cushions!)

With the meltemi back on the scene again it gave us a very fast ride beam reaching the 18 miles across to Kos. We were smoking, constantly boiling along at between 9 and 10 knots. A great way to finish up for a couple of months.

We bumped into a New Zealand couple that we had heard of through mutual friends but had never met in, of all places, the reception area of the marina. Richard and Phillipa on Matelot had wintered in Kos last winter and it was from reading their blog that we got the idea to do the same this coming winter. They are away until November and started in March so they are having a long season. We also bumped into Paddy a guy from Sydney whose wife turned out to be Ted Peacocke’s cousin. A small world – they had just arrived having spent 15 months sailing across from Australia.

A really small church - Xerothanos, Nisos Lipso

A few jobs to be done on the boat mostly around sails which are all off and with the sailmaker (Zlatco – 6934373545) whose loft (?) is just behind the marina. The reinforcing webbing on the clew of the jib is basically torn through and needs repairing and earlier I mentioned that a section of the mainsail leech had detached as the stitching has failed. My hand sewing and temporary taping had kept it together but that was only a short-term fix. Also some rust coming through around the keel to hull joint despite being anti-fouled only a couple of months ago so I ma having that looked at as maybe the keel bolts need a big heave to tighten – the only problem being that to do this involves taking out 10 gel batteries to get access. Anyway we will see what eventuates.

Kos is miles cheaper (like 40%) than anything at Marmaris for a 10 month contract and the payment terms are a lot better e.g. only 50% up front rather than 100%. An advantage of Kos is that it is relatively sheltered from the southerly storms that sweep up this part of the Med but on the other hand Marmaris is a huge marine area with every brand represented so when it comes to repairs, buying parts or locating tradesmen with good experience it is a lot better.

Kos harbour in the background as Pam wonders why we are leaving to go back to NZ

Well we have had a great time over the last month, had some close friends on board, met some new friends and have had superb sailing conditions largely meltemi free. Interestingly enough the temperatures have not been as high as last year and this also applies to water temperatures – this has in fact been better as the water is still warm for swimming and the nights cool enough to get a sweat free sleep by and large!

Cheers until September

Keith & Pam

Agathonisi to Kalymnos

Posted at 9:38 PM, Jul. 4, 2009

Well only a few days left on this trip and the month has flown by. At Patmos a few days back we met a neat English couple – Tim and June Perfect – who spend half the year in Cambridge and the other half in England or sailing on their centre cockpit Westerly 43 and we have been cruising with them since. Tim’s mother was a kiwi and he can boast an early relative who witnessed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Perfect Lady - "There was a painted ship upon a painted ocean...." ??

So from Agathonisi (scene of the big RIB gunboats in the last blog posting) we attempted to sail the 15 miles or so across to the town of Lipsi on the island of the same name. Continuation of the calmish, fine weather and we alternated between motoring and sailing before anchoring off Lipsi late afternoon. Went ashore for a wander around the town and to find a free wi-fi café which we did and apart from drinks they provided a power cable and various items of food to snack on which they did not charge us for. Pam had earlier spotted a restaurant promoting spaghetti lobster for a very reasonable price so the four of us dinned in style before retiring to our respective boats for the night. The following morning we called into a bakery (yes wood fired) and bought some local bread and the old Greek lady gave us some other bread also – so our memories of Lipsi are very much a nice little town and very friendly people.

Approaching the Lipsi waterfront

From Lipsi we had another quiet sail down to a bay at the top of the island of Leros for lunch, swimming and relaxation and then late afternoon a gentle sail (race) with Perfect Lady on down the eastern side of Lipsi to Pandeli which we had very much enjoyed with Nicki and Richard a week or so back. As we pulled into the bay and were preparing to go stern to into the rocks and tie off there was Ted and David off Elixir waiting in their dinghy to take our line ashore. Three boats flying the NZ flag side by side tied off right in front of the beach – a few drinks on Savarna seemed called for and then we adjourned for what I said previously was the best moussaka in the Med - the waiter (we had nicknamed him Manuel but really Nicos) recognised us and we again got a table a few feet from the waters edge. And the mousska was just as good the second time around – although the free grappa was not offered this time so maybe they did see how we disposed of it at our last visit.

Up anchor the following morning and a bit of sailing with Elixir for a photo shoot and one of the results is inserted below.

One half of the mutual admiration society.

Savarna sailing on the wind out of Pandeli (photo courtesy Elixir)

From Pandeli we sailed down to the bay at the bottom end of Leros, anchored off and visited the little old church stuck in the most impossible place as you can see.

Little churches everywhere

It was here that we split tacks with Perfect Lady stayed put while Savarna had a boisterous sail for the 15 miles or so down to Kalymnos on the island of the same name. The weather forecast finally has the meltemi lined up after several weeks absence and it was due to start blowing on the Wednesday – and they got that right. The Pilot says this is a boring dirty place but to the contrary we found it delightful – this is regarded as the sponge diving capital of the world and the sponge institute still operates today. There is a called new and long concrete jetty that has been built in the NW area of the harbour and although the power and water boxes are all quayside they are not yet connected up. We approached the whole set up very slowly as it looked pretty shallow so it was bow in to have a check – the guy with the restaurant stood by to take our lines and assured us it was 4 metres deep so we spun around to go in stern first. As we realised my worst fear (grounding the rudder which is a first time) I realised his interest probably lay in getting us to eat at his outdoor restaurant a few metres off the back of the boat. Anyway we had to pull well off and while tied off astern we needed to dinghy in a few metres. The rudder is still turning ok but when I dived I can see it has scraped the hull so I suspect it has been pushed up the stock a fraction. The set up looks good here but the ballasting extends for a way off the quay and with a 2 metre deep rudder it is a place we will not be tying up to again.

So it is now Wednesday night 30 June and we head off tomorrow to Kos, and haulout the boat Friday morning as no room in the marina. The option of leaving the boat in Kos is a financial decision as for us to book through until 30 April 2010 it is 2,000 euro’s cheaper than at Marmaris. Also there is an Australian/Greek woman (Sophie) there who is in a senior role and a good communicator so she will be most helpful.

Cheers for now

Pam & Keith

Nisos Leros to Nisos Aganthonisi

Posted at 9:52 PM, Jun. 29, 2009

Time is drifting by far to quickly as we have continued our northerly passage up through the Dodecanese group of islands which stretch over 100 miles from Rhodes (Rhodos) in the south to Agathonisi in the north which is where we are as I write this. The next island group north of here are the Sporades.

The last blog posting had us at Pandeli on Nisos Leros and from there we had a good sail just off the wind in up to 15 knots. The prevailing winds at the this time of the year are northerly quarter winds but for the last week or so the meltemi has disappeared and we have had southerly sea breezes, mostly south westerly’s, which has been great for making to the north.

From Pandeli the next port of call was Patmos. We had heard of it but that was about all so were unprepared for the sight of the enormous monastery dwarfing the port town and the chora. The monastery is more akin to a medieval castle and was clearly built to withstand assaults from marauding forces whether they be Saracen pirates or suchlike. Within the monastery there are 40 churches and the chora is a maze of small narrow streets with whitewashed houses as we saw in the Cyclades last year. The imposing St John Monastery - built to withstand attacks it seems

The monastery was built in honour of St John in 1088 (but presumably took many years of construction) as on the road up from the port town to the chora is the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse where St John saw the vision of fire and brimstone and wrote the Book of Revelation in AD95. John was exiled to the island and lived in the cave for three years. So Patmos is an island that caters for both tourists and pilgrims - we figured John must have been a pretty old guy by this time, at least in his eighties?

The monastery from the water

We had a couple of nights on the quay at Patmos and Nicki and Richard departed from here by hydrofoil back to Kos and then by ferry to Bodrum. Berthed alongside us was a Westerly 43 centre cockpit boat flying both British and NZ flags owned by Tim and June. They have strong NZ connections and live in Cambridge (the NZ one) for 6 months a year and then sail and spend time in England for the other 6 months. We have been cruising with them for the past few days and Swagman friends if you read this they live in Beaulieu (Lord Montague territory we are told) in the New Forest so cannot be far from you.

Nicki, Pam & Richard looking down to Patmos from the monastery.

From Patmos we headed roughly eastwards for Nisos Arki but found a most delightful very small island adjoining Arki called Nisis Marathos. There are three tavarna’s in the bay and laid moorings to pick up. An absolutely delightful spot, amazingly clear water and a sandy beach which is a rarity unless you happened to have Cleopatra as a lover – which would probably not be all bad news. The Pilot makes a minor mention of this island which is a shame as it was one of those 99.5% bays very worthy of a stopover and with dinner ashore even better! The Pilot talks of two taverna’s in the bay owned by the same family who were born on the island, but in fact there are three and the right hand one is the so called upmarket imposter - so in our view don’t patronise him and instead support the local family – Pirates Taverna at the left hand end. Lots of goats with bells on and wild goat stew and wild goat chops featured on the menu – the former ordered by both Pam and Tim.

From Marathos we stopped for lunch at a delightful bay, Caribbean blue water, on the bottom of Arki and then is was a slow genaker run for the 10 miles across to the top of Nisos Agathonisi and anchored off in a bay on the NE tip. This bay was notable for the strong military presence – there were two powerful RIB’s and all the soldiers were dressed in full camouflage gear and hard to spot amongst the scrubby rocky landscape. This small island has a permanent population of 120 and last year 5,000 refugees turned up via Turkey. We are now in the main port of the island and when we arrived there were 18 refugees on the jetty who were marched off in military style, two abreast, up to a building above the village where they remain at present. By the end of the day there were over 100 there and they were still there the following morning.

