Savarna

The passage from Skyros to Mykonos was 98 miles and as we left the shelter of Ormos Ay Fokas on Skiros we found plenty of wind with a NW blowing of around 20- 30 knots.

Because we had a long passage I figured we should really speed things up by getting the genaker working. Everything went smoothly until it was time to break it out when the sock line jammed with about 60% of the genaker out and filled. This lead to an immediate broach with Pam on the wheel and me on the foredeck. So a quick dump the main call, bear away and then Pam blew the halyard and I got the genaker onto the foredeck without to much difficulty. So we sorted all that out and hoisted it again and just as I was about to pull the sock up the halyard let go and the whole lost collapsed to the deck – fortunately not over the side or on my head. It transpired that the shackle had opened (or broken) so we were probably lucky it happened when it did rather than when the genaker was full as if the latter it would have gone out in front of us and we would have oversailed it and ended up with a sail wrap around the keel – not so good in 20 plus knots and a moderate sea. At this stage I was not planning to visit the top of the mast to retrieve the halyard so it was onwards to Mykonos with main and headsail.
Pulled into the “marina” at Mykonos at around 1830 hrs after a 12 hour passage and found an unfinished marina starting to fall apart. Firstly there are no staff, secondly most of the laid lines have broken, thirdly no toilet facilities and finally water and power modules do not work – but it was free! Fortunately we generate our own power and we had run the watermaker for several hours during the day so were well topped up with water and the holding tanks were empty and ready for use. We also managed to find the one remaining laid line and picked that up. Other boats coming in dropped anchors only to have them fouled (probably on the concrete blocks or anchors for the laid line) and had to get divers in. We saw divers there every day.
Co-incidentally we had found that a friend Annette and her daughter Ashley were holidaying in Mykonos and in fact as we arrived they pulled up behind us in a cruiser they had chartered for the day – much yelling and screaming from onboard their boat. They were staying at a fantastic hotel (the sort you see pictures of in up market magazines) a short distance from the marina so a couple of hours after we had arrived we were at the hotel for drinks and the best food we had had for some time. After a long day on the water it turned out to be a long but enjoyable night helped by good Greek wine from Macedonia and finished off with ouzo. It was not an early start the next day.

The following day 29th June we spent with Annette sampling the delights of poolside life before then heading into the most delightful town of Mykonos with the myriad of alleyways and hundreds of shops – credit card came out a few times here. It is a very attractive setting presided over by the five windmills and looked upon by numerous cruise ships anchored off.

We also hired a scooter (Pam still nervous) and had a look around some of the island. That evening again met up with Annette and joined her and her US friends and children for a very good meal at a restaurant in the town recommended by the hotel.

What started out as an intended early night got us back on board after 0100 hrs and then a few hours sleep for a planned 0600 hrs start for the 100 mile passage to Athens. We had been keeping an eye on the forecast and only went as far south as Mykonos because there were southerlies forecast on the 30th June and 1st July. Thank goodness was correct as it would have been a very long day if the meltemi was blowing. Managed some good two sail reaching and motor sailing if it got too light and covered the 100 miles in a little over 12 hours.
We have now left Savarna at the Zea marina in Athens until we return in September. As we arrived at the marina we passed a Hanse 370 on a berth and they waved out and then as they saw our stern they waved out very vigourously. Later found out this was also a kiwi boat – Manaia, owned by Jamie Thomas and his wife. The Zea marina is dominated by the superyachts tied up stern to in the outer basis – there are plenty of them. We are on the end of E pier angled in with a big cruiser on one side and a 150 ft ketch on the other. There was a fresh cross wind blowing when we arrived but fortunately we managed to berth without damage or touching the adjoining boats. Had a chat to the Israeli skipper (I was wearing a cap from Herzilya marina which is where he comes from) and he was pointing out the number of boats around us that had been repossessed by banks – he reckoned that was why the marina was so full as many of the boats were sitting waiting a sale.
That’s it for this trip
Cheers
Pam & Keith

The island of Limnos is in the Eastern Sporades group of islands and is about 60 miles off the coast of Macedonia so it is well north. The island is the site of a Bronze Age city called Hephaestia which we did not visit. The town was delightful, backed by a magnificent castle, and the reception from Port Police, Coastguard and Customs as we checked us and the boat into Greece would rate as the friendliest and quickest yet. We do not think the island gets many tourists and the town quay only has room for maybe 12 yachts.

It was still blowing hard so we spent a couple of nights here on anchor. Also wasted a good part of one day trying to get a Greek Vodafone sim card for our phones and data. In the end we gave up and I walked out – the service and knowledge and the Vodafone attitude made it impossible as everything the girl in the shop was doing was being faxed to Athens. The Kiwi guy we met here said that it had taken him 5 days to get a sim card!

