16-March – 03-April – 2011 On the way to the yacht

I am writing this in London, but first, after 14 hour flight from Sydney we arrived in Vancouver. We took a new, built for the Winter Olympics, train to the town where Andrew met us. He arranged an apartment for us in the same building complex where he lives with Jodie. It is right in the Vancouver centre and we could walk to restaurants and shops. Tina had a coffee shop just across the road. First night we spent watching an ice hockey game. Both, Andrew and Jodie are the fans of the game and the local team Canucks. They were happy as their team won the game. The team is actually on the top of the table and is going to be the minor premier for the first time in about forty years. It was good fun to see the match and I guess the arrangements (with music, marketing and cheering) was similar to footy games back at home.

Next day we went for a long walk in a huge park. We saw some local animals and birds. In the evening I stayed home while Tina went to watch Andrew play ice hockey game. He scored twice and assisted once in the game thus everybody was happy.

The other attraction in Vancouver was Greenwich Island. The story of the island is similar to the Darling Harbour one in Sydney. Area of old warehouses and docks was converted to a tourist attraction with markets and shops full of local arts. We walked there over a bridge and returned to the town in a small ferry. On the way we saw many yachts as there are marinas everywhere. Amazingly, some yachts were on the way despite rather cold weather in temperatures not much above freezing.

Andrew and Jodie took two days off after the weekend and we all went to Salt Spring Island. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast place. The owners were an older couple that converted their large house to the B&B. They were very nice and attentive. Breakfasts were the real treat. They were also far too big for us. When they found out I was on diet and from Poland they prepared special “continental” breakfast just for me. We enjoyed their hospitality a lot.

On the island there is little to do at this time of the year. We walked and drove around a lot, including a trip to the highest mountain. Last part of the mountain we had to walk as the dirt road had become rather difficult to drive a car on. The views were spectacular. Again, we saw yachts sailing, even racing. The whole area looked as great sailing region.

Interestingly, we had difficulties to find a restaurant to have dinner on Sunday. Most places were closed. We ended up eating in a hotel’s pub. Next day we found out that most places close for Sunday afternoon. That includes many of “studios”. That’s how places of tourist interest are called here. We wanted to see cheese making studios and visited a couple of them. The first was a big disappointment as it was just a little shop attached to a farm. The second however was much better.  We could observe the whole process of cheese making through windows specially built for tourists. At the end we went to a shop where we could try the cheeses and, of course, buy some. Tina bought some for Jodie's parents as the next day we would go to their place for dinner.

On the last day we changed our plans and instead of waiting for the afternoon and the only ferry back to Vancouver, we took a ferry to Vancouver Island. The island is apparently larger than Japan. We visited just the capital of the province – Victoria. It is a nice town with well known architectural attraction – the parliament building. We went inside to see it and it was interesting. We also walked the streets and  had drinks in the Scottish Pub.

We returned to Vancouver late in the evening but early enough to have dinner in a Japanese restaurant with excellent food and very low prices.

Next day was our last in Vancouver. We did some shopping and laundry during the day. In the evening we had dinner with Jodie’s parents. Her father is a retired fireman and house cook. Her mother still has a job. They live in an apartment with great views of Vancouver. Both support the Canucks and are great fans of the ice hockey. For dinner we had salmon and barbecue vegetables prepared on a balcony.

Next morning Andrew drove us to the airport and we were soon flying again.

Montreal was very much different than Vancouver. Firstly, the weather difference could not be starker. After rather spring weather in Vancouver we were back in winter in Montreal. It was really, really cold. The town is not a tourist attraction in winter. We spent most of the time walking or resting at home. We did however visit the Oratory and heard Jan’s story about the cure of his knee.

I had long and interesting conversations with Jola and Jan during the day, and in the evenings. Tina also enjoyed them. We met some interesting people too. One of them was a 91 year old Polish Jew. He is one of the richest people in Canada. His stories how he survived the war and his fortunes after are incredible. He has a personal secretary and she writes a book about his life. Maybe one day we will be able to buy and read it.

Flight to London was bad. We had tickets with Lufthansa thus all flights take us first to Germany. This time we landed for a two hour stay in Munich. On the flight from Montreal we got seats with very little leg room. It was uncomfortable to sit, sleep or watch TV. We arrived rather tired. Flight to London was much better and, of course, shorter.

On arrival I used my EU passport as I did not want a stamp in the Australian one. I am running of empty pages there while the passport is still valid for five years more. My border crossing was therefore easy and I had to wait for Tina quite a while.

We took the tube train to the Maciek and Julie’s unit. It was not easy to find their place as we had no street address but just the name of the building. We ended up calling Maciek and asking people on the street.

So far we have walked streets of London, enjoying the warm weather and the town. We visited a few pubs, British Museum and Chinatown. We also went to Westminster and watched Question Time debate in the parliament. We also met Tom and Nicolette of Katanne on Friday and spent very nice time with them. Tom acted as a London guide till we convinced him we should have a drink in the Westminster Pub. We went to Greenwich town where we met Eleesa and had some marker food. One evening we went to Albert Hall for a concert. Magnificent building, but the music was not so great.

We are going to the country today (03-April).

In the meantime we were informed that our shower in Nelson Bay was fixed, solar panels meter installed and Shirena is back in the water after antifouling.

04-April – 12-April, 2011 Via Warsaw to Ashkelon

We left London early morning in rain and with me having cold with running nose. We enjoyed the town and we would like to return there one day. Tube trains took us to the airport without any difficulties. We checked in quickly and security was not a bother. First leg of the flight took us to Duesseldorf. We had some time there thus we went to the Lufthansa desk and change our return tickets. We now have flights back to Sydney early in October. Unfortunately, we could not get direct flight connections thus we will have to spend one night in Singapore. Hopefully, we will enjoy it.

In Warsaw we arrived in the middle of the afternoon. A taxi waited for us and it took us to the apartments rental office. After some formalities and the payment of the rent we were taken again in a taxi to the flat in Old Town. The flat was small but it had everything we needed.

Our friends contacted us and soon they arrived to meet us. We had a nice evening although I could not enjoy it fully due to my cold. The cold would stay with till the last day of our stay in Warsaw.

The next days I dedicated to organising the matters with the banks. After a few hours of discussions and filling up forms it looked we had done all that was needed. Unfortunately, the results will not be known for some weeks to come.

We liked visiting Warsaw. We walked the streets of the Old Town and stopped at different coffee shops or restaurants. As always food was nearly always great (there was one exception where we went to a restaurant with no customers – breaking the rule was not beneficial as the “Italian” food was real bad). On the last day we discovered a street that ended up with a restaurant in a palace. We had some wine there under old pictures old some Polish aristocrats – very pleasant atmosphere.

Another friend met us twice during the stay and we went to try some of the best Polish dishes. We also discussed his sailing plans and shared our experiences.

The flights to Tel Aviv were uneventful but tiring as we travel overnight. After the arrival we took the train to Ashkelon station then taxi. It was great to see Shirena again.

After unpacking we started to check the boat systems. List of jobs to do began growing. We did not find anything too serious, as yet, but some jobs will take time. So far we have fixed the bimini which was damaged in a storm. We will need to order a new one in Turkey but till then we will have protection from the sun. We have also cleaned the deck and the cabins still discovering Red Sea dust. Hatches needed the service and we did that. Today we will look at the steering and possibly earth connection for the HF radio. It looks that we have a break in the earth foil at the capacitors box. Well, we will continue with work till we ready.

Next to us are two Dutch yachts. They wintered in the marina. One of them will soon sail to Egypt. They plan to sail as far south as Hurghada then return back to the Med. The other yacht will sail back to Turkey.

13-20 April, 2011 – First week on the yacht

We spent the week working on the yacht. The most serious problem we found was the steering stiffness. The steering wheel turns but an effort is needed to do so. It appears we got a known problem due to the fact that the steering was not used for a long time. So far we tried a few ways to unblock the rudder from the bearing but the results are not good. The worst case scenarios is that we will have to haul out the yacht again to change the bearings. This would be a rather expensive way to start the season. We still hope that some sort of oil will work a miracle and the steering will return to the usual state. We will try it after our return from Jordan.

Other works on the yacht progressed well. List of things to do slowly becomes shorter. Life on the yacht is becoming better every day.

21-23 – April, 2011 – Start of the trip to Jordan

We found only one bus company that would take us from Israel to Jordan. Its first stop is in Nazareth and the bus leaves at 8:50 in the morning. We travelled  to Nazareth a day earlier. The trip started with a half an hour walk to the bus station in Ashkelon. From there we caught a bus to Tel Aviv. Finding a bus station for the bus to Nazareth was a bit confusing as the station is huge and bus stops are not numbered uniquely. Two different companies have the same number station on the same floor. Initially we went to a wrong station but luckily we discovered the mistake early enough to avoid missing the bus.

In Nazareth we got off close to the centre. With a paper copy of our hotel booking we started walking. Soon a man asked us where we were going. He decided we were going in wrong direction and offered to guide us. Reluctantly we followed him. He was quite chatty and soon we knew he had family in Melbourne, his name was Teddy and he had two children. On the way he greeted many people as good friends. After about ten minutes we were at the place he said was our hotel. Well, it was a place with the same name but the hotel was somewhere else! That was told to us by Sister Martha who welcomed us at the door of her guest house. Since we already head the reservation we could not stay there. Sister Martha offered to drive us to our hotel. It was mighty kindly of her as the Nazareth seems to be rather hilly thus not too friendly for walking with bags.

The place we reserved was a total disappointment. We booked it on the internet and it had not bad reviews. The price also seemed to indicate a good hotel. Well, we got a room without a window, the only furniture was a bed, shower was half blocked and none of the doors closed. We were glad we were staying there for one night only.

Lunch we had in a nearby restaurant in old building. Beer was good and so was food.

In the afternoon we went for a walk which took us through the narrow streets of old town and to the basilica. We read the basilica was not interesting since it was built in 1955. We however found it very pleasing and we enjoyed visiting it.

After some ice creams on the main street we returned back to the room for a short rest. In the evening we had dinner in a restaurant that charged rather a lot but we enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.

We left the hotel with a relief next morning. Owner arrange for a taxi to take us to the place from which the bus starts its route. We were charged double of normal fare. Our memories of Nazareth are not going to be good.

The bus trip took about six hours. Border crossings took most of that time. We were rather amazed that neither Israeli nor Jordanian authorities did not bother to organise the crossings to remove some annoying issues. The main of them were queues to pay departure tax in Israel and then obtain visa on the Jordanian side. In both cases people simply push towards the counter without any regard to the others. At any point in time there could be two three people at the counter although only one would be serviced. Our problem was that we do not know how to behave in such situations. Pushing others is not what we do, unlike some young “lady” from Spain who managed to get to the counter at least half a dozen people ahead of me despite starting a few people behind!

A piece of string and a sign would solve the problem and everybody would feel better.

Only after we went through the visa and immigration queues we were told that in case we were delayed the bus would not wait for us and just leave. Uff!

We arrived in Amman early afternoon. At the bus stop many taxi drivers awaited us. We agreed a price with one of them and he took us to the hotel. Traffic in Amman was heavy and drivers used any available space to push forward – really very similar to the people in the border queues.

The hotel was fine although the water was only lukewarm. Staff was friendly and helpful. The room was basic but large and comfortable.

We went to see some of the town and had lunch. We stopped at a juice making place to have a drink. The owner spoke perfect English and I asked him where in US he lived. “In Chicago” - he replied with understanding smile. He then chatted with us about tourist attractions in Jordan, giving advice where to go and what to see. In general, it was what we planned after consulting Lonely Planet.

Lunch we had in a small street place that backed bread with mince meat inside. There were many customers and we thought the food had to be good. We were not wrong. After a short wait we got our piece of bread and it was excellent. It was also probably the cheapest lunch we ever had – one Jordanian Dinar (about $1,5)!

Later we went to see the citadel that is located on the top of a hill. After rather demanding for me climb we found the entrance and paid for the ticket. The site includes a number of different sets of ruins as well as small museum. First we went to the ruins from different periods of time. Later we visited the museum where we spent some time reading the history of the region and looking at relevant objects. It was interesting.

From the citadel we looked down at the old town and concluded we were not interested going there. I had a mild stomach issue from the previous day and I felt tired. There was a big Roman amphitheatre that we could see but it seemed to be closed for renovations. We returned to the hotel to have a cup of tea and some rest.

For dinner we went to a nearby restaurant. The food was good and healthy. It helped my stomach to recover and I felt better since. I guess it was also good for me they did not serve any beer.

Next day we had breakfast in the hotel and waited for the car to be delivered. It happened just as we were checking out. A man – Mahmud – came with papers and credit card machine. He offered to drive us out of Amman to save me driving through the traffic. On the way I asked if it was possible to buy beer anywhere. He said that was not a problem and insisted he would take us to a shop. Since it was Friday many shops were closed. He made a phone call to enquire where to find the shop and took us there. We bought supplies of beer and wine for the stay in the country.

Mahmud took us to the outskirts of the town and gave us detailed instructions how to find out next hotel. He also gave us his phone number in case we return to Amman and needed a hotel. His second job was to work for a hotel and he promised us good room as well as rates. We were so overtaken by his willingness to help that almost certainly we will call him if he return there.

Thanks to Mahmud's instructions we found the hotel in Madaba without any difficulties. We checked in and went to see the town. We had lunch in a nice looking coffee shop although the food was rather average. Next we visited the local attractions: church with ancient mosaic map of the region and archaeological site with more mosaics.

In the evening Maciek and Julie arrived. It was late thus we all went to sleep.

Next day we travelled to the desert east of Amman to see some “castles”. The first one we stopped at was a “hunting lodge” although it was a guess rather than a fact. From there we went to wetlands but at the gate we turned back. We were asked to pay a price we could not accept especially that there was no rain recently and we were told we could see nothing. Instead we went for a nice lunch in the first restaurant we found. It was fine.

On the way back we stopped at other “castle” which is quite well preserved. It was not easy to see the car park and entrance to the castle when we travelled earlier in other direction. The building was not really the castle. Again nobody knows what was its purpose. The best guess is that it was an inn. It is well preserved and we enjoyed visiting it.

Later in the afternoon we went to see more of the Madaba town but the dinner we had in the hotel on the roof.

Dead Sea was our next destination. We spent morning and early afternoon on the beach. Entrance to the beach was not cheap and... everything was not right. Change room were open for men only. They were dirty and smelly. We regretted we did not go to a resort and pay for one day visit.

Floating in the water was a good fun however. Julie and Maciek were told by a man looking after the beach about the mud. They covered themselves with it and Tina joined them. Later they claimed their skin was softer.

In the afternoon we also stopped at the place where Jesus was baptised. The site is a part of military and border zone thus access is not easy. We had to stop at Visitors Office and buy expensive tickets. A shuttle bus (with half an hour delay) took us to the site. A guide had to accompany us. In reality I think the guide was there to keep an eye on the tourists rather than to guide them.

We were disappointed with that visit.

In the evening we decided to plan our next tours in Jordan. We discovered we did not have as much time as we thought we did. Instead of three days in Petra we could afford only two. After Petra we would go to the desert for a night in Bedouin tent and then to Aqaba for some snorkelling. After Aqaba we would have time for return to the airport only.

We drove to Petra through Karak. We went there to see one of the largest crusaders castle. It is big. We walked through the parts of the castle discovering new ones. There is also a museum that is worthwhile a visit.

