Marmaris for the winter

Sunset arriving in Simi Greece

Marian Deborah and Kelly enjoying a walk

Kelly and Deborah buying carpets

Derek Natalie and I in Ephesus

Doing what Natalie does best

Well it has been a month since we last updated this and we don't know where the time has gone!!

Kelly and Deborah arrived on the 25th of Oct to some very nice weather which lasted up to just before they left on the 10th of Nov. We sailed down the coast to Wall bay then to Fethiya where Kelly and I ate one too many sandwiches as we were trying to keep up with John on Sea Mist! Then it was off up the coast towards Bodrum. We stayed at some small bays and stern anchored to a few restaurants one of which was at Selimiye where the owner has a mouth full of golden teeth. As the tourist season is over we ended up eating in his kitchen, talking to some other Turks one of whom invited us back to his apartment for after dinner drinks. Very different as his English was with a Scottish accent and for us difficult to understand. Probably it was harder for him. We were swimming most every day up to this time but the weather took a turn with some thunder storms and rain. We spent two days in Datca where Kelly and Deborah bought a Turkish carpet for their front hall. We have received a picture of it and it looks great in their home. We even found a small runner for the boat. We stopped at Knidos for a day of looking around all the ruins but again had the wind came up in the night. Not so bad only up to 30k so managed some sleep and set off in the morning for Bodrum.

Saturday morning we awoke to rain and much wind. This storm was predicted!! Kelly and Deborah left us for the airport around noon and then the rain and wind really started with winds over 50k. We were very happy to be in the marina.

Next morning we headed off for Marmaris, two days away, and found ourselves actually sailing!!We had a great sail both of the days running the engine only to anchor and get into the marina here in Marmaris. We had hoped that Larry and Elaine would be over but unfortunately Elaine's Dad in NB has not been well and Elaine was down with her Mum and family. This actually was a bit of a blessing as the weather the next morning after we arrived here was awful and it lasted over a week. Cool with big winds and the most amazing lightning show we have seen. The flash and bang were at the same time and caused us to hold our hands over our ears and jump around a lot. This went on for one period of over 24 hours. Caught up on some reading and did some stuff inside the boat as we will leave her here while we go home for Christmas. The last few days have improved with sunshine and temps up to 21 so not so bad for the end of November. I have taken the genoa and mizzen sail off to be washed and stored for a couple of months as we don't plan to be sailing until next year. Probably in March.

We have just been trying to make our travel plans out of here which is interesting. Most all the yachties here take the bus up to Istanbul and fly out of there. The only draw back is the bus ride is 13hours long albeit on a super deluxe bus. Soooo for us it looks like a bus ride and a couple of days sightseeing in Istanbul then flying to London for a night before heading over to Vancouver. Today we listed ourselves for the Vancouver flt on the 11th of Dec. So subject to change we should be home then and plan to stay for a month.

It will be great to see the children and grand kids as they are growing so fast. We use skype on the computer and it is great as we can talk to and see our family and friends. If you haven't tried it you should, then you could call us as well if we are online which is sometimes difficult for us.