The soldiers head out to sea - guns in hand and on foredeck

We struck this at Symi last year and we thought as Symi was close to the coast of Turkey they must be the recipients of a lot of refugees but that does not seem to be the case and although we are close to Turkey at Nisos Agathonisi (8 miles off the coast) it does look as though many of the Greek islands have refugees as a major problem. Here at Agathonisi there are plenty of slashed inflatables and the rubbish bin was full of what looked like good life vests. At Nisis Marathos we met another kiwi boat called Agronauta and they had picked up two backpacks and some wreckage from the sea and reported into the port police at Patmos – only to be told don’t worry just refugees nothing that you can do.

All systems aok on board and weather continues to be kind to us. No sign of the meltemi again as yet!

Cheers

Keith & Pam

Sorgut (Turkey) to Nissos Leros (Greece)

Posted at 5:14 PM, Jun. 25, 2009

Now Wednesday 24 June and we are anchored off in a bay on Nisos (island) Leros a delightful (must see) spot in the Dodeconese group of islands in the eastern Agean. At the last blog posting we were still in Turkey deep in the Gulf of Gokova and I have since been corrected as it appears that it was Cleopatra who brought in the sand for a gritty romp with Marc Antony rather than, as I said, the other way around!

Sogut where we retired to after visiting the famous lovers beach was described in the Pilot as so beautiful that it is described as “honey water bay” – however in our view it did not live up to its name. We went stern to on the jetty on the southern side of the bay and as the NW was piping in we needed two bow lines to hold us off. The jetty was pretty ramshackle but at least they did have power and water. In my absence the following morning they hit Pam up for a 50 lira fee despite the fact we had dined at their restaurant – not the usual custom where berthage is provided free if one eats ashore. Our view was that it was overall a run down place and this was reinforced the following day when with the meltemi still blowing hard we motored a few miles further down the southern coast to an area called Degirmen Buku and into English harbour - we found at the northern end of a narrow bay it was possible to anchor and tie stern to on one side or anchor and stern into the jetty on the other side. This was a delightful spot, well sheltered from the Meltemi, and left Sogut for dead. At the restaurant on the jetty side (we anchored off) the locals were growing all their own produce, scything hay by hand, restaurant setting amidst spotless grounds under (unusually) numerous liquid amber trees – overall they were presenting the place exceptionally well and deserve plenty of custom from passing yachties. So a lazy afternoon swimming, reading and a few beers.

The following day it was back to Bodrum to check out of Turkey - a 32 mile passage but as the wind got up and on the nose it turned into a 47 mile beat in up to 30 knots. Good sailing and as the sea state flattened with increasing wind so it was 8.3 knots upwind with one reef and a full jib. Pulled into Bodrum and anchored off in the bay around from the castle where we figured it may be a bit quieter (and it was). Had to move into rescue mode and a hail for help from a nearby gullet when we heard a fisherman crying for help a few hundred metres away as he had capsized his dinghy. He was duly rescued and returned to his fishing boat anchored off our bow. He went and retrieved his dinghy and outboard but we are not to sure about his net and other gear – his outboard may struggle in future.

The local fishman

The following morning (Saturday 20^th) we relocated and anchored off under the castle again and went ashore to go through the clearing out of Turkey process (2 hours with an agent) and use the wi-fi hotspot in the café at the entrance to the marina. Motoring back to Savarna we found Elixir anchored off our stern so there were two black silver ferns flying off Bodrum castle that morning. Had a brief chat with Ted and Jenny and their friends on board and expect them to catch us up in a few days time.

From here we departed Turkey and had a good sail, on the wind, across to Kos on the island of the same name that we visited last year. This time we anchored in the town basin – Pam and I did the clearing in thing and for once knew the process and where to go to visit the various officials (immigration/passport control, customs and then finally the Port Police). The basin was noisy, dirty and with plenty of wake as local gulets and fishing boats seem to delight in leaving at all hours of the night and they only know one speed! We attended to a few minor maintenance issues and then headed off in the early afternoon for Nisos Kalymos (to the NE of Kos) and in particular the bay called Vathi on the eastern side of the island, which is also a must see place. Had a good sail to weather and then as the wind veered it was eased sheets right to the entrance – which is a narrow gorge like entrance with room at the top for about 6 boats and fortunately we scored the last spot which was stern to at the end of the concrete jetty, with a designated swimming area adjoining the jetty.

Savarna at the jetty in Vathi, Nissos Kalymos

Vathi was a lovely place and the narrow entrance ultimately opened out to a wide valley rising behind the small harbour, with three villages, and well cultivated with all sorts of vegetables and fruit. Bougainvilleas and oleander trees are flowering and in abundance everywhere in these islands and they make for a colourful spectacle.

Pam relaxing on the forshore at "our" restaurant at Pandeli,

Tuesday 23 June saw us heading off to Pandeli on the island of Leros which was recommended to us by a French banker who was tied up on the jetty at Vathi. Light winds so a motorsailing day with a lunchtime stop at a deep bay at the southern end of Leros called Xirokampos – sheltered but no great shakes. We went on to Pandeli which proved to be an absolutely delightful spot and a must see village. A castle (Castello) atops the hill that dominates the village and we walked the 15 minutes up to the main town that looks down onto either side of the bay.

Pendeli with the castle above

The bay we were in had restaurant tables on the beach and it was there we partook of dinner (the best moussaka so far in Greece), beers and wine while tossing the gratis grappa surreptitiously onto the beach! Flat calm evening and a good sleep had by all after the evening medication of ouzo. This restaurant has a very Greek name but looking towards the shore it is immediately to the left of the restaurant named Zobra's - the waiter is clearly related to Manuel from Faulty Towers and told us he had owrked at the local mental hospital as his day job for 29 years!!

Street scene in Pandeli

Weather remains warm but the temps have dropped back into the 20’s from the mid 30’s we had a week back. For the kiwi’s reading this – cloudless skies, moderate winds, warm water for swimming and long days of sunshine.

Cheers for know

Keith & Pam

Bozburum to Sorgut

Posted at 9:47 AM, Jun. 19, 2009

We are still sailing off the Turkey coast and currently in the Gulf of Gokova that has Bodrum at its NW end. This part of Turkey is comprised of three Hauraki Gulfs each adjoining the other and running more or less on an east west axis. That all adds up to a lot of coastline - it is mountainous, largely covered in pine trees and heavily indented with many bays, villages and some modest hotel development. Bozburum which is where we were at the last blog posting was in the Gulf of Hisaronu (meaning the gulf of fortresses).

Typıcal Turkısh gulet motors by

From Bozburum, which is a lovely area and well worth visiting, we headed to the eastern end of the gulf to Marti Marina, thinking that maybe we could winter over here. The marina is located in a stunning area, in an enclosed sheltered bay surrounded also by pine forest. Unfortunately they have increased the prices dramatically (EUR91 a night) and this seems to reflect a pattern where prices are quoted in euro’s (despite a 20% depreciation in the lira against the euro) and 15 to 30% price increases have been effected. The net result of all this is that Greece looks to be a far cheaper option for wintering over and I would not be surprised to see a movement of boats away from Turkey. The view that they are pricing themselves out of the market is expressed by many we meet.

So from Marti marina we had a good sail on the wind that strengthened as we sailed the 35 miles out of the gulf. As we were approaching the Greek island of Symi, that guards the entrance to the gulf, and with the wind strength in the high 20’s we decided to bear away and head into Symi. However as we approached the entrance we chickened out as we had not cleared out of Turkey and with stories of large fines ringing in our ears we decided to revert to our original plan and went on to Datca, We anchored off a small jetty off the beach as the town basin was full and with plenty of wind the anchoring room in the enclosed bay was also all taken. Bit of rocking and rolling on the anchor for a few hours until finally the wind died away. We motored into the bay the following morning thinking we would go ashore for a look around only to find that all berths were still occupied so no space equated to our departure.

The next “port” of call was Knidos located right on the eastern tip of the Dorian Promontory described as a must see despite the enclosed anchorage being described as poor. It was one of the six cities of the Dorian Confederacy dating back to the 4^th century BC and seem famous for two reasons. Firstly it was the home of the scientist Eudoxos regarded as one of the founding fathers of Greek geometry – he was a mathematician and an astronomer. Also it was the site of the statue of Aphrodite the first statue of a naked female – prior to this it was only men who were revealed.

Approach to Knıdos ruıns of amphıtheatre ın background

Now is the time that I must confess to an exaggeration – the 120 ft superyacht referred to in the last blog posting arrived in the bay shortly after us and this has now turned itself into an 80ft Oyster. Still very impressive – they motored alongside us and asked if we were the yacht they had seen out of Marmaris a few days earlier. The upshot is that the their yacht “Free Spirit“ is owned by Michael and Susie out of Sydney and we joined them for drinks later that evening. It is a beautiful boat and it transpired Michael and I have a number of mutual friends in Sydney at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club where he is a member and I raced out of for a year when I lived in Sydney. He had noticed that we hooked into a big lift a few days earlier!!

The wind blew harder during the evening and our anchor let go at around 2100 hrs, re-anchored and then on anchor watch until 0300 hrs when it let go again so it was up anchor and motor sailed across to Bodrum about 25 miles to the north where we dropped anchor right under Bodrum castle at 0730hrs.

Savarna at anchor under Bodrum castle

Nicki and Richard arrived in from Auckland late morning – we had a bit of an explore around the town. Remained at anchor under the castle over night and enjoyed the thumping music from several nearby dance clubs one of which reputedly produces the loudest music of any nightclub in Europe – some gentle music to help us sleep after being up most of the previous night was just the doctor ordered. Sure!!

Pam reclınıng ın the Bodrum marına brand name shoppıng mall

The following day we headed eastwards up into the Gulf of Gokova, anchored in a delightful nook of a bay for lunch and a swim and then sailed further along the northern side of the gulf to a place called Cokertme. We anchored off in the bay across from the few restaurants and tied a line ashore Turkish style. The following morning we went across to the village and found it to be a delightful spot – very friendly people, women making carpets under a tent just off the beach, some interesting restaurants with the cushions etc and a few charter yachts tied up to the jetty.

