Gokova Gulf

We needed fuel so we went over to Marmaris where there is a fuel station on the quay. It was a bit daunting as we had to squeeze between two huge billionaire Gin Palaces. Once in, they were very efficient and friendly and the price wasn't extortionate. We finally got under way at 12.30 and headed South out of the bay. The wind was a nice easterly (unusual) so we ditched our initial plan to anchor in the bay just around the headland and decided to press on to Sirce Limani.
It turned out to be a good decision. The isolated bay has a single family running a restaurant, mooring buoys (free but you're expected to have a drink or meal in the restaurant) and even fresh bread delivered to the boat in the morning. Very enterprising, very friendly and lots of character. We will be back.

The next day we did 30 miles to Palamut - cutting the corner through Greek waters around the corner of Symi. I was half expecting a gunboat to turn up at any minute but nobody bothered us. Palamut has the smallest of mini-markets and as we were intending to go into the wilds, we were running seriously short of supplies. The only option seemed to be to divert to Cokertme on the North coast of the Gokova Gulf rather than heading straight down to the Eastern end.

Cokertme turned out to be a surprisingly good anchorage and L went shopping while I sorted the boat. It turned out that there was only a tiny mini-market attached to a Restaurant. She made friends with the owner who had recently had his hand mangled by an SunSail idiot turning on an outboard motor while he was trying to free a line from the propeller - ouch! He pulled some fresh veg from his garden and sold milk & bread. Being an enterprsing soul, she spotted a fisherman cleaning some fish and haggled with him for two of them. Delicious! L insisted on putting the fish bones in the cockpit and sitting there watching the wasps. Made me shudder to look (which I think was the idea). She got her come-uppance by getting stung on the arm and had to scuttle ignominiously down the fore-hatch into Rosa.

We now started exploring more seriously for when Charlotte comes. Our first call was a bay called Golyeri which we had been told was lovely. It WAS nice in a rural sort of way - a herd of cows were grazing on the island - but there was no other sign of human habitation anywhere. Unfortunately, the bottom turned out to be impossible and we couldn't get an anchor to stick - so much for a nice lunch stop. We then went straight to the Seven Islands area leaving a chunk of the South coast still to be explored.

There are several wild anchorages in the area. For our taste, the best were South bay (wonderful turquoise water over a sandy bottom) and North Bay - calm, protected, incredibly clear water, good (if deep) holding and nobody else around. It was so nice that we stayed two days. The pilot indicates a restaurant at the head of the bay but we saw no sign other than a couple of buildings in the trees. We decided to investigate when we left in the morning - Oh big mistake!

The chart indicates shallows at the head of the bay - and I could see the mud bank under the water. But with our lifting keel, I've got a bit careless. I put the keel up and nosed gently in. The (luckily soft) bottom came up like a wall and the bow had grounded long before the depth transducer indicated anything untoward. In no time the wind blew us sideways and we were hard aground on a lee shore! Luckily it was soft silt and weed and a light breeze so we weren't in danger. We loaded the bow anchor and 40 Meters of chain into the dinghy then motored out into deep water, paying out chain as we went. We got the anchor about 25 Meters into the channel and tipped it over the side. With a bit of straining, the windlass pulled us off. Very embarrassing as a large German boat came in to watch the proceedings! This is the first time we've tried this technique and it was rather gratifying, in a squirmy sort of way, that it worked so well.

We went on to English harbour taking in all the bays on the way and finally anchored in the Northern cove. Other than a rather large number of wasps and a fisherman we were alone and had a very peaceful night. Next morning we went down to the South East end of the bay to check out the restaurant and mini-market. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be really nice with laid moorings, a very pretty restaurant and an excellent little shop where We were able to buy a good selection of Veg and some mince & chicken. Stores sorted. There is even a statue of a mermaid on a rock just outside.











Being well stocked, we sailed over to Castle Island. The westerly wind gathered strength quickly and We anchored in 20 Knots of wind with a 1 Meter swell just outside the bay. Some of it crept around the point and reflected off Snake Island making for a rather rolley evening. Safe enough, but uncomfortable.