Marmaris Turkey.
We are back in Marmaris yacht marine again after spending a wonderful two weeks with Natalie and Derek, They arrived at 0300 on the 6th of Oct. very tired but excited to be with us. They slept until 1100 and then seemed not to be bothered by any jet lag. We spent the next two weeks touring the local coast with lots of swimming and seeing lots of old stones and bones as well as having some very good meals at local reasturants where ever we were. The good news to all is that Natalie seems to be doing very well and all of her tests to date have been positive. It was a delight for us to have them with us and we miss them already. They had the chance to meet our new friends on Emotion 1 and Sea Mist and can see that we are not all alone out here. The last day we took them to Ephesus to see all the ruins and then the next morning out to the airport where they were off to London for a day before returning to Calgary.
After they left we ourselves left Bodrum to return here. The distance is not that far, about 80 miles. We stopped in a bay called Knidos on the way back only to have a real storm move thru at night. There were no gale warnings up only ten to fifteen knots of wind forcast. This is a problem that we have encoutered a number of time before. The met people seem only to forcast what has already happened. The winds were up over 50k and the holding was not that good as we lost our anchor a couple of times and had to reanchor. Not an easy task in the wind, rain, and lightning!! We were up all the night taking turns at being on watch so it was good to have daybreak and be able to see again. Amazing how much harder it is in the dark to do anything!! Anyway we knew it was a bad night as in the dinghy we found a two foot baracuda that obviously wanted out of the storm and thought our dinghy was a life boat. Too bad he is not a good eating fish. The next day the winds switched and we motored all the way to Marmaris. The marina is very full as there is another storm this time forcast for Monday. Well today is Monday and they were right this time as we have lots of wind and rain. The boat loves the rain as all the salt and stuff has washed off the masts and areas that we have trouble getting at. The boat beside us is an old Gullet, a type of local boat. I noticed it was low is the water and mentioned it to the marina staff and within five minutes we had ten guys climbing all over it, cutting the lines and towing it out to put in the travel lift and haul it out of the water. Very impressive as the winds were over 40k. I found a couple of things to fix today so will have them done tomorrow. The bad news is that our antenna for the computor that allows us to get our email and skype had water leak into it and I think fried itself so we cannot get online. This is a major problem for us as the computor is our lifeline to you all. Hopefully we can get it fixed or it will have to go back to California and we will be lucky to get it back by January. The joys of boating!
Comming events are Kelly and Deborah are arriving on Thursday for a couple of weeks and then Larry and Elaine also for a couple of weeks. So as you can see we are never bored and constantly busy. Who said retirement wasn't fun.

Turkey

Yes we are still alive and well.

Good intentions to keep up the blog have again fallen short but don't give up on us. We are now in Marmaris Turkey enjoying the cooler weather as the temperatures have dropped to the high twenties in the day and comfortable teens in the night. Not bad for the beginning of Oct! When we arrived back to Israel it was really hot with the daytime temps in the 40's and not much cooler at night. Those temperatures lasted right up to the arrival of Jack and Marsha when we picked them up in Antalya on the on the 08th of Sept.

It took us a day and a half to sail up to North Cyprus from Israel and we anchored in a small bay for a couple of days before heading to Girne. The water was warm and clear so just relaxed and swam and tried to stay cool. We then spend a few days with friends from the rally, Dave and Kath, who kindly put us up at their home and toured us to southern Cyprus, which is Greek, where we were able to buy some food stuffs that are not available in the north. We even managed to play a game of golf with them at their club. Very very nice. Next it was off to Kemer Turkey 150 miles away. All was going well for the first few hours but then the wind switched to the west at about 30 so we headed north and anchored up behind a headland on the Turkish coast for the night. An interesting anchorage as there is a complete old Roman town on the headland with aqueducts still standing as well as most of the buildings minus their roofs. Next morning we were off again as things had calmed down and did not kick up until evening. We plodded on through winds and waves that kept switching directions and finally arrived in Kemer at 0300 in the morning. Just as well as Jack and Marsha were arriving that evening.
We spent the next two weeks sailing along the coast stopping at old castles, Lycian tomb graves, and old Greek and Roman ruins. We had some wonderful meals at local restaurants and met up with two other boats from the rally. We ended up in Bodrum where Jack and Marsha had a condo rented for a week and we stayed on board at the marina and met up each day to tour the area. We went to Ephesus for a day which is one of the best and most popular ruins of the ancient Greek civilization that exists. There were a lot of people there as a number of cruise ships were in and I'm sure the place would be much more interesting with fewer people. Anyway we all had a marvelous time. It is great to have visitors from home.

We have spent the last few days sailing to Marmaris where we will base ourselves for the winter months. Now we are preparing to welcome Natalie and Derek who arrive in Dalaman in the wee hours of Saturday morning from Calgary. They will spend a couple of weeks with us. We are very excited to see them. The weather over here apparently stays warm though November and you can swim till Christmas!

Summer 07

Petra Hi All,

We are back in Israel and ready to resume our travels. July saw us going to Vancouver for five weeks to see our children and three grand children. The newest, just a month old when we arrived home, named Callum. It was a busy time seeing them and all our friends, catching up on the news and enjoying all of their hospitality. We spent a couple of days in Calgary to visit our daughter who is doing well with her nursing and new life with Derek. They came over to Vancouver for a week and we took them up to Desolation Sound for some relaxation, swimming and catching some prawns. We needed more time to do all we wanted but at least we managed to catch up with most everyone.

