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| Yacht Club, Odessa |
Romania
and Bulgaria were two of the countries we had not done a lot of homework
on. We had just not had the time, so we
really were venturing into the unknown.
First we had to get there.
Romania
has a population of 22.2 million. Its
Communist Government was over thrown in 1989, and, they joined the E.U. in
2007. It covers an area of 238,000
square kilometres, and its coastline is 225km’s long, from the Danube Delta in
the north to the Bulgarian border in the south.
Along the coastline are miles of beautiful sandy beaches which become
packed in summertime with holidaymakers.
There are no natural anchorages on its coastline, and, only four ports
which yachts can use. Still each of our
stops – three in all – were interesting experiences.
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| Harbour Masters Office, Odessa |
Checking
out of the Ukraine took a little longer than we planned, then we had some local
currency we wanted to spend. A final
coffee down on the waterfront is always a nice way to say goodbye to a place
and that is just what we did. I was also
able to get Alec some very yummy pastries for the trip ahead. So it was not till mid-afternoon that we
untied our lines and sailed out of Odessa Port, turned south to run down the
coast towards the border with Romania.
Yes another night passage. This leg was 102nm. It was now overcast and the temperature 19
deg. C. At first we had to motor as once
outside the port we had head winds, and that current, yet again, against us. This part of the coastline is rather
low-lying and once we had passed the large commercial port of Ilyichevsk, it
becomes difficult to see much. Just
before dark we were able to raise the sails and move along a little more
quickly. Then during the night it started to rain, and yes off in the distance
some very active thunderstorm clouds, but this time they stayed well away.
We stayed close to the coastline as we had
quite a bit of shipping around and by doing this we kept out of their way. By midday the following day the seas were
building and we were now two miles from the final approach to the Sulina
channel fairway, a buoyed entrance which takes you up into the Danube River.
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| Entering the Danube River |
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| Following Seas as entering the Danube River |
It
was the river port town of Sulina, five miles up the river, that we were
heading for to check into the country. But
first we had to navigate the entrance.
We followed the shipping channel and where it reaches the channel
breakwater made for some “very interesting” seas here. Sails had been taken down and Alec had both
engines running. We had three metre seas
following with breaking tops - we had wind against a strong current as the
Danube flows into the Black Sea. I was
much happier once we had passed that first mile through the buoyed area and
were in behind the breakwaters. See
photos.
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| Following Seas as entering the Danube River |
The
trip up river to Sulina was now much more enjoyable. We passed the weather station and new
lighthouse on our port side as we motored up the river. Also a small coastal freighter was making its
way down river. Sulina town then comes
into view. It is believed that the first
settlement here was around 1,600 B.C. It
is situated on the largest of three main channels. Another, the Chilia channel lies to the north
and borders with the Ukraine, then in the southern region the Sfantu Gheorge
(Saint George) channel.
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| Passing Ship on Danube |
The Danube River flows for 1,788 miles from springs in Germany’s Black Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the Sea it forms Europe’s second largest delta, 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes and reed islands. It is a bird-watchers paradise, but also its geology, geography, botanics, zoology, ecology and history draw thousands of visitors to the area each year. And not to forget the anglers, it was just the start of the fishing season when we were there.
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| SHAMAL in Sulina |
After
a little confusion as to where we could tie up on the town quay, which is
packed with commercial vessels, small fishing boats, tour boats and ferries,
room was made for us in this river port town.
We were parked in front of the water-melon stall. We really did feel sorry for the seller as
the weather changed while we were here and it got colder and rained on and
off. He had a huge pile off melons
stacked to the top of the quay wall, and I felt for sure he would set off for
home once he sold them all. No the guy
slept in a tiny tent beside his pile of melons, and I was horrified to see the
following morning another load had been delivered and piled on top of the
existing ones. I made him hot tea which
he was most grateful for and insisted on giving us a melon!! Trade was slow for him as (a) it was cold and
wet, and (b) the tourist season was nearly over.
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| Waiting for goods arriving into Sulina by boat |
Sulina
is a pretty town with a tree-lined riverfront promenade. Everything and everyone, comes in or out of
the town by boat. It has some
interesting historical buildings, one being the old lighthouse which was built
in 1802, and now stands in the middle of the town. Once it was located out on the coast, but due
to the silting of the Danube it now stands in the town, and, the coastline is
now downstream.