It was rather interesting how we parked in Karak. We drove towards the castle hoping we find the right way. Eventually we thought we were there and started looking for a place to park. It was not easy as there were many cars on the streets. Suddenly we see a man directing us to a spot between the cars – perfect. We took it and... were immediately invited to the restaurant next to the car. We decided we were hungry thus there was no harm in doing it. Our bill was about 8-10 Dinars to much than it should be. Unfortunately we discovered that too late to make any fuss about that.

We arrived in Petra (actually in the village nearby) late afternoon. We had the hotel booked and we checked in as only some of very few customers. We were told the hotel expected more customers in two days.

We visited Petra site twice during the following next two days. It is a huge site and we could easily find more to see on the third day. Walking was exhausting thus on the second day we hired donkeys to take us to a high located site. It was excellent decision as later we felt really tired. The weather was hot but not too bad. It was just the distances we walked that made us tired.

On the second day we discovered the hotel was overbooked. They asked us to move to another hotel. They said it was an upgrade. We checked on the internet and it looked we were being sent to a more expensive hotel but with really bad reviews. We decided to try it. The hotel pretended to be high class why in reality it was simply overpriced. We liked our stay there but we paid one third of the price as the difference was covered by the first hotel. It was however obvious why people who paid about $180 per night would be upset: food was poor or bad and there were countless faults in the rooms that made things not usable (like TV or drier in the bathroom).

From Petra we drove to Wasi Rum where we arranged a tour to the desert. We used internet to find a company that would arrange the trip. We selected a small operation and we were not disappointed. The business is run by a couple of a Bedouin man and an English girl who converted to Islam. We could arrange everything in English without any misunderstandings.

After our arrival to the Rum village we were picked up to the house where the girl (Emily) and her husband lived. We were given Bedouin tea (meaning very, very sweet) and were briefed on the details of the trip.

Shortly after the tea we were on the camels. For the next seven hours we travelled on the desert visiting places of significant beauty or interest. The landscape around us was just great. Places where we stopped were also worth it. The only problem was stronger wind during the lunch. The guide suggested we could switch to a jeep because of the sand in the air. We preferred to stay on the camels and it was the right decision as the wind stopped blowing minutes after we finished lunch.

We arrived at the camp early in the evening. Tina was in pain on the last leg thus she walked it. We all were aching but it was pain of achievement and pleasure.

The dinner was in a large tent with other tourists. We shared out stories and talked about the desert. The food was also good.

Emily looked after us and provided two separate tents although each could accommodate four people. It was a great idea as I cant really imagine how four people could share the tent with just four mattresses next to each other and no other space.

We were advised to sleep in our clothing as it was to be cold and there was no linen. In fact the night was not cold and we hardly used the covers. We still slept in clothing as the beds covers and sheets would not be pleasant to touch with bare skin. Later we found out there were no laundry facilities in the village thus the reason for no linen or towels.

In the morning we were taken again to the desert but in a four wheel drive this time. We stopped in some places of interest where we could take photos and climb rocks. It was nice but at some points rather boring trip.

It finished at midday. We liked it very much even though we had aching parts of the bodies.

Drive to Aqaba did not take too long. We found the hotel we booked but... we did not like the rooms. Maciek and Julie went to look for another hotel after lunch. They found a hotel with much better rooms. The reason – we found out later – they had rooms was that they were open for the second day only after the renovations. Aqaba was full of tourists. Apparently Syria closed the border stranding many tourists who switched to domestic locations filling up the hotels.

Next day Maciek and Julie went snorkelling. We decided to visit the castle. It is a ruin but some parts of the castle are still intact. It was rebuilt a few times thus it was nothing like the one we saw in Karak. There was also a small museum that we browsed rather quickly.

From the castle we walk a bit before catching a taxi to a beach on the southern coast. It was a disappointment. The beach was full of rocks and coral thus not easy to enter the water. Tina – I did not want to swim – had to wear her shoes to protect the feet. Change rooms did not exist and Tina had to use a toilet for which she was requested to pay. She was also the only woman on the beach that did not swim fully clothed.

We left the beach by taxi that happened to be driving by. The driver was friendly like all people we had met so far. Children greeted us often with: “Hello”, “How are you?” or “Welcome”. Older people often asked us where we were from and then they also welcomed us in their country. We felt really good among them. Tina did not have to make any special effort when it came to clothing. She dressed modestly but without covering her head or full length of the legs. Nobody said anything to us about that.

Next day we drove back to Madaba. This time we took the free way thus the trip was rather short although tiring for me the driver. It was our last day in Jordan and we celebrated it first with huge lunch in a crowded (obviously very popular) restaurant then in the hotel bar. I was a bit sad we were going to say good bye to Julie and Maciek. I guess my stomach felt the same thus it made some fuss about that.

In the morning Maciek and Julie left for airport in a car arrange by the hotel. We had breakfast and waited for someone to collect the hired car from us. It was Mahmood again. We asked him to take us to the border crossing King Hussein Bridge. We paid for the car hire and the additional charges for extra day, petrol and trip to the border next to the departures gate at the border.

Checking out was quick, maybe too quick. First our bags were x-rayed then we were directed to the immigration counters. The first one made us to fill in small pieces of paper and then sent us to the next one. That one looked at our passports and sent us to the third one to pay the tax. I went to pay the tax which was 16 JD for both of us. I gave the woman 50 JD. It some time for her to give the change. In the meantime Tina talked to the man in the second counter while he stamped our passports. I got the change and started checking it. Only then the woman told me she would give me one more JD “in a minute”, suggesting she had not change. As soon as we presented the tax stamps the man behind the counter got up and hurried us to the shuttle bus. I wonder it if was their way to get some money from the tourists.

The bus was not full and we waited for another 20-25 minutes before it left. A man collected some money for bus tickets. The bus took us – after a couple of check points – to the Israel. There we experienced probably the worst border crossing in our lives (well I crossed a couple of times Soviet Union borders many years ago and that experience was so bad that I do not think I should compare).

Firstly, the bus was stopped at the place where people get off and queue for processing. We waited in the bus good half an hour before we were allowed to leave it. From the bus we went to the first queue where the bags were collected to be x-rayed. The queue was big and disorganised. People tried to go ahead of others although it was not easy as most had trolleys with many bags and... canisters of water. After moving at snail pace we reached the point where our bags and passports were taken from us. Bags and passports got matching labels, although that was not really certain as I saw a man who took three passports, took them to a counter where he got the labels and then return to fix the other labels to the bags. How could he know which bag belong to which passport?

From that queue we progressed to the next one. There were only two counters open thus waiting was long again. We were about couple of people before reaching the counter when one was closed. A woman at the counter checked our photos with the faces, affixed one more label to the passport and let us go.

We went to the immigration queue which was not long – most people were slowed down by the first two queues! We were lucky enough to get a man who was very curious about everything. He wanted to know why we did not want to have our passports stamped. He actually denied that request to a Japanese girl when she could not explain the reason for her request. We told him we travel to Malaysia and that satisfied him although he tired to convince us that the stamp looked nice and it would be great to have one in the passport. He then enquired about our plans for the stay in Israel, where, when and why. Eventually we satisfied his curiosity and he let us go.

Next two queues were for reasons difficult to understand. First one was used just to check we had passports. The second did the same but also collected a piece of paper given to us by the immigration man. Both counters had queues and people pushing to get there as soon as possible.

Well we were nearly there – just collect our bags. But where are they. There is a conveyor belt by it would be full as people had some much luggage. A few men unload the bags and put them on the ground. We went through the bags and found one. The second one was missing. We checked the bags a few times but to no avail. I asked a couple of men who unload the bags from the belt but they just sent me to the bags on the floor. I got a bit angry and started to ask aggressively what happens if my bag is not on the ground. Eventually I found some manager who checked the label on my passport and agreed the bag should have already been delivered. He took me to the other part of the building where I immediately saw my bag. It was held for detailed check but nobody bothered to tell me that. A young girl unpacked it, found my little computer and sent it for checking. After about five minutes I got my bag back and we could go. What a relief!

We bought tickets to travel to Jerusalem by a minibus. Again organisation and service where non-existent. We were forced to take the bus after the man directing the people took care of his tribe, friends or families – who knows?

In Jerusalem we had lunch and took taxi to the bus station. The rest of the trip to Ashkelon was uneventful.

03-04 – May, 2011 – preparing yacht for the season

Our first priority was to fix the steering which was still stiff. After some enquiries and questions we decided to use a metal polish liquid supplied to us by Eran, the local manager who supervised anti fouling of our boat. Initially, I wanted to haul out the boat and change the bearings. However Eran as well as our friend Neil thought we should make as much effort as possible to solve the problem on the water.

We put the liquid in and started turning the wheel every few minutes. It seemed the stiffness has partially gone away. After two days we think the yacht is sail able although not fixed.

04-11 – May, 2011 Ready to sail

We serviced as many systems on the yacht as we could. We found two issues we could not solve immediately. The first was, of course, stiff steering. We tried different chemicals and oils but the steering still was not free. We decided we would sail to see if more movement could unfreeze it. The other problem was that our chart plotter crashed each time we used Navionics Gold card with charts for the Mediterranean. We contacted Raymarine and Navionics but responses were coming slowly.

Nevertheless, we decided to sail as we had other navigation tools that we could use.

On May 8, Tony our friend joined us for a few weeks. He often worked as a sailing instructor thus we would have a good crew as well as strong arms to steer the yacht.

A day before we left we went to see Jerusalem. It was a nice and relaxing trip and we all enjoyed it.

12 – May, 2011 To Tel Aviv

A few days before setting the sails I called the Tel Aviv Marina and asked for a berth. I was told we could come and stay at the guest berth. First night would be free then I should talk to the office. Since the distance from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv was only about 32 miles (including a detour to avoid restricted military areas) we left after breakfast at 8:30. It was windy the previous night thus we had some rather unusual waves but the wind was good and we sailed all the way.

About an hour before the arrival we called the marina to ask where we should go. We got a reply there was no berth for us! My claim we had it booked was received with doubts. Eventually, we were allowed to enter the marina and use a visitor jetty. Two men, police officers from nearby station, came to help us with the lines.

In the office it turned up that there was a difference of opinions between two workers. One thought the visitor berth could be used by anybody, the other would keep it as “a spare” for emergency. In any case we were told we could stay for a night without paying. Longer stay would be charged in one week intervals.

We enquired about checking out facilities as we planned to sail directly to Cyprus from there. Our pilot guide states the marina is a clearance port. Well, it is not! We would have to sail to another marina.

The steering proved to be a problem. We did not use autopilot as it was still too stiff for it. It looked we would have hard time to sail overnight to Cyprus if we had to steer by hand all the way. We decided to enquire about repair facility. Again, we found out the guide was wrong. There is no travel lift in Tel Aviv Marina. Instead a crane has to be booked and this could take a few days.

We decided to move on to Herzliya Marina where we could check out from the country as well as try to repair the steering.

I tried to loosen the clip holding the rudder as Eran (the shipwright in Ashkelon) thought the steering would get free once it drops down a bit. We tried that before but the rudder would not move. I thought I would try again since we had some sailing behind us. In the process I discovered I could not lock the clip with the bolt that suppose to do that. It made me really frustrated. I questioned if we should rather sell the yacht and travel by other means. I shared that thought with my friends and... I got plenty of encouragement. I thought we would sail still for a while. I secured the clip with electric wire and it looked good.

13 (Friday) – May, 2011 to Herzliya Marina

We left early. It was only five miles trip thus we made it in less than an hour. We were told to call the marina office on the radio. They did not reply. We entered the marina and decided to moor the yacht at a jetty. At that time a storm was nearly upon is and the wind increased significantly. There was little space to manoeuvre the yacht and the wind would push us away if we were too slow with the lines. After a few attempts we managed to secure the yacht and just then the rain started.

After it stopped we checked in to the marina and moved the yacht to the allocated berth. This time we have two men helping us: one on the yacht and the other on the jetty. We parked without any problems.

The clip on the rudder did not move – the wire worked well.

On Sunday we would have two local specialists quoting us for the steering repairs.

14-16 – May, 2011 Shirena back on the hard

Saturday we spent relaxing and catching up with the emails. Marina is located next to a large shopping centre which opened despite the holiday. Tina loved its location as it just a few steps from the boat. She would go there to buy anything she needed at the moment.

Next day we had Tal who came to check the rudder. He agreed to work on it next day as there was a free slot to use the travel lift. Second tradesman told us he could do the job only next month.

The rest of the day we spent buying parts for the boat from the local yacht shop. I was also able to test the Navionics card that did not work in our plotter. It worked well in a new plotter in the shop. Changing plotter was however not only expensive but also it required rearrangement of instruments on the pedestal. We decided we had enough of navigation equipment for the Mediterranean. Tina also bought paper chart – just in case!

On Monday morning we waited for the call from Tal to move the yacht to the travel lift. He called at eleven as promised. We took the boat to the dock where Tal and his workmen removed the quadrant. They then lifted the yacht and started removing the rudder. That proved very difficult. Initially, the rudder went down a few centimetres but then it got stuck. I tried to move it and I could not do that. It looked rather bad. Tal then came with an idea to use some acid. It made the job much easier and the rudder was out in minutes. The workmen then flashed the bearing to make sure there was no acid left.

The yacht was then moved to a permanent hard stand position out of the lift. The rest of the afternoon was spent on removal of the bearing and then cleaning. That night we spend high above the sea level. I felt a bit like sleeping in a container.

It was a windy day and night thus it was not too comfortable. We hoped the yacht would be back in the water next day.

17 - May, 2011 Back in the water

Tal and his man started early. By ten they had the new bearing and the rudder installed back in the yacht. We had to wait about two hours for the travel lift to move Shirena back in the water. After some anxious moments when the salt water pump took time to move cooling water, we were back in the berth. The steering is light and easy.

I started to follow up emails in regard to the Navionics chart card we bought for the plotter. The card crashes the plotter making it unusable. I emailed Raymarine, Navionics and Fugawi the company that sold the card to us. All three companies list on their website the card as compatible with the plotter. After some exchange of emails with Raymarine we got the reply that in reality the card was not compatible with the plotter. I then contacted Fugawi asking what they could do for. The reply was rather short - since I bought the card in 2009 then there was nothing they could do. Fortunately, Navionics sales woman also replied. She wrote the card had two year warranty. Our card was therefore covered by it and we should contact the seller. I did just that – no reply so far.

In the meantime I also talked to the local sail shop owner. He agreed to lent me the new Navionics card to check if it would work with the plotter. We would try that on Friday.

Despite chart plotter issue we feel the yacht is ready to sail.

18 – May, 2011, Tourist day trip to Akko (Acre)

We hired a car and went to see Akko. Traffic on the roads was bad and the trip took longer than we anticipated. Finding the old town was rather easy. We spent the day walking lovely streets of the town and visiting places of interest. Citadel was interesting, especially that we had audio guide. Museum on the other hand we could had skipped. Turkish Bathhouse tour was a bit kitchy but still interesting. We then had lunch in a restaurant on the sea bank, near marina.

I went to inspect the marina as at some point we considered to sail there. I was glad we did not. The marina was full and the approach would be difficult. Rocks and reefs seemed to be everywhere.

After lunch we went to see Templar Tunnel. That was rather a non-event – just a walk underground watching not to hit the ceiling. After some more walks in the town and on the walls we returned to the car and then drove back to the marina. On arrival I checked my email for reply from Fugawi – my inbox was empty.

19-21 – May, 2011 Still in Israel

Since we fixed the steering the winds had been coming from the north. We hoped we could leave on Monday although the winds would still be a bit adverse but they supposed to be weaker.

In the meantime I had installed a splitter for VHF antenna to connect AIS and radio. After the job was done I started to have doubts that the splitter would actually work. Tests showed the radio worked fine but it was rather difficult to test AIS as there were no ships we could see. On Sunday I would go to the yacht shop and check if they know anything about the splitter I was assured in Thailand it would work properly.