Next it was off to Ireland on Aug the 08th for Marians mothers 90th birthday which was attended by most all the family. 75 adults plus 30 something grand children and great grand children all at Ballytrent which is a long time summer home. A great time was had by all and Jamie and Mary did a fabulous job taking care of us all.

We left Ireland on the 16th for Frankfurt where Valerie and Jens took care of us for five days showing us their beautiful city and country areas. Lots of wine and good food. Then it was back to Herzliya where we found Kilkea well taken care of. Now we are reprovisioning her for our upcoming trip to Cyprus and then back to Turkey. First though we are going to Jerusalem for a couple of days. Everyone needs a holiday!!!!!!

Finally I have an hour or so to bring you all up to date on our travels. We have, as always, been going flat out with our whirlwind tour with not enough time to appreciate all the wonderful sites we visit.

I cannot remember but I think in the last blog entry we were in Beirut. It is a beautiful city and the country side is mountainous and very lush. It has all sorts of possibilities if ever they find peace in the country. There was and is much fighting in Tripoli right now. The very best thing that happened to us there was on June 05th Andrew and Lindsay had another little boy named Callum to bother his big brother Eamon. We can't wait to get home to see him. This is the worst part of traveling the seven seas.

We left for Haifa on the sixth and arrived on the seventh and right away did a half day tour of the city and the Bahia Gardens then had an evening party with what else but more dinner drink and dancing. Sleep is not compulsory!?

The next morning on the bus and off to Galilee. We stopped at Nazareth and saw the Basilica of the Annunciation. Very touristy. Then on to the sea of Galilee and to the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. This place is very touristy as you have to enter through a huge gift and bric-a-brac shop. The Golan Heights above the Sea of Galilee was most interesting from present day history with the Israelis controlling the area after the 1983 war with Syria. We had lunch at a kibbutz in the Golan. Then two more biblical sites which again were very touristy. They were the Mount of the Beatitudes and the loaves and fishes.

On the eighth we begged off a half day tour and the evening dinner out with an Israeli family as we hit the wall as it were and Marian was not feeling that well. I should tell of our arrival to Israel as we had to go to specific way points and were intercepted by the Israeli gun boats and checked out. Their concern was that another yacht not belonging to the rally could slip in with us thus being able to sneak into the country. They are very security conscious here.

We left next for Ashkelon which is just a couple of miles north of the Gaza Strip. I'm sure you all know more than we do about what is happening as no one has the time to watch or read the news. We do know that there were loud explosions to the south of us!! Anyway it did not slow us up one little bit. On our arrival there was a fire boat spraying all around us and when we got to the docks there was wonderful jazz playing and kegs of cold beer and snacks for us to devour after yet another all night passage.That evening we had another great party with fire works and a small orchestra playing great music with singers that had great voices. Great party.

Up and at em early for a trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. Masada is amazing having held out against the Romans for years. Next the Dead Sea where we all went for a swim or should I say a float! It is a very strange feeling just floating around with no possibility of sinking. It made for some funny photos.

On the 13th, in the morning this time, we all left for a 124 mile run to Port Said. We have two extra guests on board as their boat was left in Ashkelon. Bridget and Gerry. We arrived off the Port on the morning of the 14th and all the boats formed up in a circle with all our dress flags up. Then the Suez Canal was shut down to commercial traffic and we all proceeded down the canal to the Arsenal Basin which is a military base. This took over an hour and we must have looked a pretty site. We never get to see the local news and press in the countries that we visit but they are always there wanting to do interviews and take lots of pictures. We seem to be fairly big news in most countries. That evening the buses picked us up and off we went for a city reception of local dancing etc. There are a lot of guns, police and military here. On the buses we have armed guards with automatic weapons and a couple of bags of extra stuff which no one really wanted to know about. Also a military escort of motorcycles and Jeeps with armed troops. Where ever we go in Egypt it was the same with all the side roads blocked by the military so that we were unimpeded and could just go speeding by. This is impressive on a three hour drive to Cairo!! This we did the next day visiting in this order the Mohammad Ali Mosque, Cairo Museum which you could spend weeks exploring, the Bazaar "Khan Khalili" which is huge, then into modern Cairo to play with Feluccas,which are the sailing boats of the Nile, racing as sailors do against each other having a few cool ones then onto the Meridian hotel overlooking the pyramids. What a great site!! But this is not all as we had a swim then off on the bus to another major dinner!! Wow I hope we survive! Up for a leisurely breakfast then over to the pyramids. They are huge! Marian and I walked through a four foot tunnel to the center of one. I don't think we would advise it as there was not much air and it was hot. We did the touristy thing and rode a camel from the pyramids down to the Sphinx. Again an amazing site that gives you goose bumps when you see it. I feel this is the most impressive and interesting site of our tour. We left for Port Said in the afternoon and stopped at a small marina half way down the Suez where we can stop when we transit the canal probably in a few years time, although there is a possibility we may go there next spring? More to follow.

