Mykonos – Blow your T#@s off

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The sail across to Myconos was very uneventful with no wind and a glassed off sea. It can be a nasty crossing so we couldn’t complain.

We decided against going into the marina, instead choosing Ormos Ornos as our anchorage. It’s a 20 minute walk into Mykonos town so not too bad. We anchored in about 7m over patchy sand (in hindsight not the best).

The place is rather crazy at this time of the year – I enjoyed it better last year in October when the crowds had disappeared. It was wall to wall people in the town and the roads were full of crazy drivers on all sorts of cars and scooters.

Mykonos was where we supercharged the Charlie’s Angels formulae up to a 4 to 1 ratio, when we picked up Kim off the ferry. Sherry left a few days later so things returned to a somewhat more manageable 3-1 ratio.

With the 4 girls in tow, I somehow managed to get them all off the boat at the agreed time and onto a short ferry ride across to Delos, where there is a whole ancient Roman city in ruins, some say second only to Pompeii. I’d have to say it would be a long second if that’s the case. But it was still very impressive wandering around. There were a few yachts there anchored in the channel so it’s a good option to take your boat across rather than catch a ferry as we did.

Back from our ancient history tour, we headed back to the boat as the meltemi was starting to build. For the rest of the day, it steadily built all the way up to 45kts. Mykonos is Greek for “island of wind” and it was living up to its name.

About 10.30pm, the anchor drift alarm went off – we’d started to drag. So off we went trying to re-anchor in the dark of night with the wind whistling around us. We re-anchored briefly for about 10 minutes and then we dragged again. We thought about going somewhere else but decided against it.

We pulled up the anchor ready for another shot to find a second anchor (from an old disused mooring) jammed tight into our own anchor. Oh what fun!!!

So the rest of the night was spent motoring in place swinging on a pair of anchors that were not holding. In between we watched another cat drag a couple of times and our mono neighbor, who was maintaining an anchor watch all night, dragged just before dawn.

Morning could not come soon enough. As soon as it did, we were able to see more clearly what we were up against and managed to drop the other anchor off. Then it was off to find another bay. We motored up and down the south coast checking a few out and then came back to the first one – Platys Gyalos.

Turned out to be a very good choice – sandy bottom with good holding – perfect. We anchored in the eastern part of the bay in 3m of clear wind swept water and said our goodbyes to Sherry, before sitting out the rest of the meltemi. The wind managed to peak at 53 kts but this time we didn’t move an inch.

So what did we learn??? Firstly, we need to pay more attention to the bottom. In Ormos Ornos was light weed over sand and “Rod” mentioned there was poor holding in places. I’d snorkeled over the anchor several times but when push came to shove it, Rod was right.

The second thing we did was to break out the second anchor – a fortress – and start playing around using it. I’d done a lot of reading previously on deploying two anchors and came to the conclusion that the best way is to drop approximately 2-3x scope using the primary anchor and then shackel the fortress with 7m of chain to the main anchor chain and then throw it over, before letting out the full amount of anchor chain (scope >= 5x). We’ve done this a few times since and it seems to work well. We sat out another meltemi in Paros using this arrangement. The fortress is a great second anchor and we’ve watched it hold La Mischief on it own several times.

Towards the end of the meltemi, we were confident enough to leave Karin and Kim on the boat and go for a walk along the coast to check out Paranga Beach, followed by Paradise and then Super (Duper) Paradise. At best it was an eye opener, at worst it was somewhere to be avoided. But I did like the gay guy in speedos with the Gucci bag with two toy dogs hanging out of the top of the bag. Should have been brave enough to ask for a photo.

And so ended Mykonos. A crazy island at that time of the year. Overcrowded everywhere, including the roads, overpriced, artificial and not half as enjoyable as when I visited in low season last year. Luckily we had lots of other more authentic islands to visit.

