Sea Cloud 2013: start of the season

This season we plan to sail the Dodecanese, across the Aegean to the Northern Sporades, up to Thessalonika and then down through the Eastern Sporades to Turkey.

April

After a pleasant day in Istanbul (trying to track down a lost bag) we arrived in Gocek for a mad scramble to uncover and prepare Sea Cloud for launching the next day.

It was great to see Sea Cloud looking so shiny and well looked after by Husseyin and his team at HMS. The launch is always stressful, but as usual was very capably handled by the team at Marinturk.

It seemed as though summer had come early to Gocek, with warm calm and sunny days, perfect for working on the boat.

Gocek is always so pleasant at the beginning and end of the season. The markets were great for provisions, and as usual and our stay and visits to Pruva Hotel very enjoyable.

We were amazed that we after 6 twelve hour days, Sea Cloud was ready to leave the dock, meaning we could take advantage of the beautiful weather and empty anchorages.

Although the weather was so warm there was still a lot of snow on the hills as we sailed towards Fethiye, where we planned to check out of Turkey.

Ian’s birthday was celebrated at a small restaurant overlooking sprawling Fethiye, and under the Lycian tombs.

The calm weather ended as we left Fethiye gulf. Motoring into strong wind and waves across to Rhodes was not the most pleasant of days.

What a great time of year to be in Rhodes, few tourists, only 4 yachts in the bay, room in the harbour,  no superyachts lining the waterfront and only one cruise ship.

Finally had some good sailing up to Symi, where we found some excellent mojitos made by a Cuban trained barman.

We were rudely awakened by our afternoon nap by a mammoth explosion – was it a bomb? earthquake? No, just only the Symians celebrating Easter exploding dynamite on the hills above the town. Apparently they often throw dynamite into the harbour, but luckily didn’t do so this year. Locals need to keep all windows open during the Easter weekend otherwise they shatter.

After a lazy start in Symi we sailed to Tilos for a night  before sailing on to Nisyros, an island we had been trying to get to for the last few seasons.

The small harbour in Nisyros was relatively crowded for this early in the season,  a combination of the Russian holidays and Greek Easter.

Nisyros was well worth the visit. The colours of the extinct volcano were beautiful.

The only other visitors at the volcano were  locals.

It is so green at this time of the year with lovely flora, obviously good for honey as we saw many beekeepers along the roadsides.

Mandraki with its monastery perched overlooking the town was a good place for dinner and watching the sunset.

Didim to Gocek

The temple of Didyma – a real surprise located in the centre of sprawling Didim amongst tumbled down farmhouses, and sheds-come souvenir stalls. A beautiful, and surprisingly huge temple, with informative information boards & no crowds.

Five minutes away, the more typical signs of modern Didim and its tackiness.

Miletos, 5km north of Didim, once the site of an important harbour city now lies many miles inland within the silted river delta.

Heat and plentiful water explain the extensive cotton fields in the fertile valley – in full harvest mode in October.

Not far from Miletus is Priene, a lovely ancient site situated on a plateau overlooking the plains has a small intimate amphitheatre – note the lion’s feet carved seats (for important people) in front row. As this theatre doubled for the oratorium the waterclock ensured that local politicians kept to their time limit.

The temple of Apollo, ravaged by earthquake, is now a field of elements of the fluted columns.

Stopped at the roadside fruit and vegies cooperative stalls on the road into Didim had the most beautiful, fresh and very cheap produce, with almost all everything less than TL1.50/kg (75 cents).

The Gulluk Gulf, between Didim and Bodrum was notable for its many fish farms. Although thankfully many of the farms have now been removed from smaller bays, the green, cloudy water  in these bays is very different to the normal pristine Turkish waters. On the up side, the fish farms and the large number of white concrete box holiday homes mean that there are few boats here, so we could anchor in isolation.

Ancient Iassos was a surprise, being a much more extensive site than we had anticipated, with a large archeological team currently at work digging.

After a few days in the gulf, swimming in the crystal clear water of Catalada was a treat. We finally made it to Datca, a place we had been meaning to visit for 2 seasons. We were very pleasantly surprised by this lovely, low -key town.

The planned one day stay turned into 2, then 3 as we had to visit the nearby Eski Datca, the quaint “old” town which has been sympathetically renovated (unfortunately mostly by foreigners).

We then had to stay for the Saturday market, to stock up with some fresh produce for our last week on Sea Cloud. Datca, famous for almonds, olives, honey and teas will be a spot to come back to in order to provision.

A few hours spent with Kemal, the Turkish rug trader resulted in some new rugs for Sea Cloud.

Our last visit to Kiseli Adasi & Bozburun for the season. “Captain Paradise” dropped in on queue!

Ian educated himself in the art of rejuvenating some of the dodger’s timber with 2 part varnish – surprisingly professional for an amateur!

Our final days on Sea Cloud included overnight anchorages at Serce Limani, our favourite Kucuruk Kuruk (Sea Cloud only boat in the bay), and a surprisingly busy Yassica Adalari where we managed to see Emily’s 2 bunnies just after dusk. The last week was one of thunderstorms, fortunately not too windy, just short periods of heavy rain to wash the boat.

After a few days in the marina to finish the pre-haul out check list, Sea Cloud was lifted to spend the winter back in sheltered yard at Marinturk Marina Gocek.

Rather than climb on and off the boat, we stayed back at Pruva Hotel, a good opportunity to enjoy Aylin and Sel’s wonderful breakfasts in their beautiful garden.

Also time for some sightseeing – the ancient sites of Pinara and Tlos, a short drive from Gocek. Pinara is accessed via a small road off the highway just north of Esen – not easy to find. The rather overgrown ruins are in a spectacular rugged setting. It is hard to imagine how the people managed to dig the large number of ‘pigeon’ rock tombs into the high, vertical rock face overlooking the site.

We managed to find the unusual heart shaped pillars and nearby penis relief on a column, part of the original temple to Aphrodite – who says the Greeks weren’t romantic?

Tlos, has many intact Lycian tombs cut into the rock face in seemingly impossible places to access; the Roman baths, an amphitheatre and remains of recent (19th C) Ottoman castle atop the hill.

The rich, fertile farmland between the Pinara and Tlos has field after field of pomegranate trees, particularly pretty at this time of year with their colourful fruit.