From Limnos we could see Mt Athos at the end of the Akti Peninsular. This peninsular is well known as while part of Greece it has financial and administrative automony – there are 20 monasteries and women are not allowed – a yacht with women on board is required to stay at least 1 mile offshore. Talk about religious s

On 23rd June we departed Limnos initially for Skiathos (thus moving from the eastern Sporades to the northern Sporades) but when we realised that was 90 miles away we revised that plan and found the most delightful and remote bay yet in the Med. The island of Pelagos is north of the island of Skopelos (famous as the location for the film Mama Mia) and at the northern end we slipped through a 70 metre wide channel (6 metres of water) into a bay (Planitis) with two arms with beautiful still and clear water and no inhabitation (although a few goats around). As we entered we were thinking lets hope there are no other boats here – but there were three. Absolutely stunning place and reminded us of Whangaroa. Meltemi has stopped blowing and the next day we motorsailed down the eastern side of Pelagos and then into the passage between the islands of Alonnisos and Peristeri. A beautiful protected passage much like the Waiheke Passage but around 10 miles long. Very protected waters, lots of holiday homes – houses with jetties and boats anchored off. We anchored in Ormos Agnondas for a swim and lunch with a few taverna’s at the head of the bay and again a very nice sandy beach.

From here we motored the few miles across to the town of Skopelos on the island of the same name. Tied up on the town quay next to a British boat – the owners have lived on the island of Alonnisos for 20 years. That evening the guy who looks after water and power supply came along and said big storm brewing and got all the boats to run spring lines back to the quay. All was quiet until around 2130 hrs and suddenly it started blowing 30 – 40 knots with an initial heavy burst of rain. That finished around midday the next day and then started up again the following night but with no more rain. Ferries were cancelled into the port and the waves were breaking high on the breakwater and covering the boats in salt water spray. Not good sleeping conditions as much checking of lines during the night and the plenty of howling wind of a no “go to sleep” variety. In any reasonable NE’ly there is a roll into the harbour so it is never going to be the best anchorage on Skopelos however it is at the main town.
eparatism!
Skopelos is a wonderful town, very friendly people and with lots cultivation across the island – vines, olives, almonds and famous for plums. Otherwise heavily wooded with pine trees. On the second day we rented a car and drove right along the southern coast and found many delightful bays , a small marina and anchorages (these would have been better than tied up on the quay at the town). We drove back down the middle of the island on an ancient dirt and metal road with our 4 wheel drive little jeep. Never saw another vehicle or person (apart from one amazed goat herder who clearly thought we were mad) the whole trip – best described as a very rough trip and not the best idea I have ever had.

We had planned to get across the few miles from Skopelos to Skiathos (described as a junior Myconos) but time was against us. This whole area is one of the nicest areas we have come across for cruising in Greece – lots of islands, plenty of well protected bay for anchoring and several towns if tying up to shore is the requirement. There is an airport on Skiathos and reportedly several charter companies operate from there.
Shopping at Skopelos was spread up winding, white cobblestone lanes and we even found some food and wine at a delicatessen which was a pleasant surprise. The wine we bought was very good. Like many of the islands the waterfronts are given over entirely to restaurants and taverna’s and retail activity in the “back” streets. The price for us for two nights on the quay was EUR 10 including power and water. The island has a population of 6,000 and in the town there are 123 churches plus a few monasteries around the island.
Probably the sensible route south from here would be across to Skiathos and then through the channel at the northern end of Nisos Evia then follow the passage south on the western side of Evia. Because of time constraints we went pretty much due south to the southernmost island in the northern Sporades group of Skyros. This was a 40 mile passage and we got away mid afternoon as the wind started to drop away. We had a fast motorsail with the main up and a following wind so we made an easy 8 knots and were at anchor in Ormos Ay Fokas by 2000 hrs. One other yacht arrived shortly after us and the one taverna at the head of the bay lit the outdoor fireplace with much flame showing but gathered no business from yachties this night. We had a great nights sleep in calm water which was a much needed improvement on the past two nights.
The local fishermen laid out a net across the bay as dusk fell managing to go about 100 metres across our stern at one stage. Fortunately they were up earlier than us the next morning.
The main town is Linaria and that was a couple of bays further south down the coast from where we anchored. The pilot had a couple of adjacent marked bays to the south reported as good anchoring places however the chart shows submarine cables going into both bays hence we chose Ormos Ay Fokas. The prospect of gaining the reputation for taking out the island power supply did not appeal. We did not have time to call in to Linaria which was a shame as the island has a reputation for yoga workshops and alternative medicines which would have made it interesting. Unlike the rest of the northern Sporades this island is off the beaten track and quite a distance from other islands.

