Kos Greece

Arrived in Kos April 25th and spent most of the afternoon clearing in. Checking in required going to doors number 1,2,3, and 4.
1. A visit on the boat by port police to fill out a crew list and have it stamped, followed by a 15 minute walk to the ferry terminal where
2. Passport Control stamped our passports
3. Customs filled out and issued a transit log (30 Euros) followed by a walk around the harbor to
4. Port Authority who stamped our our Transit Log and charged us 15 euro for entering from a non EU country.

We are now spending our third night in Kos because of high (25 to 30 knot) winds. The forecast is for less wind tomorrow and we hope to be heading for Naxos

Bodrum

We spent our last night in Turkey in Bodrum. Had a delightful meal in a restaurant on the waterfront and cleared out of Turkey on the morning of 25 April. We will miss Turkey. We have had a wonderful time there the last two years.

SV BeBe and a rendevouz with the Rouses’

The highlight to our 10 days in Marmaris was finally meeting up with Judy and Bill Rouse. We met Judy and Bill in the BVI in January 2007 when we were cruising on Seabbatical. They were just beginning a circumnavigation and we were anchored in the same bay on St. John. Since we were both flying Texas flags it was only natural we would end up sharing sundowners and stories. They had recently purchased an Amel Super Maramu and prior to that owned a Beneteau. Coincidentally Seabbatical was a Beneteau and we had recently placed an order for an Amel 54 the new boat Amel was building. But most important of all they were fellow Houstonians. That one evening was the only time we saw each other but we have kept in contact thru the years via email and blogs. Fast forward to 2011 and we finally crossed paths again in Marmaris, Turkey.

Back to the Boat – 2011

Greetings to one and all. We are back in Marmaris, Turkey on board Lone Star. We left Texas April 11 and after 3 planes, 2 taxis and a night in a hotel which reinforced that what you see on the internet is not what you get, we boarded Lone Star. We found her in good shape after the winter thanks to the watchful eyes of the folks at NOKTA. While we were gone we had two boat jobs completed – mounting one of the downwind poles to the mast and having a stainless cradle made and mounted on the port stern side of the boat for our life raft. Both jobs turned out great. We have spent the past week bringing Lone Star “back to life” and getting her ready for the cruising season. Today, Friday, April 22, we are leaving Yacht Marine for what we hope is the last time. Our plans this year are to head west. We will sail thru the Greek Islands, on to Croatia, Italy, the Balearic Islands ending in Gibraltar in mid September. Along the way we are looking forward to several sets of friends joining us. After a trip back to the States once the boat is in GIB, Craig will head back to Lone Star in October where he and his trusty crew will sail the boat to the Canary Islands and then on November 20 depart on the ARC with 240 other boats bound for St. Lucia in the southern Caribbean. We will be updating the blog periodically so stay tuned and see how close we come to meeting our planned schedule! Fair Winds.

Marmaris to Fethiye

After a one week stay back at Yacht Marine in Marmaris where we took care of boat maintenance, we were on our way again – this time south to the cruising grounds of Fethiye Gulf. The 3 weeks we spent in this area was delightful, a true cruiser’s paradise. Beautiful waters, there were so many places to anchor or taverns to tie off to the decisions were hard to make. Because so many boats visit this area, mooring balls and bollards on shore have been installed in some areas to protect the sea bed and trees on the shore. It made anchoring almost a no brainer. There were several spots which were our favorites. Just before Fethiye is Eckinicik Limani, a well protected bay with My Marina, an excellent restaurant with slips offering electricity and water. This is a good place to leave your boat for the day tour up the Dalyan River to the ancient ruins of Caunos. We were able to wander thru the ruins which included a temple, theatre, ancient port, agora and fort. Further up the river the tour boat passes beneath rock tombs on its way to the village of Dalyan where we stopped for lunch. A great way to spend the day. In Fethiye Bay other spots we enjoyed included Wall Bay, where we snorkeled over sunken ruins, Cleopatra’s Bay, a tiny bay with thick pines, and Tomb Bay with Lycian rock tombs in the cliffs. Two towns anchor Fethiye Gulf, Gocek in the west and Fethiye in the east where we made brief stops in each. The only negatives to our time in Fethiye had to do with it being August – lots of folks on vacation and the heat. Hey we had heard it was hot in Turkey in August but we thought, “We’re Texans. We can deal with heat.” Well we may be Texans but the heat was even too much for us. You know it’s hot when you jump in the water and instead of cooling down you heat up! So after 3 weeks we headed back to Yacht Marine to prepare Lone Star for the winter in the water. We must confess – our thoughts were no longer on cruising – we were anxious to get home. We had a very important date – our daughter’s wedding! As anxious as we were to get back to the states we did stop in Istanbul for four days. What an amazing, beautiful city – truly the crossroads of civilization. We saw many sights including the Haija Sophia (palace for the Ottoman Empire), Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar and Underground Cistern. Truly a great ending to a wonderful summer of cruising. Now on to the Wedding!