It was hard to leave Gocek as the weather was still warm and sunny, with charterers still arriving for sailing holidays. Quite different from last years storm and gale force winds during our last week aboard. With Sea Cloud covered and on the hardstand we returned to jobs and families in Sydney until next April.

September in Western Turkey

September – Italy – Marmaris to Didim

Our month of work and catching up with family and friends behind us, we returned to Sea Cloud Italy for some land content in conjunction with a conference in Bologna. We spent a few days driving, cycling and eating our around Ravenna, Ferrara and the Po Delta.  It was great to catch up with our good friends Beverley and Dwight in Bologna, in between conference sessions.

Cath’s brother David had arrived in Marmaris a few days before us, so we were all keen to get sailing. Reprovisioned and cleaned Sea Cloud in record time before a great sail to Bozuk Boku, albeit into a SW wind on the nose. There were 4 Hallberg Rassys in the bay that night, one being another Aussie HR48, Enki II (2005). It was great to finally meet  Alex and Diana with whom we had been corresponding intermittently by email for the past 18months.

Bozburun and our favourite Kisel Adasi anchorage were the next stopping place. We were greeted as usual by ‘Mr Paradise’ in his small supply boat and the other locals who regularly visit the bay supplying us with fresh bread and this time, the most amazing fresh figs. Main problem is trying not to eat too many of them as it can give the heads quite a workout!

During our brief visit to Symi, where we anchored in Pethi (one bay south of the main harbour) we witnessed the distressing sight of a local moored yacht suddenly catching on fire. Terrifying to see how quickly the fire caught hold on this timber yacht. There was no sign of the fire brigade, just a group of nearby locals with buckets extinguishing the blaze.

Donkeys and horses are not just used to carry tourists in Greece, they are also used for lugging cement and building materials up the steep and narrow streets of Symi.

September is a great time to cruise, we were the only boat overnight in this lovely bay with its beautiful pebbly beach and just a few people camping on shore – also a good place to search for interesting coloured beech pebbles for Cath’s collection.

We had to show David Knidos and anchored in the bay in the calm to explore the ruins (originally Greek, C 350BC). The following morning the crowds were well and truly there, with gulets dumping anchors anywhere they could – often disturbingly close. That’s the price one pays for popular spots near ancient sites.

The light winds were the perfect opportunity to finally pull out the gear and put up our cruising chute. So easy to do, and such a pleasant sail in very light winds on our stern quarter.

Bodrum, David’s drop off point was a good opportunity to reprovision and visit Kocadon, the restaurant we had been to previously. While David checked into his hotel, we watched the antics of a pair of very drunk, topless French girls who managed to smash glasses and dump pool furniture into the pool. The poor Turkish men staffing the hotel had to try to deal with these 2 who were only wearing very brief bikini bottoms.  Despite Ian’s enthusiasm to capture the event on film, I wouldn’t let him take photos of this for the blog! We enjoyed our view of Bodrum Castle from Sea Cloud, but didn’t appreciate being so close to the nightclubs – not much sleep that night!

With David on his way to explore more of Turkey, we escaped Bodrum to the peace and quiet of the beautiful Catalada Island where we were one of 3 boats overnight.

We had a late change of plan, heading north rather than south. We based ourselves and the new Didim Marina so that we could explore the sites of Pergamon and Ephesus and the smaller, less touristy sites around Didim (Didyma, Priene & Miletus).

The Asclepion, on the edge of modern Pergamon, was once connected to the main Acropolis on the mountain  by a 4km long colonnaded road. It was a beautiful site, with temples, an amphitheatre and a ‘healing’ spring, now a feeding a pool occupied by tortoises.

Over the temple of Apollo, the gods turned on the first clouds we’d seen in 4 months, highlighting the grandeur of the Pergamon Acropolis, a spectacular site perched on a mountain overlooking the town. We spent quite some time searching for the wonderful temple of Zeus which has been transported piecemeal and now lives in the Pergamom museum in Berlin. All that remains is the foundation and a few rocks under two trees. (PS: Pergamon museum is a must see in Berlin)

Selcuk with it famed storks nests was a very convenient land base as it was so close to Ephesus. Our cute little hotel with its pleasant internal courtyard (and interesting bathroom sign) overlooked the stork nests perched atop the Roman aqueduct running through the town. Apparently storks nest in Selcuk each summer before their southward migration, but unfortunately had left by the time we arrived. Selcuk, the closest town to Ephesus and was surprisingly peaceful, with a good range of restaurants and accommodation. Much less hectic than Kusadasi where most people stay en route to Ephesus.

Ephesus was definitely the most extensive, but also busiest site we have visited in Turkey. Unfortunately a cruise ship had disgorged its passengers that morning. Nonetheless, this site truly incredible; very expansive with enough intact and (some say over-) reconstructed structures for one to picture the buildings and aspects of daily life here in its time.

Very impressive is the covered hillside terraced houses – a glass structure (Austrian-sponsored) covering the excavated ruins of some very substantial terraced houses with surprisingly well preserved mosaics and wall frescoes. For the serious jig-saw experts, there is always a job going in order to reconstruct the marble flooring.

A hot and busy day exploring the site was followed by a shady lunch, a search in a carpet shop for some rugs for Sea Cloud; a final chai in Selcuk prior to the long drive back to Didim marina.

The kids in Turkey

Another much anticipated event of the season was to have  Andrew, Emily and Jack join us on Sea Cloud. The plan was to meet them in Rhodes, Greece (for a bit of history and culture) then sail across to Turkey where we had picked out our favourite places and events for them to experience.  On our way to Rhodes we had a night in Tilos, a lovely small, unspoilt island. The small harbour was really well organised by their female harbourmaster. A refreshing change for Greece!

It was great to anchor in the bay at Rhodes, just outside the city walls. The kids arrived late at night, waking the next morning to the view of this wonderful city. Ian acted as tour guide for the morning while I performed the check out formalities.

As it was Jack’s first time sailing, we had been worrying about sailing the stretch between Rhodes and Marmaris, as the swell and winds can be rather nasty. He coped admirably, it was a great sail, with winds around 20knots on our beam for the rather fast sail across to Ekincik.

Their first experience of Turkey was a boat trip up the Dalyan River, to see the turtles, the rock tombs and the ancient town of Caunos.

