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 owned 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 – 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 high weather systems as the “high” is always 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, 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 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 I 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

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 – 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 – Linda suffering from jetlag but 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

Ionian to the Aegean

Posted at 5:32 PM, Jun. 20, 2008

We have now arrived in the Aegean and currently anchored in the bay off the town of Poros on the island of the same name. We arrived here yesterday afternoon (Thursday 19^th) and anchored in Russian bay, an enclosed bay with a sandy beach, a couple of miles off from the town of Poros. The weather is noticeably warmer (into the mid 30’s) as is the water (around 25/26).

From Missalonghi we had an early start for the 55 mile sail to Itea with a building westerly up to 25 knots directly behind us that meant mainsail up only. But still quick sailing at 8.5 – 9.5 knots. Only gybed once and caught the right side of the shift to the northwest so straight on into Itea. Got into port, tied up alongside, in yet another incomplete marina with no services and only about 5 or 6 other yachts there. Then found everything was shut on a Monday afternoon so the jobs we hoped to get ticked off didn’t happen. This place seems to be the home of unhelpful Greeks!

The Gulf of Corinth is around 100 miles long, maybe 10 miles wide in the widest part and very mountainous along both sides although there is more cultivation and greenery on the southern side. We passed under the impressive Rion/Andirrion bridge 35 miles into the gulf that was completed in the last year or two at a cost of EUR630 million. The Pilot says call them up on channel 11 which we did and got the ok to pass under the main span – it is near Patras, the third largest city in Greece and there is a fair bit of shipping about and also large ferries coming in from Italy. Other than a few ferries and the bridges at the eastern end over the Corinth Canal it is the only crossing.

                            The centre span of the Rion/Andirrion bridge 

On Tuesday 17^th June we caught the bus at Itea for the 16k uphill ride into the mountains and the second most visited archaeological site (after the Acropolis at Athens) in Greece, namely Delphi. This tourist focused town is adjacent to the original site of Delphi which we learnt was regarded as the centre of the world and where people from all over came to seek advice from Apollo – and left treasures that were stored in many repositories near the temple. The French commenced excavations in 1892 and an impressive museum houses the many finds! The walk around the site itself, set high in the mountains, was justification for a litre of beer later. It was a hard days walk in the mid 30’s. Fortunately still a bit early in the season and not overly populated by tourists – only about a 2 ride from Athens.

Amphitheatre at Delphi with the columns of the Temple of Apollo to the left.

From the town of Delphi it was possible to look down to Itea far below and across thousands of acres of olive trees. A worthwhile exercise but not one we need to repeat.

We had arranged to meet Heather, daughter Linda and daughter Millie at Corinth on Wednesday the 19^th so another early start saw us motoring the 40 miles across to Corinth and pulled into the commercial wharf 5 minutes after they arrived from Athens on the bus. The marina at Corinth is full of local fishing boats so we went alongside the commercial wharf. The depth was marginal at 2.9 metres showing when we tied up, against our draft of 2.8 metres so the bottom was mud or our depth reading is generous – I must check our instruments again!

After a quick stop at Corinth we motored over to the canal entrance about a mile away and fortunately scored an almost immediate passage through the canal only waiting a few minutes. It is possible to wait for up to 3 hours so we were pleased to get though without delay. The canal is 3.2 miles long, 81 feet wide and 23 feet deep. At the highest point it cuts through 250 feet of limestone. It was started by Emperor Nero with 6000 Jews and finished by the Greeks in 1893. A pretty impressive passage, saved us a couple of hundred miles sail around the Peloponnisos and cost us Eur259 for the privilege.

                  Millie on the foredeck as we transit the Corinth canal

 Once through the canal we were into the Aegean Sea, bit of breeze so we set sail and went another 25 odd miles to the Peloponnisos town of Korfos. Very enclosed bay where we anchored off, as it was too shallow to go astern onto the town quay that was dominated by tavernas. Few other yachts about but pretty quiet overall.