For photos of Mykonos see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200510201110447&type=1&l=ff624cef56

 

Patmos – Greece’s Answer to Jerusalem

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We arrived at Patmos after a short sail across from Lipso and decided to anchor around the corner from Skala –  the main harbour town – in a nice bay called Ormos Meloyi. It was a short walk into Skala over a hill – perfect.

Patmos is the most northerly of the Dodecanese and has numerous nice bays to anchor in.  We were only there for a couple of days so we only got to try out one.

Patmos is famous for the monastery of St John the Divine. You can pay your entrance fee and wander around the monastery and its museum, before checking out the picturesque chora that surrounds the monastery, which is also quite impressive.

To get there, it’s a long walk up a big hill and after exhausting ourselves walking up forever, I can see why John may have been in the right mood to dream up the apocalypse and the Book of Revelations.

After checking out the monastery, we dashed down to the sacred cave where John put pen to paper and wrote out the whole Revelations thing. They say the whole place is like the Jerusalem of the Greek Orthodox Church.

History lesson over, we spent a few pleasant hours wandering the tourist streets of Skala. But the weather was looking ideal for a crossing to Myconos so we pulled up anchor and pointed West.

For pictures of Patmos see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202204276581275.1073741938.1620379103&type=1&l=b9b0d4c23c

 

Supermoon over the Venetian Castle

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Things are so close here that we decided to duck up to the next island from Kalymnos for a lunchtime stop, only to decide we liked the bay and couldn’t be bothered ducking back down to Kalymnos for our nighttime anchorage. So that is how we found ourself in Leros. We said goodbye to Court who was flying off to Boston via Rhodes and Istanbul. A nice guy with lots of experience and very helpful. In the short time he was with us, he quickly worked out our VHF antenna had been incorrectly fitted – another end of season job added to the list.

Next morning we shifted around to the east coast of Leros and anchored up in Pandeli, under the castle and the Greek windmills. Michael and Elaine wanted to organize their ferry tickets to Rhodes so we walked across to Lakki on the West side – not far.

Then we attempted to walk to the Venetian castle but took a wrong turn and Sherry hailed a painters van to take us back to the right road. Karin, DeAnne and I all piled into the back amongst the paint cans and other bits and pieces whilst Sherry travelled in luxury in the front.

Now on the right road, our weary legs found their way up to the castle where the views were magnificent. The little restaurant strip on the beach (and I mean right on the beach) was very pretty with the castle and windmill backdrop all lit up at night – worth a nighttime dingy ride to sample a local wine or two.

Next day the meltemi was well and truly in, so we stayed put and walked over the hill to Ayia Marina and then around the corner to Alindas, where we found a great little restaurant and bar (another Sherry recommendation), which Dee and I decided would make an excellent venue for a romantic dinner, complete with the supermoon. The restaurant was super booked so we could only get an early booking (7pm!!!), which turned out perfect as we saw the moon rising over the castle.

Next day we ventured out and sailed North to check out the White Islands. These are small islands at the top of Leros. Once again, Sherry earned her keep by taking us to a beautiful bay on Nisis Arckhangelos, where we anchored in 2.5m of crystal clear water. We swam around the bay and enjoyed the sunshine before heading down the other side of Leros to Lakki. Ah – it was good to have a following wind for a change after beating our way north for ages.

We got ourselves a berth at the marina, which turned out to be a lovely little spot. The staff were really nice (and very competent) and by the end of our stay we had decided to winter there. Close enough striking distance to Gallipoli and good tradies.

Here it was time to say goodbye to Michael and Elaine, who were catching a ferry to Rhodes to make their way home. We had another great time together seeing quite a bit of both Turkey and Greece, whilst enjoying Elaine’s cooking and Michael’s help.

I now had a Charlie’s Angel situation on my hands – myself and 3 women – now there’s a challenge. I dared not go anywhere near the galley.

We had some repairs to be done as our 12V motor on the watermaker wasn’t working and we had to rely on the 240V motor (it has both) to make water. Unfortunately we were burning through impellers on our genset like nobody’s business so this really did need to be attended to. The watermaker problem turned out to be a thermal fuse and the genset problem turned out to be a non-return valve that decided to turn its into a return valve.