Good breezes between Ekincik and Fethiye gave Jack the opportunity to sail the boat under Ian’s instruction.

A visit to Turkey would not be complete without a visit to a Turkish barber and a hamam, a great experience for all. The small Yacht classic hotel marina was a pleasant base for a visit to Fethiye.

Dragging behind the boat was  a great way to cool down on a hot day with no wind on our way to Oludeniz. Diving off the boat and jumping off high rocks were favourite past times – seems nothing has changed since the Andrew and Emily last sailed with us in 2003 when they were nearly 10years younger!

The isolated bay in which we anchored had  regular visits from the couple making gozleme and beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

Andrew, Emily and Jack enjoyed paragliding at Oludeniz as much as we had last year.

Our last few days before Emily and Jack headed for Berlin were spent in Fethiye Bay, where they even found some rabbits like Dolly on one of the islands!

As Andrew was leaving us in Marmaris a few days later, we had time to find some wonderful anchorages and for father and son bonding (this was a good day).

The afternoon winds in Fethiye Bay were surprisingly good, especially as the wind forecast was never for more than about 8 knots in the area.

Temperatures in the high 30’s meant that even the cows in Marmaris bay take to the water.

The aim of our last 2 weeks left before heading home was to find relatively uncrowded bays (if possible in July) where we could swim, relax and get some jobs done. Kiseli Adasi, near Bozburun was ideal with its crystal clear water, enough breeze, relative peace and quiet, daily deliveries of fresh bread, and of course a herd of goats on shore.

The nearby Sabrina’s Haus was  a lovely spot for a special dinner.

Santorini and back

Following the departure of Pat and Sandra, we had 11 days to get to Santorini for the wedding (220Nm round trip). Sounds simple but the forecast tells us the first big meltemi for the season will arrive in the central Aegean in 48hrs – meaning we’d motor all the way to Mykonos or Paros only to sit there for 5 days in a force 8 gale. Instead we decided to spend the next week exploring Patmos, Agathonisi, Arki and then, when the high winds hit the Dodecanese, we’d wait it out in Leros and review the situation. (Winds off Leros gusted to 48kts, vindicating our decision!)

 

Grikos Bay (Patmos Is) – fantastic swimming spots

 

Sunset – Yeoriyos Bay (Patmos Is)

Paradisos Bar, Pandeli became our favourite haunt when waiting out bad weather. Low key place with great freddo cappuccinos and good WiFi.

Finally, the winds between Leros and Amorgos dropped sufficiently to consider setting out on the first leg of our trip to Santorini – although we knew it would still be pretty brisk. Good sailing with 22 – 25kts (nasty little 1 – 2.5m waves with short wavelength) on the first leg to Levitha WSW of Leros.

 

Levitha anchorage is only 50m across, long and narrow with 12 laid moorings in 2 parallel lines – those furthest in to head of inlet only in 2m of water, but even those in 3-4m looked horrifyingly shallow as we headed up the “alleyway” (only a couple of boat lengths wide) between the moored boats with 25kts of wind behind us. Manoeuvring in this tight section was very difficult because Sea Cloud’s turning circle grossly exceeded the space available! Managed to get in, a goodly collection of boat hooks clearly visible on the bottom says that we’re not the first to have a couple of shots at this!

 

Levitha is a tiny windswept island owned by 2 families, one of which runs a small taverna for passing yachties, and has hundreds of goats and sheep searching for occasional scraps of vegetation. Cathy heads for the taverna up the hill and gets an inkling of what’s on the menu.

Next leg Levitha to Ios passing south of Amorgos (60Nm). Probably a good thing we couldn’t get forecast update (no internet on Levitha) as a Force 8 gale came up late morning – by which time we were well on the way to Ios. Nonetheless, we’d known for days that he stretch from Levitha to Amorgos was going to be pretty hectic with strong winds and wave heights > 2.5m predicted. Wind strengths averaged 25 – 33 kts with gusts to 38kts. Once west of Amorgos we should have been through the worst of it – instead the wind increased further to constant high 30’s as we approached Ios. Sea Cloud handled the challenging conditions throughout day beautifully as we thought she would but had never seen her do it!

Finally anchored in Manganari Bay on very southern tip of Ios in 33kts. “The pilot book says right here that this bay provides “good shelter in a Meltemi” – why is it blowing 40kts?” asks Cathy. Wind continued to howl with gusts up to 40k till around 3am. Managed to sleep like babies knowing our anchor totally buried in sand, with anchor alarm on and with miles of open sea to leeward!

Ios (Manganari Bay). Awoke next morning to a calm, beautiful, crystal clear, sparkling, emerald green bay.

Took the opportunity of a brief break in the wind to get ashore, stretch the legs and have a swim on a lovely sandy beach followed by a hearty breakfast at the local beachside café. (The blue fishing boat in the foreground was blown up there in a southerly gale 4 weeks earlier!). The weather forecast predicts the meltemi to continue for next 24hrs at least – sure enough it was blowing dogs off chains again by midday and throughout the night.

Toby and Ellie’s wedding day in Santorini. Mustn’t be late! Short 12Nm sail south to Santorini from Ios with 24kts of breeze on stern quarter. Passing the rugged north tip of Santorini early morning.

Arriving into the caldera of Santorini under full sail – a very exciting moment!

The sheer grandness of it all towering above us and the myriad white washed houses along the ridge line hundreds of metres above us was spectacular.

Where/how to anchor in a volcanic caldera 300m deep in the centre? Getting a secure anchorage in Santorini can be a challenge. We’d phoned the harbour master who advised the weather had prevented the dredging of the sand bar at the entrance to the small marina on the south coast. With depths of only 1.8m that was not an option. Inside the northern tip of the island, off the hamlet of Oia, we found 10 substantial looking moorings – about 6 clearly for commercial use and/or occupied. We first picked up one vacant mooring in 10m of water but after diving on it I was horrified to see not chain but rather 6 frayed lengths of rope that had been successively added to over time. Additionally, the top shackle had half rusted through and the bottom end of the ropes disappeared into the depths rubbing & fraying over a sharp volcanic ledge 8-10 m below!) Quickly moved to another very large mooring in 30m with very substantial chain in good nick. Unfortunately couldn’t dive deep enough to get a look at the bottom, but felt pretty confident it was OK and verified this with local tour boat operator.