It is now Thursday 18^th June and we motor sailed a further 20 odd miles up into the gulf our destination being Castle Island the site of a former “city” back in 129 BC. As far as I can see it is famous primarily because of Cleopatra’s beach. Cleopatra is reputed to have lived on the island at one stage and Marc Antony brought in several galley loads of sand from North Africa to create the beach. It is the most beautiful cove and the sand is great – the beach is roped off so entry is via two points straight into the water, manned by an armed guard, and on exiting it is necessary to shower so that any sand on ones body is not lost. Some good ruins to explore on the island also.

The beach where Cleopatra sunbathed wıth her lover Marc Antony

From here we motored for about 4 miles to Sogut for the night and went stern to on the restaurant and had a good meal ashore. They brought us a menu but the only item available was chicken – but it was a nice spiced up flavour and cooked from scratch so it took a few beers and a BYO wine to pass the time!

Everything well on board. No major problems – watermaker performing, tore the leech of the main by hand while I was flaking it (have effected a temporary repair) and a little concerned at the state of the stitching so will take it off when we leave and get a sailmaker to check it over. Plenty of swimming – water temp around 24 and daytime highs in the mid 30’s.

Cheers

Keith

Marmaris to Bozburum

Posted at 7:05 PM, Jun. 13, 2009

It is now Friday 12 June and we are anchored off the small town of Bozburum with quite a number of other yachts – after again just another cloudless day, light winds and around 30 degrees. It is now Friday 12 June and we are anchored off the small town of Bozburum with quite a number of other yachts – after again just another cloudless day, light winds and around 30 degrees.

We arrived at the Netsel marina in Marmaris last Saturday night and found the boat in great shape. Freshly antifouled, hull polished, stainless and teak deck cleaned. Down below they had gone through the whole boat, washed all cutlery, cleaned inside and out of all drawers etc. Other than the antifouling all the other work was part of the guardianage service provided by Phoenix Yachting who have been looking after the boat in our absence.

Got a most interesting haircut in Marmaris for very little money with the interesting part being the blowtorch to the ears to presumably burn out those hairs that seem to arrive in odd places as one gets older. This treatment was followed immediately by the application of a soothing salve to both ears and it was needed.

Nevertheless there always seems to be more jobs to do, provisioning takes the best part of a day and cycling around Marmaris on our bikes is always a pleasure. So by Tuesday and as our marina contract had expired and we were onto a daily rate, which in our case was EUR63 a day, so we left wnad went across to Yacht Marine 2.5 miles away on the other side of the bay. We met up there with Ted and Jenny from Mt Maunganui, on their yacht Elixir, who we have been corresponding with for a year or more. Ted is a fellow yot blogger. Unfortunately they had fallen victims to a stomach bug so other than a few brief chats we deferred the drinks until we expect to meet up again when our paths should cross somewhere in the Greek islands.

The set up at Yacht Marine is good with a huge haulout yard and all the marine services around the perimeter. The upshot being that I was able to get a boat builder for an hour or so to cut through some timber work in a cupboard under the sink and also drill a hole in the corian benchtop so I could install a foot pump to feed a salt water tap at the sink. Unfortunately once that was done the chandlery did not have the correct size of reinforced hosing so the pump remains disconnected at this stage. The good news is that friends from Auckland are joining us in Bodrum next Tuesday and a quick text got the hosing order in train – so hopefully the installation is now only a few days away. This should reduce our fresh water usage considerably.

After a couple of nights at EUR30 at Yacht Marine we headed off into a 10 knot NW - thinking this was a nice gentle breeze to get all the sails up and ensure that everything in the horsepower department was in order. By the time we had got into open waters off Marmaris the wind went to the SW and was up around 16 knots making for a good sail, albeit on the wind. By the time we were a few miles offshore with the wind gusting to the low 20’s I figured there must be a lift off the peninsular inshore so we tacked back and crossed paths, about 30 metres apart, with a 120 ft Australian superyacht trucking along in great style. As we continued on for several miles, by which time we had tacked back onto starboard and hooked into a 40-degree lift I could see the Australian yacht headed into oblivion on a huge knock and commented to Pam that if they tacked back now we would be in front of them. Anyway the wind strength climbed into the late 20’s with the occasional 30 knots and with one reef in and half the jib rolled away, and with the wind still on the nose, we finally ended up at our destination – namely a bay called Serce that was not unlike entering Fitzroy harbour at Great Barrier island and picked up a mooring for the night. The big news was though that shortly after we arrived the Australian yacht arrived and after they had anchored I noticed they cruised past our stern in their dinghy and I was sure they were checking to see whether it was the same boat they had crossed tacks with a few hours earlier. The broken gear count was not too bad with one batten broken and one batten pocket split apart. Fortunately I carry spares and a repair job was completed this morning and the remaining batten cars checked over so I do not expect a recurrence. The result of a pretty solid first day under way, 35 miles covered, and a great way to check all sail handling systems – bit tough on the body given the fact of a surgeons scalpel in my stomach 3 weeks back

At each end of the bay there is a restaurant and one restaurateur came out to see us and commented that business was very slow this year so it will be interesting to see the extent to which the lure of great weather has been impacted by the R word. One if the locals came by and persuaded Pam to buy a nice piece of something that could be a sarong or a tablecloth of maybe it is both?? She also bought a nice piece of local ceramic that we will be able to store in a locker somewhere and throw away in a year or two!

Bozburum waterfront scene dominated by the mosque

Today we had a mixed bag of light wind sailing and motoring, managing to clock up 17 miles before stopping for lunch, a swim and a read before continuing on to Bozburum where the claim to fame is that is the this is the location of the gullet building business in Turkey. They must have some great boat builders experienced in wooden boat building. Bozburum is a place well worth visiting and we will have to get back there

Had a great dinner ashore and again evidence of much reduced tourism with the restaurants all virtually empty. At a local restaurant recommended in the pilto had at YTL18.50 (against the kiwi the Turkish lira is about 1 for 1) a three course meal finished with a Turkish coffee or a raki. Definitely chose the raki!!

Cheers for now

Keith

New Zealand cruising

Posted at 4:41 PM, Apr. 28, 2009

Current plans have us back on Savarna in Marmaris late May for a one month cruise. She is presently on the hard having just been antifouled, replaced the cutlass bearing, serviced the motor (and looks like injector replacements required which I had foreseen). Basically just a whole lot of maintenance that costs a lot more now than it used to given the current EUR exchange rate to the NZD. Funny how everything to do with boats in Turkey is quoted in euro’s and yet the exchange rate between the kiwi dollar and the lira hasn’t moved a whole lot.

We were delighted to accept an invitation to join Andrea and Gabriella on board their Hanse 531 Pointzero in the Bay of Islands for an Easter cruise before they head into the South Pacific for the southern hemisphere winter. They arrived in New Zealand last November having spent two years sailing to New Zealand from Italy. Weather was great, as was the company, and it was a nice touch to spend some time with them before we reunite with Savarna in a few weeks

Pointzero at anchor - Te Uenga Bay, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

In an earlier blog last year I reported that we had visited the Greek island of Spetsai which is reportedly where Leonard Cohen lives. I also commented that I was not a great fan. So when one googles “Leonard Cohen Spetsai” it comes up on the first page with a reference to this site. I have decided that this is a grave error on my part as he has recently been in New Zealand, had brilliant reviews and performed the concert available on the DVD - Leonard Cohen Live In London. So I have just moved my status from not a great fan to a big fan – an incredible concert and if I am still sailing at 74 as well as he is performing on his world tour I will be very happy indeed.

Bay of Islands, New Zealand, Easter 2009

Cheers

Keith

The cruising ends for 2008.

Posted at 8:17 AM, Oct. 30, 2008

Cruising season is over and Savarna is now bedded down on the Phoenix Yachting pontoon at the Netsel Marina in Marmaris. We have had a great year sailing from Croatia, via Albania, the Ionian, through the Cyclades islands and across to Turkey. The final few days of the season were characterised by a fantastic final sail back up to Marmaris accompanied by a heavy social schedule. The night at the My Marina pontoon at Ekinic was memorable by virtue of an excellent but expensive meal in the beautiful surroundings of the restaurant followed by the collapse of the passerelle as I boarded Klaus and Renata�s boat for after dinner drinks. Fortunately the water temperatures still make late night swimming acceptable even with jeans and shoes on! One of the people on Klaus' boat was a scientist who worked for the European space agency that has recently launched the final two sections added to the space station.

Clay pot in the background about to be broken open

The following day we had a great final sail up to Marmaris, on the wind in 16 to 22 knots, flat water, full main flat, full jib and trucking along at 7.8 to 8.4 knots, sunny and warm , just the best way to finish off the season and a few other yachts to race (and pass) on the way. Pulled into the marina and pretty much straight away into a taxi to get across to Yot Marin on the other side of the bay to catch up with Ross and Jo (off Sojourn) plus Brenda and David (off Bandit) for a good kiwi dinner aboard Sojourn. Ross produced his guitar and what a singer, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffet watch out. He is fantastic and when people on nearby boats start clapping that confirms my view. A great night!

Ross hits the straps on the guitar

The following couple of days were spent winterising the boat, getting off sails, halyards, bimini etc, organising various maintenance jobs with Bobo from Phoenix Yachting, polishing the hull (I think Bobo thought I was mad) and cleaning the stainless. We caught up with the Gulet owning Scotsman (George) for a late dinner on board Savarna and also a final dinner at one of the marina restaurants called Pineapples (doesn't seem like a typical Turkish name?).