Our Travels in Turkey

View Travels in Turkey in a larger map

9 June 2010 - Bay of Marmaras to Kirigi Koyu

10 June 2010 - Kirigi Koyu to Didim Marina

12 June 2010 - Didim ro Kusadasi

16 June 2010 - Kusadasi to Altinkun

18 June 2010 - Altinkun to Kazikli Limoni; tied up to Kaptan Han

19 June 2010 - Kazikli Limani to Iassos

20 June 2010 - Iassos to Yalikavak

21 June 2010 - Yalikavak to Bodrum

24 June 2010 - Bodrum to Cokertme

26 June 2010 - Cokretme to Akbuk

27 June 2010 - Akbuk to Castle Island and back to Akbuk

28 June 2010 - Akbuk to English Harbor

30 June 2010 - English Harbor to Cokretme

1 July 2010 - Cokretme to Turgutreis

3 July 2010 - Turgutreis to Knidos

4 July 2010 - Knidos to Dacta

5 July 2010 - Dacta to Keci Buku

6 July 2010 - Keci Buku to Dirsek Bay

7 July 2010 - Dorsel Bay to Bozburun

9 July 2010 - Bpzburun to Ciftlik

10 July 2010 - Ciftlik to Marmaris

Cruising the Ionian and Carian Coasts

After a four day visit to Kusadasi we pulled out of the marina on June 16 and pointed Lone Star south. This time however, we were in no rush and were looking forward to some leisurely cruising. The coastline of Turkey is deeply indented with numerous gulfs. In each gulf are a number of bays all offering wonderful anchorages. Unique to Turkey are the small fish restaurants and tavernas found in many of the anchorages. These restaurants have their own private docks, often with electricity and water hookups, that boats can tie up to for free. All that’s expected is that you eat dinner or lunch at their restaurant. We took advantage of that custom and thoroughly enjoyed some great dinners. Grilled lamb, beef, chicken and fish were always on the menu along with mezes, the Turkish version of tapas or appetizers. Roasted peppers, eggplant dips, pickled seaweed, humus, grilled octopus and zucchini cakes were just a few of the mezes we sampled. Cooking on the boat definitely became something hard to do! When we didn’t tie up at one of the restaurant piers we anchored out in crystal clear waters that rival and surpass the Caribbean. In Turkey, in addition to anchoring, it is common to run a stern line to shore to keep the boat from swinging.

Gulluk Korfezi

The Gulluk Korfezi or Gulf of Mandalya is the first gulf south of Kusadasi. Two stops there were the highlights of this gulf – Kazikli Limani and Asin Limani. Kazikli Limani (harbor) is located at the very back of the gulf. It is hilly and heavily forested and lightly populated. The cruising guide does not do this bay justice. The guide book states there several mussel and fish farms at the entrance. However all of these have been removed and the bay has returned to a more natural state. We decided to tie up at Captain Han’s Restaurant and were glad we did. This was our first experience dining at a bay restaurant and even after stopping at many more it remains our favorite and the photo they took of us and the boat shows how beautiful it is at night. The owner Emre is an excellent host. We were the only boat that evening and enjoyed an excellent fish dinner and the good company of Emre and his friends. The other highlight was Asin Limani the site of the ancient ruins of Iassos. We med moored along the sleepy little fishing village’s quay. It was amazing to look across the harbor from Lone Star’s cockpit at the ruins which date from 400BC. Once the heat of the afternoon was gone we explored the Temple of Zeus, the agora (market), theatre and hiked through ancient olive groves to the Byzantine Fort on top of the mountain. Truly enchanting!

Gokova Korfezi

We entered the Gokova Gulf on June 21. Our first stop was the town of Bodrum, located at the mouth of the gulf. Bodrum is an enjoyable tourist town with dozens of gullets in the harbor and a very crowded marina. However after telling us there was no room, they found us a slip for two nights. Located right in the heart of the town the location was perfect for exploring the city. Not to be missed is the Castle of St Peter housing the Underwater Archaeology Museum. The castle itself is worth the price of admission. The museum exhibits are excellent and one of the highlights was the remains of a 15th century vessel and her cargo of glass wares –excavated by a team from Texas A&M –gig’em! Anxious to depart city life and enjoy the more rural features of the Gulf, we set sail after two days.