Problems resolved it was time to move to yet another island – this time Lipso – again to the north.

For pictures of Leros please see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202129610274664.1073741933.1620379103&type=1&l=9feb07d97f.

Going Greek

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We got to Kos at 6pm and found it pretty crowded but we managed to find a place on the wall. Then it was off to the port police, passport police and customs. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and we got out transit log and paid for the night at the wall all relatively easily. Not too much walking involved.

A Greek fish restaurant was our just reward for completing the bureaucratic task list without incident.

That night we were supposed to pick up Karin, our new crew member who was due in at 10 past midnight, but I got the day wrong because it was10 past midnight. Thankfully, Karin eventually found us in the morning and all was well in the end.

With Karin finally on board, we left the wall and anchored off around the corner on the southern side. It turned out to be a lovely anchorage and we explored Kos from there. There was some nice little streets to explore along with the obligatory castle. Kos is famous for a guy called Hippocrates and we saw the tree (supposedly) where he came up with his famous oath. I am not sure however that trees live quite that long. Anyway, Hippocrates must have been a clever bloke, as he spoke often about wine and its numerous health benefits.

Next day, we headed off north to explore. We ended up deciding on a nice bay on east side of Pserimos, a small island just off the coast of Kos. Everything is really close together here. This bay was to die for – we were in Greek Island heaven. Crystal clear water over sand and a deserted beach (give or take the other 10 boats that were there).

We spent a couple of days there, swimming and hiking, before pulling up anchor and heading to Kalymnos, the sponge diving island. Again a short sail, but we got hit by a 35kt meltemi. Three reefs in, we made it into the harbour, where the winds was a much more manageable 20kts and then med moored to the wall. We met Yanni, who organises everything. Power, gas, washing, you name it – he organises it.

That night, we had Sherry and Court arrive – a couple of professional skippers who plied their trade around the med and the Caribbean. We would pick their brains for a week or so as they holidayed on board (as opposed to working on board).

Kalynmos is a very pretty spot, with a monastery overlooking the town. It’s quite mountainous and is known as a great rock climbing venue. Unfortunately a climber died a few days before we got there. It affected the towns folk greatly and there was an air of sadness around.

With the meltemi gone, we set off to explore the rest of the island. Sherry pointed us in the direction of a lovely little bay called Ormos Palionisou (Baia Isolavecchia), where mooring buoys have been put down by the two restaurants at either side of the bay. We got the prime spot right next to the water slide right close to the restaurant. And the restaurant was both cheap and very good –  so the mooring was exceptionally good value. And the bay was beautiful with steep cliffs either side, which attracted climbers as well as yachties. The water was once again clear so swimming was beautiful.

Our cunning plan for the next day was to head round the north of Kalymnos and stop off at a lunch spot on Leros which was right next door. Then we would quickly duck back down to Kalynmos and anchor for the night. However we were outdone by our cunningness (and laziness) and decided the lunchtime bay was so nice that we would just stay there. So goodbye Kalymnos and hello Leros.

For pictures of Kalymnos please see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202129600234413.1073741932.1620379103&type=1&l=e7ee7e7a6b.

For pictures of Pserimos please see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202129595714300.1073741931.1620379103&type=1&l=e52946163e

 

Lets Disco to the Dawn in Bodrum

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We anchored off the town amongst an assortment of large motor yachts, gulets and yachts. In retrospect, we were a bit close to shore as every night the discos started blasting their music across the water from about 11pm into the early hours of the morning. Note to self – bring earplugs to Bodrum.

Dee and I only had a day there as we were off for 4 days in Istanbul. We left La Mischief in the able hands of Michael and Elaine – something that we later found out was a bit of a no no and the Turks are obsessed about stopping illegal chartering. Oh well, no harm done in the end but won’t be doing that again.