George signs off in the visitors book

While at the marina we found that Phoenix Yachting were co-sponsoring (with Volvo) a regatta for a bunch of Russian sailors as a fund raising exercise for the Russian Round the World entry. The arrival back onto the marina was notable for the number of nubile Russian girls in G-strings, quite clearly they were chosen for their winching capabilities.

Swimming off the blunt end - a slow sail

Living in New Zealand we are used to having to travel long distances to get pretty much anywhere but at one stage when we met some guys off a Hanse 531 from Israel we realised that we were only 280 miles from Haifa, only 30 or 40 hours sailing time.

Images of Turkey, east meets west - a few miles inland and one senses that culturally they are well away from joining the EU, friendly people, mountainous rugged coast, thousands of gulets, Turkish delight, a net exporter of food, very concerned to preserve sea water quality, no paper down toilets, no pork, great sailing conditions, great weather, a long sailing season and no shortage of carpets or lamps.

Next years cruising as yet not finalised. We were too late to enter the 2009 East Med Rally so have entered for 2010 (entry number 26 so it is pretty popular). Current thinking for 2009 is to head northwards to Istanbul and into the Black Sea and then return via various Greek Islands to somewhere near Marmaris so we can then join the Rally in May 2010.

Cheers

Keith

Kalkan to Fethiye to Ekincik

Posted at 6:04 PM, Oct. 18, 2008

We are now entering the final week of our autumn cruise and I have to say that this is a great time of the year for sailing in Turkey. The weather is excellent, water still good for swimming, not so many tourists around (both on and off the water), the meltemi season is over so we mostly get what seem to be afternoon sea breezes generally up to 15 knots and only a couple of nights of rain. So all good and quite a significant contrast to what we experienced this time last year in Croatia. I would have to think it is the best place in the Med for late season sailing. It does though sound like the lights go out come 31 October when many shops and restaurants close for the winter.

Getting into local customs

From Kalkan we then planned to sail 40 miles up to Fethiye, in the gulf of Skopea Limani, which has Gocek at its head. Started off at around 0730 hrs with 20 knots on the beam as a frontal system went across a few miles ahead, great sailing around 9 knots of boat speed and I was visualizing an afternoon exploring Fethiye. However all good things seem to inevitably end and after the front (quite cool) went through the sun blazed away and the wind disappeared. So on with the iron sail for some hours until we got into Skopea Limani when an afternoon sea breeze kicked in so we had a gentle on the wind sail, on autopilot while we had a late lunch, up to Fethiye. We had thought that Fethiye was a small town and that the main town in this area was Gocek, we had obviously misread the pilot as Fethiye turned out to be considerably larger than Gocek, sits in a beautify bay, not exclusively turned over to tourism, and with a magnificent marina with magnificent prices to go with the facilities. So late afternoon Saturday the 11^th we pulled into the marina in a fresh cross wind, and trying to avoid hitting boats on either side of us, and having completed that exercise to be greeted by well done kiwi and found we were next to a boat from Whangarei.

Fethiye is just delightful and I would certainly think about leaving the boat here over a winter, the main disadvantage that they do not have any haulout facilities from what we could see. Walking around the old town that evening Pam got talking to an English woman sitting on her own at a restaurant on the street anyway it transpired that she had lived there for 5 years working in the travel industry. She recommended that we get a rental car and explore inland and then spent the next 30 minutes writing down an itinerary for us. So on Sunday we duly did as advised and drove inland to the ancient city of Tlos, dating back to 400 BC and high in the mountains. As was the custom of the time there are many tombs caved into the hills under the city, which we were able to explore.

Tombs at Tlos

I am coming to the conclusion that ruins are a bit like cathedrals, you can only see so many and then the enthusiasm wanes. At this stage we were very close to one of the ski resorts and it is clear where the tree line stops and above that no vegetation all all.

Tea gardens near the gorge

From here we drove along the foot of the mountains to a gorge with sheer rock walls up to 1,000 feet, accessed by walking along a footpath cantilevered over the river, and then on foot for a further 2 k's up to a waterfall. Pretty impressive place.

Looking up the gorge

We had lunch at a nearby outdoor family restaurant on the side of the road. The daughter called the mother who arrived with filthy hands and then a menu emerged. A while later the daughter arrives with a load of wood and they fire up the outdoor BBQ and the oven over which they bake pancakes after first rolling out the dough etc. We were a little concerned about the whole process anyway two hours later and having been supplied with all sorts of food we had not ordered we went away saying this was the best meal we had had so far.

Preparing lunch

After this is was back down towards the coast to visit yet another set of ruins at another city (they are all ancient) called Xanthos. The amphitheatre was particularly impressive. Back up to Fethiye and the boat and then a final night dinner at a local restaurant with Alice and Volker. The following day we delivered them to Dalaman airport where they caught a flight back to Leipzig.

Back to just Pam and I on the boat so we vacated the marina, anchored off and then found a local haman (read Turkish bathhouse) to go to. Neither of us was to sure just what to expect - an hour or two later we were certainly very clean having been washed in huge volumes of water, massaged, pedicured and on the receiving end of various alternating doses of hot, cold or warm water. We are still trying to work out whether we liked it and whether we will visit again?

So Tuesday we headed off on a 35 mile sail up to Ekinic that had been our first port of call after leaving Marmaris. It was a motor sailing day and then we tied up at My Marina with the intention of having dinner at what is a restaurant in a beautiful setting above the marina. The latter consisting of a few good and well constructed pontoons which are free if staying for dinner. The big surprise was that we found Klaus and Renata there who we had not expected to see again. Anyway that will be another story.

Cheers for now

Keith

Kastellorizon to Finike to Kalkan

Posted at 8:13 AM, Oct. 12, 2008

Well another week has gone by and blogging has been relegated in favour of sailing and exploring - where does the time go? It has not gone on haircuts - on a per capita basis there must be more barbers in Turkey than anywhere else we have visited! According to the signs you get the works - hair, nose, eyebrows, massage etc.

Having spent a couple of very enjoyable days on the Greek island of Kastellorizon we then headed further east for 15 miles or so with a slow beat to windward in light airs to the area known as Kekova Roads. Some guy in a Bavaria 44 motored up to literally 3 or 4 metres off our windward quarter (no acknowledgment of our presence) unfurles his headsail and then set about racing us � given that it was only 5-7 knots of wind, which is hardly a good wind strength for us, and by then we were broad reaching, he managed to get a couple of boat lengths on us over about 3 miles, with a lot of trimming going on by him with what looked like a 150% overlapping headsail. As we turned to go through the passage into Kekova Roads our big mainsail came into its own, as he mostly lost the draw of his headsail, and we dropped him quickly. I think he became an unhappy Frenchman!

Kekova Roads is an area about 6-7 miles long behind the island of Kekova and then with an inner harbour where the small village of Ucagiz is located. This area is pretty interesting and we spent three days here. On the eastern side of the entrance into the inner harbour there is a splendid castle above another small �hamlet� called Kale Koy. See the photo below - we anchored off inside the harbour and walked up to the castle.

Kale Koy with the imposing castle above

Opposite Kale Koy is the ancient city of Simena which was destroyed in an earthquake in the second century AD so much of the remains are 6.5 metres underwater along the foreshore of the island of Kekova and still visible above the waterline also. The Lonely Planet guide says you can swim over the ruins and there are signs ashore that prohibit the use of any equipment? The gullets are pretty much continuously running along the foreshore showing tourists the sights so we dropped Alice and Volker into the water with snorkel, flippers and googles only to get blasted over a loud speaker system from a passing gullet a short time later - at least the Coastguard with their forward machine guns prominently displayed didn't appear over the horizon.

In front of Ucagiz there are three restaurant ramshackle quays for tying up to. The displayed depth is 4 metres and we attempted an entry in a cross wind of about 20 knots. As we ground to a halt in good sticky mud the restaurant guys were still telling me there is 4 metres depth and the best reply I could conjure up is if that is the case why aren't we blowing onto your quay. For any potential visitors I can tell you the depth is at best 2.4 metres.

Pam has been conducting considerable research into Turkish rugs - all world famous and with many different characteristics. Mostly hand made in the inland villages of Turkey - also some great silk carpets as well as woollen carpets all with a range of traditional and less traditional patterns. Then to the colouring process where the range is from natural colours which translate to more expensive carpets as compared with chemical dyes. The upshot of this research is that Pam reckons the carpets at Ucagiz are the cheapest she has seen maybe the end of season deals , who knows? Unfortunately there are no ATM's in Ucagiz and cash is the deal so no purchases were made! Since been rectified at Kas though - see below!

Decision time at Kas

We had a fair bit of wind while at Kekova Roads and spent two nights at anchor, with anchor buddy down, in the inner harbour, while the wind progressively built to 30 knots from the SW to W during the afternoon only to die down shortly after dark to calm still nights. There are a lot of turtles around and we have seen them in the sea and also on land - in one case in an amorous position!

From Kekova we motored another 14 miles eastwards to the country town of Fenike and stayed in the marina their. A pretty uninspiring unattractive town but it gave us a look at a centre that certainly was not tourist orientated. In talking to others on the marina and elsewhere no-one was talking up the further eastwards passage onto Anatalya so we gave that idea away and the next day had a slow sail back to Kekova Roads. This area has many indented bays and coves and given the wind we had earlier in the week we were pretty much confined to anchoring in the inner harbour so this time we got to anchor among a delightful series of coves called Gokkaya Limani. At the head of the cove where we anchored there was a cold water spring that discharged at quite a rate into the cove so when swimming there were patches of quite cold fresh water sitting on top of the seawater.

The lures have done many miles but not a fish to be found as yet. Volker was getting desperate so last night being the occasion of his 25^th birthday we cooked fresh (bought) fish on the BBQ, celebrated with a good bottle of French champagne and Pam baked him a chocolate birthday cake (complete with candles) while Alice lured him off the boat for a couple of hours to watch the sunset!