Sea Cloud finally safely moored in 30m of water under OiaTime was slipping away and we have to get to the wedding – next problem – how to get up several hundred meters to the top of that cliff? Not as easy as it sounds as the usual steep switchback track collapsed last year (landslide left of picture) killing 2 people and their donkey so the track is now impassable.

Smugglers cove: We threw some glad rags into a back pack and took the tender around the north corner towards Ammoudi Bay – just south of which was a small “smugglers” cove –surprisingly calm considering its relatively exposed location. Dropped Cathy and the bags ashore on the rocks, chained the dinghy to one of the lines presumably used in calm conditions by local fishing boats – sufficiently far from the rocks to avoid damage to the dinghy and outboard amongst the swell. Swam ashore (with fingers crossed the dinghy would be in one piece upon return!)

Ammoudi bay looking up. Still running late and how to get up to the top to meet Suzie and Paul?

…… by donkey of course! It’s the best 5 Euros you’ll ever spend skipping up to the top on a frisky donkey as he lurches around the edges rubbing your legs against the wall and giving you a more than ample view of the precipitous drop below you!

Spectacular view of Oia looking north – and still not quite to the top

 

Oia looking south into caldera. Sea Cloud moored a long way below.

Rendezvous with Suzie and Paul – the proud parents of the groom in the most spectacular spot for a wedding ceremony

Sea Cloud’s sea dogs scrubbed up sufficiently to meet the “summer elegance” dress code for the occasion.

Ellie and Merv the proud father of the bride

Ceremony – Ellie, Toby and best man Patrick.

Mr and Mrs Tait!

Three of the many divas attending the wedding – Annabelle and Suzie Tait with Cathy set off the classic Santorini afternoon. The reception followed at the Wave Bar on the south coast at Vlychada beach. In typical Greek style, music and dancing kicked on till dawn.

The day after the wedding and post-wedding after parties, back to Sea Cloud (boat and dinghy all in good shape) in time to take in the sunset into the Aegean followed by some R&R, sipping a Campari soda on Sea Cloud lying peacefully at anchor while contemplating the amazing events of the past few days.

Farewell to Santorini as we sailed south across the caldera in the early morning light. Once out of the caldera it was a 64Nm sail NE to Astipalia on a beam reach in 11 – 16kts.

Arrival in Astipalia – spectacular chora and fort on the hill overlooking the harbour.

Astipalia harbour – spectacular for its complete lack of organisation and disinterest from port police in the daily anarchy; half closed for repairs; small craft in deep sections of harbour; power and water on the opposite wall to the boats etc, etc. Examples of Med mooring displayed here were off the idiocy scale – even Cathy was on the bow gesticulating. High point for the evening was rescuing a cormorant from drowning – freed it from a fisherman’s net left lolling in the water while the bird bit little holes in Ian’s fingers.

The line of windmills right through the middle of town gives a clue to the fact that strong winds blow in Astipalia nearly constantly.

Walk up to the chora and fort provides wonderful views of the coastline of Astipalia.

Sailed from Astapalia back to Leros (46Nm). Pandeli Bay has become a bit of a base in recent weeks – with the best Mojitos in the Dodecansese – why not?

June 2012 Dodecanese Islands

Arriving in Kos – a short (less than 20Nm) sail from Bodrum, we anchored stern to the wall in ancient Kos harbour. So nice being here so early in the season as there was only a small handful of yachts in this usually very hectic harbour. As much of the island (particularly the coastal roads) is flat, it’s a great place to cycle. The concept has been embraced by the community as dedicated bike paths have been built all around Kos town and the rural roads seem safe enough.

Kos has significance for the medical historian. It was here that Hippocrates focussed on his practice and teachings in the 4^th century BC. The plane tree in the central square near the fort has certainly been replaced many times since he originally taught under it, but the current tree is very old and revered nonetheless. A 1 hour cycle up the hill to the north brings us to the Aesklepion – a temple complex dedicated to the healing cult of Aesclaepius built by the Greeks in 4^th Century BC and added to as always by the Romans 300-400 yrs later. After a morning of cycling, the café near Hippocrates’ shady plane tree was a wonderful spot to relax. Taking advantage of the southerly winds we sailed north to Alinda – a bay on the east coast of the Island of Leros. We were the only yacht anchored in this part of the lovely bay with views of the Turkish fort high on the cliffs overlooking the fishing village of Ay Marina on the other side of the bay. Ay Marina has the best coffee so far! Pleasant walk back through the town, up to the saddle where Platanos (capital of Leros) overlooks Ay Marina to the north and Pandeli to the south. Memorable lunch by the old mill at the Mill restaurant, right on the water between Ay Marina and Alinda. In the calm, we anchored Sea Cloud off Mirties between Kalymnos Is and Telendos Is before searching out the world famous Babi’s Bar and Grill on shore. Babi played host but Dianna was away tour guiding in Rhodes and Kos. A long walk up to the hill was worth the fabulous views over the town and the adjacent Telendhos Island which apparently split from Kalymnos in an earthquake around 400AD.

It was a wonderful calm weather anchorage although as Telendhos is now, as is most of Kalymnos, a rock climbing destination and a very popular lunch/dinner spot) we were subjected to the constant traffic of the tripper boats between the two islands. Vathi on SE of Pserimos Island was a lovely anchorage, the smell of wild thyme wafting into the bay and the goats’ bells clanking in the evening and early morning. We liked it so much we decided it was a safe spot to be for the predicted southwesterly blow the following morning. Unfortunately, the wind came early and from the east – putting us on a lee shore. A hasty departure pulling up anchor in 1m waves and 20knot breeze was not fun!

Patmos deserves its Michelin 3 stars with its highly significant hilltop monastery and fortifications, the old Chora and wonderful isolated, picturesque bays with clear water. A great place for a few days. The town wall, although noisy with ubiquitous motorbikes sporting inadequate mufflers was a good place to meet other sailors, 2 Aussie boats encountered here.

Pithagorian on the south coast of Samos where we were to meet our friends Pat and Sandra Chick was a pleasant surprise – a lovely bay to anchor, good fun town wall (notwithstanding the circus of crossed anchors each morning). Good restaurants, pleasant waterside cafes and walks.