So in the day we were there we charged around the town, visiting the impressive castle, the Roman Amphitheatre and the waterfront. We even squeezed in a Spanish restaurant and drank some decent Argentinian Malbec – not sure it’s was a good thing to reinforce how average Turkish wine is.

So then it was off to Istanbul, this time by plane. Bodrum Airport is 32km out of Bodrum, not bad by Turkish standards so a 100TL taxi ride.

Istanbul second and a half time round was still impressive. I missed Topaki Palace last time so made sure we spent a half day round there. We also did a 12TL Bosphorus cruise – one and a half hours up and back – great value considering there were a lot of touts trying to sell similar cruises for 50-60 Euros. We walked our feet off and had some good Turkish food at night.

Back on the boat, it was time to check out of Turkey and head to Kos in Greece. Checking out requires an agent but we minimized our cost by getting him to fill out the paper work for 50TL and then going to the harbour master, passport police and customs ourselves. We muddled our way through the process and evidently got everything stamped in the right spots.

And then we said goodbye to 2 great months in Turkey as we set off on our Grecian Adventure.

For pictures of Bodrum see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202085740497947.1073741930.1620379103&type=1&l=898c3db77a.

For pictures of Istanbul see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200617546114005.1073741911.1620379103&type=1&l=387dd3fa6e

 

 

Uncharted Territory

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We decided our first stop past Marmaris would be Ciftlik, otherwise known as ancient Phalarus. There were a multitude of choices but this bay looked good, just tucked behind Ciftlik Adasi (island).

We got there to find a multitude of ramshackle jetties with men with flags trying to attract our attention. Each jetty belongs to a restaurant and completion was fierce.

We settled on one and motored inside a series of jetties right up to the beach. We pulled up with half a metre of water under or keels, 10m from the beach. Perfect. It was a really popular spot, being a easy sail for the charterers coming from Marmaris. Eventually the whole place filled up, with another Lagoon 421 blocking the entrance so we were definitely there for the night. It was quite a happening place with a couple of flotillas of charter boats all there as well.

Next day we were off again and heading for Bozuk Buku, where the ancient Hellenistic citadel still guards the entrance. Once again, there were restaurants with men with flags but we passed and anchored and tied off to the rocks. Beautiful place for a swim and a walk around the citadel.

Next day, we took a short cut through Greece, past Simi, and back into Turkey west along the Dorian Promontory. Once again, we had wind on the nose, so we called it a day and pulled into Ova Buka, otherwise known as Kalaboshi. Nice bay, out of the wind with a nice Turkish resort on the beach.

Moving along in a vain attempt to catch up on this blog, we spent the next day rounding Cape Krio and getting within striking distance of Bodrum. Our last stop before Bodrum was Mersincik on the north coast of Datca Yarimadasi. Once again, a nice anchorage with good swimming.

Then it was off to Bodrum.

For photos of Ciftlik see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202028984639086.1073741928.1620379103&type=1&l=c876917836

For photos of Bozuk Buku see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202036446225621.1073741929.1620379103&type=1&l=967c6fe91d

Heading North

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After dropping off Ewa, the 4 of us decided to rent a car in Gocek and once again headed for Saklikent Gorge. We recreated the trip Ewa and I did earlier and visited the Canyon, the Trout Farm for lunch, the Tlos roman Ruins and then since we had some daylight left, headed for Kayaköy where Anatolian Greek speaking Christians lived until approximately 1923, when the Greeks in Turkey were repatriated to Greece and vice versa for the Turks in Greece. The ghost town, now preserved as a museum village, consists of hundreds of rundown but still mostly intact Greek-style houses and churches which cover a small mountainside. To top off the day, we also visits Ölüdeniz from the land.

Next day, we left Gocek and headed out of Fethiye Limani, anchoring for a lunchtime swim in Kizikuyruk Koyu, which was really beautiful with crystal clear water. Then we hit some heavy weather and labored our way north. It was an hour or two later we discovered a heap of water in our hull as the hatch above the printer was not shut properly. Bummer! A communication problem between skipper and new crew.