It had all calmed down by morning and before the tripper boats descended at 11.00, the island was lovely. It's open from 0800 to 1800 costing 10 Lire per person. Cleopatra's beach is great to swim in - although the heavy restrictions about going on the beach itself spoil the atmosphere considerably. The rest of the island is interesting with a well preserved amphitheatre and a temple to Apollo in addition to large city walls, Cisterns, etc. Get there before the crowds to really appreciate it.


We decamped once the grockle arrived in force and sailed the short hop to Sogut. We had several choices but chose to moor at the Yacht Club pontoon. Very friendly and helpful with good facilities. Excellent self-service laundry with a huge machine. Profits go to teach young Turkish sailors. Sogut is a sleepy little village with a couple of markets and restaurants all set in green slopes with clear blue water in the large bay. There is free mooring along the edge of the bay with lines ashore - but there are so many boats there (many looking as if they never move) that it's a daunting prospect to tie up. The other 3 pontoons have a modest charge. A Dolmus to Marmaris twice a day (0730 & 1200) for the princley sum of 5 lire each way.

On to Marmaris

Got away from Mersincik at about 0900. Took just over an hour to get the shorelines aboard and stowed. Not slick but nowhere near as chaotic as setting them up. Lindsay pulled up an enormous tangle of fishing line on the anchor hopefully saving a seabird or two.

We motored over a glassy sea up to the end of the Dorian Peninsula and round to ancient Knidos on the other side. Although it was too early to stop there, we went into the harbour to spy it out in case we need it another time. It looks interesting and well sheltered - there are 3000 year old ruins everywhere many only partly excavated. There didn't seem to be any provisions but there was a taverna.








The wind got up and blew us easily down to Palamut where we stopped for the night. The harbour is well managed with a very helpful young man speaking good English helping us in. Electricity and water were available although we only took water. There seemed to be only the smallest of mini-markets so only limited supplies. We went out to our first Turkish meal in the evening. There is loads of choice and we struck lucky by picking the one where locals and people in the know eat. It was called Merhaba and is run by a charismatic chap called Altan. His father and Grandfather were the lighthouse keeper at Knidos and he grew up winding the lamp. He had an amazing choice of starter, main and desert for 20 YTL (10 euro) a head. My octopus salad was excellent and the lamb was succulent and tender. Everything had pleasant surprises - the salad had herbs in, his home-grown and processed olives & oil are as good as I've tasted anywhere.

In the morning we set off for Datca. We needed supplies badly and this seems to be the only option on the south side of the Dorian Peninsula. It has a large harbour. We could have anchored off but as we were only planning to stay for a couple of hours, it seemed simpler to tie up to the quay. It all worked well and there was no charge for the short stay. The shopping was comprehensive with a large supermarket at the top of the hill  and a good mini-market on the quay selling fresh fruit, vegetables and the usual groceries. It also had schweppes tonic water in large bottles. Proper G&T's again at last!

After shopping, we set off with the intention of anchoring in Karaincir. On the way, we spotted a kite-surfer who was 4 miles from land and kept falling off. We thought we heard a call for help and altered course to pick him up - being very wary as his kite was still flying and we didn't want to get it anywhere near our rigging! We were almost up to him when a rib roared past and waved thanks to us - so we were off the hook. Karaincir looked good on paper but when we got there, there was a nasty swell filling the bay. It looked like a very uncomfortable night. We decided to make a dash another 6 miles up the coast to KuruKabu. It was a good decision and we had a tranquil night at anchor.

Next day, we crossed the gulf to the lovely little town of Bozburun. This has an amazingly sheltered, huge natural harbour. We decided to anchor (holding like a rock) just off the tiny port and spent 3 days there in complete safety despite thunderstorms and high winds. The town is completely unspoilt with an impressive silver-domed mosque with a loud but tuneful muezin. For a small town it has remarkably good shopping, an excellent baker and a very reasonable laundry. We made friends with a couple of live-aboard couples and had a very social 3 days.

We needed to get to Marmaris to meet some friends so we regretfully set of on Monday with the intention to stop in an isolated bay called Gerbeske creek. We tried to hoist the spinaker but it wouldn't unfurl. Eventually, we figured out that I had got it tangled up with the small halyard we use for the anchor ball. It was too hard to deal with while under way so we left it and had no spinnaker all day. We got to the creek just before 1600 and messed around for a whole hour trying to get the hook to stick with no luck at all. We now had the increasingly familiar dash for a safe anchorage! Ciftlik was 1/2 hour further on but had bad swell and is heavily over developed with a huge concrete hotel. We took the risk of going a further 90 minutes to Kadirga Burnu. Fortunately we managed to anchor with lines ashore at the head of the bay in complete seclusion. Lovely.