From Kekova Roads we continued our now westerly route to Kas which is the town on the Turkish mainland that looks across to Kastellorizon. Got into the town basin shaped a bit like that at Kalkan with plenty of potential for crossed anchors. We hovered about looking for someone in authority to tell us where to tie up and in the end Ismail who owns Smiley's Restaurant at the end of the quay area came along, very friendly, new plenty of Maori words and took our lines. Two issues here - it is very much first come first served and the harbourmaster simply sits and drinks tea and ignores everyone as Ismail said all he wants is the money not interested in looking at papers. The second point is that there is a chain along the seabed in the middle of the harbour that the tailed lines are run from (that is those that are still there) so if anchoring it is important not to drop to far out as otherwise a EUR100 bill for a diver. For some inexplicable this is not mentioned in the pilot. The next morning we found that Ismail had thrown a couple of loaves of fresh bread into the cockpit for us.

Kas is also a big dive centre as nearby there is a bronze age wreck that was only discovered about 12 years ago with all types of merchandise on board, from a wide variety or places, that belies more recent views on when capitalism really began not to mention the new capitalism (or is it really the new social order with Government agencies buying financial assets?) that I read is emerging with major world powers negotiating bail-outs all over the place. We found Kas to be a pretty good place - carpets now adorn various parts of Savarna, drank some red wine with our German neighbours on the quay until the early hours (thanks Renate and Klaus and hope to see you next year), a gullet departure at 0400 hrs with his anchor under us to get sorted and then the great Friday market when the locals for miles around roll up with everything you can think of and really cheap, fresh produce. Tasting Turkish Delight so frequently that we are experts now! Also a huge array of spices displayed in open baskets.

Spices on display at Kas market

Also plenty of designer clothing, signs proclaiming genuine copy watches etc etc. Plenty of property development going on here and it seems a subdivision is simply a matter of blasting a large quantity of rock out of the hillside and creating building platforms. We did note that as in Kalkan many of the house prices are quoted in pounds. The whole coastline where we have been sailing is very mountainous and barren. It seems very ironic that the peoples of the east crave to get into the EU and the UK to seek a better lifestyle whereas the Poms all want to buy property in warmer climes.

And finally for Shell - atop castle at Kale Koy

(Volker making his yotblog debut!)

So today (Friday 9^th) we left Kas this afternoon in a 15-18 knot SW and had a good beat up to a bay opposite to Kalkan where we are now at anchor with three other boats looking across the bay at the lights of Kalkan.

Cheers

Keith

Gocek to Kastellorizon

Posted at 6:56 PM, Oct. 4, 2008

Over the last week since the last blog posting we have discovered a couple of real gems. The first was the town of Kalkan and the second the island called Kastellorizon, located only 2k's off the Turkish coast, but which as a result of geopolitics is a relatively far flung part of Greece. In fact probably the most easterly part of Greece.

After our night in Pilloried Cove in the gulf called Skopea Limani we motored 7 miles the following morning up to the town of Gocek passing numerous islands with dozens of coves and bays. We had thought Marmaris was a busy place with gullets and boating activity everywhere but with three marinas at Gocek, with a backdrop of pine trees once again we found this place really hums from a boating perspective. From what we have seen of this area and within 30/40 miles down the coast this would have to be a place for chartering that would easily rival the Ionian and Croatia. We got a short term berth at the Camper & Nicholsons run marina at Gocek while we dropped off the outboard motor to their service department to get the carburettor cleaned as my efforts were unsuccessful. I was surprised that after 2 months the petrol (with no oil) had still gone bad and can only presume it is as a consequence of very hot weather. Very helpful guys but the repair extended us past the time for a short term stay at the marina so it became an overnight job which gave us the opportunity to get on the bikes and explore the town. We thought it was a great spot although the marina, with fabulous facilities, was at the top end of the price range at EUR87 a night!

From Gocek we had a quiet sail for about 20 miles, still proceeding eastwards, to our next planned stop which was at the island of Gemiler Adasi. The island is well sheltered and it is possible to anchor and tie off in the narrow (200 metres) channel between the island and the mainland. Very commercial place as within minutes we had a guy in a boat offering to take our line ashore, another guy selling icecream, another selling fruit and vegetables and yet another who was making hot pancakes and selling them. The island is famous because it has significant ruins, which we explored, and also because St Nicolas reputedly lived here and he is known as Santa Claus.

Couldn't resist - banana pancakes for breakfast

Nearby at Olu Deniz is the famous blue lagoon and we motored across to the entrance and rafted up to tourist boat (for 20 lire) as it was to deep to anchor and also blowing right into the anchorage. We dinghied ashore only to be charged to enter the national park, and found hundreds of people crowded onto the foreshore all sitting on plastic chairs with signs saying you are not allowed to sit on the sand between the deck chairs. The lagoon was lovely with dozens of hang-gliders launching off the 1900 ft peak behind. We retreated back to our previous nights anchorage off Gemiler Island.

The beach at the entrance to the Blue Lagoon

The following day we had a rip roaring sail eastwards along the coast to Kalkan. With 25 to 30 knots from astern we were topping out at 12 knots and averaged 10 knots for the 35 mile passage. We got into Kalkan late afternoon and got the last berth. The harbour is small, but with good depths, and being long and narrow with boats on each side the mooring proposition involves dropping an anchor near the over side and then astern into the wall and tying up stern to. Shortly after we arrived various of the gullets went to leave, more boats were coming in and the entrance is only one boat at a time so we enjoyed the huge entertainment which could only be described as a circus while people tried to retrieve anchors, in some cases pulling up two anchors as well as their own. It was a delightful shambles - the harbourmaster is the ringmaster yelling instructions from the sideline while more boats continue to arrive, he calls out there is no room but they ignore that and keep on coming.

Kalkan the town is a delightful spot built on the side of a hill with buildings covered in bougainvillea still flowering, plenty of restaurants and bars around the harbour but all in all a great atmosphere. As you walk up the hill and around the streets there is a lot to discover. We had dinner at a local restaurant, sitting on a rooftop surrounded by the plushness of carpets, huge cushions and wild colours while sitting on the floor for dinner. Afterwards we went downstairs to have a raki and watch and listen to Turkish music and dancing. Good night and a lot of fun.

Dinner at Kalkan - the honeymoon suite!

The following day David and Brenda on the Picton yacht Bandit a Moody 46 arrived. We had last met them at Naxos a couple of months earlier and had exchanged a few emails in the interim. Brenda is a journalist and has written an article on Kiwis cruising in the Med which will be published in the December issue of Boating NZ. Good to catch up with them again and as we had relocated in the harbour we were side by side and enjoyed an excellent dinner on board with Pam and Brenda cooking. And if you read this Jo we have found your twin the likeness and mannerisms are amazing!

So after a couple of nights in Kalkan we motored 12 miles further eastwards to the Greek island of Kastellorizon. It seems the deal is that you turn up in the harbour with a Greek flag up and the harbourmaster and police ignore you. Yet the small tourist boats the bring visitors over from Kas (pronounced Cash) 2 k's away in Turkey have to go through the whole customs clearance process. The harbour is deep but with the rock ballasting along the harbour walls it was to shallow for us to go stern to so we anchored about 100 metres off only to be told we had to move because the big ferry was coming. We ended up motoring around while the big ferry from Rhodes, 70 miles west, arrived and disgourged people and vehicles, and then re-anchored as the next ferry was not due for several days.

Looking down onto harbour at Kastellorizo -Savarna at anchor

The bay is very attractive and the place is staunchly Greek - water is brought in by boat, supplies come in from Rhodes and the island has a small airport with flight from Rhodes also. Apparently the Turks offered to lay a waterpipe across to the island but the Greeks refused. The population is 250 and the deal is that if it drops to below 85 the island reverts to Turkey - but you can see that is never going to happen.

Pam survives walk to the hill overlooking the bay - Savarna at anchor

We were told that many of the islanders (population used to be 20,000) left in the 1920's and went to Australia - one of the names that mentioned was Khalis who are big into fishing and pearls out of Perth. So what is happening now is that couple of generations later the grandchildren are coming back to the island and restoring the old family homes that in the meantime have just about fallen down. So on some houses there are signs saying restored by such and such a family from Melbourne or Sydney. Consequently house prices are pretty high now. We tried to get some more petrol for the outboard but were told the island had run out of petrol!

The inner harbour at Kastellorizon

While at Kastellorizon I txted Ross and Jo Blackman kiwis who we had met in the Ionian as we knew they were in this part of the world. Anyway within minutes got a txt back and found they were a couple of hundred metres away in Mandraki Bay on the other side of the town. So good to catch up with them again and have a few beers!

Alice and Volker went snorkeling and found themselves swimming with two large turtles and Alice touched one which she describes as the highlight to date and we also had one swimming near the boat in the harbour at Kastellorizon.

Weather remains settled, winds from all over the place but nothing more than 15 knts and basically clear sunny days with warm water still for swimming.

Cheers

Keith

For Shell

Posted at 6:02 PM, Sep. 26, 2008

We are finally under way proper with the final cruise for the 2008 season that encompasses a planned cruise eastwards from Marmaris along what is referred to as the Lycian Coast. This coast is very mountainous I read with peaks up to 11,000 ft and with good ski fields nearby. It gets close to the border with Syria so the statements that Turkey is the bridge between east and west is very true.

It is Friday night 26^th September and we are anchored in Pilloried Cove which is in the SW corner of the bay Sarsala Koyu in the Gulf called Skopea Limani. A beautiful spot with pine trees down to the waters edge as shown in the photo below taken a couple of hours ago.