The Epualian tunnel – an 8 km long underground aqueduct/tunnel built in 500 BC was incredible. How did they manage to dig such a structure through 8km of rock, starting at both ends and manage to meet in the middle? Pithagorian was named after Pythagoras who was born here (although he spent much of his life as philosopher and mathematician elsewhere in Greece). Ruins of the temple of Hera, built 400BC and twice the size of the Parthenon, can be found just outside the city. It has clearly been an important location for a very long time.

The mooring buoys off Marathani Island were a good base for dinner ashore and a wander around the island, the home to many photogenic goats and the obligatory blue domed chapel on the hill.

Of course we had to visit Patmos again and have a drink at Jimmy’s Balcony with its wonderful view over Patmos Harbour and expansive views to the bays to the north.

Pat and Sandra’s last few days were spent at the idyllic Pandeli Bay on Leros where we took advantage of the good restaurants. Pat’s Yachtmaster qualifications were put to good use refining our man overboard retrieval procedures.

With Sea Cloud safely anchored in the bay, we trekked to the fortress on top of the hill  overlooking Pandeli and Alinda bays to justify another lunch again at the fabulous Mill restaurant on the water in Ay Marina.

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Dodecanese Islands. There are many picturesque and safe anchorages, and no crowds! Following Pat and Sandra’s departure we plan to spend a little more time here before hopefully braving the winds of the Aegean and sailing across to Santorini.

May – Turkish Coast

May, 2012

 

 

Our plan for May was to sail towards Bodrum and explore the Gokova Korfezi, the large bay east of Bodrum, before heading to Greece. Leaving Gocek  and the Fethiye Bay behind (note snow still on the mountains!), our first stop was Gerbeske Bay. Although we were hoping to free anchor in this fairly shallow bay, the 2 other boats had already tied off stern to, so we were obliged to do the same, with Ian acting as ‘deckie’ for a change.

Lumpy seas and winds on the nose, we had a long day of sailing and motor-sailing to reach the lovely bay of Knidos – right on the very wetern tip of the peninsula.  The beautiful, mainly Greek ruins (C 400BC) and the remnants of the city walls coming right down to the Bay, looked wonderful in the afternoon light – an incredibly sophisticated settlement in such an isolated location.

We were surprised by the large number of boats here (12 rafted up on the jetty) – as everywhere else so far had been so quiet. After chatting with the friendly skipper next to us (one of 11 Russians on a Bavaria 44!) we found out that is a 2 week Russian holiday. As we ate dinner in the local restaurant, they cooked theirs on BBQs suspended on boards between 2 boats!

After a very long day with little wind we arrived in Sehir Adasi, (Castle Island), thrilled to be the only boat in the bay. First swim of the season, the water is already 21 degrees, so very pleasant.

Sehir Adasi- Castle Island

After watching the fishermen haul in their largely empty nets in the bay over breakfast, we still managed to get ashore before the first of the many tripper boats to explore the ruins on the island. Again surprising that a Greek settlement on an island smaller than Scottie, in 400BC “needed” an amphitheatre seating 2,500 people.

The island is famous for Cleopatra’s beach. It is rumoured that Cleopatra brought the sand from Egypt. The ‘special’ white sand beach (like we have on most beaches in Aus) is roped off to prevent  visitors ‘souveniring’ the sand in their pockets.

The water around the island is wonderfully clear and blue. Another night in the bay, still only 3 boats here on a Saturday – this is the time to visit Turkey.

A few more nights in the isolated and peaceful anchorages of English Harbour and Tuzla Koyu, meant that Ian could practice his cooking skills.

Sea Cloud through her paces on a work into the 20+ knot northwesterly to Cokertme on the northern shore of Gokova Korfezi.  A large bay with sand and weed and nice to be able to simply free-anchor without lines ashore.

Arrived in the large but very attractive and friendly town of Bodrum. We were lucky to get a spot for Sea Cloud amongst the super-yachts in the very busy Bodrum Milita Marina. The marina is in a great position, right in town, with great views of the castle.  Being Friday, we hurried to get to the fruit and veg (and live animal) market before closing, obviously it had been a very long day for some people!

The castle, which now contains the archaeological museum of underwater treasures and artefacts from ship wrecks dating largely to 500 BC but some as far back as 1500BC, was well worth a visit. The re-creation of ancient sailing vessels from retrieved and preserved planks, as well as the display of their contents, was exceptionally well done. The peaceful gardens with their peacocks and views of Bodrum and the harbour below were worth dwelling on. Gulets stacked the bay outside the harbour walls. Seeing the number of boats here now, it is difficult to image what it would be like in the season.

Check out of Bodrum (by the agency at the Marina), and last shopping expedition completed, we set sail for Kos, only 13Nm across the water from Bodrum where we would enter Greece.

Sea Cloud – April 2012

Istanbul

April 6 – 17: The Dersaadet Hotel in Sultanamet, was a perfect base for our week of sightseeing in Istanbul as it was a few minutes walk from the major sites of Aya Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace – all must sees in Istanbul. Breakfast in their rooftop restaurant was very pleasant, with views of the Blue Mosque and the wind howling over the Sea of Marmara.

The spring flowers were out, tulip festival beginning, and the weather warming up, a lovely time to be wandering the sights.

Unfortunately many others also realised this, with busloads of tourist descending on all sights by mid morning.  The Istanbul Museum Card (provides access to all museums for 3 days) enabled us to avoid the queues.

Topkapi Palace

By evening, the crowds have disappeared.

Blue Mosque

Whirling Dervishes

Istanbul is a fascinating and vibrant city, the longer you spend, the more you see beyond the magnificent large mosques (plus the occasional church) busy markets and palaces.

Chora Church

Frescoes Chora Church

The people are friendly and helpful with a keen sense humour. The Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar ( below -where all sorts of weird and wonderful things are available) were a lot of fun, with not nearly as much hassle or pressure to buy as bazaars in other countries.

Additional must-see sights include the Archeological museum,  and the beautiful Sulimanye Mosque (and nearby Turkish bath at 14^th century Sulimanye Hamam).

