Last Cruise 2009 Boo Hoo!....

Kos Harbour in the early evening...


Kos waterfront - the view from where we are moored.

We leave Kos Island on Wednesday 21 October and sail the 5 miles across the passage to Turgutreis in Turkey where we check ourselves and the boat in to Turkey, purchase our Transit Log for the boat and have our passports stamped. It is sad to say farewell to all of our friends on Kos Island - especially Sophie who has been so good to us

Sophie with Sipporo

- who we have got to know over the time we have been around here. Who knows when we will be back?

We spend one very expensive (50 Euro) night on the marina but make good use of the facilities. We get all the boat laundry done, enjoy lovely hot showers, and also have a recurring problem on the mast fixed (we hope!). That length of track on the mast has opened up again and spilled some more ball bearings. It happens on the way over from Kos, but we don’t think we have lost many ball bearings this time and are able to get a good technician up the mast to fix the problem at the top which appears to be a loose fitting. He does it for free too, which is an added bonus.

The next day, we leave Turgutreis Marina in fairly fresh conditions around 3pm. We fly along the Turkish coast, cross half way back to Kos and then opt to do a “go about tack” instead of a gybe which would have been a bit difficult with just two of us on board. The tack is still a bit hairy with the short and steep sea state and 25 knots. As we come around 255 degrees, the bow goes under, we get a good bit of dousing over the decks and have a busy few minutes getting the boat settled down again. We make our way to Bodrum where we anchor for the night off the castle. It takes us 3 tries to get our anchor to set in the weedy bottom but we finally succeed as the sun goes down (and so does the wind).

The sight of the sun going down over the castle is very special and we remind ourselves how lucky we are to be doing this.



23 October 2009
Bodrum - Castle Island, Gulf of Gokova
39.05 NM

We leave Bodrum at first light as we have a long way to go and because there is no wind, we motor all day in brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies right up to the head of the Gulf of Gokova . We are heading for Castle Island on the north-western side of the Datca Peninsular – to cruise in an area we have not visited before.

We anchor in a place between Castle Island and Snake Island. (Orta Adasi and Setir Adasi in Turkish). This is a very special place where Cleopatra created a beach for Mark Antony to bathe in, bringing the sand all the way from Egypt (as legend has it).



The sun goes down causing amazing light effects on the huge mountains of the Turkish coast to the north, which drop straight down into the sea - they change from brown to mauve and blue and pink as we watch. The wind has been fresh for an hour or two but has died with the sun going down. We are the only boat here and there are ancient ruins and islands all around us. It is very beautiful. Again… we are so lucky. The only sounds are the birds putting themselves to bed nearby and the sound of the water lapping on the shore. Zero wind.

Unfortunately, we are woken at midnight with the sound of freshening wind (as always from the opposite direction) and we have a fairly nervous night from then on. We put the chart plotter anchor alarm on, but still wake up hourly to check that we are in the same place. There is not much room for us to travel if the anchor lets go.

At first light with the wind still gusting close to 20 knots into the anchorage, we move around the corner to the bay where there is some shelter and more room to swing. Soon after we arrive, the sun comes up and the wind drops and we are anchored off a lovely beach in still clear water. A loaf day follows as we swim and sleep in the autumn sunshine. It is so still and quiet here in this sleepy place, but a little sad as there is a huge disused holiday resort in amongst the trees along one end of the beach. It has an air of dereliction which is unfortunately, typically Turkish. Perhaps they did not pay their tax, or upset the local politics. Who knows?

25 October 2009

Today we move on to another lovely place called Karacasogut (pronounced Karagasud). It is a natural harbour in beautiful forested surroundings with a large island at the entrance protecting the harbour. As I write I can hear the many geese and ducks in the bay making a huge racket. A cow is mooing not far away and the air is very still, hot and loaded. Large fish are jumping all around us. We think we will get some rain tonight. We are tied up to a pontoon made of hand cut logs. It is very rustic.

Mooring Med style???