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| Mop up during rain storm, Tulcea |
Our second day there we
decided to take the hydrofoil up river for the 35 mile trip to the city of
Tulcea. So at 06.45 we were on our way
up river to the Delta’s capital. It was
a cold dull morning and we did not see much in the way of scenery as there was
low cloud and the windows of the hydrofoil were all crazed. We arrived in Tulcea and it was coffee
time. We also needed another weather
report, so we headed for the Hotel Delta right on the river front with lovely
big picture windows looking back over the river and town up stream. We had just ordered coffee when it started to
rain, then really rain – a real down pour.
Within minutes we had water coming down onto our coffee table through
the light fittings, the speaker fittings, the vents, and any other gadget that
was attached to the ceiling. Yes we
moved seats very quickly. The whole
thing was all over within half an hour so we left to explore the town. We arrived at the entrance to the hotel to
find the car park and streets outside flooded.
In parts the water was waist deep.
Oh what a mess. Shops and cars
were awash. We later learnt that during
the night the rains had been further upstream and the river had flooded a
couple of villages where nine people had very sadly drowned.
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| Floods, Tulces |
There was nothing too special about
Tulcea. It is a busy port town and
tourists were still about taking trips into the delta. The river bank has barges tied up and used as
floating wharfs. We decided to take the
slow ferry back as by midday the sun was out and it was hot. It sits much higher out of the water than the
hydrofoil, with a big open back deck and we would have a better chance of
seeing more of the delta, and that was just how it turned out. We stopped at numerous places and spent a
lovely afternoon watching life along the river.
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| Floods, Tulcea |
On
arrival back in Sulina we were told that a “code orange” had been issued by the
weather station as large thunder storms were going to pass through the area
that night accompanied by high winds.
This meant we could not leave.
Alec went around the boat tying everything down and securing all our
four mooring lines. Then we went out to
dinner. On returning to SHAMAL we found
three men chatting with the watermelon seller.
They had wondered where we were as they wanted us to move the boat along
the quay yet again. This time it was
because a ship was on its way up river as it had engine trouble and needed our
berth. Along with us, three or four
other boats had to be shuffled about to make room for her. With great gusto
these guys decided we needed help so started untying our lines, pulled us along
the quay and tied us up again. Strange
but one of our lines was missing. One
guy in particular said no we only had three not four. We disagreed.
It was a ‘springer’ line with a lovely big rubber bungee on it that went
missing!!! I set off along the river
looking for it. Soon the guys
disappeared. When I returned empty
handed Alec and I decided to take torches and have a good look. Alec found it thrown over the quay wall and
waiting to be collected later when all the fuss had died down!!!!!! This is the first and only incident that we
have had someone trying to pinch something off the boat since we have had
her. We feel very lucky as we have heard
some horrific stories from other boat owners.
Tenders and outboard motors being stolen etc.
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| Danube Delta |
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| Danube Delta |
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| Danube Control Tower |
We
had the engines just in idle as we were carried with the current down river
towards the river mouth doing 6kts. Once
clear of the river mouth we were able to hoist the sails and enjoy pleasant
sailing conditions till just before midnight when we had to reef down
again. Winds had strengthened and
changed from a westerly to a south westerly.
Oh yes and out to sea we had again a very active thunder storm with lots
of fork lightening. More coastal
shipping and an Oil and Gas field to pass through. The gas and oil platforms were lit up like
mini towns and caused no problems. Off
on our starboard side we had hundreds of red flashing lights which I thought
were indicating fish farms as they seemed so low to the water, but no it was
rows of these modern turbine windmills on the shore. Reading back through my log, this was not one
of our better nights sailing. I have
written, ‘B’ tack to nowhere!! and, put sails up and down all ‘B’ night,
and, little or no sleep for either of
us!!!! It is funny how when you arrive
in port and that particular leg is behind you, and the sun is shining, even
though it is now behind you, it wasn’t that bad really. At the time it was though!!!!!
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| SHAMAL in Port Tomis, Constanta |
By
early afternoon we were tied up in Port Tomis, Constanta. This is a purpose built yacht harbour with a
modern marina away from the huge commercial harbour. But visiting yachts were all being directed
to tie up along the concrete quay on the inside of the breakwater. It seems only local yachts could use the
marina, and there were not too many of those.
The staff at this marina were also not really interested in our
needs. They seem to run other facilities
around the marina which took their interest.
Oh well never mind Alec was able to hook us up to the power and water,
and give the boat a big wash down. The sun
was shining, the winds had dropped, and it was here in Constanta that our good
friends from Dubai – Judith and Graeme, were joining us.
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| Old Town Hall, now a Museum, Constanta |
We
spent four days here, cleaning, washing, mending sails, site seeing, and then
there was the ‘take your life in your hands’ trip out to the big supermarket
Carrefour for a stock up on supplies.