Fortunately, we can switch to the previous set-up within seconds.

On Saturday we rented a car again and went to see Caesarea. We spent about two hours walking among the ruins and learning about the history of the place. It was interesting and we all enjoyed it. We did not enjoy coffee in the local bar.

From Caesarea we drove to Tiberias. Tina wet her feet in the Galilee Lake and we had lunch in a waterfront restaurant. There was little to see there thus after lunch we returned back to marina.

It appeared I had lost the argument with Fugawi and Navionics regarding the chart card. Fugawi did not respond at all to my last message. I called Navionics and the woman there advised me she could do nothing for us. Well, our next set of charts will be C-Map, I guess.

22-24 – May, 2011 to Cyprus

We spent Sunday preparing for the passage to Cyprus. Tina made some shopping while I went to the office to check out from the marina as well as arrange leaving the country. It took me about five trips from the boat to the office before everything for the day was done. The office girl was very friendly and helpful but there were things to be done (like reading electricity metre) that we all had to wait for. During one of the office visits I bought a new chart card for the plotter.

Eventually, the was only one thing to do – checking out from the country. This however would have to be done next day in the morning.

We went to the office at seven as we agreed with the officer. She arrived half an hour later apologising for the delay caused by a road accident. We had the documents ready in five minutes. At 7:45 we were leaving the marina.

The passage was rather uneventful. Initially we had wind that allowed us to motor-sail at speed taking us to Cyprus by midday next day. That however soon ended and we had northerly (on the bow) weak winds or nothing at all. Fortunately the engine worked fine and we covered the distance in a very good time, arriving in Cyprus by three in the afternoon. On the way we saw just a few ships. Our new AIS antenna splitter (which the owner of the yacht shop in Herzliya confirmed was the right one) did not work. AIS did not pick up signals from a nearby ship. When I changed to the previously installed antenna we got the signal immediately. More work to do in the port.

After about 31 hours of motor-sailing we arrived to Larnaca. We called the marina office about ten minutes before our arrival. The man asked to call again in five minutes because he could not see us. He then directed us to enter the marina where he waited at the end of a pontoon. We berthed the boat as instructed but then it appeared the mooring line was not a rope but chain. It looked we would have to move to the other side of the pontoon when the man decided we could use the berth next to the one where we already stopped. This time the mooring line seemed to be too short but we extended it with our own and finished the berthing.

In the meantime a policeman collected from us papers for processing. For some reason he seemed to be in a hurry. We went to see him as soon as we finished tying up the boat. It was a rather long walk in the marina that look old and messy but somehow pleasant and friendly. Checking-in took about two hours as we had to wait for, first health official then customs officer. All work was usually fast. There was a form that they or I would fill in and then sign. After that we were welcomed to the country.

Initially we wanted to have dinner in a restaurant. We felt however too tired for that thus we ate on the boat and went to sleep.

25-26 – May, 2011 In Larnaca

We spent the first morning walking along the coast. The town is so European that I felt really at home, including rude drivers who just did not care they walked the streets sometimes, too.

I checked the AIS connection to the splitter and it looked faulty. After I fiddled with it the splitter and AIS worked. One problem solved!

In the afternoon I received a message from Navionics in Italy. They asked me to call them and talk about the issue. I could not call that day but I managed to do that next morning. They agreed I was given a rough deal and offered to replace the chart card. Since we had already bought the new card they agreed to provide a one for another region. I sent to them the card code and address where to send it. It looked that after all the trouble the problem had been resolved.

In the meantime Fugawi still tried to “wash their hands” from the issue. Of course, they will never hear from me again.

I also tried to earth the autopilot as it was never done by “authorised Raymarine installer” and it could be a reason why the device sometimes suddenly changes course or stops following the route. I connected the earth wire from the autopilot to the HF radio earth. This was not good. We tested it and the autopilot clearly reacted to the sending periods on the radio. The problem is that there is no earth connection near the autopilot location. I may have to run a long cable to achieve the goal.

In the evening we went to a restaurant at the fishing harbour. Our order was so big we could not eat all the food. The waiter offered us a “doggy bag”. We ate the rest of the dinner next day for lunch.

29 -May,2011 Lazy Sunday

We wanted to do some shopping as next day we decided to sail from Larnaca. We actually had to leave the marina as the owners of the berths started taking their boats down from the hard stands for the sailing season. The manager said he could not promise to have a place for us on Monday.

In the morning I informed an immigration police that we would need our passports back early next day. He assured me he would arrange for the documents to be ready.

We then drove to the shopping centre only to discover and it was closed on Sundays. We had nothing else to do but just walk around the town and rest. In the evening we had dinner with Tony who was leaving us. He was going back to France and then Australia. We hoped to meet again in Sydney in October.

30 – May, 2011 To Famagusta

In the morning I went to the “fuel man” and asked him how we could fill up with the diesel. He instructed us to move the yacht to the jetty where the bowser was. The jetty on the lower side with easier access was taken by motor boats. They were berthed there permanently. The other side of the jetty is much higher and we would need help from the land to secure the yacht there. “Fuel man” said he would be there.

We moved the yacht and moored it without a problem. On advice from a sailing couple from Germany we filled up not only the tank but also all jerry cans. They told us we would save a lot as the diesel in Turkey was much more expensive than in Cyprus.

We left the yacht at the jetty and went to check-out from the country. Marina office needed time to read the electricity metre. We had coffee in cafeteria. The bill for electricity was 3.45 Euros. Next we had to wait for the customs officer who needed a break. He returned after about ten minutes. One form to sign and he wished us a good trip. Immigration police officer had to call for our passports to be delivered. It did not take long. We were checked-out.

We left the marina at about nine. Initially there was no wind but after about an hour it picked up and we had wonderful sailing all the way to Famagusta.

We started calling the harbour about half an hour before our arrival at about four in the afternoon. No one answered. We entered the port and motored where fishing boats were moored at a jetty. There we found the jetty nearly fully taken by the local boats. We decided to put the yacht between two boats where there seemed to be some space. While we were circling and preparing the yacht for the mooring a man waved to us from one of the boats. He directed us to the place where we wanted to go. It was a nice confirmation we were right. We went stern in.

After the boat was secure we inquired about the port authorities and immigration. We were told all of the officials had gone home as it was after 3PM. We stayed on the yacht till next morning.

31–May – 2 June, 2011 To Famagusta

Fishing port in Famagusta was old and the jetty was rather neglected. It had however a pleasant atmosphere as people were very friendly and helpful. Our gas bottle run out of gas and I had to change it. The man from the boat next to us arranged for bottle to be filled up. We got it full next day and the man who did it refused any extra payment.

In the morning we went to find officials to check-in to the country. We were told we needed to contacted Immigration Police. We found the office and they arranged passes for us. They also called someone from port authorities. He filled up some forms and we were done, nearly. The police wanted passport photos of us. We had to find them on the boat. Soon after we delivered the photos we were issued with passes. We were free to walk into town.

We spent most of the time within the old town walls where we visited a few churches, some converted to mosques other s in ruins, Othello castle and citadel as well as a restaurant to have lunch. We also made some shopping for the dinner.

The afternoon we spent on the boat waiting for the gas bottle and resting. A man came to us and said he owned a similar yachts in Kyrenia. He invited us there. We wanted to go there but we were told the marina was full. He made a phone call and booked a berth for us! We intended to be there in a few days although later than we thought as we liked Famagusta thus we probably would stay here a day longer than anticipated.

On the last day of our stay we hired a taxi and went to see an archaeological site outside the town. Taxi driver took us to the place and waited while wondered around the site. There were ruins of Roman buildings from the early centuries, including Christian period. The best preserved was a theatre and nearby gymnasium. The site is large and it took us about two hours to see all uncovered buildings. We were sure there were more to discover as that ancient town looked rather big.

After we returned we went to checked-out from the harbour and to collect our passports. To our surprise the immigration police put a stamp of departure in our documents. We tried to explain we were not leaving the country but to no avail. They had their rules and we would have to check-in to the country again at the next port. That would be fine but... the new marina in Karpaz did not have immigration office as yet. We would have to sail to Kyrenia first and then to the marina. We wondered what was the difference between the immigration rules in Famagusta and Kyrenia? We checked-out out any way and spent the rest of the day on the boat preparing for next day early departure. A couple from a just arrived catamaran came to talk to us. They crossed Red Sea earlier this year and had similar stories to ours to share. It was nice to chat to them. We went to bed as soon as we could. It was to be early start next day.

3 - June, 2011 To Karpaz Marina

The alarm went off at 4:25. We were not sleeping. For some reason both of us could not sleep well that night. I put the head out of the hatch to discover that there was fog. We had to wait for the sun to disperse it. By five we had enough visibility to start the passage. We left the harbour with good memories of the place and people.

Sailing was not the best as we had enough wind for about two hours only. Rest of the time we motor-sailed or just motored. Our route took us around the islands at most eastern cap of Cyprus. Charts showed there cold be a passage between the islands but we followed the pilot advice and did not attempt to sail in-between them.

For the first time since we left Israel we saw some wild life in the sea. There were birds and jumping fish. I put a lure behind the yacht but we had no takers.

We arrived at the marina by about five – twelve hours passage, 72.5NM. On the approach we called on the radio but no one replied. Closer to the entrance however a motor boat came out and two men welcomed us to the marina. They directed us to the only finished pontoon and helped with the mooring lines. We berthed next to another Bavaria yacht with the English owner on it. Beside him there was a catamaran we saw in Famagusta in the marina. Workers were still everywhere. They would need at least a month to finish the marina.

We were charged very high price for the two nights stay but offered a much better deal for the yacht to stay here for the winter. Our English neighbour advised us to take the offer as it was really good. We would think about it but the thought was to accept it.

We spent the evening talking to our neighbour about his trips in the Med. He was a source of great knowledge and we invited him to talk to us next evening.

04-05 – June, 2011 To Tasucu, Turkey

We spent a day in Karpaz Gate Marina resting and working on the boat. Since marina was built the same way as the ones in Australia we felt a bit like “at home”. Tina got into cleaning mode and cleaned the boat outside and inside. I did some minor works.

In the meantime we decided to bring the yacht back here at the end of the season. The management made us a good offer. The marina was located in a rather remote location but since we were not going to live on board it really did not matter much. In the evening we signed the contract and paid the deposit.

We also met our neighbours on both side of the yacht. One was Graham. He wanted to talk to us about Famagusta and other places we visited. He did not find out too much as he had a rather bad habit of interrupting just a few words into a sentence and changing subject. Nevertheless we learnt from him a bit about the region.

On the other side of the yacht we had a Scottish couple and they invited us for drinks before dinner. They were a real source of information for us. We marked our guide with many notes.

Next morning we left the marina as soon as we were ready. We sailed for about one hour only as there was no wind. The region is known for mostly light winds or... gales.

We arrived in Tasucu at about 3PM. For the first time we had to use mooring method of dropping the anchor and reversing towards the wharf. There was plenty of space and some people took the lines from us. It was no problem.

Checking-in to the country proved a bit slow. We were told the harbour master would not be in his office as we arrived on Sunday. We went to the immigration office. There we were told the harbour master must be in his office and we must deal with him first. It was about 200m from immigration to the harbour office but we missed it and went too far, much to far – the path ended. We returned and found the office... locked. Back at the immigration we were told the harbour master would be in his office in a half an hour. We had some water on the yacht and went again to the office. The official waited for us. He gave us form to fill in while he entered the same data on the computer. We received five copies of the log for TL50. He stamped and signed them but we still needed more stamps. The first was from a doctor. The harbour master took us to the doctor in his car. There we waited for the doctor to enter the data into computer, stamp the forms and sign them. He did not talk to us about our health at all. We did not need to be there really.

Next we walked back to the immigration office. They said we had to see the police which is just 20m away. The police sent us back saying we needed visa which is issued by just one customs  official. He was not there but he would come at 9PM.

We were tired but the formalities had to be completed. We went to a couple of shops and bought some food. We did not eat on the boat however but in a restaurant. Food was rather average.

We were back at the immigration office at 9PM, sharp. The official was not there. Another one tried to send us back to the police but without visas they could do nothing. We had to wait till nearly 10PM for the customs official to arrive. He apologised for the delay and issued us with visa stamps – TL35 each. The police stamped the visas and our log and sent us back to the customs. They stamped the log and took one copy. We returned to the police who collected another copy of the log. We were left with three copies. Two of them had to be returned to the harbour master. I went to his office and – as per his request – put the copies under the door. We were done! We could go to bed!

06 – June, 2011 Ovacik Adasi (36.09.530N, 33.41.432E)

Yesterday, we bought a SIM card to have a local mobile number. We were told it would work after two hours. It did not work even next day. We needed to see the seller. We saw shops opening in the morning and we went to the shop where we bought the card. It was closed... till 1PM. We decided to take a bus to the main town nearby – Silifke. We did not have to wait long when the bus arrived. It took just 15-20 minutes to arrive to the centre of the town. We found a shop and bought a 3G card for internet access. We were about to ask about the other SIM card when we discovered it was working!

We wondered on the streets of the town looking for a coffee shop. There was a big rally organised by a party. Many people came to attend it. Turkey would have elections next week. The rally was noisy with music and shouting.

We found a stall with fruit and some food. We bought some fruit and food for lunch. On river bank we sat in a restaurant and had some local strong tea. We were ready to return to the yacht. Streets in town were becoming more and more crowded with the people attending the rally.

After the return we decided it was time to move on. We packed the yacht and left the harbour. We have good memories of that place. People especially were very friendly and tried to be helpful, even if it was just a chair to sit on when waiting for someone or some help in finding a place. It is a town not spoiled by excessive tourism as yet.

We sailed for about two hours in winds against us. We made 9 miles on the water but only 6 towards our goal. When the wind picked up to the strength we would need to reef the sails we decided we preferred to arrive on flat not heavily leaning yacht. One and a half hour later we anchored in the bay. It is a very pretty one. There is a resort and some sort of town on the shore. It did not look there were too many people there but we saw a rubber dinghy and some fishermen. The only negative was still the wind. It blew rather strongly. We set the anchor alarm – just in case.

07 – June, 2011, To Bozyazi Limani (36.05.760N, 32.56.292E)

We woke up at about 3:30AM with wind from the east and swell moving the boat. The waves were not big but the boat became uncomfortable. We let with the first light. After some sailing we had to start the engine again. We arrived in Bozyazi Limani at about midday. There were no yachts in the port and we could not see anyone there at all. Opposite the entrance there was a wharf and we decided to moor there. It looked a part of the wharf was fenced off thus we thought we should be outside it. When we approached a wharf a man came and directed us to the fenced area. He said there was water and electricity there. He also helped us with the mooring lines. Later we were charged for the stay as we stopped at a “co-operative area”. I guess we could had gone outside the area and being not charged but we did not mind.

After we settled the man told us there was a family restaurant that could take us to the castle and the restaurant for free if we eat there. He then called someone and handed over the phone to me. The man on the other end made the same offer, often repeating “No money”. We knew something was not right but curiosity won. We agreed to eat at the restaurant, visit the castle and ruins of an ancient town.

The man arrived at two as we agreed. He took us to the restaurant where we had a good lunch. When we finished and wanted to pay he said “No money”, but it was obvious he meant “later”. We went to the castle and then to the ruins. On the way – without being asked – the man bought us water. He also did not let us pay any entry fees instead doing it himself. It was obvious he did not want us to know the prices.