On the 17th we had a free day in Port Said and just wandered around. That evening we had a gala dinner with lots of entertainment of singing and dancing. We have seen a few whirling dervish performances but tonight the dancer was just amazing going on for at least 20 minutes with the most elaborate costume we have seen. The venue for this dinner with all the dignitaries was around the swimming pool of a big hotel right at the beginning of the Suez Canal. While all the entertainment was going on there were huge freighters going by on the canal. Quiet a sight.

The 18th found us all queuing up again to transit the canal the same as when we came in with again the canal being shut down for our departure. This leg is 136 nm and is the final leg of the rally. Again entering Israeli territory we had procedures to follow and the military boats intercepting us. We arrived in Herzliya which is just a few miles north of Tel Aviv and a very modern marina with restaurants and shopping mall attached. We ordered a new main sail here and it will be ready when we return in August. Also have arranged to leave Kilkea II here at the marina and have her looked after and washed by a local service company.

Now it is the 20th and the last day of the EMYR. There has been lots of talking, drinking and exchanging of boat cards but there is one more final dinner, flag ceremonies and dancing. We all made it!!

Well just to prove that we are not totally wrecked eight of us have organized a tour to Jordan for four days. We were driven to the border between Israel and Jordan and went through all the customs procedures and were picked up on the Jordanian side by our guide. He wanted to show us more Crusader castles and Roman ruins (bones and stones!) but we have seen enough right now and gave them a quick drive by. So it was a drive south through the valley of the moon to Petra. This is the place Indiana Jones was filmed, I think the last of the episodes. The evening we arrived there was a walk through the Siq which is a very narrow cut through the rocks to a central area with a huge rock carving actually a grave they call The Treasury. All this was done lit by candles in bags all through the Siq so we had some strange shadows playing on the walls. We sat in the center to listen to local music. Not sure what instrument but one of the old ones played in ancient times. It was interesting to sit there listening and looking up at the stars above the canyon rim and see a satellite go cruising by. An amazing feeling being in such an old place with ancient origins and seeing the modern world going by. Hard to explain. The next morning we were up early and spent the whole day walking and hiking around this ancient city that had 38000 inhabitants. They carved these amazing caves with facades of building on the outside. These were their graves and they must have spent their whole lives planning these places. It is not just a few they are all over the place which would cover many square miles. We did not get back to the hotel until after 7 pm. A long day and it was hot!! The next morning we drove down to Aquaba on the Red Sea where it was really HOT 45C!! We had lunch and visited the yacht club where some of us may go some day. In the afternoon we went to Wadi Rum in the middle of the desert for a Jeep ride through the area ending up watching the sundown sitting up on a ledge overlooking the desert drinking wine etc. Then is was off to a tent camp. It was hot, dirty and not something any of us would ever do again but it was an experience that we will long remember. So a drive the next day back to Israel through some interesting country.

We had Monday off to ready the boat and get our things ready to go back to Vancouver on Tuesday. This was a good plan but as I have said it is very hot here and when we got to the airport the flight was delayed four hours and even though they had seats empty they were weight limited so we could not get on.... Oh well here I am back on the boat which we moved this morning to a more secure place in the marina. This is good as no one knows we are still here so no parties tonight and I can finally catch up on our adventures. Our plan is to go home until the 10th of August living on and enjoying our power boat then going to Ireland for Marian's Mum's 90th birthday party. After that we will visit new friends Jens and Valerie in Frankfurt before getting back here the end of August and returning to Turkey and having more friends and family join us for some fall cruising as the weather will be better then.