We finally made our way around to Ekincik Limani. We checked out My Manina but it was too expensive so we anchored up in 5m. We had planned to take a river trip up to see the rock tombs, but an inoperable printer/scanner meant we needed to head to Marmaris quick smart to get a replacement. So no Dalyman River tour.

Next morning, we left early and headed towards Marmaris before the wind came up.

It was interesting coming into Marmaris again, a bit strange in some ways as La Mischief had spent 6 months there up on the hard. We didn’t however go around to Yacht Marine, just anchored out the front of Marmaris amongst the multitude of gulets, and dingied it into town.

Marmaris is a big tourist town, with its beaches jammed packed with beach chairs that sit in front of numerous beach bars and restaurants. We found our printer shop and headed back to the boat.

We decided we would try a different anchorage so we motored across to Icmeler, where we managed to get out of the meltimi in 5m of water. It was another holiday spot with kite and wind surfers everywhere.

Then it was off to explore new territory north of Marmaris as we made our way towards Bodrum.

New Crew

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After our trip to Saklikent, it was time to get organized for some comings and goings.

First it was off to Gocek to pick up Dee from Dalaman Airport – 35km away. Dee ended up missing her connecting flight and then had her luggage go missing so it was 2am by the time we got back to the boat, and then a couple more hours of talking before sleep caught up with us.

The next day was spent getting some new floating line for a shore line – the “floating” part is important so it cannot get tangled around an engine, and chasing up Dee’s luggage. The luggage finally arrived at 4pm – but we were due to pick up Michael and Elaine from Fethiye at 5.30pm. We got there just after 6pm with motors going full tilt and then some good wind.

It was great to see Michael and Elaine again – they had previously sailed with us from Perth to Darwin on Camelot.

We didn’t want to spend the night anchored off Fethiye, which was a bit grotty, so we motored a couple of miles around the corner to a nice anchorage and had a great swim before watching the sun go down.

Next day we put the sails up and headed for Wall Bay. This was a good intro to the vagaries of Turkish wind. We had anything from no wind to lots of (ie. two reef) wind, in a short 3-4 hour sail.

Wall bay was windy but we managed to pick a beautiful spot and did a good job of anchoring and tying up to the bollards on the shoreline.

And there we stayed for 2 days, swimming, snorkeling, photographing, paddle boarding and hiking.

Then it was off to Gocek (again) – this time to say goodbye to Ewa. She’d done really well learning how to sail a catamaran and even managed to do her first bit of snorkeling and paddleboarding.

With the crew change over complete, we headed off towards Marmaris and then North into new territory.

Gorgeous Gorges

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In the never ending quest to keep my blog up to date, I’m trying to do one a day to catch up.

So today’s blog is from about 2 weeks ago, when we decided to go super touristy and do a day tour to Saklikent Canyon from Fethiye, 50km away.

The Canyon is 300m deep and 18 km long, one of the deepest in the world. Four kilometres of the canyon are walkable after April, when most of the snow in the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through on its way to the Med.

The bus trip was rather tedious, look left, look right with the guide beside himself that one of the passengers may wander off and break a leg.

Once we got there, he insisted that we all hire shoes for the walk up the canyon and Ewa was equally insistent that we wouldn’t. In the end our thongs (flip flops to you non-Australians) and bare feet did the trick.

The canyon was absolutely magnificent and we snapped away with our cameras as we walked along. About 2 thirds up, things started to get tricky and it was here we met John, our canyon guide for the day. He helped us clamber up small waterfalls and through water up to our chests. I think he especially liked helping Ewa.

I’d packed my camera and laptop in a water proof bag so we could keep things fully charged for the day not knowing what we were in for. Had I known I would have gone a bit lighter – certainly wouldn’t have brought my laptop. It was an interesting exercise passing my (pseudo) waterproof backpack over my head to John as we clambered through and over water falls and deep pools.