Actually, it was so nice that we spent another day swimming, sunbathing and enjoying the scenery. Made a nice change to be so busy doing nothing and going nowhere.

On thursday, we did the short hop to Marmaris. Its quite a big town where you can apparently buy just about anything. We decided to stay at Marmaris Yat Marina. It's reputation had gone before it as one of the best marinas anywhere. I have to say, the reputation is well deserved. The services and shelter are excellent and very reasonable. 23Euro per night for us plus metered water and electricity at cost. The swimming pool would not be out of place in a 5 star hotel. There is reasonable shopping on site and an excellent dolmus service into Marmaris Town promptly on the half  hour.

We've engaged a rigger to shorten our forestay as the mast is sloping backwards by a degree or so. This isn't dangerous but does compromise our ability to trim the mainsail for light or strong winds. As a result we are staying here until Monday or Tuesday. After that, we set off north again to explore "English Harbour" in preparation for Charlotte's visit in a couple of week's time.

Gulets Gulets everywhere.

Having got our Turkcell Dongle and done our shopping, we left the Marina, (100 euros lighter) on a beautiful calm morning with a light Easterly wind. We had a gentle close-hauled sail to Magpie Rock and then had to beat for 3 miles through the strait between Kos and Turkey. It was only when we realised, 2 hours later that we had done less than 1/2 mile (despite flying this way and that at 4 knots) that we figured out there was a current!  We're not really used to those around here. Beating in a light wind into a 1/2 knot current is a mugs game! So we hoisted the Iron Topsail and motored round the point.
The spinnaker than carried us silently, in brilliant sunshine, over to "The Aquarium" - a sheltered anchorage behind an Island just short of Bodrum. There were lots of Gulets and a few motor boats anchored but still plenty of space. We motored through the shallow channel behind the island after re-assuring a helpful Gulet skipper that we really could get through because of our lifting keel. The water was clear, warm and turquoise. The holding and swimming were good. Excellent! Even L went in.

Next morning, a Westerly blew up and we started to get waves. We went back through the channel and when we thought we were well through it, tried to anchor. Only to be told off by a Gulet Skipper as being too close and obstructing the turn. Not wishing to piss-off the locals, we anchored, rather unsecurely, in the South bay. In the afternoon, the wind changed and we drifted far too close to the edge, bumping the keel gently on a rock. On advice from yet another friendly Gulet skipper, we went round the cape to Bitez as he predicted a coming storm.

There was plenty of space so, just to be safe, we put out 50 Meters of chain. We sat there until dusk, quietly confident that we were well protected from the elements and well away from other boats. It was then that a huge Gulet turned up and anchored on the quay which seemed to be miles away. But he put out well over 100M of chain and I was sure he was over our anchor. Next day was Sunday. We waited until 11.30 but there was no sign of him moving even though the crew were on  the boat. Eventually we got fed up and tried to raise the anchor. To our great relief it came up fine - they had just missed us by a couple of Meters! All the big Gulets seemed to put out the same huge length so we've learned a valuable lesson!

We had intended to go to Mud Bay (and smother ourselves in hot, therapeutic mud). Unfortunately the forecast was for strongish winds and it is not a good anchorage so we crossed the gulf to Mersincik. Cracking sail doing nearly 7 Knots all the way with a steady beam wind. The isolated bay is lovely - mostly sand - so we anchored ahead of the only other yacht. After a couple of hours, a huge, two-masted luxury Gulet full of German medics on a 'holistic medicine' seminar rocked up. It's alright for some - I wonder who paid for it?
The crew were full of dire warnings of a storm (un-forecast) so we made a complete pigs ear of taking lines ashore to the beach - took us two hours! We spent a secure night and after all that effort, no sign of a storm.We were almost disapointed! Ho-hum, at-least we learned to use the Kedge.
It was so nice there that we decided to stay another day just relaxing - and then another as the weather was still looking a bit iffy.
So I wrote this.
More next time.....