After this on to Mykonos.

Cheers
Pam & Keith

After six days in Istanbul at the awful Atakoy marina we topped up with diesel (expensive in Turkey at lire 3.46 a litre) on Saturday 19th June. When coming to settle up the marina fees we found it was not possible to pay at the marina office but we had to go to the “pay office” a mile away up the road and out of the marina. We can not recommend this marina at all.
The first stop was planned to be the island of Marmara again but this time we had seen on the chart a small bay on the northern side of the island that was in a more direct line back to the Dardenelles so despite the NE’ly blowing we thought it looked a likely bay offering good shelter. The 15 knot breeze and direction gave us a good genaker ride for several hours of the 60 mile passage and we were followed by what turned out to be around a 120 mile race from Istanbul to a rounding mark off the SE corner of Marmara Island. The first four boats were sailing the angles with genakers and got in front of us (all bigger race boats with black sails) as we trundled along with the wind well aft and no gybing.

The bay turned out to be quite pleasant with a sandy beach and located so that it gave us good shelter behind a headland, one other yacht there and another arrived shortly after us. The notable feature of the bay was that above it were a series of marble mines and slabs of marble were being cut out and the huge blocks then trucked to the bay and loaded onto a ship by a container crane – one block at a time.

The word marmara is apparently the Turkish word for marble and the island is thus marble island. It was good to be back at anchor after six days in a marina. The following day was another 60 mile run to Canakkale (pronounced Cha-nark-a-lay) and back to the quayside facility we had been at 8 or 9 days before. We unsuccessfully tried to find the restaurant recommended by the Australian couple we had met on the Gallipoli tour and ultimately ended up at what looked like a popular waterfront place where they did do good fish dishes.
A lot of tourists come to Canakkale as it serves as the departure point for Gallipoli tours as well as the ancient city of Troy on the coast to the south west. So on Monday 21st June we boarded the Hassle Free Tours bus (from their office and backpackers hotel at Anzac House) for a three hour tour of Troy. At the site there is, as expected, a big wooden horse – but not as good as the one at Canakkale which is the one from the Brad Pitt film. This latter horse stands near the marina on the waterfront at Cannakale. Troy is on quite a hill and is the site of nine cities called Troy that spanned from around 150 BC to 350 AD. As each city was destroyed by fire or earthquake it was rebuilt on the same site. As the earlier cities were built of mud-bricks the hill gradually grew. The ruins are not impressive in the sense that wonderful columns or statues have been discovered but rather that to date they have only excavated 10% of the site and in places it is possible to see the nine layers of construction. It seems very much the poor relation as compared to over archaeological sites in Turkey and the walkways etc are poorly maintained. The guides were unable to say whether the wooden horse and Helen are figments of Homer’s imagination but if they are true they reckon that it must have been Troy 2 where Helen resided.

We then had the afternoon at Canakkale to have a look around the town and in particular to partake of a Turkish haircut – this time around no flames were produced however the cut may as well have been a complete shave. No hair to blow in the wind for several weeks I think! This exercise was completed with a shoulder and neck massage – and when Pam walked in she got the massage treatment also. We had received an email from Rob & Jackie on Arwen (EMYR friends) who had passed through about 10 days before us and they noted the difficulties in checking out of Turkey from Canakkale which took several hours and several long taxi rides.

One of the guys at the “marina” office declared himself as an agent so we used his services at a huge cost (EUR150) to handle the check out and then found that the Customs officers (some 15 k’s away) wanted to see us also so the agent had to drive us out to the Customs office.
It was blowing hard from the NE while we were at Canakkale and we were on the inside berth with a lot of local boats tied at the right angle to us. I could see some challenges in actually getting out of the berth as once we dropped the bow line we were likely to immediately be blown across the bow lines that were at right angles to us and therefore running the risk of catching the keel or rudder. Fortunately the steel Russian boat next to us left early and we were able to run a line from our bow to the next boat along (very helpful Swedish owners) and pull the across so we were head to wind, then drop all lines and give plenty of rev’s.
We hoisted a reefed mainsail up in the straits outside the marina and then it was a blast at 11 knots for a few hours while we were carried by the current and strong winds for the 50 mile odd passage to the Greek island of Limnos (or Lemnos). Had a great sail and rather than go around to the town of Limnos on the western side of the island we pulled into the big bay called Ormos Moudhrou and anchored in a small bay called Freshwater Bay. This had a nice sandy beach, covered in day tripper deck chairs etc but by early evening the place was deserted. Still blowing hard but we got a good anchor down in about 8 metres on a sandy bottom. Temperatures only in low to mid 20’s and quite cool in the evenings. Ormos Moudhrou was the Allies base for the launch and supply line for the Gallopoli invasion and it was hard to visualise the bay filled with destroyers, battleships and transport ships.
The following day we motored around to the town of Limnos and tied up on the town quay. Unfortunately, and still blowing hard across the quay, we were upwind of a German couple on an 11 metre boat who complained about everything we were doing – e.g. not enough fenders down, we were to big next to him, our anchor was on the wrong angle etc. We were in fact not that comfortable with the cross wind so in the end we decided to relocate and anchor in the bay 100 metres off the quay – this was much better as while windy at least we got some breeze to keep the boat cool.
There was another kiwi yacht here and Alister swam out to say g’day. He and his wife live on the yacht (an Island Packet design from the USA) and left New Zealand some years earlier and sailed to the Med.
Cheers
Pam & Keith

