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| Goodbye Black Sea |
Hello
One and All
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| Shipping in the Bosphorus |
It
is Saturday 28th September and we are sitting in Poyraz Fishing
Harbour at the top of the Bosphorus, Turkey.
It is time to up anchor and move on again towards our winter home in
Lefkas Marina on the Island of Lefkada – Greece - in the Ionian Sea. We still have a lot of miles to cover, but
hopefully the autumn will be kind to us with warm days and good sailing
conditions. Also we have the Bosphorus,
our “open air” museum, to share with Judith and Graham. So that is just what we do – up anchor on a
lovely sunny morning, cross over to the European side of the strait, and head
off towards the heart of Istanbul. Being
my fourth trip along the Bosphorus I become quite the tour guide telling one
and all, or whoever will listen, what we are passing!! I am not really a city
person, but there is something about Istanbul that other cities don’t
have. Maybe it is because it stands at
the crossroads between east and west divided by a stretch of water that has
seen more historical events than most others.
But what Istanbul also has is a rich cultural heritage for being the
capital of Rome, Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires, in days gone by. I wanted Judith and Graham to see something
of this.
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| Fruit and Vege Shop Kadikoy |
After
a lovely trip down the Bosphorus, we crossed to the Asian side at the Golden
Horn, then, just after 1300 we were anchored outside the Kalamis Marina. The temperature was now 28 deg. c. We went ashore in the tender to ask at the
marina about check in procedures to Turkey.
We had heard and read different stories about how difficult and
expensive it is to check in at Istanbul, and most people try to avoid doing it
here if possible. For us that was out of
the question. We needed to check Judith
and Graham in, so they could fly out of the country here. The marina manager was not very positive and
passed us on to another marina further along the coast!! Well we needed money, some food and a travel
agent, so after our little chat with him we attended to our domestic duties
before heading back to SHAMAL.
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| Sunset off Kalamis Marina Kadikoy |
The
following morning we proceeded to the Pendik Marina to check in there. We tied up at the Super Yacht pontoon. Within minutes someone arrives in a tender
and says we can’t stay here, but has very little English. He calls the Manager who soon arrives. He tells us we are on a dangerous pontoon due
to the wash from other boats – Thanks!!
- and, also tells us we need an agent
- B#**:! Alec and Judith duly set off
with him with all our paper work. Graham and I get our fishing lines out!! Judith and Alec returned over an hour later
not totally impressed with check in costs, but an agent had been organised and
we should have our papers sorted the same day.
We wait, and wait. At 16.50 the
agent returns with everything in order, but,
2 British
Visas (for Judith and Graham) Euro
30 N.Z’ers don’t need a visa.
1
Turkish Cruising Permit
Euro 50
Agent
Fee
Euro 250
Marina
Fee Euro 100 This fee we were told had to be paid in
order to complete our paper work as the receipt was to be shown to customs
etc. This was NOT the case as it was not even taken with the agent!! Another rort/scam as Alec
calls it.
During
all of this Dean and Ann Christin arrived on their yacht. We told them to anchor off and not tie up to
a pontoon to avoid the hideous costs.
They did this and told us later they checked in themselves without using
an agent, but it took two days.
Unfortunately for us we did not have the time as the following evening
Judith and Graham were flying out.
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| Cam Limani, Princes Islands |
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| Spice Shop, Grand Bazaar |
We
decided to anchor out at the Princes Islands that evening. Another lovely anchorage and away from the
surge and boats which were now leaving Pendik Marina after a ten day boat show
which was just finishing, and boats were being moved about.
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Turkish Cat in Grand Bazaar |
We
now only had one day of site seeing for Judith and Graham to get a taste of Istanbul,
so the following morning we sailed back to the European side of Istanbul,
dropped anchor in a lovely little bay we have used before, and set off to visit
The Golden Horn area. We saw the old
city walls, walked through the Grand Bazaar - it was here we saw a Turkish Angora or Turkish Van cat. These are the white cats with one green and one blue eye. We also saw the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia,
and walked the gardens of the Topkapi Palace.
What was going to be lunch but ended up only being drinks, was had in a
lovely open air restaurant looking back up the Bosphorus – time to reflect,
look back and take in just how much we had done this year. Later after lunch, Graham found the entrance
to the city’s largest underground cistern built in the 6th century,
which we visited. Most impressive. Then
it was time to go back to SHAMAL to collect their bags so they could head for the
airport.