On another pontoon next to us there are a lot of long term liveaboards who have made the pontoon into a bit of a junkyard with all their stuff spread all over the pontoon. At the end there is a little open sided shack with “China Town” painted on the boards. It looks like someone's sitting room.

Chinatown Karacasogut style!


The promised rain has not arrived by the next morning but we hear there is a storm coming so we hang in for another night and are very cosy while it blows and rains itself out. We use the internet signal at the marina “office” to do a bit of blogging and it is good to start to catch up.

Pippy purchases a real pumpkin (pumpkin soup for lunch) and lettuce from the local store (they go and cut it while she waits) and cannot believe the giant size of it! Later on we also acquire some freshly picked green beans to take with us plus another pumpkin.





27 October 2009

The sun looks like it is coming out, so we take walk up the valley, thinking of our friends Andy and Brenda on Deep Blue who wintered here last year. It is quickly apparent that this is a very fertile place where vegetables are grown in abundance and the bee hives are hard at work. The people here are Turkish country folk and very kind and friendly. We buy some local honey and carry our prize back to Matelot.

A little later in the day, we leave KaracaSogut in brilliant sunshine as the locals kill an octopus they have just caught off the beach. It is amazing how the weather can change the way a place looks. The landscape is sparkling all around us!

English Harbour

We take an easy little potter 5 NM to the south west along the coast to English Harbour. This area is named after the English Special Boat Squadron who used it as a base during the closing stages of the war in the Eastern Agean (1944). As we write we are anchored right in the middle of this gorgeous place, which would normally be crowded. We have it to ourselves except for a gullet which has just nosed in and turned on its generator….blow it. We are surrounded with wooded slopes and the light is fading over a sky mixed with clouds and patches of blue. The bird song sounds very similar to NZ. The forecast looks very settled so we will risk it once again and anchor out here rather than tie up to the pontoons by the restaurants across the harbour in the eastern inlet. There is plenty of room for us to swing.

The air is still and calm and we have an uneventful night and good sleep, departing early the next day in zero wind for our next stop somewhere in Yedi Adalari (Seven Islands) a chain of small islands off the coast.

There are several protected inlets to choose from, where anchorages are very pretty. We initially go for North Cove and tie stern-to on to some trees around the corner. However, after sitting there for a couple of hours, we decide we would like to explore further (just because we can!) and move on to East Creek which we find we much prefer as it seems more sheltered from the wind which appears to have some south west in it. We once again tie stern-to a fair way up into the inlet. We have the pick of places to go as there are no other boats up this far. We are in stunningly beautiful surroundings, ringed with protecting land except for the opening into the inlet. The tiny kingfishers, quite unlike the NZ variety, but recognisable from the flash of bright blue as they fly by, are busy fishing the deeply forested shore line. Around 5.30pm we have a short squall with wind on the starboard side and all halyards rattling, but it is short lived and the darkness closes in on us anchored in still water.


29 October 2009 - Yedi Adalari (East Creek)

We wake in the morning to one of the most picturesque surroundings we have experienced in our cruising so far. The still water is shrouded in mist as the sun lights up the eastern sky from below the horizon. We are up early and row further up the inlet to discover a hidden part to it. Around a small wooded headland a couple of wooden fishing boats are moored on a shoreline massed with tall reeds.


Spectacular East Creek on a Beautiful Morning....!













We take many photographs as we row around this lovely place then return to the boat for breakfast and swimming, before deciding it is unfortunately time to head out.


Eight people in a leaky boat!!!!









We have thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this part of the Datca Peninsular, but today we have a long sail ahead of us with our goal of Kormen, 33.85 NM away. It is time to get ourselves back into the main cruising route and turned towards Marmaris. Wind on the nose means we have a brisk sail and many tacks, but we are enjoying the feeling of freedom and still not many other boats around.

We share the helm...




By 4.30 pm and many tacks later with the sun just going down behind the surrounding high hills, we tie up to the wall at Kormen, on the northern side of the peninsular opposite Datca. It has a fish restaurant right on the pier, so we lash out and go out for dinner. At TKL60 per kilo for fish the dinner is not inexpensive but it is well cooked and delicious. The local cats are a nuisance and repeatedly try to get on the boat so we spring ourselves out from the wall before we go to bed. The wind is up and it looks like a brisk sail tomorrow.