But it was really worth it as we made it to the waterfall at the end. Ewa loves having her photo taken and so we snapped away with her under the waterfall.

Back at the bus, we had the obligatory stop at a carpet weaving factory and outlet, which was half interesting and then onto lunch at a trout farm. Yum – fresh fish in a beautiful setting up in the mountains.

Last stop was the roman ruins at Tios, which was one of the six principal cities of Lycia (and one of the most powerful). It was eventually inhabited by Ottoman Turks.

The whole place is dominated by Acropolis Hill, which overlooks a lovely valley of fertile fields and orchards with mountains rising in the distance. There are lots of Lycian rock-cut tombs and sarcophagi at its base. Crowning the top is the fortress of Kanlı Ağı (‘Bloody Chief Ali’), a notorious Ottoman feudal lord, built upon the foundations of a Lycian fortress. The view from the top is spectacular with amazing 360 degree views over the Xanthos valley and the surrounding mountains.

There’s also a large Amphitheatre, an athletics track, markets, a gym, and two large baths, as well as the remains of an impressive temple. Lots more photo opportunities.

Next day, it was off to Gocek to pick up Ms. Deanne Trigg, who was flying into Dalaman Airport the next evening.

For photos see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201979560443512.1073741927.1620379103&type=1&l=bcdf7fe4e2

The Captain’s Excellent Adventure

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5am was a bit of a different time to get up. But the Captain said this was the time his Gulet needed to depart so up we got. Shouldn’t complain because it’s a lovely time of the morning.

We pulled anchor and charged off after him. Straight into the wind so no sailing – just motoring. We got to our first stop of the day – Butterfly Bay – just after 9am and anchored off the beach. There was one gullet on shore so we made sure we were clear of him.

Then it was off to explore. We dingied to the beach and were met by a guy who suggested we put some fenders out. Strange.

The main attraction of the bay is a gorge that runs directly behind it, up to a beautiful waterfall. At the head of the gorge is a really cool place with lots of butterflies. Very pretty and worth calling in, even if Rod knows nothing about it.

The walk takes about 30 mins and costs 5TL and on the way back we began to pass heaps and heaps of people. Where did they come from?

We soon found out as when we got back to the beach we found one end of the beach (the north end) completely covered in wall to wall gulets. Unfortunately we were anchored off this end of the beach as well. Now the fender comment made sense. We quickly dingied back to the boat and got out of there fast. Next time it’s the south end of the beach for anchoring.

Next stop was Olu Deniz, a couple of miles north. We anchored around the corner from the Blue Lagoon stern to and had a nice relaxing time swimming and paddle boarding.

The Blue Lagoon is a no go zone for powered craft since 1983, but okay for the paddleboard so I poked my head in and had a look. We also took the dingy in to the adjoining beach and got charged 10TL for the privilege. The lagoon is packed with wall to wall deck chairs along with the usual touristy peddle powered craft with the water slide off the back. They had successfully managed to transform a beautiful looking lagoon into a crass tourist trap. The captain was right when he suggested we swim round the corner and don’t bother going to the Lagoon.

After a nice afternoon swimming, we headed off to the overnight anchorage at St Nicolas Island, a lovely anchorage between the mainland and the island.

Next morning, we headed onto the island to have a look at the extensive ruins dating back to the 7th century AD. Evidently St Nicolas stayed there (obviously on his way to the North Pole). It was quite a stopping off point for the pilgrims on their way to the holy lands. There were about 7 churches on the island, some connected by long tunnels. And the views from on top of the island were to die for. For 10TL entrance fee, this is a must do island.

Sight seeing over, we headed for Fethiye.

For photos of butterfly bay and blue lagoon see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201973785259136.1073741925.1620379103&type=1&l=22c5cf7d5a

For photos of kalkan see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201962554178366.1073741924.1620379103&type=1&l=2647e8a9ec