Sulimanye Mosque

Alexander’s sarcophagus (scenes depicting Alexander the Great)

Gallipoli

Our pre-booked ‘Hassle Free’ tour to Gallipoli and Troy, left Istanbul early one morning and returned late the next day. Our knowledgeable & informative Turkish guide was excellent, giving the perspective of both the ANZACS and the Turkish in the Gallipoli campaign.  The preparation for the huge crowds expected for the Anzac day memorial services was very evident.

Anzac Cove, The Sphinx, The Nek, Lone Pine with their cemeteries – mandatory sights for Australians, were all very moving places to visit.  All the more so as Syd Cook fought and was wounded twice here, once at the horrific battle of Lone Pine.

Anzac Cove

Lone Pine

A landmark event for us to put the terrain, the distances from landing site to Chunuk Bair (main objective of campaign) as well as from Suvla Bay, all into perspective. Emphasised the proximity of opposing trenches and how little territory was actually gained in this 8 month campaign – futile and costly for both sides.

Suvla Bay from Chunuk Bair

It is clear that this campaign was a turning point towards nationhood for Australia and the soon to be unified Turkey (Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk” pivotal in defence of the Gallipoli peninsula and subsequent ousting of the Greeks, unification of Turkey. It is now apparent why he’s called the Father of Modern Turkey and his portraits and statues adorn every village, town and shop). We stayed overnight across the Dardanelles at Canakkale. The memorial below is visible across the straits from the town.

Traveller halt! The soil you tread once witnessed the end of an era. Listen, in this quiet mound there once beat the heart of a nation.

Gocek

April 17: Flew to Dalaman, and 20min cab ride to Gocek, near Fethiye, where Sea Cloud had spent the winter.

As  Sea Cloud was on the hard stand in Marinturk Marina, we stayed a few days at the lovely Pruva Hotel,  which was in the quiet backstreets of Gocek. We had the most wonderful breakfasts prepared by our delightful hosts Sel and Aylin. We were so happy that we were in the Hotel and Sea Cloud on the hard stand when the predicted April ‘firtina’ (gale or storm) ripped into south facing Gocek harbour mid week, bringing southerly winds with gusts up to 55+ knots hammering the few boats docked in the town’s marinas. According to Sel (and the Turkish Annual Storm calendar), this firtina comes each year mid April, lasts less than a day and then the weather settles down.

Obviously it was well predicted as the empty Gocek town wall filled up with gulets and other boats within 24hrs of the passing of the gale.  All but the inner berths of D-Marin Marina (eastern side) or nearby Club Marina (and perhaps Marinturk Exclsive marina) are untenable berthing options during southerly gales. If these options aren’t available, I’d anchor off Club Marine (western shore) or pick up a mooring in one of the sheltered bays around Fethiye Gulf (eg Pilloried Bay). The only marina that appeared protected in Gocek Bay was D Marin, and you would definitely not want to be on their (outer) H arm!

The next few days were spent organising repairs, polishing and cleaning during the day and enjoying the peace and quiet in Gocek, where we were one of the few tourists.

The restaurants here are great, with simple, inexpensive healthy food, much more appealing to us than the rather oily heavy meals we had in Istanbul. The Kebab Hospital(!) became one of our favourite haunts. The Gocek market each Sunday was also a favourite, with wonderful fresh local fruit and veg and the most delicious gozleme!

April 20: Once launched, Sea Cloud was in a great berth at Marinturk – we had wonderful views as no one in front or behind us. Unfortunately we found our 2 year old batteries were dead (after yacht services monthly charging, checking and report that they are fine!). Spent a few days waiting for new 8 x 6v Trojan gel batteries from Istanbul at great expense. Lets hope these ones last longer than the last lot! The inevitable repairs and spring maintenance works were completed in 2 weeks and we were ready to leave Gocek on Ian’s birthday 1^st May. Just in time as the crowds have begun to descend on Gocek!

Apropos the new 90day stay on Turkish Visas, we paid a visit to Port Police and Customs in Fethiye to explore feasibility of a visa extension.  Bottom line – we have to stick to our original plans of spending no more than 90 days in Turkey. It seems that the new 90 out of any 180 day visa (similar to the Schengen Agreement) cannot be extended (as the Aussie Turkish consulate had indicated). The only way around it is to apply for a Residency permit (approx AUD700) in conjunction with a lengthy (costly) marina contract that we wouldn’t even use. So, after 90 days, Greece rather than Turkey will benefit from our dollars!

Finally cruising Turkey

July 2011– Arrival in Turkey
We arrived at Marti Marina near Orihanye with the main purpose of using their agent to check into Turkey. Apparently checking into Turkey without an agent is not longer possible. So although more expensive, the chekin process was very painless, all being done by remote control while we sat by the pool. It was a bit disconcerting to hand over our passports and boat papers, but all were returned safely within the day, with visas for us and a transit log for Sea Cloud.

We spent a very pleasant week pottering around the lovely bays around the Hisaronu Korfezi and Bozburun. We were pleasantly surprised by the great variety of uncrowded anchorages where in most places, we could free anchor. We had a lovely taste of the Turkish hospitality and entrepreneurship, lots of friendly faces running little restaurants with the most dodgy looking, but seemingly sturdy piers where you can dock.

The crowds all seemed to be at Marmaris Yacht Marina where we had booked Sea Cloud for August. For a short anxious while we thought that we might not have a berth, but were ‘shoehorned’ into the tightest corner imaginable. Not great, but better than nothing. Most worrying was that we knew that Sea Cloud would have to be moved numerous times in our absence to enable other boats to get out.

September 2011, Marmaris and Rhodes
After a mad month working back in Sydney, we returned to find Sea Cloud still intact, with loose lines and a bent stanchion. Could have been worse. With little wind predicted, we took advantage of the marina berth in Marmaris, we headed to Rhodes which was only an hour away by ferry. We spent a wonderful few days, soaking up the history of this fabulous old town with buildings showing the influence of prior occupation by the Romans, the Knights of St John, the Turks, Italians, Germans and British before finally becoming Greek post WW2.

We had been advised not to sail as the harbour is so crowded in Rhodes, but found out that you can book a spot, so plan to return to this lovely island.

Marmaris to Kas
The rest of this month was to be one of sailing and visiting the some of the many ancient sites between Fethiye and Antalya. Great to be back sailing again, our first night out of Marmaris was at Ekincik where we were surprised to see 8 Aussie flags (a Mariner sailing charter fleet) at the restaurant dock.