Pippy takes the local bus into Datca the next morning and needs a taxi to get back with the load of provisions, especially lots of lovely Turkish yoghurt, fruit and veg. It is good to have food on the boat again and we throw it down below and get away as soon as possible as conditions are fairly fresh. We want to get free of the Datca Peninsular today.

30 October 2009 Kormen - Nisyros 26.45 NM

... At times we cross the shipping lanes..


We have another big sail today, (partially on the wind then cracked sheets) to arrive in Nisyros Harbour around 2.30pm.

It takes us a good two hours to get the boat settled. There are few people around and only one other yacht. The cross wind catches us and blows us away sideways and three attempts later we finally get tied on to the wall. The shallowness of the harbour prevents Richard from getting the boat into a good position to reverse from and we are not lying straight to the wall. We put on several springs and try to pull ourselves straight on against the wind. Eventually we are (sort of) satisfied, but exhausted. It is by then getting dark and foreboding. There is something quite nervous about being one of the few boats in a harbour, which is usually crowded. The wind howls all night, quietening down around dawn.

We have planned to sail from Nisyros (after staying a couple of nights) to Tilos, Khalki and then Rhodes on our way back to Marmaris. We have decided overnight that we will not stay on in Nisyros, but instead head for Kardamena for some more provisions. It is a short trip and much more sheltered from the fresh northerly in the small harbour. It is good to go ashore and stock up on some more much needed items (muesli to name one!). Many of the shops are closing down today as it is the end of the season. The town has an empty feel about it and seems strange without the throngs of mostly English tourists. Once again, we are the only yacht here! A quick look at the weather forecast and the high wind coming over the next week gives us pause for thought. Several people warn us of bad weather coming.

We realise that we have to get out of this harbour and make some distance towards Marmaris as there is a fierce southerly due in a couple of days, (We have seen what a southerly does here and it is not pretty.) In the short term the wind numbers are high but from the north so that should blow us where we want to go. The forecast for Kos seems to be much worse than further east, ie Datca and Rhodes.

1 November 2009
Kardamena - Panormitis
38 NM

We are up very early and want to get away before the wind freshens. By 7.30 am we are running out of Kardamena, putting some miles on our passage back to Marmaris.

Once we get away from the shadow of the high Kos mountain range, we have an exhilarating downhill run with top speeds of 10 knots with reefed main and genoa. We both feel happy that we have made the move. For a while we think that we might sail on to Rhodes, but we turn off for Simi at the last minute. The thought of calm water and a good anchorage is too tempting, knowing what weather we have in store over the next few days. As it turns out it is the best decision we could have made. We anchor around 12.30 pm in time for lunch.

Tonight we are tucked up in Panormitis Harbour on the south western end of Simi and the conditions are foul. Every so often we get hit by a gust of wind coming over the high hills to our north. There is almost a silence before you hear it coming, as though the wind gods are sucking in their breath. It is impossible to describe the sound of the gusts gathering themselves and then hurtling towards us. The gust hits the boat with a loud thwang and we sail around on our anchor in all directions. Fortunately the holding is good, we are in flat water and our anchor is well dug in. Overnight winds are forecast to be around 30 knots, but this is conservative and we get gusts closer to 40 through most of the night, the next day and the following night. It is cold – we have our feather sleeping bags out. Winter is here. For once we are with other yachts – five of us tucked up in here.

We spend the day chatting to some of the other cruisers in the anchorage and whiling away the hours. We are undecided about whether to go to Simi Harbour for one last look, or just head straight for Rhodes. After two nights of howling gusts and swinging in Panormitis, Rhodes wins and we sail out of Panormitis Harbour on the morning of Tuesday 3 November. Conditions seem to be taking a bit of a break, but we know that on Tuesday night the rough weather is coming in again for a screaming crescendo and we think the shelter will be better in Rhodes.

We have a wonderful 22 NM sail to Rhodes in brilliant sunshine with wind on our starboard aft quarter. What could be better?