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| Salutation Gate, Topkapi Palace |
Alec
and I decided to stay anchored in our little bay and move off in the
morning. Ashore we downloaded another
weather forecast to find that we may be in for a blow in the morning so it
would mean an early start. Early start
it was. The next morning at 03.45 the
winds were picking up and coming straight into our little bay, so we upped
anchored and motored on out. We decided
to head back to the Princes Islands and wait for this weather system to pass
through. Good thing was we were able to
sail the whole way there. By the time we
dropped anchor the winds outside our bay were gusting 35 - 40kts with a good
sea running. We settled down for the day
and started doing cleaning and small maintenance jobs. The following morning we woke to rain and the
temperature had dropped to 13 deg. c.
Help where had my lovely autumn sailing days gone to!! Mid-morning ‘Maringret’ also sails into the
bay to shelter from this weather system.
Ann Christin comes over in their dinghy and invites us to dinner that
evening. We accepted and enjoyed a
wonderful meal and good company that evening.
Thanks guys.
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| Big Sultan, Big Problems, Big Worry Beads!!!! |
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| The Basilica Cistern, Istanbul |
The
next morning we had a wind change – in our favour – and even though it was
still blowing between 25-30 kts we decided to head for the Island of Marmara
some 60nm away. So with 3rd
reef in the main off we set. We had
dolphins with us on and off during the day, and the shipping to watch out for
as we were in the traffic separation zone which runs from the Black Sea to the
bottom of the Dardanelles. We were
noticing now that the days were getting shorter, and it was dark when we sailed
into the Marble Quarry Bay at the northern end of Marmara Island. This was another anchorage we had used on a
previous visit.
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| Marble Quarry |
The
following morning we thought we would head out early to get as far down the
Dardanelles as we could during daylight.
NO, not to be. A big sea was
running across the entrance to the bay and we could not leave. It was not until midday that conditions
improved enough for us to be able to up anchor and motor on out. Again ‘interesting’ seas were running. We dropped anchor just outside Lapseki
Fishing Harbour at 22.30 after covering 52nm. The temperature had dropped to 10
deg. c. and then there was the wind chill factor. We were freezing and really glad to have a
hot shower before bed that night.
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| Anything for us Mr Fisherman, Canakkale |
We
woke to a beautiful sunny morning but still a cold wind, and headed on down the
Dardanelles to Canakkale. We anchored
outside the Harbour and went ashore for supplies and dinner. The following morning it is only 7.8 deg. c.
but the sun is up!!!!! Oh help, but we
are both still in shorts but with warm tops on now. We motor to a big bay at the bottom of the
Dardanelles and drop anchor. The wind
has dropped and it is early afternoon.
We have decided the hulls need a bit of a clean so with wet suits on we
climb into the tender armed with brushes and reach into the water as far down
as we can to clean some of the green sea grass growth off.
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| Sunset over Ayvalik Lake |
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| Ayvalik |
Moving
south again we find our next anchorage among a group of Islands just north of
Ayvalik. We notice that during that leg
both the air temperature and the sea temperature are warming up again, thank
goodness. This was another late night
finish for that day - 2230, so we decide as we only had a few miles to go to
reach Ayvalik we wouldn’t leave until late afternoon. Time for some R. and R. in the morning. I have had no luck fishing this season so
hang a line over the side. I end up with
four very small, rather pathetic things called fish, but I am determined we will
eat them. Alec is given the job of
cleaning them up. I later look for them
at the fish market in Ayvalik and don’t find them, so we decide they are not
table fish!!!
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| The Lake, Ayvalik |
Ayvalik
is our check out port in Turkey. We can
now slow down again as we don’t want to be in our winter home until
November. We spend three days in Ayvalik
relaxing, reading, shopping, eating out and enjoying this picturesque town
situated on the ‘lake’ – a large body of water totally surrounded by land with
a channel leading out to the sea. The
weather is now perfect. Warm and sunny,
nearly swimming weather again.
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| Mitilini, Lesvos, Greece |
Then
we move on to the Greek Island of Lesvos to check back into Greece. You may have noticed that we have been
stopping at some of the places we visited on our way up to the Black Sea. After
four nights in Lesvos, again relaxing and enjoying the place, we decide to move
around to the south eastern corner of the Island and anchor just outside Kolpos
Yeras, a landlocked gulf. It is a
beautiful evening with the temperature now 26 deg. c. The following morning we move further around
the Island to a larger landlocked gulf called Kolpos Kalloni on the south
western side of Lesvos. This gulf was
used as a base for the British and French Navies to support the unsuccessful
Gallipoli/Dardanelles campaign. We
anchor off a small fishing village in the shelter of a lovely sandy bay. Then we have another change in the
weather. Oh well it is now autumn and we
should expect this. We end up spending
three nights here before moving south again.