We joined the Mariner group on a boat tour to visit the ancient site of Kaunos, with its fabulous rock tombs set high above the Dalyan River.

and its mud baths

We joined the Mariner ‘Race’ to their next destination Sarsala in the Fethiye Gulf. We were very pleased with Sea Cloud’s performance, she held up admirably against the many lighter production boats sailed, some sailed by very serious racers.

Aftera long day of motorsailing, we arrived in Kas Harbour where Sea Cloud was squeezed in amongst the fishing boats.

We really enjoyed the town of Kas, which was to be our base for a week as we took advantage of a very good deal at the lovely, brand new Kas Marina. The marina is in a great spot, a quiet bay a short walk from town, past the site of the Friday market and the local Gulet builder.

Exploring Ancient Lycia
Xanthos, Letoon and Patara 3 Lycian cities within easy drive of either Kas, Fethiye or Kalkan are well worth visiting. Xanthos is a huge, previously important site with ruins of Lycian city and tombs (400 BC) a Roman amphitheatre, and village and a Byzantine church. It is said that the Lycians in Xanthos were fiercely independent people who twice in their history resorted to mass suicide by jumping off the cliffs to the river below, rather than succumb to occupation by invading forces.

The Saklikent Gorge and colourful Paradise cafe with its yummy baklava was a cool lunchtime spot as although it was late September, it was still 30+ in the middle of the day

Letoon, is much smaller but beautiful site with a partially excavated amphitheatre and ruins of temples amongst the cornfields on the lowlands near Xanthos. In particular we loved the turtles basking on the rocks in the middle of the submerged ruins.

Patara, one of the oldest and most important Lycian cities lies partially covered in sand behind the long and lovely Patara Beach. Parts of the site are being reconstructed, while local farmers still occupy land around the ruins with their goats grazing along the edge of the amphitheatre.

Kas to Antalya

With Sea Cloud safely moored at Kas Marina, we drove to Anatalya. The inland road between Kas via Elimali and Termessos to Antalya is a spectacular, steep and winding mountain road. Obviously a great area for goats!

About 30 minutes out of Antalya is the ancient site of Termessos, set in a wonderful strategic location on a plateau high in the hills looking down to what is now Antalya. The ruins are quite overgrown, but wandering around the amphitheatre, the huge underground cistern, remains of temples, roman baths and rock tombs one can imagine life here in the hilltops. The remoteness of the site and the ferocity of its inhabitants meant that it was one of the few sites not overtaken by Alexander the Great in 334BC.

The old town of Antalya, Kaleici , is a wonderful place to stay, a great base for visiting the ancient sites of Perge, Aspendos and Side. In Kaleici, many of the old Ottoman style buildings with their lovely internal courtyards converted into small boutique hotels and restaurants. The small harbour, looked very crowded with local boats, not sure how easy it would be to get a spot here for Sea Cloud. Perge, which is about 15minutes from Antalya, was memorable for its fountain and water channel that ran down the middle of the main street, its huge Roman baths and stadium. Perge is one of the few sites in this part of Turkey which the Turks have excavated themselves, resulting in many wonderful statues and sarcophagi being collected and on view in the Antalya Archeological Museum.

Side is described by the Lonely Planet Guide as the “Turkish version of a carnival by the sea” and that “Entering the town is like entering a film set; glorious Roman and Hellenistic ruins mark out the road”. So true! We were informed by a Turkish rug salesman (so must be true) that UNESCO’s plan is to turn the site into an archaeological park. So, within 10 years the tacky town in the midst of the amazing ruins will be demolished. The best and worst of Side today.

Between Side and Antalya is Aspendos, the site of one of the best preserved Roman theatres which is used for performances throughout the season. Other ruins include a wonderful aqueduct.

The coast road between Antalya and Kas is dotted with other spectacular ancient sites. The ruins of Phaselis , are located between 3 natural harbours. It is a beautiful site with people picnicking among the ruins and swimming next to sunken sarcophagi.

Lunch was a freshly made Gozleme (Turkish pancake) at one of the many small roadside stalls.

Myra is famous for its Lycian rock tombs and Roman theatre. Unfortunately we were too late to see the Church of St Nicholas (Santa Claus), but not too late for a fresh pomegranate juice.

As we were up to day 89 on our Schengen visa (90days in any 6 month period), we caught the ferry across from Kas to Kastellorizon, a 30minute trip across from Turkey.

The town was destroyed following WW2 resulting in the departure of most of its inhabitants. The small township which has been beautifully restored now inhabited by only 400 people, many of Australian/Greek origin. It is hard to believe that this island had a population of 10,000 about 100 years ago. The walk to the monastery at the top was well worthwhile as the views over the harbour and town were fabulous.

Kas to Kekova
Finally back on board and a short sail to Kekova, where we anchored in the lovely quiet Polemos Boku, a short walk to ancient Aperlae. Luckily we were tipped off (by the local rather quirky cafe owner) that the best way to see this site is by snorkel and mask. Amazing to snorkel over what was once a colonnaded street and houses. The rocky shore was littered with broken pieces of clay pottery. It felt incredible to pick up and hold these ancient pieces then put them back on the beach for others to do the same.

The area of Kekova is spectacular for sailing. The fortress at Kalekoy and the ruins on and submerged around Kekova island and tombs around Ucagiz were wonderful to explore via ducky once Sea Cloud was anchored in the sheltered bay in front of Ucagiz. We now know why the waterway is termed ‘Kekova Roads’ after seeing about 20 gulets pass in about 15minutes.

We took advantage of the right conditions and headed back past the Seven Capes (reputation as Turkey’s Cape Horn) in the calm, and moored at Karacoren Restaurant. This was a good safe site from which to visit the ruins on Gemiler Island and the town of Kaya. The novel Birds without Wings (a great read) is based on the story of this town which has been deserted since 1924 following the expulsion of its Greek inhabitants back to mainland Greece.

From Karacoren, we could also view the mountains above Olu Deniz, site of our planned paraglide. Olu Deniz is a beautiful beach (even by Aussie standards) and the 1820m high mountain above it is one of Europe’s most popular paragliding sites. It was an incredible experience, jumping off a cliff into the clouds then 30minutes of floating above stunning scenery, then landing on the beachfront in tandem with our rather “out there” Turkish ‘pilots’ Ali and Moustafa.