Made it to Turkey

Here we are in Turgutreis, Turkey - our first really foreign port. We hoisted the courtesy flag as we crossed the border under the watchful eye of a Turkish gun-boat.

Right on cue, as we entered the port, the Muezin in the mosque piped up - sent a shiver down my spine.

Check-in was a doddle. It only took an hour with all the authorities being in the same building. Nobody even mentioned an agent and everyone was friendly and helpful. Now we're on the computer, it will probably be even easier next time. Total cost 65 Euro including my Visa (Lindsay's NZ passport doesn't require one).

D-Marine in Turgutreis is excellent but very expensive. Excellent showers, a nice swimming pool and very good shelter with finger pontoons to tie-up to. Helpful friendly staff too and good security.
We had an difficult time setting up Internet access in Turkey. The good news is that no contract is required and the pay-as-you-go rate is a very reasonable 50YTL (about 25 euro) for 4Mb for a month. The bad news was that the Turkish data SIMS won't work with my 3G modem. I had to buy a dongle (150 euro) from Turkcell. It works very well but a bit of an ouch and only one person can use it at a time.
All the major networks seem to offer the same deal and have the same compatibility issue. Turgurtreis has main-outlets for all three networks very conveniently close together - but the staff have limited English so figuring out problems and probing the best deal is challenging and stressful for all concerned.

From Milos/Kimolos to Kos

We had a pretty uneventful sail across the Aegean once we left the Milos group. There were no strong winds or big waves and we haven't seen any more flooding. Some of the journey needed the iron topsail but a surprisingly large proportion was really nice sails downwind mostly under spinnaker or occasionally beam wind with the main and jib.
The engine cooling problem persisted so that whenever we finished a long sail after some motoring, the cooling water wouldn't come through. I had to pull off a pipe and put it back while Lindsay dawdled around an anchorage or port and that fixed it. One of the times we had loads of searoom in calm conditions and I was able to take the time to look carefully. Now that I can see through the transparent pipes, I could see that water was moving but there was not enough pressure to push it over the top of the siphon break. I'm developing a new theory: When the engine is hot and we start to sail, cooling water slops around in the pipes and pumps and heats the pump up with hot water from the engine. For some reason, when it is really hot it produces less pressure that when it is cold and it doesn't have enough to push teh water ove the top. Taking a pipe off allows cold seawater to run into the pump and it then prduces more pressure which pushes the water over the top. Once water is running through, it keeps the pump cool and efficient so it keeps going.
The theory fits the facts - but why would it not have enough pressure when hot? I'm guessing there are two factors:

• The pump sealing plate is worn and probably so is the impeller. The loose fit allows water to leak back past the impeller compromising its ability to develop pressure but not enough to stop the flow.
• The rubber of the impeller gets soft when hot and this probably decreases the effciency further - which is enough to drop the output pressure to teh point where cooling water won't go over the top.

I've replaced the impeller and on advice from Johnsons, reversed the plate. I have my fingers crossed that this will finally fix it.
Enough of engineering...
Our first call from Kimolos was Ios. We anchored in a lovely sheltered little bay just over the hill from the port. We stayed there for two days just enjoying the peace and sunshine. After Ios, we anchored on the south side of Skhinousa in a bay sheltered by a long islet. Again peaceful, almost wild excellent holding.

Next hop was a lovely sail to Katapola on Amorgos. This was a pretty little harbour with surprisingly good shopping and several nice tavernas - including one next to us that played just my sort of music. There is a famous monastery there but we decided we needed to press on so we didn't go up there.

After Amorgos came Levithia - an island so small it has only one house and one taverna. The wind funnels wickedly through the hills into the bay so the enterprising owner has put out mooring buoys. He turfed the fishing boats off to make space for us and only charged 7 euros - an excellent facility. The only fly in the ointment was some very rowdy Germans a few boats away who sang and shouted into the wee small hours.

We expected Klimnos to be our last stop in Greece. It's a huge harbour with good shelter. There is absolutely no sign of the Marina that was supposed to be built a few years ago, Unfortunately, it turns out not to be a port of exit so (despite having passport control, port police and customs) they couldn't check us out of Greece and sent us to Kos.

