Back to the UK

We're really enjoying life in a marina.  Netsel is pretty modern and well run with a mix of live-aboards, charter boats and stored boats on the the water.  We're pleased we spent a bit extra on being close by the town of Marmaris rather than further out though there seem to be more people overwintering out at Yat Marine half an hour away by dolmus (minibus).

Last few jobs to finalise and then tonight it's off to Dalaman Airport and home for three weeks for yes, you guessed it, yet another wedding.

We're settling into marina life here at Netsel.  We've been for a walk along the front here, explored Bar Street (now thankful pretty much closed down for the winter) and Chandlers Row (with its new West Marine store) where you can buy just about anything.

Yesterday, after organising a taxi share to the airport tonight we were visited by Graham from Scudder who told us that Blue Horizon were unable to get the taxi to pick us up from Netsel but that he is going to the airport tonight and we can share his car. Success!  We called Blue Horizon up on the radio and it's all sorted.

We've had loads of rain since we got here and it's raining again now - quite hard.  I got soaked going to the supermarket for bread and humus.

Most days now we wake up to find a new cruise ship berthed a hundred metres from us on the big pontoon adjoining the marina.

Each morning execept Sunday at 9am there is a 'net' where long stayers discuss what's going on, the weather, help required, taxi shares, things to give away or sell etc.  All quite new for us but they seem to be a good bunch.  One of them (Dave) is coming round in a while to discuss keeping an eye on Petronella while we are away.  It will cost us a few Turkish Lira but will give us peace of mind while we are away.

We're looking forward to going home for a while but will be glad to be back here for an extended period too.

The 3 days in Netsel Marina just flew by in a whirl of boat cleaning, storing stuff away, arranging for someone to look after Petronella whilst we were in the UK, taking anything that might be damaged in winds off the boat etc etc. But we found time to go to our first Happy Hour and visit Lydia and Neil from Silver Lady in Yat Marine. And time to explore a few of the watering and eating holes in Marmaris. At night it is still warm – the only drawback of living here is that at 10pm the discos start up and they finish at 4am. So the night sky is strobed by spot lights and the air pulsates to the noise of the clubs. But we hardly noticed it we were so knackered! And it rained – most days. That’s why Turkey is so green.

Our flight left at 0.20am on 19th October. We were offered a lift to Dalaman airport with Graham (who has a boat called Scudder) who was picking his wife up from the incoming flight we were taking back to the UK. Had a good cheap Turkish meal with him first then he negotiated the road works on the way to the airport in the pouring rain. Arrived back in Gleaston at 8am the next day.

Marmaris Town Quay

Cruise ship blocking our sun!

Arrival at Netsel Marina - 282 miles from Aegina

We’ve done it.  Greece to Turkey passage complete.  Richard kindly offered to drive us into Marmaris to look at Netsel Marina before we sailed there but we decided this would just prolong the agony so we set off in a strong southerly wind and rocketed across the bay to Marmaris.  There we filled up with fuel on the town quay – 150 litres – not bad for 5 months  though we had spent some of this time on the hard, then we radioed the marina to tell them we were ready to come in and set off round the corner.  Hell it was tight!  We had heard people asking for help with getting in and out of berths and we could see why – very little room to manoeuvre and a really strong wind blowing across the pontoons.  We were almost at our berth when the marineroes noticed that there was a diver working off one of the boats so we had to reverse out and hang around for 10 minutes which we could have done without.  But we made it into the allotted space without a problem.  We tied up and, despite the fact that it was only 11 am we celebrated with a beer each, then went to book in. Nice friendly spotlessly clean place, super organised, in the centre of Marmaris.  What a good choice for the winter. Supermarket on the front about 5 mins walk, cafes and shops the same distance away, buzzing with life.  Great.  We found an agent in the shopping precinct and he did the official booking in paperwork for us whilst we had a coffee. Once we had our transit log and had taken it to the marina office for them to process Richard took us for a tour of Marmaris in his car – we are unlikely to remember everything he said but at least we have seen most of the useful places.  Glad to be here.  Seems like we made the right decision.