From the ruins we went back to the restaurant. He then said he would prepare the bill. It was twice as much as I expected. I refused to pay more. He started showing us the prices of food and tickets – all tripled or quadrupled. I gave him the money I was prepared to pay, added some tip and said I was not paying more. His father saw the money and intervened by saying it was enough.

The man was not happy but he obeyed the father. On the way back to the yacht he asked us if we would come to the restaurant next day! When we arrived back to the port a yacht with Swiss flag was moored next to us. The man went to the other sailors with his offer. It was not taken and the Swiss man told us later he never took offers from people who approached him. I think we will follow that rule from now on and stop experimenting. It was not a pleasant experience.

The rest of the day we spent on the boat preparing for the next day sail.

08 – June, 2011, To Gazipasa (36.15.800N, 32.16.665E)

Sailing was uneventful with little wind. Gazipasa was similar in size to the previous harbour. There were however fewer places where to moor the boat. There was a small concrete wharf on the south side but it looked that going ashore from it could be an issue. The other small wharf had a yacht on one side and a fishing boat on the other. In the middle a large dinghy was attached. There was no place for us at the wharf. We found however some space between the fishing boat and rocks. It worked – we dropped the anchor and reversed towards the remaining free part of the wharf. A man from the fishing boat came to help with the lines. He and his college did not speak any English thus we could not talk to them although we tried.

After lunch we went for a swim on a beach next to the port. There we found some resorts, small shops and restaurants. In one of the restaurants we had beer. In contrast to the man from our previous stop the owner rounded down the bill for the beer. We reversed that happy to confirm that only a few were there to prey on tourists.

We were asleep when strong light and noise woke us up at about midnight. A large fishing boat arrived in harbour and it needed a place to berth. Someone asked us to move the yacht as they needed our space. I was still in the conversation with the man when others called him. He then said we did not need to move. What a relief! The fishing boat berthed after the large dinghy was moved out.

We had however a rather bad night. It was not possible to go back to sleep with noises of working people and running engine.

09 – June, 2011 To Alanya (36.33.550N, 31.56.75E)

We left the port early. Again we had no wind. We arrived in Alanya Marina before midday. Two men came to direct and help us to the berth. In the marina office we paid for one week stay as we decided to travel to Cappadocia from there. We arranged a three day trip in the office from next Tuesday. We also ordered an aluminium Guardian anchor as we will need it as a stern anchor. We enquired about making a new bimini and a dodger for the boat. Unfortunately they will require 15 days to make it. We decided we would stay and wait if the price was right. Hopefully we would find something to do here.

In the evening we went to “King's Pub” with other sailors – it was a happy hour. There were quite a few permanent sailors in the marina. Some plan to leave soon, others intend to stay till... well, who knows?!

10-17 – June, 2011 In Alanya and Cappadocia

We did not order new bimini and dodger. We met some lovely couple from US and they told us we could make the covers in Marmaris. We would try that.

Alanya town was very touristy. We went there to see the castle. It was not too impressive but the views were great. We also could buy any supplies we needed. In the marina we enjoyed a swimming pool every afternoon. It was great way to cool down after a usually hot day.

The trip to Cappadocia was satisfactory. We managed to get a taste of the region. The only annoying part was that the guide would take us to “artistic” places, meaning shops. We had four such visits: ceramics, leather, jewellery and – of course – carpets. Selling was very aggressive and unpleasant. Well, we paid very little for the tour thus we had to suffer. It seemed that some other people in the group did not mind the “shopping” and enjoyed the visits.

We went for a hot balloon flight and that was great. I'd love to pilot one of them!

On our return from the tour we collected the new anchor and flat rope reel. It took me about a half a day to install the reel and find a place for the anchor. We are now well prepared for little ancient harbours and anchorages.

18 – June, 2011 To Side

At eight in the morning we went to fill up with the fuel. A couple of men from the station came to help with the lines and to operate the pumps. Soon we were on our way to Side. There was little wind thus we motor-sailed all the way.

Entrance to the harbour is rather narrow – reminded me entrance to Lady Musgrave Island in Australia. Inside we were shown by the harbour master where to moor the yacht. We missed the point by about two widths of yachts but the master did not mind it. We went stern-in as there was enough water at the quay. Missing the allocated spot we blamed on wind that pushed us away.

The town had interesting ruins, especially theatre. We paid TL10 to enter it. The structure was amazing. Other ruins were also in good shape with some nearly undamaged. We walked around the town till we stopped for some beer. The waiter was very chatty and tried to have us for dinner. We were not hungry as yet. In the end Tina decided to cook on the boat.

The night was rather bad as it was very noisy. There was a night club nearby and they played the music till morning prayer call at five. We had rather sleepless night.

19 – June, 2011 To Tekirova (36.31.286N, 30.32.616E)

We left Side after breakfast. Initially there was no wind. Later in the afternoon the wind arrived, as forecast from grib files. We sailed close haul but enjoyed it. It is so nice when the engine is turned off.

At the anchorage we found three yachts and some tourist gullets. We had no problem to anchor. It set first time. There was a bit of swell coming in to the bay but the yacht was true to it thus it was not too bad.

20 – June, 2011 In Tekirova

There was some swell at night but it did not bother us. In the morning we went to see the ruins and that was interesting. The ancient town must have been very impressive. The main road is still well preserved as well as the little theatre. The best part was that the ruins were in a pine tree forest. We walked in a shade and with pleasant aromatic smell of the trees.

After a swim in the beach we paid entrance fee for the ruins and then went to the other side of the bay where we saw lights at night. There was a little creek and we could go up with the dinghy. Entrance was very shallow and one had to know where to go. A man on the shore waved to us and directed towards the deep water. He also told us we were in a camping area with a restaurant. After wandering around for a while we went back on the boat.

Now was the time to start the water maker after over a year in biochemicals. It started well but there was a leak. I tightened the bolts and the leak got less but it still was there. We ran the device anyway as it made good water. I would have to look at that leak at the next opportunity. We had plenty of water and we needed it as we showered a few times a day.

In the evening we had tiny swell coming in but the wind turned the yacht sideways to it. The boat was rolling a bit and it made Tina seasick. We later thought she had a stomach bag rather than being seasick.

21 – June, 2011 To Cineviz Limani (36.21.940N, 30.30.014E)

Tina's sickness went away during the night. We had a good and long sleep waking up at about 8AM two, three hours later than usually. After breakfast we raised the anchor and motored to Cineviz Limani. It was a beautiful cove and we loved it. There were tourist boats coming in and out during the day. On the beach there was a little “fish restaurant” where we had lunch time tea.

22 – June, 2011 to Gokkaya Limani (36.12.668N, 29.53.576E)

It was a hot night. In the evening some wind arrived and despite the cove being surrounded by high mountains it was rather windy with gusts. The worst was the fact the wind was hot. It was the hottest day and night so far in Turkey. Some said it was only the beginning.

We left the beautiful but hot cove in the morning. Initially we were to stop at Andraki to buy some supplies. When we arrived there it looked as it was rather a station where people changed from buses to gullets and vice versa. We decided to proceed to the the final destination – Gokkaya Limani, without stopping there.

We anchored near the spring among other yachts. It was a beautiful place.

After a swim I started the watermaker. The leak it had had become too big however and I had to turn it off. After inspection I discovered a plastic part that terminates the membrane was cracked. We would need a replacement. Email exchange with Schenker confirmed our worst fears: part cost EU45.oo, delivery and duty EU98.oo! We decided to sleep first before deciding what to do next.

23 – June, 2011 In  Gokkaya Limani

We decided to buy the part for the watermaker. It is very convenient to make water when it is needed and we got spoilt with it. The part would be delivered to the Kas Marina where we should be in about 8-10 days.

In the morning we went for a dinghy ride around the islands. Firstly, we visited a mouth of a little creek that enters the bay in the north-west part. The water there was very cold. On the land we went to see some ruins of abandoned houses. It looked that Greek people lived there before being deported to Greece about 90 years ago. Nobody moved in.

Next we went to the Smugglers Inn restaurant where we booked a boat taxi for the evening. A young man took our details and promised to take us to the restaurant personally. He also tried to convince us to stay for a drink but it was too early for it.

We went to see a cave on the other island. It was big but really... just a cave with bats.

Our last destination was a place where a restaurant used to be. Again it was not that interesting although we did see some deer there.

The rest of the day we spent catching up with emails and family using Skype. With regular intervals we jumped into the water to cool down. Many more yachts arrived during the day and the sailors had hard time to find a suitable place to anchor.

In the evening, we waited for the boat taxi that never arrived. We had dinner on the yacht. Our speculation was that the restaurant got busy with other many people who came to the bay and the two clients got forgotten. It was also possible we were the only two customers and it was not worth a while to open the restaurant.

24 – June, 2011 Karaloz (36.11.365N, 29.51.713E)

After breakfast we went to Karaloz. This is a fjord with three smaller bays. When we arrived there was a huge tourist boat taking the largest bay. Another one was occupied by a yacht. We took the third one. This was the first time we used our flat rope. After we had the anchor set Tina jumped into the water and took the line to the shore. There she found very good holding in a rock. Since we had wind from the side I had to pull the yacht to line it up with the anchor chain. It was a bit hard but eventually it looked fine. In the meantime Tina returned to the boat. We were set for the day and night.

The anchorage was beautiful. I even caught a fish but it was to small to keep. Later we went for a swim to cool down.

Other boats left before sun set and only one new arrived. Amazingly, we had the anchorage nearly to ourselves in one of the most beautiful parts of Kekova Roads.

25 – June, 2011 Visit to Castle and then Ucagiz Limani (36.11.689N, 29.50.709E)

We left Karaloz feeling we would like to stay a bit longer. We needed however some supplies, especially drinking water. On the way to the Kale Koy we slowed down to have a look at a small cove that was written about in the pilot guide. It was full of boats and looked pretty.

In Kale Koy we anchored although there was some place at one of the piers. We just were not sure if we could use it and nobody was there to let us know. Anchor set very well.

We went ashore and immediately found a shop. Initially it looked we could not buy everything we wanted but the owner took us to his restaurant and let us choose whatever we needed. We finished with plenty of water, some vegies, fruit and bread.

Next was a climb to the castle. There is little left of it but the views were great. We took some photos of Shirena in the bay.

Lunch we had in a restaurant but we were not happy with the food. Beer however was cold and refreshing.

Later in the afternoon the anchorage became had to cope with. Tourist boats were coming and going with guides using the speakers that could probably be heard in Istanbul. We decided to move to a quieter place. It took just 15-20 minutes to move to Ucagiz Limani where we anchored among other yachts.

26 – June, 2011  Ucagiz Limani

After breakfast we went to see the village. It was a small place with many restaurants and some shops. We tried to get to the ruins of some houses nearby but it was just a rubbish dump. We went back and did some shopping. We also found out there was water on the pontoon and decided to fill up with water.

When we were approaching the pontoon a man indicated to us where and how to berth the yacht. We dropped the anchor and reversed towards the pontoon. It was easy.

Initially we wanted to take water and go, but after we met our neighbours and talked to them we changed our mind and decided to stay at the pontoon.

In the evening we had dinner in a restaurant owned by a Dutch woman married to a Turkish man. She was very informative giving us a lot of local knowledge. The food was also good.

27 – June, 2011 Woodhouse Bay (36.10.540N, 29.48.978E)

We went to do some shopping and in a local little sailing/fishing shop I found washers for our gas connector. The owner also did not want any money for two of them.

We decided to go to the Woodhouse Bay. We left our English neighbours who helped with the lines and watched their yachts as we were really sandwiched between them. The trip took less than an hour. The bay is rather small. We anchored nearly in the middle of it in about 14 metres of water. After some anxious checking we decided there was enough swinging room for the yacht.

When we arrived to the bay we were alone. Just before lunch a couple of tourist boats anchored nearby with lines to the shore. A larger motor yacht “Blue Bird” with English flag also found a place. It looked really very nice and it had everything one would need: fast dinghy, jet-ski, little Optimist sailing boat, water skis, etc. The crew was busy serving the owners or whoever was on the boat. We checked on the internet and we found the yacht could be chartered for EU70,000.oo per week.

For some time we were worried a bit about the distance they anchored from us but the yacht left before dinner. In its place a half a dozen of local gullets came.

28 – June, 2011 Walking and watching day

We stayed in the bay for one more night as we liked it. In the morning we went for a walk to find an abandoned village with a church and a fort ruins. The track led us up the hills through a passage. It seemed to be marked with stones piled in little pyramids. We succeeded in finding the village but not the ruins. It was a bit disappointing but the walk gave us some good exercise.

Soon after we returned to the boat a strong wind started gusting in the bay. It lasted till late afternoon. As a day earlier many tourist boats came to the bay. Some stayed for the night, others left after a meal or a swim. One yacht tried to anchor a few times but eventually gave up and left. It was too difficult in windy conditions.

We ran the water maker to clean it. The leak produced some water but we caught it in a bowl. This should be sufficient to keep the device healthy till we have the replacement part and hopefully make it working again.

29 – June, 2011 Polemos Buku (36.09.947N, 29.48.154E)

In the morning we moved a mile or so and anchored in the western part of Kekova Roads. This time we had shallow anchorage in five metres of water. Later we found out we could even go and moor the yacht at  one of the jetties in the head of the bay. There are two small restaurants in the bay. We went to see what they serve but ended up going for a walk to the ruins of an ancient town Aperlai. The ruins are partially under water and this is one, if not only, place in Turkey where snorkelling is allowed. We did not have our gear with us however thus we ended up walking between the ruins of walls, houses, maybe a church and tombs which were everywhere.

When we returned to the restaurant we ordered a bottle of water. We drank about half of it and I went to pay for it. The owner did not want to take any money! I tried to insist but he simply refused to take any.

We returned to the yacht rather puzzled.

Early in the afternoon a strong wind came and it blew till evening. We spent the time on the boat.

30 – June, 2011 Some more exploring of Kekova Roads

After breakfast we decided to check a little cove – Tersane (36.10.355N, 29.50.761E). It had always been rather busy and we waited for an opportunity to find some room there. It looked good from a distance. When we got closer to it we saw a yacht entering the cove. It then turned around and went back. We thought our chances to find a place had just evaporated. Nevertheless we went ahead and had a look. It seemed there was space for Shirena. We dropped the anchor and reversed towards the shore. A local woman in a boat came to our stern and offered to take the line to the shore. She knew what she was doing. She found an attachment on the rocks and clipped the line. We tightened the anchor chain and we were secure.

Next we had to buy something from the woman who helped us as she came with her goods. Later I noticed another yacht refusing her help and a man swimming to the shore. I thought a few dollars for some little thing was not really worth it.

Despite yacht being secure I decided not to go ashore. There were other boats coming and going and I was not confident to leave the boat. Tina went in the dinghy and visited the place. She found ruins of town that seemed to her to be rather large.

After her visit and a short swim we raised the anchor and went back to Polemos Buku anchorage. There was no way we could spend the night in Tersane. Traffic was heavy and we would keep a space from other yachts and boats.

Shortly after we returned to the anchorage strong wind arrived again.

01 – July, 2011 Bayindir Limani (36.10.802N, 29.38.992E)

We left the anchorage early to make sure we do not meet strong head winds. It worked. We had about three hours trip in 2-5 knots head wind.

In the bay we tried to anchor at the head of it where a yacht was already anchored. The anchor would not hold first time. We tried to find a sandy patch among the weeds but they were too close to the other yacht. We decided to anchor in the western part of the bay with a shore line. We dropped the anchor in about 18 metres of water and Tina took the line to the shore. We just finished setting the yacht when we saw the other yacht leaving the anchorage! Well, we found a good place anyway.