Tied up to a tree - Pilloried Cove

The town of Gocek is at the head of the gulf and on the eastern side the town of Fethiye. Both of these places are charter boat bases and there are still plenty of boats around including numerous gulet�s which is the Turkish equivalent of the a cruise ship - maybe I am being kind to the gulet's.

We had an uneventful flight over from NZ with a very expensive overnight stop in Dubai - not so much the hotel room but Pam's visit to the gold souk!! Got into Dalaman on Sunday evening21st September and met by a driver courtesy of Basil. Thanks for the tip Ted he has been very helpful. Basil came down close to midnight to meet us at the marina, gave me his card and said anything you need or want please call me 24/7 - he said I do this out of friendship not to make money from you. When the best deal you can get on a taxi fare is 400 lira negotiated down to 200 lira and Basil says straight up 110 lire you get a sense he is being very fair.

Alice and Volker arrived the following morning by ferry from nearby Rhodes in Greece and we spent the day provisioning, paying various tradesmen for work done while we were away and checking over all systems on board. Headed off on Tuesday morning for the town of Ekincik at the head of the bay Kocegiz Limani. Had a pleasant sail reaching in 10/12 knots of wind for the 20 mile passage and anchored in a bay just around from the town. The anchoring deal in Turkey is very much anchor and then stern in to shore and tie off to a tree or rock. Fortunately the water temperature is still 26 degrees which is also about the midday temperature as well. So often when swimming the water is warmer than the air temperature and we generally swim the line ashore.

Tombs in the cliff at Dalyan

The following day we negotiated a deal with one of the town's taxi boats to take us for a 7 hour trip up the nearby Dalyan river to see the ruins of the ancient town of Caunos, seeing the rock tombs in the cliffs beside the river, stopping at the town a few miles upstream and then heading further up the river to a thermal area for a mudbath and then into 39 degree mineral pool. The photo's below show the about to be unveiled 20 year age reduction programme - bit hard to see.

Rejuvination programme

The next day we were due to head further east but a call to Basil became necessary and the end result was a trip by road back into a private hospital in Marmaris for attention to what was diagnosed as an acute abscess on a tooth. All aok now and a few lira poorer and a day lost. That night we moved across the bay to a private marina called My Marina - again amongst the pine trees. We will have to stop by for dinner on the way back up the coast.

So today we motor sailed the 35 odd miles to Skopea Limani, very quiet although managed to get the Code zero up for a couple of hours but basically a diesel consuming day.

All well on board, Volker's English is pretty good and he is a keen fisherman so we are trolling a lure every day. Got a good hit on day one but lost it!!

Cheers for now

Keith

And So To Turkey

Posted at 2:51 AM, Jul. 19, 2008

Savarna is now safely on the Netsel Marina (right in the town of Marmaris) on the pontoon run by Phoenix Yachts a local charter company managed by Dodo (an Austrian) and Sally (an Englishwoman). They also look after boats in the absence of owners and in our case are charging EUR120 a month to open the boat up, run the motor, run the electronics, keep the batteries charged, manage the work that we are having done, cleaning the deck and topsides and then a stainless polish and hull polish just before we get back in September. A few things about the marina:

- the rules state that no grey water discharge in the marina at all i.e. no dishwater, showers on board etc. Except it is ok to put a diver under to clean off the hull? Work that one out.

- we have signed a contract for 7 months (the longest possible) and on top of that get an extra 69 free days. So that effectively gives us until mid April 2009.

- the fairways are very narrow and well under one boat length. This means that the bow line (tailed back to the dock) is at an acute angle which doesn't provide as much control in my view. Apparently in the winter storms they run a network of ropes backwards and forwards across the fairways from bow to bow. They maintain that there is never any damage - lets hope that is correct.

- getting in and out of the marina if there is any wind blowing is a skill given the narrow fairways - from my own experience not for the faint hearted.

We had tried emailing the Marmaris Yot Marine for several months but they never replied to our emails so when I finally rang them they said no berths available. I suspect that they may be the better option in Marmaris but at least where we are is right in the town. In any event if they cannot be bothered replying to emails it is not the place for us!

In Symi we were tied up next to an American (from Dallas) Catalina 47 called Pisces owned by Chad who is sailing around the world and will cross the Altantic to complete his circumnavigation later this year. His boat was swept out to sea from Phuket in Thailand during the Tsuami so he had some interesting stories about the substantial repairs he had to have done when his yacht turned up again with major damage suffered. He crews on the big boat circuit in his spare time and was first mate on a superyacht during the America's Cup in Auckland. He had on board two temporary crew who were helping him get to Rhodes (the long way). One was a Swede called Matts who has his Gibsea 42 permanently at Netsel Marina and the other George the Scotsman who having got fed up with life in PC England sold up and bought a Gulet in Marmaris which he is in the process of restoring/repairing while he lives on board - also in the Netsel Marina. So these guys were a great source of information about Marmaris that was most helpful. They also ensured we had a very very late night during which the Ouzo stocks were totally exhausted.

Departing Symi

When we went to check out of Greece the Customs/Police office at Symi was again full of refugees. On enquiry I found that there are about 50/60 a day turn up every night from Turkey so it is a major problem - mostly from Afganistan but also Iraq and Iran both of which have borders with Turkey. Apparently they are provided with temporary papers and are then given 30 days to sort out their correct identity etc and if they do not succeed they are deported. I can imagine that probably never happens as the refugees disappear into Europe.

Greek wine remains a relative mystery - we only dumped one bottle as undrinkable. The wine varieties are unpronounceable and there seem to be lots of them (varieties like pinot gris, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc or cabernet are very uncommon). Each island clearly has its own wine growing and production and seemingly its own unique varieties in many instances. Consequently if we found a wine we really liked by the time we had opened the bottle and drunk it we had no idea where we had bought it and were not able to locate it again. Kos was the only place where we found imported wine including Chile, NZ, Australia, France and Italy. We did a big stock up of French and Italian wine for use in September/October.

We had a good sail to Marmaris motoring the 7 miles to the Cape that marked our left turn for the 20 odd miles up the peninsula (with 25-30 knots right across the stern) a full main and no headsail, to the bay where Marmaris is located and the bay surrounded by pine trees and then 30 knots on the nose for the 5 miles up the bay just to finish off the cruise. Got into the marina on Sunday evening 13^th July.

Numerous Gulets on the town quay at Marmaris

We used an agent that Chad recommended to clear in by the name of Ali Yanar (mobile 0537 206 2422). He cleared us in within an hour and also got Pam a 3 month visa (Australians need a visa but Kiwi's do not) and charged us 70 lire (about NZD77 or EUR35). No negotiation needed as that was the price that he had charged Chad after negotiation so he did not try to pull one over us - so he is a fair guy and most helpful also and saved us several hours.

The town of Marmaris is no doubt not at all representative of the real Turkey but we found the people very friendly and the town a delightful place but pretty overrun with holidaymakers including plenty of Poms but also a lot of Russians as not far to Moscow and direct flights into Dalaman airport a 90 minute drive away. The street back from the waterfront is pretty amazing and called Bar Street - it has a number outdoor bars and also large dance clubs adjoining each other, often open air inside, that pound out music at a deafening decibel level most of the night. How they all hear inside, being right next to each other, is a mystery - we of course had to check out the street and went into one of the larger clubs for a while. A great scene if you are a lot younger than we are! Language is not proving to be an issue as English is taught as a second language at school.

The final approach into Marmaris

The boat is in good shape with only a couple of small jobs to get done - the boom vang broke where the top of the vang sits into the groove underneath the boom itself so it is simply a case of removing the vang and doing a stainless weld. There is also a fair bit of play in the starboard wheel so I stripped that down and took off the panels underneath but could not see the problem other than it appears to be inside the gearbox. One of the advantages of Marmaris is that every brand and every product is represented - there are about 3 streets full of chandleries and marine suppliers, upholsterers, engine guys, electronics guys etc. I even found some 24 volt bulbs, which up until now I have not been able to find in NZ or track down on the internet, so will get a box when we get back!

Weather wise the Aegean through the Cyclades was always around 25 to 28 each day so it was pleasant and not to hot but as we got to Kos and then Marmaris the temperature jumped up into the low 30's so it is definitely warmer nearer Turkey. I have yet to get my mind around the weather systems as the high seems to be around 1007 hectapascals (millibars) whereas in NZ a high is around 1020 to 1030. Marmaris is about 36 degrees north and Auckland 36 degrees south but there the similarity ends. Until Marmaris the only clouds we saw were at Santorini - but don't worry we did not get bored with continuous blue skies!

With George the Scotsman nearby he will be a useful and helpful contact for us on the marina and last Wednesday we had an enjoyable evening dinner with George plus Matts the Swede and his wife and daughter. The revelry earlier in the week at Symi was not repeated - I think Matts was still remembering his hangover!

Cheers

Keith

The Dodecanese Islands

Posted at 9:39 AM, Jul. 13, 2008

It is presently Saturday evening 12^th July and for the first time for what seems like weeks we have had a couple of days of light winds, and we are on the town quay at Symi (or Simi) which has turned out to be a most delightful spot. Last night we threw the anchor (I like this expression of Alain's) in the bay at the south eastern corner of Symi called Panormittis which was recommended to us weeks ago by Tony and Esmae Farrington. The bay is pretty much circular, the entrance no more than 60 metres wide, a monastry facing the entrance, a couple of taverna's, a windmill on the northern side of the entrance and anchoring in 6-7 metres of crystal clear water on a sandy bottom.

Looking across the bay to the Monastry - Savarna in foreground

Water temp around 27 in the bay and with only about 6/7 other boats in the bay for the night and no wind it was one of the best we have had for weeks. Went ashore for the sunset and tried a Chris M quality photograph of the event. See below! However tranquillity comes at a price - as broadcast through the bay over a loudspeaker system was the monks evening chanting followed by what appeared to be some kind of sermon. Whether this was aimed at the boats in the bay or the monks who knows?