We thought Kos would be a land of lager & chips with lobster coloured louts partying all night. How wrong can you be! Apparently the south side of the island is a bit like that, but Kos town, while a bit touristy, is actually a very pleasant place with good shopping, an excellent chandler in the marina, an lots of interesting archaeology. The museum is worth a visit as is the ancient agora. In 1933, the Italians excavated an roman villa and then restored it - so that it has walls, roofs, stairs, etc. It gives a much better feel for what it was like to live there than the bare excavation and its free!

Hippocrates (he of the hippocratic oath) lived and practiced medicine here. It's said that he lectured under this plane tree (although it probaly only 500 years old).

The castle of the Knights of St John broods over the harbor - we were moored right under its walls. It's also well worth a visit - although it would be even better for a bit of explanatory labelling or guiding.

We spent 4 days in Kos fixing the engine, shopping, sightseeing and generally getting ready to leave Greece. Tomorrow is the big day! We've already checked out of the EU and are bound for our first really foreign country tomorrow.

Maleas to Milos

We set off at 0400 from Elefonisos and in the event the feared Cape Maleas was a pussey-cat. Barely a breath of wind. There were lots of large ships though going every which way and several poorly lit fishing boats so I had to keep a sharp lookout. We had 2 hours of night sailing to start with. One boat played a searchlight over us several times nearly blinding me. I never did find out why and in the end he disappeared off at high speed. Maybe it was the coastguard checking us out.

With no wind, we motored for several hours - I took the night watch then L came up and let me doze. Later, I went down below to make L a cup of tea and noticed some splashes of water on the floor. I was just about to put it down to L having spilt something when some more splashed up betwen the floorboards. We were sinking! Well actually we had about 9 inches of water on board - but that's an awful lot! I quickly determined that it was the new siphon-break valve I bought at huge cost and installed while we were in Kalamata. I plugged the leak then we set about pumping which took about 15 minutes but seemed like hours. I blew and sucked the rogue valve and it seemed to work fine so hoped it had picked up some dirt - now gone.
There was some wind but it was right on the nose so we felt we had no choice but to keep motoring and check every 1/2 hour that there was no more water. There wasn't.

We eventually got to Milos at 1900 - impressive volcanic scenery and a huge set of caulderas left by the enourmous explosions that took out the heart of the mountain thousands of years ago. We tied up at the quay with tailed lines but nobody to help - quite a challenge as it was the first time we've done that - there has always been help before.




The first night was fine but the following 4 days we had a strong northerly and what with that and the Ferries had a vicious swell pulling us onto and off the concrete quay. One particularly violent jerk broke a mooring warp and I think has damaged a cleat as it's now moving a little and making an odd noise. Luckily we had put on redundant lines so we were safe.




We made friends with a local called Yorgios who sells diesel from a tanker. He invited me to have a drink at his place. I walked miles to find him - but when I did he was most hospitable. He was a seaman for 30 years and saved up all his wages to by an impressive smallholding, several houses and a garage. His extended family lives in the houses. He grows a huge variety of crops and gave us some wonderful herbs, artichokes and beetroots. His granddaughter Anastasia is 8 and has been learning English. She already speaks it better than I speak Greek.

We hired a car on the Wednesday and drove around the island. It has some pretty little Cycladic villages, a huge set of Catacombes, beaches and miles and miles of dirt road on which we got well and truly lost. A very good day. One particular find was an excellent chandler - quite unexpected - just south of the town quay.

We finally had enough of being thrown around and decided to brave the Meltemi and go to a south-facing bay on Kimolos. We struck up an acquaintance with a professional skipper who advised us to go the long way round the Island. It would never have occurred to me - but it seemed a good idea so we tried it. Big mistake! The first leg was a beat up the crater which we would have had to do either way. We then had a nice down-wind sail along the west side and part of the southern shore. Then we passed the highest peak and were hit with winds being funneled down the crater which gusted up to 38Knots. Very scary - particularly as the cooling water had now packed up again!. We dropped the main and sailed on Jib alone which worked well. Once we rounded the Eastern cape we were now faced with beating all the way up to Kimolos into the teeth of 25Knots gusting 30. We hoisted 2 reefs in the main and hit 7 knots! The waves were moderated a bit by Kimolos but still very uncomfortable. We finally anchored under sail at 1930 ready for a stiff G&T (or two).

If we had gone the other way, we would have had 3 hours of close hauled force 5 with a heavy beam swell. Uncomfortable but soon enough over.