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| Lunch Drying, Mitilini |
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| Pasara |
This time to the small Island of Psara 45nm south of Lesvos, and 10nm to
the west of khios. Like many Greek
Islands its most brilliant period in history has been and gone. It was one of the first Islands to rise up
against the Turks during the Greek War of Independence in 1821 having the third
largest naval power in Greece at the time.
Today this small barren Island is home to a population of around 460
people. We went ashore for a few
supplies and walk through the cobble stone streets of the village. There were not too many people around.
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| Tinos |
Next
day it was south again to the Island of Tinos.
We are now back in the Cyclades.
We arrived after dark under a full moon having had to motor most of the
way much to Alec’s annoyance. The
following morning, Murphy’s Law, the winds increase and as we are anchored out
we decide to stay on-board. Good thing
we did as during one particularly strong gust we did drag, but the anchor
caught again and set itself. The
following morning we ventured ashore.
Most of the visitors to Tinos are Greeks as they come on a pilgrimage to
visit the ‘Church of Our Lady’. The port
area is very pretty with shops, hotels and restaurants along the wide
quay. Once again we enjoyed a coffee at
one of the restaurants overlooking the water.
This harbour was clean enough to swim in.
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| Mikonos |
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| Mikonos |
That
afternoon we sailed on to the Island of Mikonos and tied up inside the
unfinished new marina, and because it is unfinished, there is no charge. There was no power to hook up to but we did
not need to. The winds were strong
enough to keep our wind generator going which kept the batteries topped up for
the four days we stayed there. There was
a fresh water tap so the boat was given a good wash down. Mikonos is now claimed to be the most
cosmopolitan Islands in the world by the local Greeks ? We were visiting at the end of the so called
‘high’ season, which made it so much more pleasurable for us. We could wander its tiny cobbled alleyways
and take photos without another person in site. It seems all the houses have
just been whitewashed, and it is said there are 365 churches on the Island. They could be right about that one as every
second building seemed to have a red, blue or green dome with a little cross on
top!! Old windmills sit on a small hill
overlooking the town. A local
restaurateur told us they use to import the grain from the Ukraine to mill.
With the blue of the ocean and the white, white buildings it is a very
picturesque town. Also the seafood was
delicious. Again a lovely place to spend
some time in.
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| Ann on Delos |
Now
just off the south western corner of Mikonos, 6nm away, lies the small barren
Island of Delos. It was once considered
the political and religious centre of the ancient world. Greek mythology tells us it was the birth
place of Apollo. Not that I am really
into that stuff, but another pile of very interesting ‘old rocks’ to look
at. Alec really put his food down about
this one and there was no way he was going to wander around anymore ruins this
year. Never mind, I would join the few
tourist who were still doing trips out to the Island, and wander around the
ruins myself. So that is just what I
did. It is not a high Island and there are no trees growing on it. It was forbidden for anyone to be born of die
on the sacred island. That could have
made life interesting at times!!! Today
one sees fallen columns, sections of mosaics which were on the floors of the
houses of the rich, a stadium with tiers of seats which pretty much lies in
ruins, schools, shops, five marble lions which guard a sacred lake, and much
more. It was worth the visit.
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| Paroikias, Paros |
So
four days later when the winds again turned to be in our favour it was time to
move on. Again they were quite strong
gusting to 38kts with 2mt breaking seas, so we reefed the sails and had a
downwind run which makes for a very pleasant ride. We were heading for the Island of Paros, and
had dropped anchor in the sheltered harbour outside the Islands capital
Paroikias, on the western side of the Island, well before dark. So it was ashore for a bit of an explore, and
then a drink in a restaurant overlooking the harbour watching the sun going
down. Paros is considered to be the
centre of the Cyclades. It has a
population of around 8,000 people and also is a big tourist attraction. The Island use to have marble mines on it,
and it is said that the marble for Napoleon’s tomb came from here.
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| South end Elafonisos, Peloponnisos |
Our
next and final stop in the Cyclades was to be the Island of Milos, one we had
visited before, and we thought this would be a good hop off point to the reach
the bottom of the Peloponnisos making for a good days sail. But by midday Alec decided as the winds were
still with us, and due to drop tomorrow morning, that we should continue on and
make the most of the good sailing conditions.
So that is just what we did, turning the trip into a night sail as
well. It was a lovely night apart from
being very cold, but the stars were out.