Having departed Canakkale we still had about 20 miles of the Dardenelles to contend with and on some of the bends the current was running strong so our time over the ground was quite low. We tended to hug the shore as much as possible to try and avoid the worst of the current. Shortly before we emerged from the Straits a very ominous looking cloud bank started moving in our direction so it was very clearly a case of donning, for the first time for 2/3 years, wet weather gear. We got hit by a substantial electrical storm – as the eye of the storm passed over us, with very heavy rain a forked lightening blast immediately followed by a huge roll of thunder shut off our radar (that I had turned on just before the storm reached us as visibility was going to be an issue), took out the GPS, shut down a couple of other functions on the chart plotter and later I found that all the switch board panel instruments that give tankage readouts, battery charge rates etc was also shut down. Fortunately after shutting down and reopening various of the electronics most of the gear came up again, particularly the GPS and radar but we have lost a couple of functions that we will need to get looked at by the next Simrad guy we find.
The Belgium’s on Nehalennia followed us all day about 1.5 miles behind and as the day cleared after the storm we were able to have a very nice sail to the southern side of Marmara island and get a peaceful anchorage off a small village for the night. I needed to hoist the mainsail anyway as I did not have the cover zipped up and the lazy jack bag was full of water.
The final leg of the northwards trip ended in Istanbul on Sunday 13 June when we pulled into the worst marina I have ever been in – namely the outrageously expensive Atakoy marina (EUR105 a night) some 20 minutes from the centre of Istanbul. You certainly pay for the convenience – and they would say privilege of staying at one of the most poorly and ill disciplined marinas I have ever seen. If I start writing about it in detail it will turn me to drink so I will not start. If they had a complaints book at the reception I would have taken up a few pages. Our arrival alone was marred by the marina boat boys fouling their bow line on our bow thruster – they said they could get a diver within a couple of days to clear it. I got in the filthy water with a snorkel and cleared it while they watched – I suspect it is likely to be the first time they have seen an owner do something like that as they were clearly astounded.
Istanbul – where east meets west, where Europe meets Asia! Wow what a place what a town. It is a seething mass of 17 million people (from 4 million some 20 odd years ago), many stunning mosques, thousands of restaurants, several forms of good public transport and people trying to sell you everything you never wanted – including old nails in the bazaar. We have spent the last 6 days there and really barely scratched the surface. We did visit the famous Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofia, the Topkapi Palace, the 1500 year old underground water cistern, the Grand Bazaar and the upmarket area of Beyoglu. We rode on buses, trams, light rail, trains and taxis – all accessed with the Istanbul card that is a swipe card and you can top it up at any number of street stalls all around the city.
We caught up with Kate Morton and her partner Gareth Thomas from Sydney the night we arrived for drinks at a Beyoglu bar and then dinner at Sofyali 9 restaurant also in Beyoglu, described in Lonely Planet as serving up some of the best meyhane food in Istanbul. They were able to give us the benefit of their local knowledge as they had been there a couple of days already. They came out to Savarna for dinner the following night where we were also able to undertake some comparative sampling of raki and ouzo – with and without water. I am not sure we convinced Gareth of the medicinal benefits of raki!
We were also very fortunate to be taken to lunch, at a stunning, very upmarket, restaurant with great views over the Golden Horn waterway to the Topkapi Palace, by Seyfi a commercial partner in a local law firm to whom we had been introduced. It was indeed a splendid lunch and Seyfi ensured we had the best of Turkish wine to assist in the digestion process.
The big sights:
1, The Blue Mosque – huge, built between 1606 – 1616, some 260 windows, and hundreds of thousands of blue mosaic tiles – hence its name. Four huge pillars old up the dome.