It appears that I started an entry the other day that I thought I had lost!!!

Israel

Hello again,

Well I'll try to catch up on our adventures. After leaving Beriut we went to Haifa where we were met on the way in by gun boats and other naval vessels who checked us all out before allowing us to proceed to the harbour. Lots of talk on the radio as we even had code words to give them if we had any problems. They really want to know who is entering their waters.! In Haifa we were rafted together as their marine facilities are limited but not their friendlyness. We stayed a couple of days and explored the town which had just been shelled .... and then a day visiting some of the area of the Sea of Galaly, the Golan Heights, Jordon River etc. most all of which were Christian sites of places Jesus's miricals.

Beiriut

Iskenderun Turkey Friday May 25th,

We arrived here at 0830 after another night passage. We do not find this any problem as Marian and I can switch off and get enough sleep so that when we arrive we feel OK. We stern tie all the boats and it is done by groups of which there are six. We belonging to the bigger boats dock first. Each group has an arrival time so that there is not a huge crunch and then those who are here first help the others tie up. This takes a couple of hours and many beers to complete. We hope to survive the rally!!

We spent the day swimming and drinking too much then out for the rally dinner. These dinners we have at each port are put on by the local governments and are formal affairs which means jackets and ties for the men and smart dresses for the ladies. Most except for the pirate party in Cyprus are outdoor gatherings at historic sites in the cities we are visiting. The meals are all amazing with many courses and much wine and drink. There are always presentations to be made and a few speeches then dancing to local bands or groups until the wee hours of the morning. This makes for a long day so that when we do get back to the boat we just drop only to have the alarm go a 0700. Then it is up for coffee and on the buses at 0800 for a tour of the historic sites in the area we are visiting. Turkey is just a mass of ruins! You can go anywhere and see old, real old, towns and villages going back thousands of years. Just trying to get the time line of all the different periods is difficult as civilizations go back to 1000 BC and much more! In Iskenderun we went over the mountains (over six thousand feet) across a plain to the ancient city of Antioch and visited museums and St Peters church which is reputed to be the first Christian church then through Roman tunnels which were carved through solid rock. We are lucky to live in this time and not as a slave chipping away at rocks for twelve years. Always on the these tours we stop for lunch which is all prepared and waiting for us. These are always good with the local meses and main courses with always a beer. Marian is even getting to like beer! Mind you the temperature is in the mid thirties and promises to get warmer as we now will start moving south. We can not go any further east in the Med as we have run out of water to cruise on!! We look at the map of the world and wonder how in the heck did we get here.

On the 27th in the evening we left for Lattakia in Syria arriving around 10 am. Again helped docking all the boats, we stern tie here with anchors or lazy lines to central anchors, which takes a few hours. Then with all the formalities completed with customs etc, it was time for a shower then the rally dinner and finally to bed around midnight. We were off on the buses early 0730 to visit Crac des Chevaliers which is a well preserved crusader castle in good shape then out over the desert to Palmyra. This is half way to the Iraq boarder in the middle of the desert and was once the main city of the caravans on the silk road. It is a huge site and must have been spectacular in its day and a great relief to the travellers arriving form the east. Then it was off to Damascus, three hours away. We stayed in a 5 star hotel with all the trappings and we realized that Marian and I have not slept ashore since before Christmas! We are really getting to be boat people. Just enough time for a shower then off the most beautiful restaurant yet with whirling Dervish dancers and local music and dancing. The dinner was great.

30th We did the city museums which are again amazing along with visiting the grand mosque and souks. Another 3 hour bus ride where we discussed politics with the guide. Interesting!!

31ST Again buses to Aleppo 3 hours away to the north east. Lovely ride through the mountains then to the huge citadel in the middle of the city lunch and the souks which are big shopping bazaars then back to the boats.