Around the Peloponese

The first day across the gulf of Patras was a lovely quiet motor. There was hardly a breath of wind and hazy sunshine all the way. We were both torn between loving the freedom and excitement of being off on our travels again and sadness at leaving so many new friends - some of whom we probably won't see again as they are off west and across the Atlantic.

Our first port was Killini - a busy ferry port. There has been a lot of construction recently and there was a huge dredging operation in the bay making it difficult (and probably illegal) to anchor. While we were bobbing around close to the small-boat harbour entrance we heard loud whistling and shouting from a large tugboat. They thought we were running aground as we had drifted into water about 1M deep. We had the keel up (which they didn't know) so we weren't in any danger - but it was very nice of them to warn us as most boats would have been stuck. Apparently the local fishermen do a thriving trade in tow-offs for 100 euros a pop! I went round and thanked them when we were safely tied up.

We wanted to stop next at Katakolon and take a trip to Ancient Olympia. Unfortunately the weather was chasing us and we had to crack on to Kiparissia or risk getting stuck for 2 or 3 days.Kiparissia is largish modern town with an enormous fully-enclosed and free harbour and good shopping. We hired a car for a day and visited Ancient Messinia. This is a classical city with some Roman overlay - quite well preserved and well worth a visit.



We then set out for Nestor's palace - which is apparently the best preserved Maecenean remains in mainland Greece - even mentioned in Homer! We passed through lovely flower-rich countryside and even came across a wild Tortoise. (well actually he wasn't really wild - just a bit cross at being disturbed. Unfortunately, the map was vague and we ended up driving around for two hours before we found the palace - shut! We picked up gas and Diesel, did some shopping and then set of South the next morning.

We were still being chased by a storm and again went much faster than we would have liked. We popped into the amazing Ormos Voidhokoilia which is an almost complete circle of torquise water ringed by sand dunes and guarded at the entrance by rocky headlands. Unfortunately we couldn't stay.

We passed Ormos Navarino and Pilos and then rounded the first finger of the Peloponese at Cape Soukouli with its huge venetian fort and turkish lighthouse. We sailed across the gulf hoping to find shelter in an isolated bay called Port Maratho under Cape Akritas but couldn't find it anywhere!

When we put the engine on, we yet again had no cooling water. We gave up with an hour to spare before sundown and rounded the cape and to the little town of Koroni and had a lovely sheltered night at anchor under this pretty little town.

We discussed the cooling water problem and decided to change or plans and go down to Kalamat and buy a complete new set of cooling pipes and siphon break to try and nail the problem for good. So first thing, We had a lovely sail under Spinaker all the way down. Put the sail down just short of the marina - and yet again no cooling water! Did the usual quick fix and in we went.
While there we made friends with a lovely English couple called Ralf & Kay who took pity on us and ferried us around the town in their car. We got the bits (100 Euro for a bit of plastic!) and I fitted it in the next couple of days. The Marina is OK and the town is rather good - masses of shops selling everything you can imagine. It was made for us by socialising with Kay and Ralf.
We finally left on Thursday at 0700 for the long run to Porto Kayio just around Cape Tainaron - the middle finger of the Peloponese and the most southerly point of mainland Greece. It was fairly uneventful - mostly under motor. We were warned by the pilot that the holding in that bay was not particularly good - and we can confirm that. We spent nearly two hours re-anchoring 7 times without success. Several times it seemed to hold under engine, only to take off when hit by a gust. Eventually, we abandoned the attempt and went over to the North cove where it held first time.

Next day we had a gentle motor and sail over to Elefenaisos just under cape Maleas - the big one. All reports say the cape needs to be treated with great respect as high winds and big seas often occur when it is calm elsewhere. On the way, we were joined by the largest pod of dolfins we have seen so far and, for the first time, they spent a few minutes playing with us. Magic! The cooling failed again when we put the engine on to anchor - Gutted! Two years and I still have no idea what is causing it! We went up to the town to get some supplies but there was only one tiny mini-market open as it is still winter. Spent the night in a beautiful torquise bay with nobody to be seen and only the sound of seabirds and the odd mosquito for company.

It's up at 0400 tomorrow for the long journey round Maleas and on to Milos - 14 hours in all.

More soon if we make it...