2. The Aya Sofya (Church of the Divine Wisdom) – built between 527 and 536 AD and regarded as the greatest church in Christendom. Mehmet the Conqueror converted it to a mosque in 1453 and then Ataturk declared it a museum in 1935. Has had some restoration work funded by Unesco. The interior has a magnificent doomed ceiling. Fantastic!
3. Basilica Cistern – the original water supply for Istanbul once holding 80,000 cubic metres of water that was pumped via an aquaduct 20 k’s from the Black Sea. It is 65 metres wide, 143 metres long and supported by 336 columns arranged in 12 rows. The walk through it underground was stunning and cool after the heat above ground.
4. The Topkapi Palace – covers many hectares on the hillside looking onto the Sea of Marmara, up the Bosphorous Straits and up the Golden Horn. Impressive display of the wealth and lifestyle of various rulers of undemocratic tendencies. Such places as the black Eunuch’s courtyard, the concubines and consorts courtyard, the Sultan’s quarters, the library, the dining room and of course the harem where Sultan Murat 111 had 112 children – talk about engaging in debauchery.

5. The Grand Bazaar – several thousand stalls in covered cobblestone walkways where one can buy anything. Fifty metres of stalls selling nothing but buttons – how can they make any profit? It requires a tough skin to ward off the vendors who try every trick in the book to engage and then lure you into their shop. The favourite line is where do you come from – after a while I started responding by saying the Cook Islands to throw them off the sell tack. The Cook Islands came to mind because at Canakkale we saw a 41 ft launch registered in the Cook Islands.

6. The Bosphorous Straits boat tour – a 2 hour trip up the Asian side past the two bridges almost to the Black Sea and then returning down the European side. A pleasant way to see some sights and “do the Bosphorous” that most famous of waterways. Plenty of wooden summer houses built by the Ottoman aristocracy and foreign ambassadors particularly on the Asian side, plus a few palaces and forts.
One advantage of the marina was that there was a Galleria shopping centre 10 minutes walk away and that housed pretty much all the major international brands so we did use the credit card there more than we maybe should have.

Caught up with Eric and Marleen off Nehalennia for drinks on Friday night (18th June). We left Istanbul on Saturday 19th June after topping up with diesel at lire 3.46 a litre. Last year the exchange rate to the dollar was about lire 1.10 to the dollar – this year it is lire 1.30 to the dollar so that at least helps the diesel price.
After leaving Istanbul we got the dreadful news that Bruce Wilson had died of a heart attack on his way back to their boat Kiwi Volant last Wednesday evening at the Black Sea port of Inebolu. Bruce and Amanda were one of the three kiwi yachts in the EMYR last year with us and Amanda had been to school with me some 45 years ago and no contact in the interim. We emailed Amanda and offered to drive through to Inebolu and help bring the boat back to Istanbul but she had already located a delivery skipper. As I write this she will be on her way back to Auckland – both of them are very capable and experienced sailors and last year had started living the dream a she described it. It is very very sad but again just illustrates the point – don’t leave the items on the bucket list until it is to late; at least they had started. Their blog can be found by googling “travelpod kiwi volant.”
Overall weather has been very kind in the sense we have had no strong winds as the meltemi has yet to appear. Water warm for swimming and getting up to the high 20’s during the day.
Cheers and our thoughts are of Bruce and with Amanda.
Pam & Keith

Leaving Bozcaada, again with only light head winds so still motoring, we started to feel we were within sight of our destination of Istanbul, although still some 130 miles away. As we entered the Straits we could clearly see the Turkish war memorial on the northern side and further to the NW the smaller and less dramatic British memorial. The Dardenelle Straits are about 40 miles long and at there narrowest only a little over a mile wide – at Canakkale. At this point there is up to 4 knots of opposing current so slow progress motoring up in a yacht. The Dardenelles lead into the sea of Marmara and 100 miles across to Istanbul, then through the Borphorous Straits into the Black Sea that is bordered by Turkey, Bulgaria,Moldova,Ukraine,Russia and Georgia.
Going up the Straits we called up Hassle Free Tours (reference Lonely Planet) and found they have a daily 6 hours tour to Gallipoli that left at 1245 hrs each day. We booked and realised that it was going to be a close call for us to make it pushing the current. Anyway we got into the small town basis area, stern into the quay and said to the guy is it ok if we see you later and then ran for the tour company office. As it happened this tour joined up with the tour that left Istanbul in the early hours and it was running over an hour behind schedule so they put us into a small bus, onto the ferry and across to Eceabat on the northern side and then to a waterfront restaurant for lunch and a beer. The tour eventually lasted over 8 hours and we got back to Savarna around 2100 hrs.