June 1st. Saladin's castle then Ugarit where the Alphabet was first started and found in the graves under the homes. Then back to the boats and off to Lebanon in the late afternoon for the 105nm sail. We have to be careful with all the problems over here and have specific positions to round so as not to bring patrol boats down on us. There is a lot of naval presence with a number of German ships under UN control along the Lebanese coast. So far no problems. Arrived here around noon the 2nd. The marina here is a private club with huge swimming pools and restaurants and is Christian. There is a huge rift here between the Christian and Muslims as you all know. The thing is there are so many different factions of both. We are trying to understand the situation but everyone you talk to has a different slant on the history and solutions. We are also here at a time when there are problems and open fighting going on as well as car bombs and bus attacks happening. Beirut is a huge city though and we have not seen any problems although when six of us went to dinner in the city it was obvious things were not right as we were the only patrons in a very exclusive restaurant and there was little or no traffic on the street. On the way back to the boats there were many military moving on the highways as well as road blocks manned by the military.

Today is Tuesday the fifth. We have to look at the calender to know. The saying here is that sleep in not compulsory and it sure is true!!! We have not been getting enough so that today we cancelled on the tour and slept in. One can only see so many rocks and ruins. We have a big rally dinner tonight then will be off to Haifa tomorrow which is another 100 mile sail and we are told that the Israel navy will be intercepting us with lots of harassment. Just what we all need after being up all night. Actually it is not too bad as Marian and I switch off and manage to get enough sleep. We are getting good at averaging 5 hours a day.

Lebanon is a very beautiful country and Beirut a beautiful city but we do not feel that safe here and will be glad to move on. If they get their political problems fixed we would love to come back as the people are all very friendly and kind.

Mersin, Turkey. 24th May 2007

Trying to keep up to date with our activities is quite a challnge. I have just put David's blog on a memory stick and we will try to find an internet cafe in town this morning. We leave this evening for Iskenderun which is at the east end of the Mediterrean Sea. We are told to be aware that all the flotsam and jetsom of the med gathers here!!

When we arrived here in Mersin we were ushered into an empty marina, all the fishing boats were cleared to the side to make room for us. There were sea cadets to help us tie up. We, the big boats, all drop our anchors and go stern-to the dock and here there are docks for the smaller boats. This is a large city, 1.5 million people, and growing very fast by the amount of building we see. The Turkish people are all very friendly and welcome us with much excitement. The purpose of this rally is to promote tourism, especially by boaters. The government has built the basic infrastructure of many marinas which are then put out to tender to private industry to be finished and run but it would seem that it is not a viable enterprise as there are lots of unfinished marinas that are silting up and unused.

Tuesday evening saw us all being bused up to a magnificent sports complex, complete with Olympic swimming pool, for a cocktail party sponsered by the mayor. We had enough delicious food for a small army and an unending supply of cocktails. The venue was up a hill and open aired, very spectacular. A troupe of local dancers entertained us with traditional dancing and then the music continued for us to dance. Eleven pm saw us all back on the bus and bed (we had done an overnight passage so were tired!).

Wednesday 9am saw us back on the buses and off sight seeing! We have seen so many ancient rocks, and heard so much of the history that our brains are muddled. We hear of civilizations we never knew exisited! The countryside is littered with the remains of cities, churches, tombs etc.. The land here is very fertile and they can get 4 crops a year, alot of it under plastic. Back to the boat, a little refreshment with friends, a quick shower, a short walk down the road to a restaurant on the waters edge with all the tables set on the grass, band on the platform, official welcomes and flag ceremony, dinner, dancing, walk back to boat, bed!!! These are our days. Wonderful!

Today we leave about 6pm for the 80 miles sail and it will probably be motoring as there may not be wind. First we will gfo into town to see the shops and get online.

We are looking foreword to our return home at the end of next month.

Turkey,

Well sorry for not keeping up to date but will give you a brief log of our travels to date.

We had Nevan, Sarah and Elise here with us for two weeks which just was not long enough. After seeing Delos and Myknos we went down to Naxos island which was wonderdful as we were tied up right in the middle of town. The town is just a jumble of small alleys with small shops hidden all over the place. The food was good and we ate out a number of times. Nevan drove us around the island which is very mountanous with narrow roads with no guard rails. The views were amazing as were the flocks of goats that we kept running into. Unforturatly the wind was up for three days at around the 40 kn rate so we stayed there longer than we wanted but after seeing many more of the Greek islands one is as good as another with Naxos being one of the best. We went back up to Athens and spent a day at the Acropolis with a roof top lunch/dinner looking up at this most impressive site. Sadly the 21st of April came too soon and the children had to leave. Elise was a delight. Always smiling and even learned to roll over. We miss them a lot and look forward to their return visits in the years to come.