The bay is nice and we spent the rest of the day swimming and resting. Other yachts and tourist boats came and went. We just enjoyed the day.

02 – July, 2011 Kas Marina

Tina started to enjoy her little rides when she releases the stern line from a rock. I pull the line and she slides on the water with a big smile. That's how we left the previous night anchorage. Amazingly there was some swell during the night although the bay seemed to be well protected.

It was a short trip to the marina. On the way we put the engine at the maximum speed for a minute or so. The engine reached 3000 rpm which seemed to indicate that our propeller was the right size. We were doing just above 7.5 knots on the water.

In the marina a mooring crew awaited us in a dinghy. They seemed to be over keen to help. As a result I had to abort the first attempt as their dinghy was in the way. Then they started to push the yacht with the dinghy which only put the yacht out of course. Eventually we made it to the pontoon and secured the boat. Crew in the marina was very helpful with everything else, too. We went to the office and paid for one week stay.

There was a few yachts in that large, new marina. Most of them taking advantage of the promotional deal for one week stay. We enquired about the winter prices and we confirmed we did the right thing booking in Cyprus.

We intended to stay in the marina waiting for water maker parts, some herbal tablets and possibly visitors. We had the first indication of troubles with the parts shipments. The marina manager called  me and said the parts were stopped in Istanbul by customs as he received an email stating that. I called DHL and they told me they would handle the customs on Monday. We would check it then.

In the evening we went to see Kas town. I was surprised it was so touristy. There were shops with little gadgets everywhere. Restaurants spread all around the harbour which seemed to be full of boats. I was sure anchors got tangled there every day.

We had some drinks and then dinner in a very nice restaurant. Food was fine too.

03 – July, 2011 Working and resting

We had a list of jobs to be done in the marina and we started going through it. Tina did some washing using our washing machine as the marina offers only a company that does the laundry. Prices for the laundry are very high and unreasonable. I put some ferrites on compass and rudder cables connected to the autopilot. I hoped this would eliminate some erratic autopilot behaviour which happened from time to time.

Next job was to reattach the painter to the dinghy. An old bolt lost its head and we needed to replace it. We did not lose the dinghy as we always had a second painter as a backup.

The job seemed to be easy enough but as nearly always on the yacht it got a bit complicated. Nevertheless it was done and we could go to town to do some shopping.

04-06 – July, 2011 In Kas Marina

Well, the marina manager was right: DHL would not deliver the parcel to us! We made a number of phone calls to DHL and Schenker in Italy. The bottom line was that either I had to go to Istanbul or Antalya to collect the parcel personally or it would be sent back. I could not and did not want to go to those towns thus the parcel was sent back. Two issues were particularly annoying. First, that we had to actively follow up the matter as DHL would not contact us or inform about the problems with the delivery of the parcel. If we were not warned by the marina manager we would just watch the DHL website reporting that everything was in order! They actually claimed there were not problems for three days before admitting they could not deliver. The second issue was that they informed Schenker we refused to pay duty. Again it took an email and a couple of phone calls before they told they requested us to collect the parcel personally miles away from where we were despite charging us for “door-to-door” service!

We re-arranged for the parcel to be delivered to Marmaris to a shop that sells Schenker watermakers. I was a bit puzzled why I was not told by Schenker about the shop in the first place.

Tina got busy preparing the cabin for Erin and Chris, and in the process decided to do more boat cleaning. I got my hands dirty removing calcium deposits in the holding tank. This time we had acid that did wonderful job. I also put new marks on the anchor chain as we lost some or they became discoloured. Reversing the chain was too difficult thus we delayed that job till next season.

Erin and Chris arrived just before lunch on 6^th. We spent the afternoon swimming in the pool and catching up with the news.

07 – July, 2011 Saklikent Canyon

That was a busy day! In the morning Tina with Erin and Chris went to do some shopping. I stayed on the yacht to do some little maintenance. At ten we all were at the marina gate waiting for a jeep to take for a day tour. Firstly we went to a village where we were served traditional tea. Our driver gave us a plastic bag and said we should put in to it anything we do not want to get wet. As soon as the driver started the engine in the jeep village children started throwing plastic bags with water at us. Some adults joined with garden hoses. We were wet well before we left the village, especially that the driver slowed down each time anyone wanted to get us wet. That occurred in nearly all the villages we passed.

We arrived at the canyon entrance wet and cool which was great on such a hot day. After some safety and clothing preparations we entered the canyon with many other tourists. It was a spectacular place. We went up the creek for about two kilometres. All of the way we walked in the water. A few places were deep up to our necks. The guides did the hard work pulling us up the rocks and protecting from any harm. We were very happy we decided to see the canyon.

We had lunch in one of many restaurant near the canyon entrance. Food was good.

Next we went to have mud bath. The driver took us down a creek and soon we saw hundreds of tourists who were putting mud on themselves. We joined them. Most of us later regretted it. It was not such a great fun as when we were much, much younger.

After rinsing the bodies in the creek we went to see ancient town Xanthos. Unfortunately, our driver spoke limited English thus we did not learn much about the place. It looked however interesting.

Next stop was at a beach where we just spent time under a roof of a restaurant. We were already tired and ready to go back. The driver knew that thus he only offered to stop at another beach and got expected answer from everybody: “Let's go home.”

We were taken back to the marina but I stayed in the car as I needed to collect a valve from the sailing shop. The owner did not have the valve but promised to have it in an hour. I returned on the yacht and followed the others to showers. Last bits of the mud were eventually removed.

We then went to town where I bought the valve, some tablets and attempted to buy a cheap phone. The last purchase could not be completed as the shop closed before the owner could make one for me. We needed a phone as our ones got blocked by the carrier. We would try to unblock them in Fethye.

After dinner we still stopped in a supermarket to make some more shopping, then at a vegetables and fruit market to top up. Well after eleven we put our heads on pillows.

08 – July, 2011 Yesilkoy Limani (36.15.67N, 29.22.12E)

There was no wind and we motored all the way. It was a day to rest.

Anchoring was not easy as there are weeds at the bottom and our anchor does not cut through them. We had to try two times and ended up with nearly 60 metres of chain in 10-11 metres of water. The anchor held when we tested but it probably did not reset when the wind and current move the yacht. Still the weight of the chain was enough to keep us in one place.

09 – July, 2011 Gamiler Adasi (36.33.312N, 29.04.002E)

We woke up early as other boats were leaving. I was sure one of them dragged their anchor as I saw them far away from where they were in the evening.

We had a chance to motor-sail this time as the wind was 5-7 knots. Anchoring was again an issue as the channel between the island and the land is very deep. We dropped the anchor in about 25 metres and then Tina swam ashore with the line. When we tried to tighten the anchor chain the anchor just came up. We had to try again. We found a shallower water closer to the entrance to the ruins on the island and used nearly all of our chain. A local man selling vegetables helped us this time with the shore line. Anchor held well and we had the yacht secure.

This turned up to be a busy place. Tourist boats and yachts visited it for lunch, dinner and night. Local enterprising people came in their motor boat to sell anything one would need, mostly ice-creams, bread, vegetables and pancakes. One can also have a ride on an inflatable behind a speedboat.

10 – July, 2011 Karacaoren Buku (36.32.471N, 29.03.129E)

In the morning Tina and I went for a walk on the island. Apparently Saint Nicholas (Santa) lived in the town for some time – rather far from the North Pole. The ruins of old  town were very impressive. The views were too. Among the ruins, a tunnel was a really interesting one. We wondered what for and how it was used.

After breakfast we decided to move to a nearby bay with little cove. Unfortunately the cove was crowded with other yachts and gullets. We tried to find a place for Shirena but it was too deep at the entrance and we gave up. Instead we went to an anchorage on the western side of the bay. It looked good and it had good description in the cruising guide. There were also a few yachts there. As soon as we entered the bay, two men in a motor boat came to us and offered help. There were a few mooring buoys and we took one of them. The men told us we could use the mooring for free if we ate dinner in the restaurant. We agreed. We spent the afternoon swimming and reading.

In the evening Erin whistled and restaurant staff came to take us ashore for dinner. The food was not good and (of course!) overpriced.

During the night the wind stopped and the mooring buoy started to hit the yacht. We woke up, launched the dinghy and attached a stern line to another buoy. That solved the problem with the buoy hitting the hull. I still had to secure dinghy as swell was coming in to the bay and it would also hit the hull. All done we went to sleep in a rocky yacht.

11 – July, 2011 Fethye (36.37.434N, 29.05.827E)

I was keen to leave the bay as soon as possible. I did not like the mooring and rocking of the boat. We left shortly after breakfast saying it was bad decision to spent the night there.

Initially we wanted to stop for lunch in a little bay with a beach just before entering the main bay of Fethye. We did not do that as the beach is fenced off for holiday makers and the rest of it was not really nice.

The next bay had a sign for not anchoring there. We decided we would go and anchor where most yachts do: next to the marina.

It was a hot, hot day. We used all of our fans to stay cool. In the afternoon the wind came from SE. The boats turned around and it appeared we were too close to a catamaran that had plenty of chain in the water. We re-anchored farther away.

Late in the afternoon we took our rubbish and wallets, and went ashore. We stopped the dinghy at the Yacht Hotel Marina. A manager came to us and said it was a private jetty and we should not have landed there. I immediately said we would go somewhere else but the manager just asked not to do that again and let us stay. She was especially unhappy about our bags of rubbish and I must admit she was right.

Fethye is a tourist town full of restaurants, usual shops, bars and gullets. We stopped for a drink in one place then for dinner in the other. This time we were happy with food. This was our last dinner with Erin and Chris this time as they would leave the yacht next day.

12 – July, 2011 Katrancik Adasi (36.41.851N, 29.00.523E)

After breakfast and some swims we took Erin and Chris to a taxi stand. This time we landed dinghy on the other side of the marina, right next to a taxi. Shortly later we said our good-byes and they were gone.

We went to one of a few yachting shops and bought some parts for the boat. Nearby grocery shop provided for bread and water. We returned to the boat just at the lunch time. It was hot again.

After some deliberating we decided to move on earlier than we planned in hope of finding a bit cooler place.

As soon as we left Fethye Bay wind of 15-20 knots came. We sailed!

Initially we wanted to have a look into a couple of bays where there was a possibility to anchor for the night. They did not look however too well protected as the wind blew right into them. Instead we noticed a yacht and some gullets anchored in the lee of an island. We found a spare spot and stopped there. This time we had the dinghy and I took the shore line to attach it to a rock. After we settled I noticed that the rope was chaffing on the rock. I went there and tried to fix it. In the process I fell of the rock into shallow water and hurt my left hand, getting a number of scratches and wounds. As Tina said I would not wash the dishes for a while. The rope was protected from chaffing however.

We were not sure we would be comfortable in this anchorage but since the weather is very calm we took the risk. Soon gullets left and we were alone at the anchorage in the most visited sailing region in Turkey!

The night was quite and pleasant – no swell or wind bothered us.

13 – July, 2011 Yassica Adalari (36.42.616N, 28.55.332E)

We would need to go to a marina to fill up with water and diesel as well as to do some shopping. Today however we still had enough supplies. We went for a short trip to a group of islands Yassica Adalari. There we a lagoon with a little beach. Two yachts were anchored at the beach with lines to the shore. There was no room for us but we found a place nearby. We dropped the anchor in about 15 metres of water and attached the shore line. First attempt to attach the line was unsuccessful as the rock's shape was like an upside-down cup. We managed to secure it at the second attempt and later I added a rope to keep the main one down.

The place was pretty and it was visited by many gullets with tourist. They left however late in the afternoon. Although not all.

There are no mountains around the lagoon thus wind brings a bit cooler air making the day more pleasant. I could not go swimming because of the wounds on my hand but Tina had a few refreshing deeps.

In the evening we went for a walk on two of the islands. We saw a rabbit and heard some birds. Unfortunately, we also saw plenty of rubbish.

14 – July, 2011 Skopea Marina (36.45.268N, 28.56.340E)

We went to the marina after breakfast. It was a short trip. The marina allocated us a berth stern-in to the concrete quay. It was located close to the toilets and the entrance. There was however some “pop-up” effect from the waves that hit the quay. There was more noise than movement but it still was not pleasant.

We went to see the village and found plenty of shops, including some with yacht parts. We bought needed food and water supplies. Some shops offered to deliver the goods to the boat. We also found a laundry that would have everything ready next day.

The event of the day was however my visit to a barber. I had never had a hair cut done like that one. Firstly, my hair was shortened. I thought I was finished but the barber stopped me. He then proceeded with cutting hair in my nose (!). Next was waxing! He put wax on my ears, cheeks and nose. When the wax set he removed it and it was not painless. Massage of the face, back and arms seemed to be the final act but... well I had my hair washed and my face splashed with some perfumes. I expected a huge bill but I was asked to pay less than I usually pay for just hair cut in Australia. I now understand why Tina likes going to her hairdresser.

Late afternoon we did our shopping. We found a shop that delivered to yachts and bought nearly everything we needed there. The owner actually lead us through the shop repeating: “I know what you want.” He mostly was right. The goods were delivered within ten minutes.

We dined in one of many restaurants.

15 – July, 2011 Tersane Creek (36.40.538N, 28.54.841E)

We wanted to leave the marina as soon as possible. It was not a nice place to stay. There was a lot of noise from all the tourist boats loading and unloading, and the swell was moving the yacht. Tina went to do some last minute shopping while I filled up the tanks with water and checked us out from the marina. As soon as we collected the laundry we were on our way.

The marina had not fuel dock thus we went to Club Marina where there was one. We had to wait for a few minutes as there was another yacht moored at the jetty. It looked that the prices of fuel may be government controlled as the price at the dock was the same as at any petrol station (in Australia marinas charge much more for diesel than petrol stations). We filled up the tank with diesel and a dinghy jerry can with petrol.

It was just a short trip to the anchorage at Tersane Creek. There were a lot of boats in the cove but we found a place and anchored with a shore line. This time there was a bollard to which we could fasten the shore line.

There are some ruins around the bay and we wanted to explore them. We took the dinghy and went to a jetty. From there everything looked rather unattractive and as private property. We decided to go back on the boat. Later we saw some people walking along the bay but it looked they were guided.

The anchorage provided us with very good protection and we had nice and quite night after most of the boats left with only three other yachts remaining.

16-17 – July, 2011 Tersane Creek than Stopea Marina in Gocek

In the morning we decided to go to another anchorage. We just started moving after the anchor was up when some strange noise came out of the engine room. I checked the engine and the fan belt was loose. We re-anchored back where we were and I went to tighten the belt. Well, that easy job turned up to be... difficult. A bracket holding the alternator and a bolt were broken. I could not tighten the belt and we could not run the engine.

We looked on the internet for diesel engine mechanics in Gocek. We found one but we could not communicate with them as the internet connection was too slow for Skype. Their email address and website were wrong. We contacted  another one, EGG Sailing, who had the right email address. After exchanging a few messages we were told they could start working on the engine on Monday.

In the meantime I managed to attach the alternator with the broken bolt after removing the thickness of the bracket. We could use the engine, at least for a short time. We needed it! Our anchor did not hold and we had to reset it. It work well.

Since it was Saturday we decided to stay in the bay as it was nicer than the marina.

Next day we waited till lunch time as we wanted to sail instead of motoring to Gocek. The wind came in the afternoon and we sailed nearly all the way to the anchorage near the Skopea Marina. EGG contacted us and asked to let them know when we are anchored. They came on-board to inspect the engine. Since it was electrical engineer that came he would do nothing that day. We agreed that we would go to the marina on Monday morning and they would come to work on the engine.