We had quite a lot of shipping off the bottom of the Peloponnisos as we
crossed one of the main transit routes, but nothing hazardous. Just after 0800 the following morning we had
dropped anchor in a beautiful sandy bay with very clear water at the south end
of the Island of Elafonisos at the bottom of the Peloponnisos. We could still
see the bottom at 20 meters.
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| Porto Kayio |
We
spent two days here and it was even warm enough to get back into the water and
give the hulls a good clean using the power snorkel before we moved into the
marina for the winter. Our next stop was
in Porto Kayio. Another place we have
visited before. Then on to Methoni on
the south western tip of the Peloponnisos.
This place has a most impressive Venetian fortress built right out into
the sea on the point. This is also a
place we have explored before. Next stop
was the town of Pilos which is situated in Navarinon Harbour. This is where the famous naval battle in 1827
between the Turko-Egyptian fleet, which had 89 warships and 2450 guns were
anchored in the bay, and the British, French, German fleet under Senior Admiral
Codrington, who only had 26 ships and 1270 guns, and despite the fact that his
country was not at war with the opposing fleet, sailed into the bay with their
gun ports half open and also dropped anchor, right in the middle of the
trap. An Egyptian ship was said to fire
the first shot, and then it was all on.
Admiral Codrington and his ships won the battle which effectively helped
the Greeks win their War of Independence.
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| Methoni |
Two
days in Pilos and we were on the move again.
Again we did not have to pay for being in this marina as no one really
owns it and runs it at the moment. All
the power boxes have been cut off at ground level and removed and the water
disconnected!! Never mind it is a sheltered
marina. We sailed into Porto Roma, a bay
at the bottom of Zakinthos Island. We
did not arrive till after dark and crept into the bay very slowly watching the
depth sounder and the fish finder (which shows us a picture of the sea floor)
and the radar chart overlay on as we were not sure of this place. We were picking up what we thought were large
mooring buoys on the radar and wanted to stay well clear thinking they must be
metal ones. It was a good thing we did
as in the light of the following morning our ‘mooring buoys’ were not that at
all, but rocks!! We had anchored well
out and were well clear of everything.
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| Dawn leaving Ormos Navarinon |
From
Zakinthos were did the run directly to the Island of Lefkada and anchored out
for our last night this season in Tranquil Bay. And that is just what it is. We are nearly land locked in here and we had
a peaceful night before lifting anchor for the last time this season and
sailing the last 8nm up to the Lefkas Marina.
It is now 4th November and is cool, grey and overcast. The rain is just starting.
So
this sailing season sees us clock up 4,250nm, yes rather a lot for a season,
but what an adventurous one it has been.
No regrets at all. Hard work at
times and some interesting sea and weather conditions, but nothing SHAMAL could
not handle. Richard, she is a good
little ship. The only real thing that
needs attention soon will be a new set of sails. So, now our grand total altogether is
31,187nm. We think we are about half way
around!
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| Arriving in Lefkada in the rain |
We
will now spend the next three weeks putting SHAMAL ‘to bed’ for the European
winter months. The marina community here
is much smaller than what we had in Sicily with about 40 yachts with
live-a-boards wintering over here. Over
half the people are British with the rest being made up of Norwegian, Dutch,
German, American, Australian, and a couple of Kiwis. People will come and go
during the season to visit family and friends. We will not be staying in the
Mediterranean this winter, but will head out for Abu Dhabi to spend some
quality time with our family, and of course our grandchildren who have just had
their first birthday. In the New Year we
will go back to New Zealand for the summer before returning to Greece in April
next year to continue this Adventure.
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| SHAMAL put to bed for the winter |
Lefkada
is a delightful town and one that does not close down during winter months like
many Greek towns which only come to life in the summer season for the tourist
trade. Also we are spoilt with the
choice of chandleries for all those boat bits, one being right at the end of
our pontoon. Also just outside the
marina gates the Saturday markets are held with a great selection of fruit
vegetables and other local goodies. We
are also spoilt for choice of supermarkets.
The restaurants and bars are also open.
One of the first things we did was to get our bikes out as our mode of
transport around town. Alec has been down to the Irish Bar twice to watch the
NZ All Blacks beat the French and English.
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| Dinner on Mikonos |
So
it is now that time of the year, perhaps a little early, but we would like to
wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year. We would also like to thank all of you who
have taken the time to drop us a line from time to time. It has been a horrid year as far as our
computers are concerned with limited or no access at times, and it has been so
nice to receive that email from you when we have been able to jump online.
This
is The Admiral and The Commander signing out.
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| Grand Bazaar, Istanbul |
Love
to you all
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