We had Sunday off and then Kieth Gloria and Blair arrived for a weeks holiday. We spent another day in Athens taking in all the sites then it was off sailing down the Cyclades stopping at a number of wonderful islands along the way and ending up in Santorini. We arrived just after a cruise ship sank and there was a lot of oil on the waters. The week ended just as they were all getting over their jet lag so if any one is planning a trip you need at least two weeks. The ten hour time diffference from the west coast is brutal.

Marian and I next headed to the island of Ios where I found I had a cousin, Fiona, on my uncles side of the family in Ottawa. She lives there with her husband, Nicos, and two young children, Jana and Petros, who can go from Greek to English without batting an eye. It was great to be shown around by locals and see the real life style of the people on these outer islands. They have a hardware store and a laundry service. We set sail for Rhodes at this point and spent two overnights anchoring at small islands on the way. We arrived there and found it to be very commercial and not to our liking. In fairness the island is large and I'm sure there are some wonderful spots to visit. Rhodes is just too touristy for us and it was time to leave.

This has brought us up to May 08th. We cleared out of Greece which is not all that easy with all the officials that have to stamp documents. You would think that being members of the EU it would be easier. We sailed over to Turkey entering the country at Fethiye where we could not clear in that evening and had to do it all in the morning. This took a few hours running around from one office to another but we were offered tea most everywhere and all the officials were very pleasant. My first impression of Turkey was of surprise. We were not expecting mountains with snow on the the peaks and after the Greek islands which are brown here all was green. The bays were very much like those in BC so we felt right at home.

The next day we went the short distance to the town of Gocek where we met up with the EMRY group who started the rally in Istambul. There were 45 yachts there and everyone made us most welcome. Since then we have gone around the southern coast of Turkey to Kekova Roads, Finike and to Kemer where the international portion of the rally begins with 67 boats. The organization of this event is amazing!! Every where we go there are cocktail parties and amazing formal diners with all the local dignitaries. We have had firework displays while dinning on beartiful outdoor facilities with dancing through the night. All moorage, dinners (every night) and most drinks are all covered by the sponsers of the rally. There is always a tour of the local area with all the historic sites to visit. I think all of Turkey is an historic site with so many ruins some of which are fixed up and we even have had receptions and dinners in ancient castles. The weather is now hot in the day but OK in the evening. We just wish we had time to sleep!! The saying here is "sleep is optional" and not many are getting much. Moving from one place to another now is done at night and the legs are on average one hundred miles. It is a sight to see 67 boats at night all heading to the same place.

Right now we are in Mersin where we arrivied from Girne, Cyprus and before this in Alanya. We never thought we would be in Cyprus but we spent a day on a tour of more castles and a few hours and lunch in Nicosia where the country is split in two with the Green line being the border. We have had Canadian troups here as long as I can remember with the UN forces. Very beautiful island. Just arrived this morning and have cocktails and dinner sponsered by the city also local entertainment. We are treated as ambassadors from our different countries with each country carrying their national flag at the various ceremonial presentations. I represented Canada in the old castle reception in Girne and Marian carried the Irish flag the next day.

This is just a quick catchup and I'll get Marian to add some notes when time permits in the next few weeks!!??? We don't finish with all of this fun until the end of June?

David and Marian

Mykonos Greece,

Never is there enough time to do all the things that you want to do. This is one of the items that we have been putting on the back burner.