The anchorage turned up to be a pleasant one. We had breeze all day to cool us down and the night was cooler than usually. The only issue was that a local gullet anchored too close to Shirena for our comfort. I spoke to the owner but he was sure we were fine. In the weather with little wind and bay with no currents we were OK.

18 – July, 2011 In Scopea Marina

Early in the morning we called the marina and asked for a berth. They gave us permission to enter. When we started the engine the hissing noise came back. We stopped the engine and checked the belt – it was loose. The bolt came a bit undone. I tightened the bolt and we tried again. The noise was gone. We raised the anchor and went to the marina. It took just few minutes and we were moored securely. I sent an email letting EGG know we arrived. Few minutes later electrician, mechanic and a couple of helpers arrived. They removed the alternator and then the broken bracket. In the process the mechanic discovered our water pump was leaking. I asked him to fix it. He removed it and took with him to his garage. He found there were a faulty bearing and a washer.

In the afternoon mechanic returned to install the mounting. The pump was not ready as they were still waiting for parts. Electrician then came and reinstalled the alternator. Every was very well organised. Later in the afternoon the mechanic returned with the pump. After he finished the installation we tested the engine. It worked fine.

We went to buy a mobile phone as the local carriers allow foreign phones to be used for two weeks only without a registration. We did not register any of our phones and they stopped working. The only solution in Gocek was to buy a local mobile phone and use it. We bought one as the registration could be done in Fethye where we did not intend to go.

For dinner we returned to the same twin restaurant we had dinner the other night. This time we chose the Italian half. We shared pizza and seafood pasta with a bottle of wine.

19 – July, 2011 Tomb Bay (36.41.749N, 28.52.372E)

In the morning we did some more shopping, mostly fruit and vegetables. In a yacht shop we bought two 12m long mooring ropes. Our old ones had been damaged and we thought it would be good to replace them.

We then paid our bills: repairs (probably 1/3 of Australian cost) and marina.

We left the marina at about ten and went to Tomb Bay. On the way we ran the engine at different revs and I kept checking if everything was ok. It was.

In the bay we chose to stay in the northern part. It was very deep there and we had to start dropping the anchor in about 30m of water. It shallowed rapidly when we reversed to the shore. We ended up rather close to the shore in about 4 metres of water. Reversing at about 1500 revs kept the yacht in place not allowing it to move backwards. We decided we were secure and put the shore line. It was again a very pretty place.

20 – July, 2011 Ruins Bay (36.38.46N, 28.51.36E)

In the morning we went for a short walk on the shore. Since it was rather later morning the heat stopped us going too far. It looked however the walk would offer good views.

When we returned we raised the anchor and went to Ruins Bay. It was rather busy but we found a good place to drop the anchor. The main difference between this anchorage and the previous one was the breeze. We had some wind all day and it kept us cool.

21 – July, 2011 Seagull Bay (36.38.032N, 28.52.301E)

This was a very pretty place and cool. We had mild wind all day. The water was crystal clear. We did not have to anchor as there was a mooring buoy that we picked up. Later when the wind dropped a bit we put the shore line to make sure the buoy would not hit the yacht.

22 – July, 2011 Busy day with a visit to Scopea Marina then to Sarasala Bay (36.39.586N, 28.52.273E)

I woke up to a new noise at about four in the morning. The noise was coming from the freezer. It would start then stop. I checked the batteries. The metre showed 88% full. Voltage was 12.5V but it would drop to 11.4V when freezer or fridge started. Both would then stop as they have sensors to protect complete discharge of the batteries. This was not good. I switched off freezer hoping the fridge would still work. It did not. I decided to wait till morning.

The fridge and the freezer would not start working normally till the sun provided power through solar panels. We contacted EGG Yachting via email then we called them. They said they would have a look at the batteries as soon as we are in the marina. We were there an hour and a half later. In the meantime we discovered some water in the engine compartment. It looked the water pumped leaked!

In the marina mechanic came to fix the leak. He tightened hose clamp and said it was ok. It has been fine for more than a day thus we think he fixed it.

The electrician came with a device that supposed to do test load the batteries. He checked one battery and it was fine. He then said he could not measure the batteries correctly because they were fully recharged. He could do nothing till Monday (it was Friday) because he would be busy during the weekend with the change over of the charter boats. We decided to leave the marina and see how the batteries work.

We went to Sarasala Bay where we picked up a buoy. It was again a nice place although a bit gusty as the mountains would generate “bullets”. We had good night sleep however.

The batteries dropped to below 88% charge and still there was no problem. We would watch them but the theory was that the main switch could be playing up. We had that problem before and we replaced it. That was three years ago – when the original switch was about three years old.

23 – July, 2011 Kizilkuyruk Koyu (36.37.022N, 28.52.035E)

We wanted to anchor somewhere from where we would have shorter trip to our next destination Ekincik Limani.  We left windy but pleasant anchorage and went to Kizilkuyruk Koyu. It is a small bay with two coves. We dropped anchor in about 20 metres of water and installed a shore line. There was some swell coming in but it was not large enough to bother us. When the wind picked up in the afternoon the yacht started moving sideways. The anchor was not holding. We raised the anchor and went to the other cove. There were boats in the process of anchoring or leaving thus we decided to return to the first cove. We found a place between two boats and dropped the anchor. This time we had nearly 70 metres of chain in the water. It looked good... till the wind changed the direction and started to push the yacht from the port side. Anchor let it go again. We had never had a problem like that before. Our anchor never let go after it was set. Weeds and gravel are not however a good mixture for Bruce anchor. This time we were lucky as it happened during the day. We left the anchorage and returned to the more protected Scopea Limani. There we hoped for a mooring buoy but all were taken. We anchored in a little, very pretty cove and stayed there for the night.

24 – July, 2011 Ekincik Limani (36.49.752N, 28.33.107E)

We started the trip at about seven in the morning. There was only weak wind “on the nose” thus we motored fast. Before midday we arrived at the anchorage. We anchored in about 8 metres of water. The bay does not offer too good protection but with mild weather we were fine. There was some swell at night and with no wind the yacht rolled a bit. We did not suffer too much however.

25 – July, 2011 Day trip to Caunos (ruins of ancient town)

We booked a boat trip to Caunos when we arrived a day earlier. The boat came to take us on time. We went along the coast with stops at some interesting caves. The boat then entered a mouth of a river with a beach. It was Turtle Beach as those animals use it to lay their eggs. We saw a few yachts anchored nearby. The bottom looked sandy thus there could be good holding. In calm weather it would not be a problem to spent a night there. The trip we made could also be done in a good dinghy. The only difficulty would to navigate the maze of channels made by the reeds.

The boat went into a river and stopped near a place where a man was feeding a turtle. The man had a line with a crab on the end. He would throw the crab towards the turtle and then pulled when the animal tried to catch it. The turtle was large and very much interested in eating the crab. At some point the man tried to touch the turtle when it came close to the boat. He succeeded  but the turtle won the crab.

The whole area is very pretty and we made our way up the river among reeds. The next stop was an entry to the ruins of Caunos. We wandered among ruins of a theatre, an agora, a bath, a church, temples and houses. It was interesting to read about the buildings and sometimes imaging how they looked when they were occupied or used. We spent an hour there.

From the ruins we went to Daylan where we could see the tombs carved in the rocks, very similar to Petra ones although on a little scale. One of them was only half-made. In town we had lunch and a short walk before returning back to the boat. We were back on the yacht early afternoon. The trip was interesting but – as usual with us – we did not bargain thus we overpaid for it.

26 – July, 2011 Marmaris (36.50.963N, 28.16.098E)

We left the “rolling” anchorage early but without any hurry. We arrived in Marmaris before eleven. Entry to the Marmaris harbour is really spectacular. We anchored near the town's Ataturk Statue as requested by the canvas maker. I called him and we made an appointment. When he arrived I waited for him in the dinghy. Having him come to us when we were anchored saved us not only marina fee but also him marina entry charge. He told us marinas charged workmen every day they came, even if they came to provide a quotation only.

After he finished measuring bimini, dodger and all other things we asked for, I took him back on the  land. We then made another call and asked for two more quotations. One workman did not call back thus we gave up on him. The other made an appointment and came on the boat. He promised to give us a quotation next day in the evening.

We went ashore to find watermaker parts. The dealer for Schenker emailed us he had them. We found his shop but it was closed. He called us later in the evening when he was back but by then we were not keen to go again to his shop. All day we had wind from SE and the waves where rather troublesome each time we boarded the dinghy. We told him we would collect the parts next day. In the meantime he informed us how much he was charging for them and it was about EU40 more than Schenker charged us originally.

27 – July, 2011 Marmaris

After breakfast we went to get the watermaker parts. The shop was closed but  we expected that as the man told he would be away. He would leave the parts in next door shop. The man in the next door shop knew nothing about the parts. After a couple of phone calls one of the workers arrived, opened the shop and gave us the parts. We paid hoping the parts would fix the watermaker.

A visit to a West Marine shop costed us lots too. Then Tina decided she needed new swimming costume and she went to shops trying them. She bought two and was happy all afternoon.

We did not receive quotations for the covers as promised. Maybe next day?

28-July – 01-Aug, 2011 In Marmaris

We stayed near the town as there was rather a lot to do. We visited a workshop of the canvas man to see what he proposed to install on the boom. He wanted to attach a double slide to both sides of the boom. One slide would be used for the sail bag and the other for the winter covers. I generally do like ideas when one thing is modified permanently to do other than designed function. The idea of rivets in the boom did not appeal to me at all. Fortunately, the man provided us with a quotation well above our expectations and more importantly, the second man gave us about $2000.oo lower price! We checked the other shop and it looked good. There was no doubt in our minds who should do the works.

Once we accepted the quotation the man returned to the yacht to take more measurements and make some templates. Since we were still on the anchor I travelled there and back many times. We also lost the bimini after the measurements as it was taken as a template. We could sit in the cockpit only after the sundown.

Once the bimini was removed we gained access to the stern arch and decided to clean it. Next morning Tina polished the stainless steel while I repaired the slides on the arch. The slides were used to attached the bimini. We did not know if we would need them for the new bimini but we fixed them anyway. Those slides are another example of reckless workmanship by the canvas man in Australia. He never told us he would attach the slides with rivets to the arch. If he did I would not agree to that and we would have found another solution. Now, a few years later, the rivets are failing and all the work has to be redone. It was not easy as the solar panels limit access to the arch.

On Thursday I noticed our fridge and freezer again could not start. Batteries did not provide enough power. I had to run the engine at two in the morning. After some fiddling with the cables we decided to wait one day and see if anything changed. Next day everything was fine but on Saturday we decided to call an electrician. I was surprised he arrived just a couple of hours later. With a proper testing device he found three out of four batteries were dead. We had to replace all of them. Again to my surprise all that happened the same day. I was taken to a shop with the batteries where I purchased new set. The batteries were then delivered to the dinghy. Electrician and me took the batteries on the yacht and three hours later we had power again. Electrician also took the old batteries thus we did not have to worry about them.

When the canvas man took the bimini he said he would try to have a new one made on Monday. We decided to wait till then as sailing here without covers is rather out of the question. Unfortunately, he did not receive required materials thus we did not get the bimini. We liked Marmaris town with its countless restaurants, tiny old town and friendly (mostly) people. However, anchorage is rather noisy and busy. Waves from many motorboats rocked the yacht often. We decided to move somewhere to a less busy area. Just before lunch we took the yacht and anchored it near Pupa Hotel, still in Marmaris harbour.

02 – August, 2011 All around

Last night anchorage was not too bad although the yacht rocked a bit. We decided to do some more exploring and after breakfast we went in search of another place. We visited a couple but they did not appeal to us. Then on the way to the next one we saw a nice bay -Turun Buku. We went there and anchored. It was a pretty bay with a small village and... very busy wharf. Boats full with tourists kept coming and going all the time. Only one or two other yachts stopped there.

One catamaran anchored near us. The crew went to to shore, probably for late lunch. That afternoon the weather forecast was for strong winds. The bay is surrounded with mountains and they add a lot of strength to the wind. Gusts of 25-30 knots were not uncommon. I went out of the cabin and noticed that the catamaran moved about 100 metres. It was dragging its anchor towards deeper water. We did not know the people on the yacht, besides looking for them in the crowds of tourists would be hopeless. It looked there was little we could do. We then noticed a submerged mooring buoy that we actually saw when we entered the bay. The catamaran was not far from it. We took some ropes and went there in the dinghy. We managed to attach the yacht to the buoy. Soon it was only our line that kept the catamaran from floating away.

The crew returned on the boat nearly an hour later. They obviously saw that the yacht moved and were in a hurry. We went there too and reclaimed our ropes. Woman's face was telling everything – they could have lost the yacht.

We returned on Shirena and relaxed. A couple of hours later the wind got even stronger and gusts were blasting the bay. Tina went out and shouted: “We dragging!” We were. We started the engine and raised the anchor. It came covered in weeds. This was the second time ever that our anchor let go after it held for hours. We always check if anchor is set by running high revs in reverse. The anchor must hold the yacht at 1600 revs for a while before we declare that we are anchored. We did that this time too. Out theory is that the anchor held when we tested it and when the gust were pushing the boat for hours, but the holding was dependent on weeds. Eventually the anchor cut through the weeds and then it would not reset. We changed our  procedure now. In strong winds we set the timer and every 15 minutes check if we have not moved. We also set anchor alarm on the plotter. It is a pity we cannot trust our good anchor but the conditions here are different than elsewhere.

We decided to leave the bay as the gusts were nearly of gale strength. As soon as we left it the wind dropped and the gusts were not as strong. Not really knowing where we could find good holding for the night we went back to Marmaris town. We knew there was good mud and sand on the bottom of the sea and our anchor just loves it. Additionally that anchorage is far away from high mountains and the wind there is not as gusty. By the time we had our dinner the wind dropped significantly and we had a good night sleep.

03-08 – August, 2011 In Marmaris Harbour

We spend the days shopping and arranging maintenance works on the yacht. After we talked to the covers workshop we decided we would go to the town harbour or marina as it is also known. We called the manager there and he provided us with a space. We berthed the yacht next day in the morning. The harbour was full of tourist gullets with only a few yachts. We dropped the anchor then reversed towards the quay. The harbour manager and his men waited there for us and they took the lines from us.

It was a very interesting place. In front of our stern we had old Marmaris town with castle walls in the background. About 10 metres across the pedestrian path there were restaurants. We could watch TV if we wanted! Next to the restaurant opposite us there was a little shop/market with liquors and other goods. Of course, it was a place popular with tourists, especially in the evenings. A man in the restaurant opposite us – Steakhouse The Vista Bella – called on passers by to enter it. He used all sorts of tricks to stop them and talk to them. Children were usually the easiest targets. The restaurant was full every day.

Our maintenance jobs started nearly as soon as we moored the yacht. Covers man came with a new bimini and tried it. It took him a few attempts (and days) before he and us were happy with the results. We contacted watermaker specialist to look at our new leak. After an inspection in the morning two men worked nearly all afternoon on the leak. They ended up replacing two more parts before the leak was fixed. They also attempted to fix the rate of beat in the Clark pump but they failed. I believe they did not look at the right part of the watermaker. They replaced o-rings in the Clark pump while I believe the low pressure pump needed to be checked. We decided to use the watermaker as it was. We would look at replacing the pump when we decided to cross the Atlantic and if it still works then.