Thursday 19^th we went ashore and Pam bought 6 fish from the local fishing fleet (throwaways by NZ standards) for Eur20s. Korfos is a good sheltered anchorage but really nothing more than a stop off point when exiting or entering the canal. Followed this exercise up with a quiet sail across to Poros where we anchored in Russian Bay, swam, BBQ’d  with only 3 other boats for company.

                          The town of Poros looking to the town quay

Today Friday 20^th we went stern to on the town quay, found the waterman and got a fill up – Eur7 for 300 litres. Water is rationed here as they had no rain over the winter at all. Explored the delightful town and had lunch ashore before leaving the quay as the wind came up to anchor off. Weather has got very hot so lots of swimming and drinking. A shopkeeper ashore  told us that Poros that the New York Times had voted Poros one of the three best places to visit in the world - it is nice but maybe not that good!

We were thinking of going down to the island of Idhra (Hydra) tomorrow but apparently there is a big festival there over the weekend to celebrate some Turkish/Greek war (in which case they must have plenty of parties each year). It seems that there may be a space shortage for boats in the harbour. So whether we go there or pass by and go on to Spetsai remains to be seen.

Cheers

Keith

Last of the Ionian

Posted at 8:41 AM, Jun. 16, 2008

At the last blog posting we were quietly stern to on the town quay at Kioni on the island of Ithaca which is the supposed place where Odysseus came from and which is the subject of Homer’s epic poem ‘Odyssey.’ The town basin at Kioni is quite small so unless you get onto the quay by early afternoon it is either anchoring off, or anchor and stern to on the southern side of the basin, but also very close to the centre of action. We were lucky that we scored a spot on the quay and as the town was so delightful with a beach and swimming spot just 50 metres from the stern we decided to stay put for a couple of nights. At the house adjoining the bund wall the ferries come into there is a guy who sells water (for EUR5 a tank) and provides showers for (EUR2.50) which is very convenient as there are no facilities otherwise.

       Looking across the bay at Kioni, Savarna second from right on quay.

So a couple of relaxing days, eating drinking, running (for Michael and Richard) walking (for Pam and me) and swimming with the kids. We also met up again with Chris and Mo from Mayero who we had last seen in Tropea – a few late night gins in their cockpit was again most enjoyable. Had a very nice dinner ashore on Thursday night at a taverna on the waters edge.

                 The fishing port at Frikes, 5 k's over the hill from Kioni.

We also met two other NZ boats here who were at anchor but found us on the quay. Don and Pauline Fletcher on board their 75ft Ocean Free (with well known NZ boat builder Kelly Archer on board) and also Ross and Jo Blackman on Soliloquy (Ross ex Team NZ). The bay probably had 30 boats anchored or at the quay of which 3 were flying the RNZYS pennant – maybe a first. 

Thursday afternoon I called up the engineers at Levkas marina and found that the new anchor winch and the capacitor for the generator were due in the following morning. Amazingly it all worked out well and we motor sailed the 23 miles up to Levkas with a good breeze behind us. By mid afternoon all the work was satisfactorily completed and we headed south again planning to spend the night at Spartochori that Ross had told us was an attractive bay at the northern end of Meganissi. We had a great sail on the wind in 18 knots with first Michael and then Sarah on the handle bars, all sail up and Sarah keeping the boat in the grove at up to 8.5 knots.  Ross’s comments on Spartochori were correct and we anchored off in about 28 metres – so plenty of chain out to test the new winch! Ocean Free and Soliloquy were also there. Spent a couple of nights here as there was a beach for the kids to swim off, a good taverna for a beer and a huge doghouse on Ocean Free also for a beer.

There are pontoons  for yachts to moor to at the western side of the bay and a taverna while on the eastern side it is possible to go stern or bow to the quay and also a taverna. We favoured the eastern side which was more attractive and a very good taverna. From here be most it is was a short walk up to the hilltop town of Spartochori where we explored the narrow winding streets (the town was dead quiet), followed by a pizza lunch and litre glasses of beer!