Sunset at Panorittis Bay, Symi

BBQ dinner on board with plenty of Katie Melua which was turned off when the monks took over but after the chanting we resumed with Emma Shapplin's Carmine Meo - the entire CD is sung in Latin - and the best follow up we could provide for the monks to sleep or meditate to.

This morning we motored up the eastern side of the island and discovered several beautiful bays for anchoring in until we got into the town of Symi itself. This island is surrounded by Turkey on three sides and at the closest point Turkey is only 5 miles away. It appears to be the most eastern part of Greece and I am not sure how the Turks got it wrong but after the conquering they did in these parts many years back they somehow got the raw end of the deal in that they got no islands - all the way up the Aegean the islands are Greek territory. Maybe the mythical Greek gods played a part in this somehow?

From Naxos we sailed to weather towards Myconos to clear the north of the island in a 20 knot NE me thinking that a little bit of windward work would give us a nice angle to sail across to the eastern most island of Amorgos in the Cyclades Group. That idea seemed fine until the wind went to the NW and we had a flat off 15 mile run across to Amorgos in quite a heavy sea with winds up to 30 knots. A beam reach coming around the bottom end of Naxos would have been the best call! We anchored for the night in a deserted bay called Ormos Kalotiri. With strong gusts belting across the bay, at over 30 knots, it took three goes to get the anchor successfully bedded in. Lovely bay and well worth a visit - the sort of place that with more benign conditions you would want to stay for several days.

The following day we sailed the 75 miles across to the island of Kos - an all day event basically. Plenty of wind for a while, running, beam reaching, code zero up for a couple of hours and pulled into the marina at Kos at around 1700 hrs after 10 hours on the go. Our arrival at Kos also heralded our departure from the Cyclades Group and our arrival in the Dodecanese Group of islands. Just to the NW of Kos is the island of Kylimnos, that we sailed close to, which is famous for producing natural sponges that are everywhere to be found in Kos. The marina at Kos is rated as the best in Greece and they certainly do a good job. Kos, notably, is famous as the birthplace of Hippocrates in around 460BC and the photo below is supposedly the tree under which he taught students?

Pam reflecting under Hippocrates tree on Kos

It is very obviously an old tree but 2500 years old? The first hospital in the world was built here at a place known as the Ascelepion just out of the town of Kos. We were on the marina next to Jacques, a Frenchman and his wife from Paris, who keep their boat here all year round. Jacques knew all the deals to be had, the best restaurants, the cheapest car rental place (Safari Rent A Car discount on request to EUR30 a day instead of EUR47) the cheapest laundry etc so he was a great knowledge source for us.

Images of Kos that were very different from the Cyclades islands - trees other than olive trees (conifers, gums, hibiscus, oleander and other varieties), cows (no fences so tethered to posts driven in to the ground), haymaking the old NZ way (oblong bales tied with string), a large local honey industry, the source of the Cos lettuce, and a far greater degree of land cultivation. We stopped off in Kos for 3 nights and spent the middle day with a rental car exploring the entire island. The southern end of the of the island had a Club Med hotel, lots of other pretty average hotel development and stony beaches. The northern end of the island (where the town of Kos is) and along the northern coast is far more attractive although receives the Meltemi on a daily basis - but at least the beaches are sandy and the hotel development lower intensity. We just missed catching up with our friends off Eos as they had gone across to Bodrum in Turkey the day we arrived. Alain emailed to say they have moved from Ouzo to Raki and why don't we bring the boat across for dinner one night - didn't happen as the processes of checking out of Greece and arriving into Turkey are ones that inevitably take several hours.

Kos is also the place that the Knights of St John ruled from 1315 until the Turks took over in 1522 (until 1912) at which time they were kicked out and permitted to relocate to Malta. They built the castle - the remains of which are pictured below.

Kos castle remains with Turkey in background

One thing for sure thought when they got to Malta they built a far more substantial castle and town there to ensure they were not going to get overthrown by the Turks again. Apparently many of the ships to support the Knights in their crusades were built by the men of Symi where there is apparently a strong boat building heritage.

So Friday 11^th July saw us sail the 40 odd miles from Kos to the bottom end of Symi. For the first time we motored pretty much the whole way - the persistent Meltemi winds are fine from a sailing perspective and we have had some very nice sailing. But at 24 hours a day, and day after day, it does limit the options as to where we can go and where we can throw the anchor. And most days we had wind strengths into the 30 knots and once or twice into the low 40 knots - and while we love sailing that does get a bit tiresome.

Tomorrow will see us clear out of Greece and across to Marmaris in Turkey about 30 miles away where the Netsel Marina will be our home while we return to NZ for a couple of months.

To conclude on a more sombre note (apart from the fact the burglars hit again at home Friday night) was the presence of around 50/60 Afganistani refugees at the Port Police office when I went to get our transit log stamped. Apparently they get into Turkey and are then transported by Turkish boats (for money) into Symi that as part of Greece signals their arrival into the EU. I ascertained this on enquiry of one of the port police after I saw them on the office deck, huddled in a small space, hot and dirty, and obviously not western European tourists. A number of them were later put onto a ferry but what was happening to them i.e. return to Afganistan, we do not know.

Cheers

Keith

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Aegean Island Hopping

Posted at 7:11 PM, Jul. 8, 2008

We entered the former cauldron of fire through a major breach in the northern wall of the volcano (last eruption 1956) to one of the more notable views in the Mediterranean. To port the crescent shaped island of Santorini stood, representing over 50% of the crater rim with other islands to starboard representing the balance of the rim. Atop the Santorini rim clusters of white houses, topped with the Cyclades blue, perched and clung to the volcanic rock on sheer cliffs 350 metres above the sparkling blue water.

Santorini crater wall with Thira above

The crater is 6 miles long and 4 miles wide and the original eruption was thought to be about 1400 BC and estimated to be 3 times the size of Krakatoa. In the middle of the crater stands the island of Nea Kammeni which I presume is basalt rock but in reality resembles a huge pile of shiny black coal.

We were met at the port, carved out of rock at the base, by a driver from the hotel we had booked and then driven up the equivalent of the Treble Cone road for 20 minutes to the town of Firostefani about 2 k�s north of the chora (main town) Thira. That was last Saturday night (July 5^th) and we travelled there by a Blue Star ferry from Naxos having left Erik and Linda to catch the ferry from the party island of Ios back to Athens the previous day.

On the last posting we were planning to go to Naxos but with the meltemi still blowing hard from slightly east of north that was going to be a close hauled sail, so we opted for the more southerly route to Nisos Ios. Left our friends on the Halberg Rassy (Eos) at Kamare on Sifnos and sailed down the west coast of Sifnos in 25 knots (the sheltered side) under a single reefed main, turned left at the bottom into 30 knots plus with a double reefed main, and about a third of the jib out. Fast sailing with the wind slightly ahead of the beam - fortunately as we cleared Sifnos the wind dropped back to 20 to 25 knots and veered to the left so with an angle of 120 degrees we went to full headsail and one reef, and a couple of hours later as the wind dropped further shook out the last reef until about 5 miles off Ios and the wind dropped off to around 10 knots. The 37 mile passage took about 4.5 hours with some fast sailing in parts and a lumpy messy sea as a result of a week of the meltemi blowing.

We called into the port but at its head there was not enough depth so we went a few miles south and anchored off the beach of Milopotamou in relative shelter. We thought the meltemi was finally over for the time being. A couple of hours later though the meltemi had one last good blow so we up anchored and got a good sheltered spot to throw the anchor (to use Alain's expression), under a nearby cliff. Ios is the island for young people - over 30 you stand out, over 60 you are invisible! Lots of Aussies and Scandinavian's here, beautiful sandy beaches, clothing not permitted apparently (we did not see evidence of this) and lots of bars, taverna's, hotels and backpackers hostels. Erik and I went ashore for a look and to check the sights and bars out and then we all went ashore for a fantastic (believe it or not) Thai dinner at Delphini's restaurant right on the beach and well looked after by Erin the young Australian waitress from Perth. And genuine Thai women cooking!

The following morning (Friday 4^th) we caught the bus to the port and sadly saw Erik and Linda depart on the ferry for Athens - we had not seen them for nearly 20 years and it was great to catch up again and it was as though not a day had passed in the meantime. In several ways we have had a significant influence on each others lives and we now need to ensure we have an annual meet up somewhere.

Farewells at Nisos Ios

They enjoyed their sailing experiences despite the persistence of the meltemi and also, I introduced them to Katie Melua. They arrived with the meltemi and once they left the wind died to nothing so we motor sailed the 27 miles north to Naxos, seeing Eos arrive into port at Ios just before we left.

Naxos turned out to be a lovely town and one of the best we have visited yet with a maze of alleyways, great shops and heaps of taverna's. The town had a good feel to it and we managed to get a berth on the marina - still have to anchor and stern to but at least sheltered and water and power available. On Saturday afternoon we caught the ferry down to Santorini and called into Ios again en route. Reading the Pilot the berthing situation at Santorini looked less than good so we flagged that idea and took a leaf out of Swagman's blog and ferried over. We stayed at the Ira hotel and the owner, a suave Greek with a voluptuous girlfriend recommended us a local family taverna for dinner and we were lucky to score a table at Actaion which judging by the number of people turned away is a top place.

Great restaurant says mine host! - and he is right

We had a bottle of a local, good, red and when we came to settle up we found that the hotel owner (Marnos) who had also turned up for dinner there (with his girlfiend) had paid for the wine. A really generous gesture on his part! The view from our hotel room was also like Treble Cone except in this case you lay in bed and saw the sea past the balcony.