For some time I had been concerned with our forestay. In seven years since the yacht was build the wire stretched, I was sure. I tightened the shrouds in Thailand but I could not do the same with the forestay as I would have to cut the wire. Unfortunately, Bavaria Yachts installed Furlex without a bolt that could be used to control the length of the forestay. I read the manual again and I discovered that I could shorten the forestay by changing toggles. We had one 130mm toggle which could be replaced with two 50mm ones. After a couple of days of trying we managed to buy two toggles. I then found rigger to replace the long toggle with two shorter. Two men came and removed the long toggle. It then occurred that the two other ones were still too short! The wire did nto stretch as much as I thought. We ended up installing back the longer toggle. All I gained from this activity was that the rigger measured the tension of the shrouds and found it correct.

Our both headsails had some threads broken during the Indian Ocean trip. We decided we wanted them to be fixed. A sailmaker came and collected them. They were be ready on Monday afternoon.

In the meantime a new dodger (or sprayhood as it is called here) was made. Three men came and installed it. Shirena started looking better although different as we changed the colour of the covers to light to keep the boat cooler.

09 – August, 2011 Moved within the harbour

The covers are being made rather slowly and we started to get tired of the berth in the town marina. The main nuisance  were waves made by passing motor boats. There was no speed limit and the waves were sometimes really bed. As soon as the rigger was gone we raised the anchor and moved to the anchorage next to Pupa Yat Hotel. We still would have to be available to the covers man but we decided to enter the Pupa Yat Marina when he called he needed access to the boat. In the meantime we enjoyed quite day in light breeze.

10-13 – August, 2010 finishing works in Marmaris

After a night on anchor we moved into the Pupa Yat Marina. Our intention was to stay there till the covers were finished – three days. During the first two days the works progressed well and we expected that on the third day we would have all done. Well, the weather has changed a bit and strong winds were forecast. After two nights at the marina we were asked to leave as their own charter yachts were coming back earlier due to the weather. We had no choice but to leave. Again we ended up at the anchorage near the town. The wind was stronger than usually but nothing to worry about.

The covers were finished on the third day but... there were a couple of things that needed changes. We stayed on the anchor one day more. After lunch we went to town to do some shopping. When we returned the man waited for us with finished covers. He asked if he could be excused from fitting the covers on the yacht as there was a big fire near his house and he worried about his wife. Of course, we told him to go home. The covers fitted well.

On the way to the yacht we noticed a couple of helicopters flying between the bay and mountains. From the yacht we could see the fire. The choppers were carrying water and dropping it on the fire. Soon three more choppers and a plane joined them. The plane would fly on the surface of the water collecting it into tanks. It would then fly over the fire and release it. There was just one dinghy that secured a path on the water for the plane. At some point a para-sailing boat  wanted to launch a tourist. It was just crazy. Five choppers flying over the bay and the plane on the water every few minutes. The parachute was already in the air when the dinghy reached the motor boat and stopped it. Angry words from the dinghy could be heard by many.

The action to extinguish the fire lasted about three-four hours with choppers leaving when running out of fuel. The smoke over the valley slowly disappeared.

14 – August, 2011 On the move again – Serce Bay (36.35.044N, 28.02.900E)

After breakfast we raised the anchor and left Marmaris. The wind was about 5-10 knots mostly directly on the bow. We arrived at the bay at about lunchtime. An attempt to anchor at the place recommended in the guide was unsuccessful. The anchor did not set on the weeds. We went to the north part of the bay where we saw a few yachts. There we picked up a mooring buoy and put a line to the shore. Tina was still on the shore when a man in a dinghy approached me. He said the moorings were his and they were free if we ate at his restaurant. Otherwise I would have to anchor. We were ready for a restaurant meal thus we said we would stay. Well, he did not like the mooring we took and asked us to move. We did that and then everybody was happy.

In the evening we went to the restaurant together with dozens of other yachties as the bay filled up with yachts nearly to capacity. No wonder, it is a beautiful place. The food in the restaurant was very good. The man tried to entertain the clients with rather poor results but nobody complained. We decided we would come back to the bay on the way back, if it were convenient.

The night was quite and pleasant. We also noticed that air temperature dropped to a more bearable level.

15 – August, 2011 Bozuk Buku (36.34.290N, 28.00.783E)

Our next stop was just three miles away thus we took our time in the morning before leaving. The main attraction of the bay was to be a citadel built at Hellenistic time. We found a mooring buoy belonging to a restaurant and took it. Nobody approached us or said anything but we assumed we would go to the restaurant for dinner.

I started the watermaker to add some water to the tanks. The water however was not good quality. I noticed that the pressure would drop after every second beat. There was a problem. I decided to change o-rings in the upper part of the pump. It took me a while and... did not help. Changing o-rings in the lower part requires rather major effort and I was not prepared to do that. We decided to secure the watermaker with chemicals and then try again at the beginning of the next season. We do not really need the device when we are in the Mediterranean. It would be just convenient not to look for water every couple of weeks or so. We also had to start the watermaker as we got an advice from Schenker, the manufacturer, that it should be pickled with chemicals every year if not used. This is one of the most unreliable devices we have ever had on the boat and possibly in life.

Later in the afternoon we went to see the citadel. There are really just walls and nothing inside. We walked all the length of the walls that were about 2 metres wide. It was a pleasant walk with wonderful views of the bay and the sea.

Dinner in the evening was good and not expensive.

16 – August, 2011 Kizil Adasi (36.40.192N, 28.02.194E)

We left the bay early before breakfast as we were not hungry after the dinner we had previous night. There was some wind but as usually “on the nose”. We set the main and from time to time it did help but not too much.

The next bay we entered looks magnificent. There are many bays, coves and islands with hills on the land. We anchored near the Kizil Island among many other yachts.

17-18 – August, 2011 Kizil Adasi

This was a very pretty anchorage thus we decided to stay one more night. The water around was crystal clear. Views around were also awesome.  An Australian yacht anchored next to us and we found out the crew was from Newcastle, practically our neighbours.

The forecast for the following two days was for meltemi to blow a bit stronger thus we stayed at the anchorage still one day longer. We did not experience the winds at all. Instead we had cloudy day! This was the first time in about two months that we actually saw clouds in the sky. It even rained a bit and two loud thunders announced the change in weather.

We dedicated some time to maintenance works. Some stainless steel needed cleaning. We also tried if we could change the anchor from the current Bruce one to the Guardian. The Guardian anchor should be better on some weedy bottoms. Unfortunately the anchor did not fit into the cradle and we left Bruce anchor in its place. Instead I took the rope we had for the sea anchor and prepared it for use with the Guardian. We would try the new anchor next time we have problems setting the Bruce anchor.

We also had the Australians for a cup of tea on Shirena. It was nice to share our experiences. We hope to meet Len and Helen either on the water or in Nelson Bay.

19 – August, 2011 More than one or two places

In the morning we decided to sail to Bozburun to do some shopping. The plan was to anchor near the village, do the shopping and then stay for the night. When we arrived there was little room for us to anchor. When we did anchor (36.41.345N, 28.02.477E) I was not happy with the way the anchor was set. It was on a steep slop and if the wind changed the anchor would most likely not reset. I was worried enough not to go to the village. Instead I took Tina to the village to do the shopping and I returned to the yacht. Tina found a shop near the quay and soon she called me on the radio to come and take her back. Staff from the shop helped us to carry the shopping to the dinghy.

We decided to sail somewhere else as the forecast was for stronger winds and the boat was already turning the way I was worried about. We raised the anchor and motored to Dirsek Bay. It is a pretty bay – fjord like. We went nearly to the end of it and anchored with a line to the shore (36.41.087N, 27.58.721E). About an hour later forecast wind arrived and it hit us from the side. After a while the anchor gave in. We raised it and discussed what we wanted to do. We could try to re-anchor at different place but we decided to go to the anchorage we wanted to go originally.

As soon as we left the bay we were in 18-22knots wind. This time however it was on the beam and later on the stern. We shut down the engine and set the headsail. For more than an hour we sailed!

When we approached the anchorage the wind died. We motored to the anchorage and dropped the anchor (36.45.567N, 28.07.527E). This is another beautiful place. We were anchored behind an island with ruins of a fortress.

20 – August, 2011 Stayed one day more

We liked the anchorage so much we decided to stay there one more night. In the morning we went to see the castle. We nearly gave up on the idea after we discovered a meadow with flowers and thousands of bees was between us and the castle. We would not dare to walk that meadow in shorts and T-shirts. Fortunately, we found a way around the meadow.

The castle was built on a high rising rock and we had to climb it. It had two different walls. The first wall was built on lower part of the rock. It was not very thick or strong. The second was higher and was about two metres thick. It was not easy to a way to the upper part of the castle. We managed however to reach the top.

The rest of the day we spent reading and resting.

21 – August, 2011 Datca (36.43.308N, 27.41.273E)

We needed to top up with water, do the laundry and buy some supplies. Datca harbour seemed to be a good place to do just that. We left the anchorage early. I thought it was about 10-12 miles trip but I read the data wrong. It was about double that. We looked at one interesting anchorage on the way but it did not seem to be as pretty as the guide claimed.

In Datca we found a place to moor easily. Only later the harbour got filled up with yachts and trip boats. Initially we thought we would have to spend there at least two nights or even three as we arrived on Sunday. The main issue was with laundry that usually takes about 24 hours. However, a shop at the harbour offered laundry service – same day. We gave our things at about midday and had them ready in the evening. Diesel we bought from a tanker that arrived next to the boat. There was no additional charge as the price was the same as at any fuel station.

We filled up the tanks with water and after we collected the laundry we were finished! We could go next day. We had dinner in a restaurant located in old building. The food was good and we enjoyed the wine, too.

22 – August, 2011 Knidos (36.41.082N, 27.22.474E)

We left Datca early in the morning and arrived at the Knidos harbour at about midday. Initially we wanted to anchor there but there was hardly any place for us. We tried but the first time we decided we were too close to another yacht. Second time our anchor did not hold. We decided to go to the jetty. We had to wait for our turn as a yacht tried to go there before us. They took something like half a dozen of attempts before their anchor held. We seemed to be luckier as our anchor held first time. We were in the process of anchoring when the boat that we deemed too close to us at the first attempt waved to us and informed they were leaving. It was too late for me – we continued with the jetty approach. I later swam to check the anchor and I was not convinced it was holding. I found it laying on its side with only one wing in the sand.

All afternoon yachts were still coming to the harbour and anchoring. It was amazing how people found spaces. The weather forecast was for calm day and night thus that was probably a mitigating factor.

In the afternoon we went to see the ruins of the ancient Knidos. They do not look to impressive from the boat but on the land they are. We wandered through the ruins for more than an hour trying to imagine how people lived here.

In the evening we had some stronger gusts coming from the mountains. Boats on both sides of Shirena started having problems. One had to re-anchor. The other put some extra lines that actually affected us. We had to put an extra line, too. No worries – the wind died.

At about four in the morning the gusts came back and they were stronger. Our neighbour with extra lines was busy. There were six German tourists on the boat. Their hired boat was pushing towards the jetty. They decided to raise the anchor and re-anchor somewhere else. In the process of disconnecting from the jetty they left one of them behind. When they returned for him they could not come close enough. He ended up swimming to the yacht. They had a few attempts to re-anchor before they were satisfied. By then it was daylight.

23 – August,2011 Yedi Adalari (36.52.906N, 28.03.344E)

We were awake since four in the morning. There was no reason for us to stay. We had our cups of tea, topped up the water tanks and left. Although our anchor held well we lost some confidence in it thus leaving early was also a relief.

We expected to motor for about forty miles. To our surprise the wind was not on the bow! We could sail. Later the wind turned around and we had it on the stern. We used MPS and kept sailing. Initially we had about 0.5-1 knot current against us. Later the current also turned around and helped us with about 1-1.5 knots strength. We had tiring day but at least we sailed! And... we caught a tuna fish for dinner.

24 – August, 2011 English Harbour (36.55.358N, 28.09.441E)

After nice and comfortable night we set sail towards the English Harbour. It is called like that because English special forces were located there during the WWII. It is a very small bay but well protected from the wind and waves. We anchored next to the only boat there. The boat belonged to a couple from Istanbul. They liked to swim and talked to us when passing our yacht. It was just a customary talk about about where we were from, how we liked Turkey, etc.

About half an hours later the owner of the boat, which was a large motor boat, came in the dinghy and invited us to have cup of coffee or tea after dinner. He would send his employee to collect us. We spent a nice evening talking to that very friendly couple.

In the meantime the bay and the entry filled up with gullets. There were about ten of then staying for the night. One arrived in the darkness and anchored above our anchor.

The weather started changing recently. The nights have become cooler and more pleasant. During the day only the hottest part of the day was still bothersome, otherwise we were comfortable.

25 – August, 2011 Castle Island (36.59.676N,28.12.526E)

We had to wait for the big gullet that anchored on the top of our anchor to leave before we could go. As it happened the gullet was the last one to leave. No worries, we have time. We intended to go to a bay described in the guide as very pretty and special. It was about five miles away. We used the headsail as the wind was from the right direction.

When we arrived in the bay we were disappointed. The bay was nice but not really special. It was also rather full of boats although we could find a space for Shirena if we wanted. We decided however we were not impressed with the bay and decided to go to the next place we wanted to visit – Castle Island. The island was apparently occupied by Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra sent ships full of sand from Africa to make a beach where Mark could get some tan – that's what the guide said.

We sailed to the island as the wind was about 10-12 knots. The anchorage was busy with many trip boats and some yachts. We anchored rather away from everybody. There was no protection from the wind but we did not expect anything strong and the breeze also kept us cool.

26 – August, 2011 Castle Island

In the morning we went to visit the ruins. After we paid for the tickets we followed a path and signs. The main attraction on the island is the Cleopatra Beach. It is a tiny beach in a little cove. The access to the beach is closed to protect it. Swimming however is allowed.

We did not stop at the beach and followed the path that lead us to a theatre which was built outside the city walls. From the theatre the path took us inside the walls and... then the path ended. We hoped to find a way to the ancient harbour but there was none. We tried to follow the city wall but that was a dead end too. We returned to the beach where Tina went for a swim. Amazingly we met very few people during our walk despite a few gullets already anchored at the island. As our guide stated most of the people were just interested in the beach not the ruins.

The rest of the day we spent on the boat swimming from time to time and watching other boat coming and going.

27 – August, 2011 Cokertme (37.00.30N, 27.47.469E)

We had a nice and quite night with only two other yachts in the bay. After breakfast we left the island. about 21 miles later we arrived in Cokertme Bay. We decided to berth at a restaurant jetty as we wanted to have a dinner there. Three boys came to help us to berth the yacht. They knew what to do!

We made some small shopping in the local market. The restaurant offered “free” water, “free” electricity and “free” wi-fi. And it was FREE. We had dinner in the restaurant and the cost was very reasonable. Tina had a fish dish recommended by our Turkish neighbour and she was very happy. Our neighbour – Osky – was a retired architect from Istanbul. He had dinner with us and we talked about cruising in Tukey. At some point we mentioned we met Ozkan a Turkish solo sailor when we were in SE Asia. It turned up Ozkan was a friend of his son. He called him on the phone and after a few tries succeeded to get him to answer. After a short confusion who we were Ozkan remembered us. He invited us to his place in Izmir but that will have to wait for the next year at least. It was however amazing how we met someone in remote place and then found a common friend.

The berth was not too good at this jetty. Swell entered the bay and the yachts were rolling a bit. The swell would stay till the morning.

28 – August, 2011 Bodrum Marina

We left the jetty berth after breakfast. Initially we had no wind but later a stronger wind came straight on the bow. Although 15-18 knots wind is not usually a problem it built a rather surprisingly high seas. The boat was sprayed and the deck flooded. Tina remarked we had Red Sea experience all over again. It was not too bad and lasted less than an hour as we went behind the island where both wind and waves were much weaker.