Yes another one of those car trips where the driver has a ‘heavy’ foot
and road rules are made up as you go along.
When we passed a comment like ‘no hurry mate’, he would smile and repeat
‘no hurry’. Funny, Graeme did not enjoy
being his co-driver in the front seat !!
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| The Forum, Constanta |
Constanta
is Romania’s largest Black Sea Port, and also one of the top ten ports in
Europe as it opens the trade routes between Central and Eastern Europe with
Central Asia and The Far East.
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| The 1910 Casino, Constanta |
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| The Birthday Boy |
Also
while we were here we had to celebrate a ‘MAJOR’ birthday for Graeme. Judith came armed with a banner and
candles. So it was out to dinner to a
restaurant of Graeme’s choosing. We all
enjoyed a seafood dinner followed by a rather obscure desert decorated with the
candles.
Also
in Constanta we met people off two different yachts who had just come down the
Danube from northern Europe. One of the
couples, Ann-Christin and Dean off S/Y ‘Maringret’, were most interesting
telling us stories of their adventures down the river. They plan to explore the Black Sea next
year. We met them again on a number of
occasions in harbours and anchorages on our way south as they were making their
way into the Sea of Marmara to winter over.
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| Holidays Over, Mangalia |
So
south we continue. Our next port of
call, and last in Romania, was Mangalia.
It is a commercial port with a new marina built in the inner harbour. A Border Control officer met us in the marina
and was most helpful at getting us tied up and informing us of the
procedures. We had arrived late
afternoon and wanted to check out early the next morning. This was no problem for him. We had just enough daylight left to have a
quick visit of this touristic town. It
is now 19th September and the holiday makers have left. The beaches were empty and many of the
seaside restaurants had closed up for the season, but we did find a place for
dinner. Alec ordered steak, but we were
not quite sure what he was given, anyway he fed the local dogs with it on the
way back to the boat!!!
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| Public Water Taps, Varna |
Next
morning Alec and I are checking out at 05.30.
That done we slip out of the marina and are on our way into
Bulgaria. Our check in port is
Varna. This was the easiest country to
check into. Only one form was filled in
and a stamp in our passports, and it was complete. No money was asked for so it was very simple.
Bulgaria
is situated in the heart of the Balkan Peninsular. Its coastline is 354km long sitting on the
western side of the Black Sea. It covers
an area of 110,879 square kilometres.
Like Romania, its Soviet system came to an end in 1989, and it joined
the E.U. in 2007.
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| Naval Museum, Varna |
Varna
is Bulgaria’s third largest city. Its
history goes back 6000 years, so along with its sandy beaches, there are many
historical and archaeological sites to visit.
The following day we walked into the town to find a money changer and
visit the information centre to find out about a trip inland the following
day. The city square was just as busy as
one would imagine it to be in the middle of summer. We were having lovely warm sunny days again
and everyone was out and about. We
wandered about and eventually found the Navel Museum which had an interesting
collection of all things nautical.
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| Looking down on Shumen from Fortress |
Our
trip inland was to the first Bulgarian Capital of Pliska. We took the train to the town on Shumen where
after breakfast we hired a driver and set off to visit The Shumen
Fortress. It is believed the first fort
was built 3,200 years ago. Conquered and
destroyed repeatedly it was occupied till 1444.
It is one big open air museum with lots of ‘old rocks’ for Alec to
clamber over.
We
then moved onto Pliska about 30ks northeast of Shumen. This is the ancient Capital, and was huge
covering an area of over 23 square kilometres, and, no we did not walk around
that whole area. The inner town where
the fortress and Palaces once stood is the area we visited. There was also a very good on site
museum. Graeme being a surveyor finds
these old places of particular interest.
Sorry Alec yet another pile of rock foundations, but very interesting
ones!!! Our last stop was to see The Madara
Horseman. Now this is an impressive
monument of the early middle ages. It is
a rock relief which depicts a horseman, an injured lion and a dog following the
rider. It has been carved 23metres up on
a sheer rock face. In 2008 it was
elected as the global symbol of Bulgaria.
Then it was back into Shumen to catch the train back to Varna, along
with all the university students returning after the weekend. Standing room only for the hour and a half
trip back. None of the young offered any
of us over 50’s a seat!!!!
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| Shumen Fortress |
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| The Madara Horseman |
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| Bulgarian Countryside |
Back
in Varna we made a decision to have dinner out.