View to the south from Santorini hotel room

Sunday we hired a Suzuki convertible jeep and drove around various parts of the island. It is an unusual place with the strong volcanic influence and off the crater rim the eastern side slopes down to the sea with grapes being grown everywhere. A bit different here in that the vines just lie on the ground. They say the beaches are black sand but from our visit they are actually black stones, admittedly small, and I cannot work out why anyone would want to come to Santorini to go to the beach, unless to sleep off the previous nights excesses.

Sunday evening we caught the ferry back up to Naxos and found another New Zealand boat in the marina - a 46ft Moody called Bandit owned by a couple from Picton. (David and Brenda - just seen your post on the blog so hope to catch up soon). As the marina comprises one finger for visitors and holds about 18 boats NZ was well represented. Had dinner ashore at a good waterfront taverna - with daylight until 2130 hrs it is hard (read impossible) to get early nights these days!!

We also got our transit log stamped by the Port Authority and this is a procedure we are supposed to do at every port and every time there is a crew change. The paper work and processes are antiquated but no doubt the Greek authorities with such an extensive shipping heritage know what they are doing.

Cheers

Keith

Meltemi Blowing

Posted at 4:49 PM, Jul. 2, 2008

Well we met Erik and Linda off the ferry from Athens at around 2100 hrs with some large cold beers ready at the taverna next to the ferry wharf. But we think they brought the meltemi (NE winds) with them - the meltemi has been blowing hard ever since they arrived and strengthening every day rather that showing any sighs of abating. And this has been accompanied by a drop in temperatures to a comfortable mid 20�s level.

I replaced the anchor chain while in Poros as the galvanising had all worn off with the winch setup and it was cheaper to replace it than regalvanise - the rationalisation being that I will save more than the cost in diesel savings. Just managed to get that job finished before they arrived.

We were on town quay when the ferry arrived but in order to get away from the generators from the ferry boat running all night nearby we anchored off, had an enjoyable late dinner, drank some wine and caught up with events since we last caught up nearly 20 years ago. It was great and as though we had not seen them since yesterday. So yes Allan we are having FUN! The following morning we left Poros for a 45 mile sail across to the island of Kythnos and to the port of the same name. Broad reaching to running in breezy conditions with up to 30 knots at times with Linda suffering from jetlag but she has since got her sealegs!

Kythnos turned out to be a delightful port and town and we secured a good spot on the quay next to a Swiss owned Halberg Rassy for the night of Saturday 28^th June. With the wind up we decided to stay in Kynthos a second night and that also enabled us to secure ring side seats at a local taverna so we could watch the final of the European Cup where Spain ultimately beat Germany. All the Taverna set up TV's for the night.

Waiting for the start of the European Cup - David, Ann, Alain,Erik,LInda,Keith,Pam

A most enthusiastic crowd in the taverna and In fact the whole town was full and buzzing. The evening entertainment followed a long lunch with our neighbours off Eos the Halberg Rassy that has Alain, David and Ann on it also sailing across to Turkey. This team have got well hooked into Ouzo so it was a long session. Alain has done an Atlantic solo crossing on a 29 footer so has plenty of sailing experience under his belt.

The quay in Kythnos on the Sunday night was chaos as every boat that arrived decided that they needed to be quayside. Must have the lure of the European Cup that brought so many into port. So it was a lot of double banking with sterns into the gaps between the hulls of the quayside boats - Alain whose Halberg Rassey is only a year old ran a line between our bows to prevent this happening to us and he was successful. We had one professional skipper on a charter boat call out for us to move and when I declined he retorted that I am a Greek and I will show you what Greeks can do. So he promptly dropped his anchor over our chain and came in astern to our starboard side with Alain still to port. Needless to say we could not then leave early the following morning as we could not retrieve our anchor. The timing issue became somewhat academic as it took around 3 hours for all the charter boats to sort out their crossed anchors with guys swimming, anchors all over the place and a good deal of yelling. Fortunately we were ok by the time it came for us to leave.

From Kythnos we had a flat off run under mainsail only for about 15 miles to the southern end of Serifos where we thought we might get a sheltered bay for lunch and a swim. However by the time we got down there the meltemi was really howling and anchoring there seemed an unattractive proposition so we headed into the town of Serifos which has a hilltop town standing above the port. The Pilot describes the bay as with average holding and we spent 2 hours trying to get the anchor to hold, including changing the Delta anchor for the Rockna which is the spare anchor we carry and is also a heavier anchor. With the wind at 30-40 knots the bay was pretty chopped up, with several boats having trouble getting an anchor down, and the necessity to allow for plenty of room for swinging. After a frustrating 2 hours of pulling up soft mud I gave it away and we had fast sail for the 8 miles across to a bay (Ormos Ay Yeoryios) at the NW end of Sifnos, which the Pilot described as completely protected from the meltemi.

Linda on the helm takes the days record at 10.6 knots

The Pilot was correct however the bay was so small we could not swing on the anchor but had also to tie the stern off to a small dock in front of a fisherman's house. As the wind oscillated during the night we found ourselves closer and closer to the shore so at 0530 hrs we up anchored and motored the 3 miles down the coast to Ormos Kamares where we are currently. The quay was full so we anchored off until a few boats left, caught up on some sleep and then moved onto the quay to find ourselves next to Eos once more - so that was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Kamares is a delightful town characterised by the white houses with blue shutters that are a feature of the Cyclades islands.

Pretty typical scene in the Cyclades - this on Sifnos.

A Swan 100 called in here last night and that was pretty impressive - the last ferry departed about 0130 hrs so they are pretty much around the clock operations, and these are big ferries. The ferry services around the islands are most impressive with huge ferries seemingly providing frequent services to all the islands - they rock into port flat out, stern to in a matter of minutes, pour off numerous cars, trucks and people and within about 10 minutes are off again.

Last night we had the Eos team on board for a very noisy dinner that lasted well into the small hours - and with a very tolerant Frenchman moored on the other side of us. The Navtex reported gale warnings for this area today so we have stayed put and had a bit of a look around the island. Got a taxi up to the main town (chora) of Apollonia and also over to the east side of the island to the mediaeval town of Kastro where the houses are perched high on the cliffs above the sea. Had lunch there courtesy of the Eos team, who we had met over there, and looked out onto a meltemi driven wind swept sea.

Church perched high on cliffs at Kastro, Nisos Sifnos

The current plan is to sail across to Paros tomorrow - that is about 20 miles further east so hoping the wind will abate somewhat although the seas will still be up. From there we hope to go on to Naxos and then catch a ferry down to Santorini (as Santorini is too small for us to get Savarna into) for a night before Erik and Linda leave for Athens on Saturday but time is getting short.

That's it for now - all very well on board and no-one reporting dehydration.

Cheers

Keith

Saronic Gulf

Posted at 2:24 PM, Jun. 28, 2008

At the end of the last post I said we were thinking of going across to the island of Hydra (Idhra) and we did try exactly that last Saturday 21^st June. Had a pleasant but not fast sail across and anchored for lunch and a swim at N.Soupia on the mainland which was not much more than hide behind rock stuff so not an overnight stop. The topic of Hydra came up yet again so we sailed the few miles across and then motored into the harbour - bedlam and chaos. We could only manoeuvre within our own boat length (bow thrusters do come in useful) as big ferries, hydrofoils, numerous water taxis and the 100ft plus motor yachts down from Athens for the weekend.

Water taxis jostle for customers at Hydra

There was clearly no room for us so we motored on southwards and stayed at the southern end of Hydra in the bay of Nikolaos. The beach was full of people under beach umbrellas etc and only one other large motor yacht present. What we subsequently realised is that everyone on the island stays in the town (no cars) and various beaches not reachable by road are serviced by water taxis during the day and then completely empty out at night. But it blew up and we had 25 knots of gusts down the valley all night until mid morning by which time in a 35 knot job the anchor finally popped out so we up and out of there - the trick seems to be to run a stern line ashore on the eastern side of the bay where it is deep and you miss the gusts as they spread out. Beautiful bay though under impressive mountainous and rugged terrain.

We then had a quick reach for the 15 miles across to the mainland (if Peloponnisos can be termed that - this is the SW corner of Greece separated from the real mainland by the Gulf of Corinth) and dropped anchor in the bay of Porto Kheli. The new sailors on board handled the conditions well and no stern gazing was reported. This is a large circular bay with good protection from all winds as evidenced by the number of boats that came in during the late afternoon. The town was pleasant enough with a number of hotels around the bay. Ended up here a couple of days, although explored the coastal area by boat, as the meltemi blew hard.

Millie and Linda enjoy a quiet swim

One evening we caught the water taxi for the 3.5 mile run across to the island of Spetsai - the water taxis here do a huge trade and only know one speed - flat out. The local guy who picked us up off the boat and dropped us off back there later had a boat probably around 11 metres long, about 1.7 meters wide (so longish and relatively narrow) powered by two 400 hp Fiats. The thing just about flew. Anyway a great evening over at Spetsai which is really a must place to visit, beautiful place with inlaid stone streets, designer shops and heaps of cafes and bars all combining to make a great atmosphere. Leonard Cohen (I am not the greatest fan) reportedly has a home here.

Quiet week all up finishing up with a 35 mile beat back up to Poros where we arrived back on the night of Tuesday 24^th. We had a final dinner out with the odd (possibly occasional) ouzo to cap off an enjoyable week with Heather and some of her family on board.

Hey Heather's glass is empty.

They caught the hydrofoil back to Athens the next morning and we have spent a quiet couple of days in Poros doing the jobs on the boat one doesn�t do when friends are on board as well as swimming and exploring.

So after those couple of days we are now very much looking forward to having Erik and Linda Pedersen, very old friends from Dallas, join us for about 10 days while we move eastwards through the Cyclades Group.

Weather very hot (35 every day) water pretty warm (now around 26) and adequate (possibly inappropriate) liquid intake important to avoid dehydration.

Cheers

Keith