The Gallipoli (or Gelibolu to the Turks) peninsular runs the full length of the Dardenelles and the allied forces plan was to land on the eastern side, get control of the bottom half of the peninsula and then get access to the strategic sea passage of the Dardenelles and then control the shipping traffic to Russia. Our tour guide was an expert and clearly he had read every book ever written on the Gallipoli history. The peninsular is now a national historic park and houses 31 grave sites which are now well maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and numerous momuments. Every hill and ridge has a name. We started the history tour in a boat off Anzac Cove on a warm, sunny day with only a slight sea breeze.

Our guide pointed out to us the various geographical features and was able to name the various commanders who had lead troops at different ridges. Lone Pine is the hilltop at 400 metres above sea level, that saw the Australians seize control on the day of the Gallipoli landing. It is the site of the Australian memorial and a large graveyard.

Upwards and along the ridge (called Johnston’s Jolly) for 3 k’s and we came to Chunuk Bair, the highest point on the peninsular and taken by the Kiwi’s but only held for 2 days until they retreated.

Between 6 and 9 August 1915 28,000 men were killed here in the fighting between the NZ Mounted Rifle Brigade and a Maori contingent and the counter attack lead by Mustafa Kemal (known as Ataturk. After this battle Ataturk was promoted to General and he went on to become the founder of modern Turkey. His photograph is in every government and office building in Turkey (it used to be of the Queen in NZ before we embraced multiculturalism). Ataturk allegedly said to his men “I am not ordering you to attack I am ordering you to die, other troops and commanders will come to take our places.” He was apparently hit by shrapnel in the chest but it hit his pocket watch – otherwise he would have been killed and what then would have happened?
At Chunuk Bair the NZ Government has erected a large memorial and next to that is a huge statue of Ataturk as you can see from the photo below.

Overall there were over 500,000 casualties in total, many bodies were never found and many are in mass graves. It was very sobering to walk among various of the well kept graveyards and to read the inscriptions – the youngest I saw was for a 14 year old Australian boy. The Gallipoli campaign lasted for 240 days from April to December 1915 and some 89,000 soldiers were successfully evacuated without the Turks realising the Allied forces were withdrawing.
In several places around the National Park were large, identical semi circular walls containing an inscription in English, on some, and Turkish on others. It is a quote by Ataturk:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent your sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears: your sons are now lying in our bossom….. after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
The Turks did not enter the second world war.
We met a couple of Australians on the tour from Port MacQuarrie (they do not know you Ben) and we discovered that she worked with a former employee of Richard the Shipman 72 owner. How we ascertained that is far to complicated a story to repeat here.
At Canakkale we were tied up next to the only other yacht there – a Belgium Halberg Rassy called Nehalennia owned by Eric and Marlene with their two dogs on board, one being a very friendly German Shepherd.
So it was that Sunday 12 June saw us depart Canakkale for the 60 mile passage to somewhere on the island of Marmara in the Sea of Marmara and the halfway point between Canakkale and Istanbul.

Cheers
Keith & Pam

Last time we were at Kusadasi in 2009 Pam was not well so we did not visit what is reportedly the most visited archaeological site in Turkey – Ephesus. The original site was occupied by the Ionians in 1000 BC (although the history goes back to the 7th century BC) and there has, as is par for the course in these places, being many occupiers who have all built, destroyed and rebuilt. It survived the conquest by Alexander the Great in 334 BC and he partly funded the construction of the temple with the deal being that it be dedicated to himself. When the temple was finished it was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world but known as the Temple of Artemis.

The Syrians, Egyptians and Persians and others have all been part of the history of Ephesus but the Romans had the biggest influence when they named Ephesus capital of Asia Minor and the population grew to 250,000. Ephesus was the centre of the cult of Cybele and she was the Anatolian fertility goddess. Cybele became Artemis under the Ionians and then Diana under the Romans. She was the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon. Not to sure if this Diana had anything to do with the golden arrow?
The house where the Virgin Mary spent her last days is just up the hill from the ruins and she was apparently cared for by John the Evangelist during her time at Ephesus. We visited the house and it is certainly in a very tranquil setting. St Paul visited the city in 53 AD and spent three years there.
The city was ultimately destroyed by the Goths in 262 AD although there were various rebuilding attempts in subsequent years. Clearly no lessons have been learn’t over the centuries. Ephesus used to be a coastal town but the valley eventually got silted up and it is now 5 k’s inland. Once silted up and sacked by the Goths its significance as a city diminished.