On the approach to the marina we called the office on the radio. A man in a dinghy arrived soon and greeted us. We were to follow him. Berthing the yacht was not too difficult despite the wind from a side as the man in the dinghy pushed the yacht to accelerate the turn. We fitted between two other boats rather nicely.

After lunch and checking-in formalities we went to see the castle. There is also a museum located in the castle and the trip was really worth the effort. We also bought tickets to Kos in Greece for the next day as we had to renew our visas. As a matter of fact we stopped in Bodrum just for that reason. Initially we thought we could leave the yacht on an anchor but decided to go the (expensive) marina to feel safer about the yacht.

There are two ferry terminals in Bodrum. One of them is rather far away (about 40 minutes walk – other 15-20) from the marina. We managed to buy ticket for the line using that terminal. Healthy – I think!

29 – August, 2011 Kos, Greece, visa run

It was a day of walks. First I walked to the marina bathroom. It is a fair walk as the marina is huge. Next we went to the ferry terminal. That was about 40 minutes walk, but pleasant. There is a duty free shop at the terminal but we decided we would spend money on return. The ferry left with half an hour delay. It took just over an hour to get to Kos. On the way the ferry was on a collision course with two boats. In both cases boats had a right of way against the ferry and they were not giving up to the rather aggressive steering of our captain. They passed each other far too close for my comfort.

In Kos we had to wait for over an hour to have our passports checked. Something like half a dozen of ferries arrived at the same time and the immigration officials could not cope with that.

We spent the time in town walking, again, and visiting bars. No wonder Greece is in financial trouble as the only export they have is tourism and the prices are like in London. People simply go to Turkey. We had lunch in a restaurant that served Greek food. It was a taste of the next year for us.

At about four in the afternoon we went back on the ferry. This time the immigration officers coped with the constant inflow of people very well. Shortly after six we arrived back to Bodrum. Ferry again was on a collision course with a couple of boats and again it went “right to the wire”.

Turkish immigration policeman checked us in but he did not issue a new visa for us. I tried to talk to him but he replied: “Go. Don't speak...” Fortunately we found a woman who had visa stamps. She took our passports, put the stamps in and made the policeman to sign them. We had 90 days visa again!

In the duty free shop we bought some Chilean wine and chocolate. Long walk back to the boat and we could rest. My last walk for the day was the same as in the morning – to the bathrooms to have a shower.

30 – August, 2011 Pabuc Buku (36.58.647N, 27.34.031E)

We had a busy morning as we had to do shopping and checkout from the marina before midday. As it happened it was the end of Ramadan and the main shop, where we wanted to do the shopping, would not open till midday. We managed to find a butcher and vegetables market that were open. I also talked to the marina office and they let us stay till one. Tina went to do that last shopping at twelve while I prepared that yacht for sailing. We were out of the marina before 12:30PM. The shop we were waiting for to open proved to be rather poorly provisioned thus we were better off with the shopping we did before it opened.

This time we had wind behind us and sailed nearly all the way. Our first choice was to go deeper into the bay. This however turned up to be a rather bad idea. The wind was gusting there and it looked very uninviting. We went to the bay we saw on the way where there were many boats anchored. As a matter of fact there were so many boats there we could hardly find a place for ourselves. We free anchored in a distance from the boats. Late some boats left and we re-anchored with a line to shore. It proved a bit difficult in strong wind. When Tina swam to the shore with the rope the wind blew the yacht towards a nearby motorboat. I had to move forward and reposition the yacht. In the meantime Tina reached the shore and attached the rope to a rock. While I was trying to put the yacht straight we ran out of the rope and it broke from the reel. When I returned with the yacht Tina swam back this time with the other end of the rope. We secured it but in our view we were still too close to the motorboat. We decided to deploy the second rope. I took it from the locker where it was. It had not been used for years. It was a bit tangled and it took time to prepare it. Eventually Tina swam again and tried to attach to a rock. Well, that required making a bowline knot. Tina ended up making a proper knot although not the bowline one. This evening she spent learning how to do the knot.

31 – August, 2011 Buyuk Cati (36.47.517N, 28.00.856E)

We left the anchorage after breakfast. Again we had good wind and sailed most of the way. We decided to go to Kucuk Cati as it was recommended by Osky the sailor we met a few days earlier. He even called us when we were on the way to say that his son was in the bay and he would help us to anchor. Other reason we wanted to go back to the bay head was the weather forecast. We were to have two days of strong meltemi and we wanted to find a safe and comfortable anchorage.

When we reached Kucuk Cati we found that the little cove where we could anchor was taken by three yachts. One of them was Oskay's but we did not see anybody there. We circled in the bay looking for a space to anchor but decided it was too crowded. We went to Buyuk Cati. Firstly we tried to anchor deep in the bay but the anchor did not hold. Tina said she did not like the place. We moved to the second cove within the bay and anchored there between two boats. We deployed two ropes and Tina made a good bowline knot first go!

The bay is very well protected from the prevailing wind and we had a good night sleep. We also enjoyed the place as it is pretty.

01-02 – September, 2011 In Buyuk Cati

The weather forecast was for strong winds on Thursday and then it extended for Friday. We stayed in the anchorage for three nights. On the second day we went on the land. We had a good walk in a rather remote area with dirt roads. A sign about a restaurant was either for one that did not open this year or for one in another bay.

We also went on One Tree Island that guards the entrance to the bay. I tired to fish and I caught one fish. It was however too small to keep although we saw locals keeping even smaller ones.

03 – September, 2011 To Palamut (36.40.213N, 27.30.387E)

The weather forecast was not the best but we decided we could go. We woke up at the first light and raised the anchor. Two other boats in the bay did the same although they went to different places. We had 32 miles of head winds along the peninsula. The wind was however not too strong: 10-15 knots. The seas were worse, especially near the headlands, but we made a good progress. Closer to the headland the wind changed the direction and we were able to sail close haul. With one reef in the main it was comfortable and much faster then on engine. Around the head we had 20-23 knots wind. It was not a bother as it came from behind. Farther down the wind however became erratic. Gusts were coming from different directions. We took down the headsail and sailed on the main only, although from time to time we had to turn the engine on as the wind would die for long periods of time. All part of the cruising.

Initially, we wanted to stay at a bay with a jetty and a restaurant. On the way we saw Palamut harbour and yachts anchored outside it. We did not want to enter the harbour as the guide warned about shallow entry. With our 2.2m, draught we could have problems. We diverted however from our route and decided to anchor with other yachts near the beach. The first sign of trouble should be quite obvious – it was very windy and gusts were coming one after the other. We hoped the wind would stop for the night.

We anchored and checked if we held – all OK. Three hours later we were dragging the anchor! The strong gusts were turning the yacht and eventually dislodged the anchor. We were not happy as we had to re-anchor. It was too late to go anywhere else as the daylight was fading. This time we went very close to the beach in search of the sand bottom. Anchor held, but would it hold through the night? The wind became even stronger – steady 22-24 knots with 30+ knots gusts. We decided to add Anchor Buddy to the anchor. Additionally we set to have night watch. The wind lasted till about one in the morning. The anchor held well. We had a short but deep sleeps.

In the morning we had crystal clear and calm waters. We went for a swim and checked the anchor. It was buried in the sand.

We were not the only ones with anchor trouble. There was a yacht that spent about an hour and half trying to anchor in different places. Each time they had raise the anchor as it would not hold. Eventually, they decided to enter the harbour. It looked they found some place for the night there. Other yachts seemed to have someone on the boat at any time while others would go on the land.

04-05 – September, 2011 In Datca

We returned to this harbour as we really liked it first time. On the way we visited Ovu Buku, the place we intended to stay in before we stopped in Palamut. The bay did not appeal to us and we decided to carry on to Datca.

We found a place to berth the yacht easy as half of the quay was empty. That changed in the afternoon. Yachts and gullets were coming all day and the harbour eventually ran out of space. A few yachts had to anchor nearby. The same happened next day. I wondered if the reason was strong wind forecast but the harbour manager told me it was normal in September. Apparently this is the best month to sail here and many people come in chartered or their own yachts.

We stayed two nights. As usual we did the laundry, bought supplies and filled up with water and diesel.

06 – September, 2011 Kizil Adasi (36.40.199N, 28.02.192E)

We left Datca in the middle of the morning. We would prefer to leave after a gullet next to us but they were taking their time with breakfast at 10:30 although they told us they would leave before nine. The reason we wanted to wait was that Shirena was sandwiched between the gullet and a yacht in such a way that some damage could occur if we moved first. We managed however well and nothing wrong happened.

We had good wind on the stern and sailed on the headsail only. Half way towards the anchorage the wind became too weak thus we motored.

We anchored nearly in the same spot as the last time. This is a really nice place. Initially we used just one line to the shore but later, when a wind from North-West came, we added one more to keep the yacht secure. The wind did not last long and we had quite night.

07 - September, 2001 Kzil Adasi

We wanted to move to a nearby bay and anchor there. According to the guide and some other cruisers it was a good place. We went there in the morning and... we discovered it was not good at all. There was no space to anchor as the depth were over 30 metres. It looked that some businessmen decided to built jetties were an anchorage used to be. That meant we would have to go to the restaurant to stay on the jetty. We were not ready for eating out thus we decided to return back the Kizil Adasi which we like very much. We anchored about 200 meters away from the previous place. It was again very pretty.

08 – September, 2011 Gerbekse (36.42.049N, 28.13.642E0

On our way back to Cyprus we had been trying to  find new places to visit. This time Tina found an anchorage near Marmaris. It looked good on paper. We sailed most of the time! When we inspected the bay we were not impressed. Anchoring was possible only in places where swell was present. In case of a wind from other directions the yacht would wobble uncomfortable. Other places were at jetties owned by restaurants. We moved to a nearby bay that looked much better. There we spotted “Quo Vadis” a yacht and the crew we met in Salalah in Oman. Mark was especially helpful to us with advice and some very good information. We had two goes at anchoring as the first time the anchor did not hold.

Later Neville from “Quo Vadis” visited us and we had a short conversation about our plans. Unfortunately we had different plans thus we could not sail together. It was however good to catch up with someone we knew.

The anchorage was not the best. Swell entered the bay and the yacht rocked a bit. It was not too bad and we slept through it but it was not ideal.

09 – September, 2011 Gocek on mooring

We left the anchorage early as we had to sail about 40 miles. We hoped for some good wind but it did not come. We managed to sail no more than an hour and a half while motoring about six. We arrived rather tired thus we decided to get a mooring buoy. It was early dinner and early night for us.

10-12 – September, 2011 in Gociek area

After comfortable night on the mooring we moved to Wall Bay where we anchored with a stern line to the shore. We were just finishing anchoring when a man in a dinghy approached us. He asked if we were from Australia. When we confirmed he said there were two more yachts from Australia in the bay, including his. Tim from yacht “Raven” organised sundowners for that night. It was nice to meet other cruising sailors and exchange our experiences. Tim and Karen came to the Mediterranean Sea in May. Their yacht was one of many that were transported from Maldives to Marmaris on a ship. Like us they just started cruising the ancient region.

The other couple – Bob and Rosemary from “Halcyon Days” - bought their Bavaria-40 in Spain a few years ago. They loved the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey so much they bought a unit in Fathye and plan to sail around for years to come.

We stayed in the bay for extra night as we decided we would not sail to Finike to checked-out from the country. Instead we would go to Kas and check-out there. That gave us an extra night in pretty Gociek area. For the last night we went again to pick up a mooring as we wanted to leave early and it would be much easier just detach a line from the buoy than swimming to shore to release the lines and then raise the anchor. Everything went according to the plan.

13 – September, 2011 to Kas

We had light winds thus we had to motor-sail most of the way although we had some sailing too. On the way we caught two tuna fish and that was our dinner.

We went to the Kas Marina. Although the marina is rather expensive we wanted to do some shopping as well as check-out. In the afternoon we found some time to go for a swim in the pool.

14-16 – September, 2011 to Kekova Roads

In the morning we went to do the shopping. The first disappointment was that we could not exchange the empty gas bottle for a full one. At the time we were buying the bottles, we were told we could do that “anywhere in Turkey”. Well, they simply did not have the right size bottles in the shop!

After shopping we went to the town again this time to check-out. We found harbour office and asked to be checked-out. The man did not say anything but picked up a phone and made a call. Soon another man on a scooter arrived. He was an agent and offered to check us out. We were reluctant to do that as we knew the process was simple, just a bit of walking. We were however told that we had to use the agent. We agreed and paid EU50.oo for the service – second dsiappointment.

At about two in the afternoon we had all the papers and passports ready. We left the marina and motor-sailed to Kekova Roads. We cannot go onshore any more but the views are beautiful enough to keep us satisfied.

We stayed at two different anchorages as we did not want to arrive in Karpaz too early. It was a nice and pleasant farewell to the wonderful cruising region.

17-18 – September, 2011 to Girne (Kyrenia)

We left Kekova Roads in the morning but not too early. We had to sail 176 miles, meaning about 30 hours non-stop. We had little wind initially and it was nearly on the stern. Later the wind picked up but the direction did not change. We decided to change the course and sail. It added some miles to our passage but we had good seven hours of sail. We also made a better speed under the sail and the arrival time has not changed despite extra miles. The seas were not too pleasant as the waves were rather short and confused. We also had between 0.5 to 1.0 knot current against us. When the wind dropped to below 8 knots we changed the course towards Girne and turned the engine on. It took us 32 hours to sail about 210 miles. Most of the extra miles were due to the current. We also had a short detour near the Cyprus North-West corner where in the last minute I discovered we were heading towards military restricted area. The detour was not too big and added only about a mile to the trip.

We tried to call Delta Marina in Girne to find out where we had the berth. A man replied but all he said was: “No problem”. We entered the harbour as the marina is a part of it. The man came out of his office and waved to us where we should berth.

After we were secure at the wharf we were told we had to go to the immigration office to check in. The process was fast and simple with no charges. We were given visas on separate papers without asking for it.

19 – September, 2011 in Girne

We spent the day visiting the town. It was only about 15 minutes walk from the marina. The old harbour looked really great: colourful, full of gulets and yachts, with an old castle tower in the middle and the main castle on the shore. We visited the castle where we could see 2300 years old boat and its cargo which was mostly booze! Well, wine.

We needed to buy some bags for the travel. We found plenty of shops and choice. I also bought some of the medicines I needed. Prices were about one third of those in Australia. I think next year I will not buy the medicines for the whole sailing period and safe.

We had lunch in one of many restaurants. People around us were mostly English and regular customers. It looked English were moving from their island to Cyprus.

20 – September, 2011 to Karpaz Gate Marina

Last 46 miles of the season we started early in the morning. We had no wind and motored all the way. In the marina we were welcomed by the crew who helped us to berth the yacht. Shortly after we berthed we got the bad news: no water or electricity on the jetty. There was a fatal accident in the marina and all electrical works had to be redone. We would not have electricity before we leave.

21-26 – September, 2011 End of the season

We spent the days packing the boat and preparing it for the winter. We were moved to a wharf for one night as there was water there. That allowed us to wash the boat and fill up all tanks to preserve them. Diesel was delivered to the boat as we requested. We were told the fuel dock would be ready in about a week. We should not need it next year as the tank is full.

The weather started to change. We had first storms and rains.

Evening we spent in the company of other cruisers, mostly English. One night we were taken to a restaurant owned by an English couple and full of English people living in Cyprus. The main dish was fish and chips. We felt like we were in England.

Well, that the end of the 2011 sailing season. We still have a few days in Istanbul before going back to Australia. This website will not be updated till we return to Cyprus in April next year.