Safe and sound for the winter at Netsel Marina





Simi to anchorage outside Yat Marine, Marmaris

Up early for our last day of passage making after a bad night’s sleep. Strong gusts of wind kept funnelling into the bay and we knew from the pilot that the holding was poor. We were OK but 3 of the anchored boats in the bay had to re-anchor in the night. The sky was overcast and it was gusty as we motored out and turned south east towards Turkey. We had hoped that we would have a final glorious sail into Turkey but as we moved along the coast the wind followed us round and was on the nose all the time so we put the motor on and resigned ourselves to bashing into the waves. At 8.50am we lowered the Greek flag for the last time and raised the red Turkish flag – we were in Turkey!

Once we turned east we were able to put 3 of the sails up and beat along the coast, motoring occasionally when the wind dropped. John saw 2 flying fish – why do I never seem to see them? Then we were becalmed, put the engine on and motored round the corner into Marmaris Bay. Wow – spectacular or what. Numerous gullets – large wooden Turkish tourist boats, hundreds of yachts, the odd small cruise ship, big power boats – it was like a different world. We carefully motored through the small gap at the mouth of the bay, praying we wouldn’t meet a cruise ship coming the other way and scuttled round the corner, east towards Yat Marine, the other big Marmaris marina, looking for a place to anchor for the night. Finally arrived at the anchorage outside the marina and made hard work of anchoring in 12 metres. Had to pull up the anchor and move because we were indecisive and parked too close to another boat – we were tired and it’s hard to make the right decision when the anchorage is not clear in the pilot book so you are not sure of the depths. We were just making tea when the bloke from the next boat arrived for a chat and a G & T – a marine surveyor called Richard who turned out to be a mine of useful information. Then early bed – our last night at anchor – not peaceful as gusts of wind kept howling down from the bay and rocking us around, and the nightclubs from Marmaris and the nearby shore seemed to be vying with each other to make the most noise. Great!



Leaving Pethi with Turkey in the distance




Yellow Q Flag to show entry into Turkey

Kos to Simi (via Turkey!)

Up at 7.15am to flat calm and a beautiful sunrise over Turkey – hey, nearly there now. As we left the bay the wind blew up from the north – perfect direction, so we put 3 sails up and George the autopilot on and really enjoyed bowling along at 5.5 knots. At the Turkish border – a line on the chart – we lowered our Greek flag and raised the Turkish one for the first time, and put the staysail up. Our course took us parallel to the Datca peninsular and suddenly there were boats everywhere – having hardly seen anyone for the past week it seemed odd to be sailing with more than 20 in sight. The sailing was perfect – lovely flat blue seas. After lunch the wind died and we put the motor on just before we re-entered Greece – more flag lowering and raising but worth doing because we kept seeing Turkish patrol boats. Then a hairy passage between Simi and the small island to the north – narrow, only 4 metres deep and the sea so clear you can see every detail of the bottom. And of course we met a motorboat half way through!

Finally motored into Pethi bay and dropped anchor just outside the beach bar, then watched as the other boats arrived and had some difficulties getting their anchors to hold. Launched the dinghy and went for a not brilliant meal in a taverna. Can’t wait to get to Turkey – really had enough of Greek food.

On Monday we took the bus over the hill and into Simi. Beautiful old town built round the port with steep hills all around. We did the rounds of the harbourmasters offices, getting our exit permit from one, the stamp on our passports from another and the stamp on our transit log from a third. But all done with great jollity – a nice friendly place. We met a couple – Tony and Gill - on Nimbus – one of the boats that had left Pethi that morning and had a coffee with them and they told us where to find things in Simi. Then we went to the duty free shop and showing our exit permit bought a couple of bottles of gin and some brandy at duty free prices. We had 45 minutes to wait before we caught the bus back to Pethi so we had a coffee in a harbourside bar and watched the comings and goings in the bay – and were we glad we had not tried to enter Simi. It is the port of crossed anchors - as people tried to leave they took the next boat’s anchor with them and long and heated discussions were taking place as they tried to get their anchors free of their neighbours. In the afternoon we rowed to the beach bar and had a drink and read our books in the warm sun and really enjoyed not doing jobs for once! A nice bay for our last night in Greece.

Sponges still for sale in Simi

Beautiful Simi Town (and Greek exit papers)

Your anchor or mine?



Lower the Greek Flag...