             Lunch at the hilltop town of Spartochori

In one respect the highlight of our exploration of the town was stumbling across a funeral party walking down a street to the church – the group that seemed to comprise most of the town was headed by a man carrying the lid of the coffin, followed by two Greek Orthodox priests in all the regalia, then the open coffin carried by quite a few men followed by more men then the women.  We were told that they lower the casket into the ground with the lid off and then throw the lid on afterwards before waiting 40 days and then having another service. The ‘wake’ was held at the taverna on our side of the bay.

                             The top of the road at Spartochori

And to Sunday 15^th and it was sadly time to deliver family and Michael back to Levkas so they could fly back to London and then NZ. We had a great time with them, the weather was excellent with temps probably in the mid to high 20’s and water temps around 23 to 25. They all had a great time with Emma and Luke finding their sea legs quickly and adapting to their first sailing experience very well. The Ionian is a wonderful cruising ground, referred to as the Inland Sea as it is largely contained by islands, the wind is gentle in the mornings before building in the afternoons and then dying in the evenings. The weather pattern appears to be quite predictable. We have in reality barely touched the area but will no doubt spend more time here when we come back from Turkey.

After the family departure it was time to diesel and water up and by 11.00am we were under way southwards in a building NW. Had a wonderful 55 odd mile sail down to Missalonghi which is about 15 miles into the Gulf of Corinth. Wind built to around 25 knots just aft of the beam and we rolled along mostly between 10 and 11 knots – champagne sailing. This port is entered via a canal (yes another one) of about 1 mile long surrounded on both sides by houses on stilts and salt pans before opening onto a large basin. On the NW side there has been a marina development started but not completed and there were about 5 or 6 boats there only. The Pilot describes the harbour and town as not having much charm and that appeared to be a correct description.

We anchored off in about 6 metres while it continued to blow hard well into the evening.

                                   Entering Missalonghi

Tomorrow we will head further in to the Gulf probably aiming to get to the town of Itea which is close to the ancient city of Delphi that we plan to visit.

Cheers

Keith

The Ionian

Posted at 4:50 PM, Jun. 12, 2008

Finally Easyjet delivered Richard, Sarah and grandchildren Emma and Luke plus Michael (Sarah’s father) to Corfu in the early hours of Wednesday 4^th June. So pretty much straight to bed for everyone. 

We planned to leave Corfu the following day but due to a minor leak in the watermaker pump I had an engineer from the Corfu marina in to look at it. Fortunately the guy knew the Spectra brand quite well and was able to effect a repair which was not a major but in reinstalling the pump he broke off a plastic exit fitting. They were able to produce a replacement but it did delay our departure from Corfu by a few hours.

So it was probably about 1500 hrs before we set off for a sail down to Paxos around 30 miles south. The first 20 miles or so was a run down the coast under the main but after rounding the bottom end of Corfu it was a fast beam reach in 20 knots across to the bay of Lakka at the top NE corner of Paxos for the night. Michael, on the handle bars, scored the record with a 9.6 knot burst while Sarah scored over the stern (which we hosed off later).

The  bay was pretty crowded so we anchored in the entrance but the westerly dropped off over night so we did get a calm night in the end. Dinghied ashore in the  morning for a look around the small town, a caffeine hit and shopping for the famed Paxos olive oil.

Then motored down to the southern end of Paxos and spent a couple of nights at Mongonisi which is a lovely sheltered bay, a sandy beach, and taverna’s.

                           Pam with Luke and Emma at Mongonisi on Paxos

We daytripped across to Andi Paxos a small island a couple of miles south and also stuck the bow in to Gaios which the pilot says is chaos in summer and it was looking like that when we were there. Weather good, calm mornings, westerly to SW in the afternoons and calm overnight. The prevailing winds are from the northerly quarter during the summer months but so far in the still to arrive category.