Following a 20nm sail we tied up to Rose Mary’s Pirate Landing in Cokertme. A number of charter companies have bases in Bodrum and Cokertme is a popular first or last night stop when cruising Gokova. There are four restaurants, all with their own piers, and were all full by sundown. The bay is beautiful and we decided to stay another night, this time anchored out. There are so many potential anchorages in Gokova you could spend weeks cruising this gulf. After Cokertme we anchored in Akbuk Limani, a picturesque spot with high mountains dropping steeply into the sea and crystal waters. After leaving Akbuk we sailed 5nm across the gulf to Sehir Adalari (Castle Island). We dropped the hook in turquoise waters and proceeded to explore the ruins on the island. The ruins date from the Carian to Byzantine times. There is a small beach known as Cleopatra’s beach. Cleopatra is rumored to have spent time on this island and had sand imported from North Africa to create the beach so her “good friend” Marc Anthony could sunbathe. Whether this is fact or fiction tests on the sand reveal that it is not native to Turkey and has similar traits to sand found in North Africa. Hmmmm.

After Castle Island we sailed down the south side of the gulf to English Harbor named for the British Boat Squadron which was stationed there during WWII. This is an absolutely gorgeous, well protected bay. The hills are heavily forested with pine trees and the water is mirror calm. It reminded us more of Lake Ouchita, Arkansas were we spent several family vacations, than the Med. We spent the first night tied up to the pier at Deniz Kizi Kaptan Restaurant and the next anchored out where we experienced our first attempt at running a stern line ashore. While our initial efforts may not have been graceful we did ultimately experience success.

Hisaronu Korfezi

On July 1 we left the Gokova Gulf and pulled into Turgutries Marina to await the arrival of two guests. Jaime, our youngest, had a good friend and fellow dancer who was traveling in Turkey with her sister who had just finished studying a semester abroad in Ankara, Turkey. Emails were exchanged, a plan worked out and Jessy and Daniela Kronberg joined us on board for two days of sailing. The morning after they arrived we took off on a 24nm sail to Knidos on the Datca Peninsula.
The winds were excellent and the sailing was great. Jessy was behind the helm for the majority of the trip and after a brisk sail we were tied up to the Knidos Restaurant Pier at 1230. Once again Knidos was an incredible site where from the boat you could look out and swim in the waters beneath ancient ruins dating as far back as the 7th century BC. Though overgrown, the ruins are impressive because of their size and setting. That evening the four of us enjoyed dinner in the restaurant and watched World Cup football on the restaurant TV. Spain was playing and it turns out Daniella was a huge fan, especially of one player – Pique. Sunday, July 4th we sailed from Knidos to the town of Datca, a distance of 20nm. Actually the wind died and we ended up motoring. Unfortunately Daniella missed her turn at the helm. Once we had dropped the anchor in the bay in front of the harbor the four along with Jessy’s and Daniela’s backpacks were in the dingy headed for shore. It was time to say our goodbyes and they were off on land for more adventures. It was great having them on board and spending part of July 4th with fellow Americans.

After a pleasant night on the hook and a walk in town the next morning we headed deeper into the Hisaronu Gulf. Our destination was Keci Buku a beautiful bay located at the very end of the gulf. Keci Buku is a beautiful cove with thick pine forests on all sides. There are several restaurants in the cove and we chose Iskele’s. Of course another great meal was had and the next morning we took a taxi inland to hike the Turgut Waterfalls. We arrived early, before the throngs of tourists, and Jan braved the cold mountain waters while Craig hiked to the top of the falls.
Later we had a 10nm motor sail past several islands and anchored with a line ashore in Dirsek Bay. We keep writing about the beautiful waters in Turkey but so far Dirsek takes the blue ribbon. The colors and clarity were amazing and we actually saw fish when we went snorkeling! Unlike the Caribbean there are not many fish to see in the Med and I think most of them hang out in Dirsek Bay. The next afternoon we left Dirsek Bay and the Hisaronu Gulf and sailed around the corner to Bozburun. Once a major center for sponge diving, the people of Bozburun now make their living providing services to the visiting cruisers.

We spent two nights in Bozburun – one night enjoying dinner at Osman’s and cheering Spain on to victory over Germany. We can’t believe we’re actually watching soccer and sort of liking it! After leaving Bozburun we were close to our starting point of Marmaris. We decided to come back into the Yacht Marine for a few days to get some work done on the boat, quotes for work we want to have done this winter and provisioning before we headed farther south. On July 10 we were once again tucked in on Hotel Pontoon gearing up for the next adventures.