The site is well worth a visit and that explains the presence of the cruise ships that moor in the bay off Kusadasi. We met an English couple at the marina and again at Ephesus who had last visited 5 years ago and they commented as to how much excavations had been done since they last visited. Excavations began after the site was discovered around 1904 and they continue.
While at Kusadasi and on board someone called from the walkway “is Keith on board.” I went out and found a guy I had never seen before but who transpired to be an Australian (Richard) who has a Hanse 540 in Sydney and who I had exchanged emails with several times over the last year or two via the MyHanse website. He has just launched a Shipman 72 (red) and after a few beers on Savarna we went around to inspect his new toy. Stunning boat, built in carbon, carbon rig and PBO rigging etc.
So Tuesday 7th June we continued the northward passage and motor sailed the 40 mile passage to the small town of Sigacik near the archaeological site of Teos. Also a well known windsurfing region. There is a new marina there where we stopped overnight as did the Shipman 72 team. I have found it useful to carry the boat documents and papers around in the EMYR bag as that is well recognised in the Turkish marinas and attracts comment as well as the occasional discount.
From Sigacik it was more motor sailing (with main up only) as we headed 60 odd miles further north eventually stopping at the small fishing port of Dalyankoy, that is near Cesme. The town basin was to shallow for us but we anchored off the beach outside the entrance for the night and dinghied ashore for a look around and to buy some fresh fish given the continuing lack of the special lure to attract anything other than the occasional bit of seaweed.
Thursday 9th June was yet another 60 mile day northwards, again motor sailing when we went as far as Ayvalik and stayed at the Setur marina for the night. Setur marinas are never the cheap option and we ended up on a berth that was to short but fortunately it was a calm night. To get to Ayvalik it is necessary to pass through quite a narrow channel, well marked though, and then enter what is referred to as the “inland lake.” It is a lovely area and we ought to have chilled out and spent a couple of days there but we were on a north bound mission. The slopes behind the town are covered in pine and olive trees to make it an attractive setting. The topography is changing as we move and the mountainous of the south east is replaced by rolling cultivated farmlands turned over to cropping. In 1923 the Greeks in the town were essentially removed and swapped for Turks from Crete, Lesbos and Macedonia. Was this an early version of ethnic cleansing?

Just off the coast from here is the Greek island of Lesbos which is reputedly where lesbianism originated. A good marketing story for the island if nothing else.
The Pilot referred to an excellent fish restaurant in the old customs building at the end of the wharf so we walked around to see if it measured up. We had a good meal with a selection of messe dishes followed by sea bass. It was an interesting evening as most of the people were locals and English was not spoken. The sea bass came on its own and the young waiter did not know how to open a bottle of wine! The locals do not seem to drink wine with their meals but go straight to raki – with water added!
The next day saw another 60 mile push to the north to the island of Bozcaada. This was a military base for many years but has now opened up and we were the only yacht tied up to the town quay. In fact we have seen very few yachts to date – at best 2 or 3 a day. The island has had a history of wine making – reds, and after tying up a few of the locals, including the guy who appeared to be the harbour master, sitting at a nearby restaurant invited us over for a glass of wine. Served chilled from an unlabelled bottle but very good drinking. Bozcaada is the closest island and only 10 miles from the entrance to the 40 mile long Dardenelle Straits. We had an extensive walk around what proved to be an attractive town but like many others we have visited there are many restaurants and few people. We sat in the cockpit and had dinner listening to someone playing a violin from high up across the bay at the military headquarters.

Saturday 11th June saw us off for an early start as we knew we would be pushing a strong current (up to 4 knots) and the NE wind as we entered the Dardenelles – destination Canakkale about 15 miles up the straits.

We are finding that the building of new marina’s in Turkey is a booming business. The Turks are so concerned to keep the water quality clear that the new marina’s have rooms set aside for washing dishes off boats i.e. not allowed to wash dished on board. So no grease into the water. Ironically this prohibition does not extend to washing down the boat so all the accumulated grease and grime is nicely hosed off into the marina water!

That’s it for now.
Cheers
Keith & Pam

Computer problems have delayed the blog postings but hopefully these are mostly solved now. I arrived in Athens on schedule on 28 May and Pam came in from Berlin a few hours later. As we could not get a connecting flight to Leros (only one plane a day mostly) we overnighted in Athens at a nice hotel about 10 minutes walk from the Acropolis and a block from the Government buildings. By the time Pam arrived in the early evening the streets around the hotel (only 200 metres from the Parliament Buildings) were completely blocked, police everywhere as a large demonstration built that ultimately continued until around 0400 hrs. So a nice but noisy hotel!
As the Leros flight did not leave until early afternoon we walked to the Acropolis in the morning of Sunday 30 May and although quite early it was already hot and very busy – would hate to be there by late July though!