 Friday 6^th we set sail in a 10 – 15 knot SW for the 30 odd mile run to the town of Preveza on the mainland. Good sail, quick passage and again a beam reach. The entry into the port is via quite a long channel, quite narrow but well marked with channel markers. We dropped anchor off the town quay and stern in along with 20 or 30 other boats. The town quay is free and water is available but not power. The pilot is not overly complementary about Preveza however that was not our experience – the waterfront has been revitalised with numerous bars and nightclubs, and in the side alleyways there were numerous cafes and shops. We had dinner ashore courtesy of Richard and Sarah. There is a marina across the harbour that had dozens and dozens of boats up on the hardstand for storage so it is obviously a popular wintering place.

The following day we motored across to the entrance of the 10k long Levkas canal. The pilot says the entrance is difficult to find and behind a moving sandbar. A few hundred metres after entry into the canal it is crossed by a moving bridge which only opens to boats every hour. It pivots off one end so quite an engineering feat.

                             Michael surveys the Levkas canal swing bridge

Our entry into the canal is probably best left undescribed but suffice to say it did involve some extraordinary feats of seamanship (??) kedging and about 3 hours more than usual. The drawing in the Imray pilot is inaccurate but it would have been prudent to maintain a bow watch. While kedging we found that the anchor winch had stripped part of the main drive gear (which happened as we left Preveza) so it was pulling up the anchor by hand. This in turn necessitated an overnight stop in the marina at Levkas to get repairs organised. The bottom line is that getting a replacement gearbox from Lewmar in the USA does not work so it is a new winch coming up – not a cheap exercise. I have never been happy with the Hanse anchoring system given the additional load placed on the winch through leading the chain through nearly a 90 degree angle onto the winch itself. I think stripping some of the gears has been in the making for a while and I ought to have modified the setup earlier. Fortunately the repair services and chandlery operations on both Corfu and Levkas (both big charter boat centres) are excellent so we were lucky that the problem occurred now and not when we are in the Agean. The chandlery just outside the marina in Corfu was a Dickensian affair – everything you could want stacked on shelves up to 2.5 metres high and aisles just shoulderwidth wide. Fantastic place but the really amazing thing was that the guy knew where everything was!

In the meantime we have headed southwards and are anchoring by hand – I have rigged up a bit of a jury system using the power winch in the cockpit which makes the retrieval a lot easier but it is still a hassle laying it out.

From Levkas we had a late departure for Nidri a lovely town around 5 miles south of Levkas once we had exited the canal. The town of Levkas is at the head of the canal and it is possible to anchor off the town quay and also stern to on the quay if space permits. The marina adjoins the canal so the whole place of like being in the middle of a large shallow lake. At Nidri we anchored, along with numerous other boats, in Tranquil Bay opposite the town and it was wall to wall boats. From here it is only a few miles across to Skorpios, the island owned by the Onassis family, and we motored into the bay the following morning to see the small beach cottage used by Jackie O. From here we went down the inside of the island of  Meganisi, anchored and swam and then sailed around to the NE corner of Meganisi to Port Atheni for the night and then today motored the 15 miles across to the island of Ithaca to the town of Kioni.

                      The fishing village of Kioni on Ithaca

This is a delightful village, well preserved/restored and probably the best village we have visited in the Ionian to date. Some good tavernas’s and an excellent jewellery shop featuring locally made stuff. I can see Pam preparing to get the credit card at the ready! The village is popular and to get a spot on the town quay involves entry by early afternoon and after that it is stern lines to the shore around the bay and deep anchoring. A local guy sells water at EUR5 a tank and offers yachties showers also. The "bread" truck arrives on the quay at about 0800 hrs and has all sorts of bread, and croissants. Not all bad!!