 

...and Raise the Turkish Flag

Nisos Levitha to Nisos Kos

All night the wind howled down into the anchorage and it was still blowing strongly when we slipped the mooring line in Ormos Levitha at 9.50am and motored out into the bay.   We knew the wind was forecast to drop but would be Force 5 or above all day and were not sure whether to go or not. So we decided to put a couple of sails up and venture out, just for 5 minutes then decide whether to turn around and go back again or keep going.  As we looked through the binocs from the flat of the bay it looked like the horizon was covered with palm trees moving fast – hell, they were waves! And big ones too. But we decided to go a little further and suddenly we were miles away from Levitha rocketing along in the sun through the waves in a good force 7 near gale and it was fun! Petronella just flew along at over 7 knots and I now hold the record of 9.7 knots as we surfed off a particularly large wave. We were reminded of Bernard Moitessier’s saying of his Joshua “Give me the wind and I’ll show you the miles” And it’s true, Petronella loved the speed – you can tell when she is really happy.  No-one else around other than one huge cruise ship which passed rather too close to us.  Kos, which had seemed so far away this morning, took only 5 hours to get to and we crept down the western side as the wind came further and further from behind and got stronger, trying hard not to gybe.  Then round the southern end of Kos and straight into the force 6 wind – we bashed our way north for what seemed like an interminable length time but was actually only 2 hours and we finally anchored in Kamares at 6pm.  Made a cock-up of anchoring as the depths on the chart were nothing like we found when we were there. Good views of Turkey across the straight.

Speeding along with following seas

Approaching Kos

Nisos Dhenoussa to Nisos Levitha

Had a wild night with wind rocketing down the mountains and into the bay. Don’t like this place much. We planned to get to Levitha as quickly as we could and hole up there for a day or two so were off at first light in a murky cloudy day. The forecast for the day was north easterly 4 rising to 8 in the afternoon. As we left the bay the waves were over 2 metres high and very lumpy, and the first wave of the trip joined us in the cockpit! Great! Fairly undecided as to whether this is a sensible idea but we only had 30 miles to sail to Levitha so thought we would go for it. And it was fine – romped along at around 5½ knots with the wind behind the beam, first of all Levitha and then the Dodecanese islands coming into view. The wind dropped briefly then swung round to the north and the seas got really lumpy and confused and quite unpleasant. We put the engine on and motorsailed as we threaded our way through the islands to the west of Levitha, then into the flat calm along the southern edge of Levitha. We arrived at the anchorage just before 3pm and picked up a mooring buoy. Fantastic place. A T-shaped bay like a fjord cut into the steep sided hills and with good anchorages in both ends of the T. The island has only one family living on it and they have installed moorings in the eastern arm of the T next to the jetty. Really picturesque and sheltered.

We launched the dingy and rowed the 20 metres or so to the jetty and tied up. Then we followed a rocky path which led up to the houses on the skyline and soon we were talking to the lady and her son that lived there. It is 6 euros a night for the mooring. Would we like a meal in their taverna? Yes please. Goats liver followed by goat stew? Sounds pretty good to us. Feel free to roam all over the island – just close any gates you go through. Fine by us. So that night we stumbled up the track in the dark to the taverna where there was just one table laid for 2 people in the doorway of a barn - sort of out of the wind. The food was just delicious – could she cook! It was a cold night but we were wrapped up and had a great meal. Then back along the rocky track under clear skies in pitch black. Another boat had tied up near to us so we were not alone that night.

All that night we were blasted by wind funnelling down into the bay. It was forecast force 8 all day so we decided it would be a good idea to stay put for the day – and it was such a good place to stay we did not really need an excuse. The French boat left early but we had a lie in then climbed up to the old fort on the top of the highest hill on the island and sat in the sun for a couple of hours watching the white horses race across the sea and texting friends and speaking to Ali – it’s the only place on the island that there is any phone signal. We could see Petronella being buffeted by the winds far below us in the anchorage and on the horizon were Kalamos and Kos with the mountains of Turkey in the background for the first time. Not far to go now. Then that night we had another of the family’s delicious meals – John had fish and I had a mutton stew – again just delicious, this time in the living room with the family as it was just too cold and windy outside. Had a long chat with them – only 4 people live on the island now and it gets pretty lonely at times. A fantastic place and I’m sure that we will come back.