We enjoyed the Acropolis so much that we missed the flight to Leros and ended up at the very expensive Sofitel Hotel at Athens airport. Not only was the room expensive but the extra’s such as attendance at the Spa also contributed!

Savarna was booked to be relaunched first thing on Monday 31 May but as the weekday flights leave early we did manage to get to the marina at Leros by 1000 hrs, I needed to do a couple of small jobs before relaunch and we were launched by 1200 hrs. The cunning plan was to then put on the headsail and then immediately motor sail to Kos, around 25 miles southwards, where our local engineer friend Babis was holding the replacement wind gear sent from Holland and also a wifi booster I had sent from the UK. And while at Kos get the outboard serviced and a couple of other jobs done that Babis was booked to attend to. Unfortunately shortly after the relaunch I was attempting a small hydraulic repair around the stern door and the upshot of that experience was that the door was fully open and not going anywhere else. Bob, the expat local electrician (arrived on his boat 15 years ago and had a hernia operation at the local hospital, married the nurse – never got back to the UK) arrived and a very helpful guy he was but the repair defeated him. It transpired that there was one hydraulics guy on the island but he was off the island for a couple of days. So we resigned ourselves to getting the boat ready, sails on, rerun halyards etc etc. Our transit log had expired so we needed to go to Kos to get a new one issued and no doubt pay the Dodecanese tax that we were unexpectedly hit with last year.

What was a very nice touch though was the bottle of champagne left with the marina manager by Goran & Birgitta off Kenavo, Swedish friends from the 2010 EMYR, who unfortunately missed us by a few days but hopefully we will catch up lwith them ater in the year.
We hired the proverbial moped as our land based means of transport and after a couple of days I managed to get Pam to “give it a go” while I dealt with the machinations of a Greek language ATM. A few minutes later I heard Pam calling out for me from around the corner – she had attempted a sharp turn and ended up on the pavement with the bike on top of her. No damage to bike thank goodness – and Pam also ok. She discovered that with two wheels you have to put a foot on the ground when you stop.
By Thursday 2 June with stern door repaired (took 10 minutes and also found that the automatic stop mechanism which was what I had damaged had never worked and it still doesn’t) we departed Leros and motor sailed the 20 odd miles across to Turgutreis in Turkey north of Bodrum. Goodbye transit log problem. Completed the official arrival processes quite quickly and then called Babis at Kos to make arrangements to firstly cancel the work we had booked and secondly to arrange a dinghy rendezvous the following morning off Kos 7 miles away. That was all achieved satisfactorily and back at Turgutreis I managed to track down a Simrad electronics guy who went up the mast and installed the new transducer so for the first time for 18 months we had the wind gear fully operative.

So after a couple of nights at Turgutreis the trek northwards began and we motorsailed around 20 miles NE to a bay called Paradise (in the Pilot) in Kazikli Lamani. There were three other yachts there and so we chose to anchor in the next bay up. Holiday homes on the foreshore and pine forest on the hillside above. Quiet night at anchor in a lovely spot. On the way across the gulf we had visits from a number of dolphins, passed and went through and around numerous fish farms and before heading across the gulf we stopped at Guemuesleuk for lunch – a most delightful bay with plenty of waterfront restaurants, a few gulets and a couple of yachts, including another Hanse 531.

Meltemi not blowing yet so light headwinds, temps around mid 20’s and water temp around 21 degrees so very acceptable really. And of course clouds are a rarity!
There is a lot of political activity around as the national elections are coming up in a few days so posters, flags, vans with candidate photo’s and loud speakers are the norm. Our enquiries with the locals indicated that the ruling party was likely to get re-elected although no-one we spoke to thought that was the best option.

The following day Sunday 5 June we motored around 40 miles up to Samos, changed to a Greek flag and stopped in a bay on the southern side, but in the Samos strait that is about a mile or so wide at the narrowest point separating Samos from the Turkish mainland. A Greek border control boat cruised past while we were anchored. We could see the wind getting up to around 15 -20 knots and saw a nice tight reach across to Kusadasi, 15 miles away, coming up. And it was indeed a good reach with one reef in the main and sailed past the Greek border control boat with our Turkish flag flying and gave them a wave. We had called into Kusadasi a couple of years ago to do a visitor swap over and this is the furtherest north we have been in Turkey to date.

Called in to one not to be named shop and found a couple of pretty cool Xmas presents for young grandsons.
That’s it for now.

Cheers
Pam & Keith