I think one of the stray dogs heard our conversation as he followed us
right back to the wharf which was over a kilometre away and even climbed the
stairs on the outside of the building with us.
Here we dined at the ‘Captain Cook’ restaurant. Didn’t know he made it to this part of the
world!!!!
Moving
on again we headed south for the town of Nessebar. The first part of this trip we had a lovely
sail. Broad reach and we were skimming
along at 8kts. Our first night
here we
anchored outside the marina as we were not too sure where to go, so next
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| Old Church, Nessebar |
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| Looking towards Old Nessebar |
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| Judith and Alec waiting for Graham and Ann !! |
Our
next port of call, Sozopol, was only 15nm away so we made this an afternoon
sail. This turned into another fast
trip. In fact at one point just before
the marina, we were hooting along at 9kts with white water all around, when we
noticed a row of buoys ahead marking a fish farm. That made for a quick choice of action where
we rounded into the wind and dropped the sails as the winds were now increasing
and we were just outside the marina.
There was Dean again who helped us tie up alongside.
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| Nessebar |
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| Wooden Buildings in Sozopol |
A
mid-morning departure from Sozopol and we sail down the coast to check out of
Bulgaria in Tsarevo (Carevo). This
harbour is really only a port of entry or departure into and out of the country
for boats. We arrived late afternoon and
within half an hour of anchoring out in the harbour and going ashore in the
tender we were all back on board and ready to go.
We decided to wait for the winds to get up
which were forecast to come in around
1900, so while doing so we had a leisurely dinner and waited. Just after 1900 we motored out of the harbour for a night run which would see us crossing back into Turkish waters, sailing down the Turkish west coast and back to Poyraz at the northern entrance to the Bosphorus. Unfortunately at this stage there are no ports open for yachts to check into on this Turkish coastline and one needs to continue through to Istanbul to do so.
Mores the pity as this would have made things much easier and cheaper
for us all. So this last leg on our
Black Sea cruise was nothing out of the ordinary. No wind, then around midnight – my watch
again – I got a big piece of orange plastic caught in the port prop. I got Alec up but he did not have to do a
midnight swim as when he stopped the boat it just floated off. A
Bulgarian ‘Law Enforcement’ vessel shadowed us to the border with Turkey. I am sure they were only on an exercise using
us as a practise target. Graeme stayed
up the first part of the night, and later Judith came up to join us as she
found sleeping a little difficult.
1900, so while doing so we had a leisurely dinner and waited. Just after 1900 we motored out of the harbour for a night run which would see us crossing back into Turkish waters, sailing down the Turkish west coast and back to Poyraz at the northern entrance to the Bosphorus. Unfortunately at this stage there are no ports open for yachts to check into on this Turkish coastline and one needs to continue through to Istanbul to do so.
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| Check out, Tsarevo, Bulgaria |
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| Jason's "Clashing Rocks" |
By
early afternoon we were anchored back in Poyraz fishing harbour at the northern
end of the Bosphorus. We had just
completed 1,362nm taking 72 days exploring the vast waters beyond the
Bosphorus. Here we sailed the same
waters and walked the same paths as the ancient civilisations before us. We learnt that our impressions of the
countries around the Black Sea, created mostly by the modern media, don’t quite
match reality. We met friendly generous
people with a passion for their countries.
We visited architectural wonders left behind by their ancestors. We saw the raw beauty of a corner of this
planet which is still off the beaten track and largely undiscovered to most
sailors and travellers. Visiting the
ex-Soviet countries was
fascinating. The only down side we found
was the rather ugly Soviet concrete block apartment buildings erected with no
thought given to their occupiers. There
was nothing aesthetically pleasing about them at all. These were found in many of the ex-Soviet
towns and cities. We are glad we took
this extra year to explore somewhere totally different. The sailing was rather arduous at times but
we have no regrets at all.
An acknowledgement must be given here to David Barker, as he is the main reason we ventured back up the Bosphorus, and, continued on into the Black Sea. David gave a talk in Marina di Ragusa just before the start of this years sailing season introducing us to the area along with his new Cruising Guide he and Lisa Borre had just written. David a very big thank-you.
An acknowledgement must be given here to David Barker, as he is the main reason we ventured back up the Bosphorus, and, continued on into the Black Sea. David gave a talk in Marina di Ragusa just before the start of this years sailing season introducing us to the area along with his new Cruising Guide he and Lisa Borre had just written. David a very big thank-you.
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| Caveman or Madara Horseman off his horse |
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| Seagull watch out!!! |
So
this is all for this letter
Much
love from
The
Admiral and The Commander
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