Petronella at anchor at Levitha

Rough sea from the summit of Levitha

Praying to the god of mobile phones

Nisos Paros to Nisos Dhenoussa

Left the lovely anchorage at 7.30 am – on our own for the first time in weeks.  Crossed the busy strait between Nisos Paros and Nisos Naxos then motored along the north shore of Nisos Naxos.  Spent most of the time doing a crossword with George, the autohelm, doing all the work. At 11.30am the wind got up and we put up the sails and sailed at 5 knots on a nearly flat sea out away from the islands and into the more remote part of the Aegean sea, with the Dodecanese Islands approaching in the haze.  A pretty uneventful trip altogether.  Anchored in Ormos Dhendra – nice anchorage but very gusty with blasts rolling down between the mountains into the bay we were anchored in.  For a change it was quite cool and as soon as the sun went down it became chilly. Early night as we need to be up and off early tomorrow.

Nisos Siros to Nisos Paros

After going ashore in Finikas to get some provisions we came back to the boat to find that Rob and Sam had decided that there was not a lot going on, on this island, so they would like to come along with us. Fine by us, so we set off into a pretty flat sea with a force 4 north easterly wind in just the right direction, and we whizzed south towards Nisos Siros, Rob or Sam at the helm for most of the way. Really pretty sailing – islands dotted all around us disappearing into the distance. Rob wanted to put all the sails up on his own - again fine by us! As we neared Nisos Paros the wind really picked up and funnelled into the bay we were aiming for, pushing waves and us along with it. We shot round the corner into a spectacularly beautiful anchorage – Ormos Naousa has turquoise water with low hills surrounding a lovely sheltered cove. Rob put the anchor down and then he and Sam went for a swim to the shore.

Next morning we decided to stay in the anchorage for the day so we took Rob and Sam ashore and they said goodbye and set off with their big backpacks to find somewhere to camp and a more lively place to stay. It was great to have them on board – just a shame that their first 3 days of holiday were spent in a pretty awful boatyard. But that’s sailing. We went for an explore of the surrounding land – really pretty scrubby vegetation with an old hill fort overlooking the bay. A glance into the entrance of the bay made us pleased we had not ventured further –there were breaking waves coming into the mouth of the bay and a strong northerly wind. Nice place to stay though.

Sounion to Nisos Siros - Into the Aegean

Off early into a lively breeze.  Rob and John put all the sails up and we went off at a good pace.  Did several man-overboard exercises in a lumpy sea - have to admit that Rob was the best at these! Guess he has had a lot of practise with his job as an outward bound instructor.  We had thought we might stop at the first island we came to but we were going so well we decided to keep going, and apart from losing the wind in the channel between Kea and Kisnes – where we spent the time dodging the big tankers that use the strait, we managed to sail the whole way to Siros.  The wind really picked up as we approached Siros and with Rob on the helm we made over 7 knots – pretty good.  We anchored in Finikas and Rob and Sam took the dingy ashore and had a meal in one of the tavernas.  They had thought they would leave us here to go camping but they weren’t particularly impressed with the place!  A long day – over 10 hours sailing – just over 200 miles to go to Marmaris.

Escape from Aegina - Aegina to Sounion

Finally launched at 11.30 am onto a flat flat sea.  Strong northerlies are forecast for the foreseeable future so today is the last day we could put the boat back in the water.  4 people all very pleased to be away from Aegina.  The thunderstorms of the past few days finally died away and we motored eastwards towards the mainland south of Athens.  No water, no oil leaking from the stern gland –a bit early to tell but looking good so far.  Crossed the shipping lanes – missing all the big boats going to Piraeus, then put all 4 sails up and had a fabulous sail on flat seas – really nice to have Rob and Sam with us.  The wind died just before we got to Sounion and we anchored in the anchorage there just before it got dark.  The old temple ruins were lit up at night on the hill above the anchorage – very nice.

Rob and Sam Arrive

That evening was Emma and Cara’s last night so we got a taxi into Aegina town and met up with Rob and Sam (my sister Sue’s stepson - 22 - and his girlfriend).  Went for a really good meal but it was obvious that Sam was not well so in the end they both came back with us as well and slept out on deck as there was no room in the saloon.  Next morning we got an early taxi into the town and Emma and Cara said goodbye and caught the flying dolphin to Athens before heading back to Scotland. We then headed back to the boatyard and spent the week rebuilding the stern gland and antifouling the boat.  Not much fun for Sam and Rob – stuck in the back of beyond in a scratty dirty boat yard with little to do, no decent beaches and raining half the time.  We suggested that they should go off for a few days but they decided the best thing to do was to help us finish the boat work as quickly as we could and get off the island so they got stuck in and helped – Rob with the engineering work and Sam with a paintbrush antifouling the hull.