Weather is good, water warm, grandchildren well and Emma particularly at 4 is very much enjoying the experiences and her swimming off the boat is fantastic.

                                        Richard, Sarah, Emma and Luke

We return to Levkas on Friday afternoon to have the new anchor winch installed, a new capacitor installed for the generator and then back out to the islands for a couple of nights before dropping off the family again back at Levkas after which we head down into the Gulf of Corinth before transiting through the canal into the Agean.

Cheers

Keith

Albania to Corfu

Posted at 8:35 PM, Jun. 4, 2008

The port area where we were moored in Durres, Albania, is a controlled area i.e. security controlled and not accessible by the public. So when we came to depart we needed to have Llambi handle the paperwork and then the police/customs came down to the wharf as we then had to immediately leave. All rather pedantic as going down the coast it seems we were free to anchor in any of the bays.

              Sitting in the commercial port of Durres with the Dutchman

                 rafted up alongside.

After clearing Durres we started with a slowish sail, close hauled until the wind freshened and then backed with the result that we had a 20/30 mile run under genaker trucking along at around 8 knots in a 10-12 knot SW.  Early afternoon the usual happened and we were back to motoring until a 20 knot SE kicked in which left us slightly eased but with good boat speed which took us into Gjiri (bay) i Vlores at around 1930 hrs. The rhumbline track took us quite a few miles offshore but the coast was mostly low lying land with lakes and rivers showing on the chart – very little signs of inhabitation.

                                Guess where this handsome guy has been.

Llambie had told us that there was a marina in the bay and according to our chart the southern end of the bay (which is about 8 miles long) is a restricted anchorage for military reasons so after testing several theories as to where the marina might be (Llambi had done a drawing on a piece of torn off newspaper) we anchored off what looked to be a very nice sandy beach in front of several resort hotels. Fortunately the wind dropped off quickly and we settled in to a pretty reasonable anchorage for the night. We had seen another yacht motor up the other side of the bay just as we were anchoring so in the morning decided to ignore the chart warnings and see where they had gone too. Guess what – we found the marina in the very south eastern corner of the bay (as this is also a security area) but about half way up the entry channel I noticed that the depth metre was reading negative (definitely a bad sign) and on inspection over the stern we could see our keel indentation in the mud. We reckon that the marina entrance is dredged to 2.0 metres. We later heard it was owned by an Italian – it appeared to be a quayside deal only with bow anchors deployed along the inshore side only and quite a small setup. Surprisingly there were 4 yachts tied up so we were not the only ones sailing the Albanian coast.

So on the morning of Saturday 31st May we continued the journey south with another 55 mile day to what was the planned clearance port for Albania – Sarande.  Had a good sail for a few hours tight reaching and making good speed until we dropped anchor in the nook of a small bay called Spile and anchored about 70 metres off a lovely beach for a swim and a late lunch. The southern coast is quite mountainous compared with the northern coast and characterised by thousands of “pillar boxes” which were installed in the 1970’s – see the photograph below and you will see why we named them R2D2’s.

                                 Thousands of these along the coast!

We had tracked down off www.noonsite.com an entry from a New Zealand yacht earlier in May (the first entry on this part of the site for a couple of years) giving the name of an agent called Agim.(his number is +355 692 566 576) I txted  him early in the afternoon and told him we would be arriving in about 1800 hrs and he called me back to confirm. It transpired that he had only formed his business 4 months earlier. On arrival he was there to meet us, along with police and customs, and took the boat papers and our passports and that was the end of it. Lovely guy, with a Greek wife who we met along with his 16 year old daughter. He has a son studying engineering at Patras University in Greece. He drove us to a castle on a hill overlooking the bay and across to Corfu, Italy and across the valleys of southern Albania. A beautiful spot, and an opportunity to sample/drink some of the local red wine.  We had a late dinner at a restaurant near the harbour. Sarande looked a lot better in the evening – a morning walk around the town showed it to be pretty dirty, with a huge amount of construction going on and little effort to date in trying to beautify the waterfront. The population was about 12,000 5 years ago and is now 40,000. Probably over half the apartment blocks in the town are completed to just the floor and pillar stage and are seemingly not been completed. Our attempts to ascertain just what was going on did not produce any meaningful answers. John had his credit card eaten by an ATM and fortunately Agim was able to track down a bank official to come into the bank (and on a Sunday morning) to open up and retrieve the card.