Gulf of Fethiye

By mid October, summer is almost over. Although the water is still warm, temperatures are in the low 20’s and the unsettled weather has arrived. We spent the last few days of the season sitting on a Turkish mooring buoy in a sheltered bay just out of Gocek. We spent the first day swimming and relaxing and then listened to pouring rain and 30knot winds shrieking in the rigging, whilst we prepare physically and mentally to take Sea Cloud out of the water and return to our ‘normal’ lives in Sydney.

Our first few months in Turkey has been great, with friendly hard working people, good food, a low cost of living,  wonderful sailing grounds and incredible ancient sites.

Sea Cloud is safe on the hardstand in Marinturk Marina until we return in April 2012 for more wonderful cruising.

Crossing the Aegean – July 2011

With southerlies (headwinds) predicted after dropping Suzy and Paul in Piraeus, we made a last minute decision to take a ferry to Hydra for the weekend. This is the way to see Hydra, a beautiful town, with a very small and very crowded harbour, with no room for Sea Cloud without rafting up 4 boats deep. After an energetic and hot walk to the monastery above the town we spent the afternoon sitting in one of the cafes on the cliff admiring the crystal clear bay below. Perfect for reading, swimming and relaxing.

We left Athens in light north westerly winds – first stop back at Sandbar Bay on Kithnos.

Great to be getting some more wind – most days now yield a predictable N NW 15 – 20kts as the pattern of the Meltimi sets in July/August. We sailed to Livadou harbour on Serifos, anchoring in the bay with the view of the spectacular chora (hill town) above us.

Another very hot walk to the top, a fabulous view over the Aegean and the boats in the bay. Note Sea Cloud framed in the right arch of the belltower dwarfed by the 120ft ketch seen through the left!

 

Next anchorage was Naoussa Bay on northern tip of Paros, a beautiful, relatively calm bay despite moderately strong Meltimi. Paros town was almost deserted, such a contrast to our last visit in 2009.

With an increase in winds predicted (Bft 7-8), we headed for Naxos marina, recommended as a safe spot to leave Sea Cloud while we rented a car and explored the island. Wind howls through the marina and the regular surges which occurred with the many ferries entering and leaving this busy harbour made our mooring compensator lines essential. The island is beautiful – quite lush with white sandy beaches fringing the west and south coast. The Temple of Demeter, a well restored and displayed Doric temple set amidst farm land was well worth the visit.  

It was not surprising to see wind farms on the ridge lines adjacent to the older windmills that are ubiquitous throughout the Greek islands.

Winds finally decreased so after 4 days in Naxos, we headed down the lumpy Naxos strait in 20 -24kts, to Schinoussa. The main harbour is very small, quite shallow and looked too much hassle with 2 super yachts virtually filling the bay with lines everywhere. Ducked around a couple of bays and found good holding in relative isolation at anchor to the east of town. This island is not on the main ferry route, hence relatively under-developed, quiet and tastefully restored.

We managed to coordinate a few days with Andrew and his friend Greg who were staying on Ios –just 25Nm away to the SW of Schinoussa. We anchored in the ‘sheltered’ anchorage of Milopotamou Bay (blowing about 24knots but good holding in fine sand) close to the rather smart hotel overlooking the aqua blue bay in which Greg and Andrew were staying.

 
We were very pleasantly surprised by Ios, the beach was beautiful and relatively empty apart from a few hours in the afternoon when the speedboats hoon around the bay. The anchorage was one of the quietest we have experienced in Greece, as all the action occurs in the main town (chora) over the hill. Andrew and Greg had a chance to sail Sea Cloud in lovely breeze but mostly were impressed with the aft sunbaking/sleeping deck with potential for entertaining.

As Andrew and Greg left for more partying in Mykonos, we sailed to Katapola bay on Amorgos where we anchored one night in the bay, and another on the town wall. We rented a car to see the highly recommended Hozoviotissa (9C) Monastery, built into the middle of a sheer rockface, high above the crystal clear water of the Aegean. It is an incredibly spectacular site. Visitors to the monastery are welcomed with a glass of local Raki (liqueur) and a Turkish delight –type sweet.

 A swim in the crystal clear blue water below us at Ag Anna was very welcome following the hot climb to the monastery. Amorgos, among others with high mountainous ridges, creates extremely high winds and rough seas on its leeward side despite our relatively calm anchorage on the windward side.

Amorgos was full of surprises, small white washed hill towns dotting the island, wonderful looking anchorages (as long as the Meltemi is not too strong) and spectacular scenery and as everywhere in the Greek islands, lots of goats!

The chora (capital) is a charming village, with winding streets, welcoming small restaurants and shaded cafes. Sailed south from Amorgos in those 25+ knot winds we had viewed from the top of the island the previous day. Unfortunately these lee shore winds died about 5-10 miles off shore, so we motor-sailed until in the lee of our next island, Astapalaia, where the wind promptly picked up to 25kts again. We had planned to anchor in Maltezana bay, a ‘meltimi-proof’ anchorage, but the sight of the beautiful chora in the distance made us reconsider. We anchored in Livadhi bay, a lovely, uncrowded (1 other boat!) but windy anchorage.

Although the winds continued strongly overnight the good fine sand we were anchored in meant we could sleep well. Unfortunately as the winds did not drop overnight, we were reluctant to leave the boat unattended. So instead of visiting the chora, we set sail for Kamares on the south western end of Kos. Our last stop before Turkey was Simi. Checking out of Greece here was an incredibly efficient and easy process in comparison with our check into Greece a few months ago.

We loved being back in the Aegean, had good winds, at times challenging but fun sailing and uncrowded anchorages. We really had the opportunity to put Sea Cloud to the test and are pleased to say at the end of our first few months she is great, very comfortable, sails extremely well close hauled and reaching. Downwind she needs a strong breeze to keep moving at speed – we’ll need to familiarise ourselves with the cruising gennaker soon. Unfortunately, our 400 miles across the Aegean in 3 weeks was all a bit too rushed – partly due to the Schengen agreement which meant we had a deadline to get out of the EU. However, we did take advantage of the ideal sailing winds get to across to Turkey in preparation for leaving Sea Cloud in Marmaris while we go home for August.