Leaving Porto Heli and meeting Emma and Cara

Emma and Cara arrived on the Flying Dolphin just before midnight having got off at the wrong stop and nearly been left behind on Spetsi Island! We put them and their luggage in the dinghy and returned to the boat in the anchorage for a few beers and some food. It was great to see them, even though they were shattered and Emma was obviously running a temperature, so the next morning I took her to the pharmacist and got her some antibiotics. Then we sailed across to the bay opposite Porto Heli and Cara snorkelled and Emma slept. But on the way back we saw a pod of dolphins which made their day, and as we entered the anchorage at Porto Heli again we saw a large turtle – pretty good.

The next day we sailed and motored to Ermione and anchored in the port. After a quick lesson in how to use the dinghy the girls went ashore to explore and then in the evening we went out for a meal. The next day we motored most of the way through bigger and bigger waves to the anchorage at Poros, where we stayed for 2 nights. To our dismay when we checked under the bed we found oil rather than water dribbling out of the newly fixed stern gland again – John was really despondent and worried, so we sat in the anchorage trying to work out what to do whilst the girls went ashore. Finally decided to haul out in a boat yard on Aegina and put the girls on the Flying Dolphin to Athens from there. So we went back to Russian Bay for a sunbathe on the beach then a night of thunderstorms before a great sail north to Aegina island. We anchored 5 miles south of the port in Perdika bay and that night we went out for a meal to the taverna on the edge of the bay. The next day the girls took a bus into Aegina town and John and I had lunch in the same taverna. Emma and Cara returned early – not much impressed with Aegina town – and joined us for lunch. Then the wind changed and waves started to roll into the bay so we raised the anchor and motored 3 miles north to Ormos Marathones - an exposed rolley anchorage with little to recommend it other than it was not in the direct winds!

Monday 27th September - Ormos Marathones to Kanonis Boatyard

We weighed anchor early, glad to leave the exposed anchorage, and motored past Aegina town and along the north coast of the island. Saw the promised boat yard’s mooring buoy we had been told to pick up and were about to tie up to it when a bloke started to wave at us from the shore and point to another buoy. So we dropped the mooring line and motored over to this buoy. At this point my phone rang and we saw another bloke pointing to the original buoy. The neighbouring yard was trying to poach us!! We had to reverse into the narrowest slip I have ever seen with rocks either side of the channel – made a real pig’s ear of it but didn’t hit anything. Only 10 cms water below the keel – we were cheerfully told we can only launch in flat seas because it is too shallow and the waves pound in if there Is a northerly wind! Scruffy sort of boatyard miles from anywhere with horrible showers and loos but quite friendly.

Leave Kouladia with replaced Stern Gland Seals

We arrived back in Greece on 3rd September with Petronella’s chief engineer Chris Brown. We hired a car at Athens airport and drove to the boatyard at Kouladia. Next morning we made a quick trip to Lidl to stock up with heavy stuff –well beers and more beers and some wine and tins of tomatoes before returning the car to Ermione, some 10 miles away. Then Chris and John spent a week taking the whole of the stern gland to pieces and cleaning the various parts and re-assembling them carefully. Meanwhile I antifouled the hull. We launched on 13th September, checked that no water was now coming in through the propeller shaft and then spent the afternoon swimming in the anchorage and looking for a geocache in the caves to the west of the anchorage under Chris’s experienced eye. Found it and left our name in it. Then we took the dinghy ashore for a drink and a meal in Kouladia town – a very pleasant way to spend the first night in the water.

The next morning we motored and then sailed round to Porto Heli and the next afternoon Chris caught the Flying Dolphin to Athens and home. We had 3 days to kill before meeting Emma and Cara so we explored the bays around Porto Heli and found some fantastic anchorages. Then on Saturday we made our way back to Porto Heli to get the boat ready for the girls.

Back to Greece

Today (6th September) is our last day in the UK. Tonight we are back to Greece to complete the stern gland work, have a holiday with Emma and her friend Cara and then sail across to Turkey with our new step-nephew Rob and his girlfriend Sam.

Back in the UK for Family Events

July and August are busy times for us.  We are back in the UK for:

Emma and Jenny's graduations

Our 30th Wedding Anniversary

..and Caz and Sue's Weddings - who would have believed it!