Agim was most disappointed that we were not going to stay for a few days as he was keen for us to visit the ancient city site of Burrint further south in a national park.

                                Street stalls in Sarande, Albania

Sunday 1 June 2008 at around 1300 hours saw us depart the wharf with Agim, police and customs in attendance to see us cast off after paying a Euro 60 fee for everything – except diesel which we had delivered by mini tanker about an hour after we arrived). The bay at Sarande is very open to the south and the wharf that we tied alongside was on the western side of the bay and on a north/south axis – fortunately we had a westerly while there so it was relatively sheltered. The town is clearly being promoted as a holiday destination and there is a 3 times a week ferry service to Corfu only 10 miles away. They have a lot to do though to attract people to visit and it is good to see Agim and people like him so enthusiastic and willing to do their part in encouraging people to visit and stay.

The sail to Corfu was a fast one with Pam topping out at over 9 knots while on the handlebars. Running in onto the weather shore it quietened down and we motorsailed into the huge marina at Gouvia that is about 4 k’s north of town. On Tuesday morning, very early, John taxied into the ferry wharf for a trip up to Venice while Pam and I spent over 4 hours wrestling with officials in trying to complete the entry formalities into Greece – it is really quite archaic with three separate officials to visit (Customs, Police and the Port Authority) while various entry papers are completed in triplicate with carbon paper and not a computer in sight to finally be entered in a large leather bound book, with columns carefully drawn in red and the boat entry written in handwriting. As we are a non EU boat the process is far more cumbersome than for an EU boat. Every port we visit we have to report to the Port Authority on arrival and departure, present a detailed crew list and have it stamped. Wow!! 

We have now spent the last two days in trying to arrive (finally completed on day 2) and attending to a number of small maintenance issues. The last of these will hopefully be cleared by tomorrow morning (Wednesday 4 June) so we can depart southwards to Paxos once Easyjet finally deliver Richard, Sarah  and family to Corfu – at this stage 4 hours late and looking at a 0200 hours arrival.

That’s all for now -  a full boat for the next 2 weeks with grandchildren on board for the first time!

Cheers

Keith

Dubrovnik to Durres (Albania)

Posted at 9:31 AM, May. 30, 2008

As I write this we are sitting up against the wharf in Durres on northern Albania having arrived here 24 hours ago after a 15 hour overnight motoring, flat calm passage from Dubrovnik on a very hot day (well into the 30’s, water temp around 26) – interspersed with a few cold Becks, swims and sighting a swordfish dancing to escape something bigger no doubt. The agent I mentioned in the last posting turned out to be Captain Llambi Papa and I txted him as we got close in to Durres with the consequence he was waiting for us at the wharf. Basically a pretty dirty and grotty place to be tied up with no facilities and a ship literally feet away unloading grain into hoppers. With a light breeze blowing across the ship we will be a grainary ourselves by the time we leave!

Using an agent is a must as the police and security presence is noticeable and Llambi sat in the cockpit with us and quickly completed all the forms. There is one other boat here with a solo sailor from Holland on a 385 Halberg Rassey who is rafted up against us due to absolutely no facilities for visiting yachts – which I think is a rarity. This is a country that at least from what we have seen to date has no leisure boating activity at all - mainly it appears to avoid the people “escaping” to Italy! Albania has followed an extreme isolationist policy for many years under communist rule following the Second World War and this has only been relaxed fairly recently. The town of Durres, the largest port in Albania, and about 35 kilometres from Tirana the