Rhodes - Mandraki Harbour entrance...

Arriving in Rhodes Harbour, we find very little space available and sit in the middle pondering our options until we see someone waving to us from the wall. It is Trevor and Susan from the catamaran "Little Kat". Trevor knows Rhodes Harbour and we take his advice, mooring between a gorgeous Swan 65 ft yacht to port and a really large motor launch to starboard. We are just two spaces in from the harbour entrance so there is a fair bit of wash with boats coming and going. Both of the boats each side of us already have two anchors out in preparation for the coming storm. We lay out 50 meters of chain, then pull ourselves well out from the wall. It is a trick getting off the boat, leaping over the gap from the passarelle. It takes a while to get the boat set up with springs on both sides, but it is just as well. As the afternoon passes, the storm builds first of all blowing on our port bow, then veering over to the starboard side. We are quite well sheltered by the huge boat on that side, but the spring still does its work through the night. It is so good to be securely tied up after two nights of skittling around on anchor. We sleep well despite the noise of the storm, thunder and lightning etc. The next few days see us jobbling around quite vigorously, but our anchor holds us well out from the wall and we are secure.

We stay in Rhodes for 4 nights and enjoy every moment. The people all around us are very friendly. There is a bit of drama as a young (fairly attractive) girl (possibly in her 20s) arrives in the harbour in an old beaten up steel yacht with sails torn and rigging in shreds. The anchor winch does not work and despite having someone on the bow to help, ends up side on to the wall as she tries to reverse the boat stern to. She claims her ex boyfriend has sold her the boat which subsequently went aground. Two fishermen hauled her free for the princely sum of Euro 2,000. The storm blew her from Turkey to Rhodes and here she is! She has two dogs on board and one of them has just given birth to 9 puppies!! They have not been off the boat for 7 days! She has no money since having to pay to have the boat hauled off the sandbank. We all feel very sorry for her but are so happy she is not our daughter!! Of course once she settles in, there are lots of gallant men hanging around offering to help her out in any way they can.

As far as sight seeing is concerned, we enjoy wandering through the old city, but most of all, Pippy really enjoys walking the 'shops' here and takes a couple of 'time out' trips to the shops on her own. There is a special circuit which takes in Zara, Mango, United Colors of Benetton and a few others. A little money changes hands and we are all very happy!

Thanks to Trevor and Susan, we are treated to a fabulous roast chicken dinner on board Little Kat, with all the trimmings and vegetables, plus two types of gravy, then the next evening they organise a very rustic barbecue on the 'beach' at Rhodes Harbour entrance which includes some fresh octopus. We see the big octopus hanging around the wall and the next thing we know, a fisherman has hooked it out on to the concrete and it is being made ready for dinner! We have also paid a visit to the wonderful butcher and enjoy fresh chicken sausages and meat patties with the seafood.

Barbecue on the "beach" at Mandraki Harbour entrance...

All in all is a very nice ending to our last cruise.

Saturday 7 November 2009
Rhodes to Marmaris
22.9 NM

Time waits for no man and before we know it, it is time to leave Rhodes. We are due in Marmaris and look forward to our final sail of the season. We say our goodbyes and try to get our anchor up... to no avail... It is firmly hooked on the bottom. So it is one last swim for Richard as he goes over the side to deploy the 'anchor thief' in the 5 meters of murky water, with plenty of willing helpers on board including Trevor and the crew from the Swan super yacht. We are soon free to go and say our goodbyes all over again.

The wind is initially fresh and we have a good sail under reefed main and genoa, but it is not long before we are shaking the reefs out. The closer we get to Turkey, the less wind there is, until finally we put the genoa away and motor sail, arriving at Marmaris Yacht Marina around 2.30pm. It is hard to believe we won't be leaving here for some time now. We are both feeling a bit subdued at the prospect but know we won't get much sympathy on that score!

Hello Juliet 68. Here we will stay until we haul out on 9 December.

Storm brewing over Yachtmarina Marmaris.


6.00 am peeping at the sunrise from under our winter cover in Marmaris.