Well, the last entry had us leaving Palma for Greece! Didn’t exactly go that way as we kept running into weather that was not forecast and we had to make a couple of stops. Out of Palma we were supposed to have north west winds of 20 to 30 knots. What we got were winds of 40 to 60+ Knots!!! Not any fun at all with waves in excess of at least 8 meters and very close together. The Med seems to go from calm to wild in minutes. It took us two and a half days to get to Cagliari, Sardinia where we kissed the ground and stayed for six days waiting for the winds to abate. Finally the forecast was good so off we went. Not bad for the first ten hours or so and then the winds came up again. This time not so strong, only up to fifty knots in the gusts but not nice so we decided another stop was required. This time it was Palermo, Sicily. We arrived in at midnight in rain and wind and just found a spot and tied up and went to bed. We awoke the next morning to sunshine and light winds, so fuelled up and headed off again this time sailing under light winds which eventually died away and left us motoring towards the Strait of Messina which separates the bottom of Italy with Sicily.

We arrived at the strait at day break and dodged around all the freighter traffic and were rewarded with a great view of Mt Etna. The winds stayed light and we motor sailed right across the Ionian Sea for two more days arriving in Patras Greece around 9 am. April 3rd. We contracted a shipping agent to handle all the legal and custom requirements and managed to get away a little after noon sailing up the Gulf of Corinth to an anchorage that was snug and secure and only thirty six miles from the Corinth canal.

Up at dawn in our calm bay only to find the wind outside was from the east which was just the way we wanted to go! We had to go back and forth as the winds were about forty knots and even with the engine going this boat does not go into that with any speed at all. Finally at five thirty in the evening we arrived at the canal and made our way through. It is just a big ditch which they, the Greeks, charge a lot to transit. Anyway out of there it was just another thirty miles to Athens. So through wind and rain we finally arrived in Athens at midnight. We had managed to beat Nevan and family by seventeen hours. No problem but were we tired.

Nevan Sarah and Elise arrived on time on the 5th of April at 1700 tired but happy to be with us and have a bed. We spent a day in Athens with them and then headed off to the islands. We have anchored out for a couple of nights and enjoyed the starry nights with no moon. We spent two nights at Siros and are now in Mykonos after enjoying the antiquities of Delos. It is an amazing place that was the center of this area 8th to 6th century BC. Now we are planning on leaving tomorrow if the winds die down. It has been blowing hard all day and we have been tied up to the mole. We rented a car and drove around the island.

Marian and I have been having a great time with Elise who is having no problems with all the travel and strange noises on the boat. We have had a couple of good sails with winds in the 25 to 30 knot range. We hope to be in Santorini in a couple of days, depending on the weather which so far has been sunny and bright.

Palma Mallorca,

We have been very busy since the last entry having just too much fun. We left Gibraltar after four great days of walking and climbing and enjoying being back in an English speaking environment! It took us 45 hours of good sailing to get to Campello which is just north of Alicante. Here we have friends, Dave and Sandy, who were our neighbours 30 years ago and now live in Spain. Boy did they take care of us showing us all the sites and it seemed we never stopped eating and drinking having to taste many Spanish wines which are excellent.

One little thing happened with the boat on the way there and had to do with a breaking mechanism on the propeller shaft. It is hydraulically operated and developed a leak. So it was with great surprise that as soon as we were tied up to the key a representative of Amel yachts came over and introduced himself and asked if there was anything he could do for us!! We said yes could he have our prop brake fixed? No problem! It was out of the boat, sent to the shop and the right seals ordered from France. We did not know that Amel had representatives there and Marian would not believe him until he showed us his business card. Neither of us could believe our luck.

One night we had a big, big wind storm with blowing sand which mixed with the spray from the frothing marina basin. The winds were up to 70 knots and we were very happy when at 2am four of the marina staff arrived and we put another anchor on Kilkea. It was very difficult to even stand on deck as the wind just about blew me over!! If any of the other boats in the marina lost their anchors or the dock gave way there would not be a boat left floating. This is about as concerned I've ever been running any of our boats and we were in a marina!

So after washing and washing the boat to get all the encrusted sand and salt off of everything including the interior we set off for Ibiza leaving on Friday evening. As an aside, we were watching curling on Davids TV using a Sling box that allows him to view all the Vancouver TV cable stations. We still don't know who won? Anyway our trip over to Ibiza was under power as the wind was calm until three hours before we anchored in a little bay on the west coast at 9am. The last three hours the wind came up to 55knots so we were very happy to anchor up and get some sleep. We spent a day and a half there then sailed around to the east coast of the island, rested there for five hours then did another night passage to arrive here in Palma at 9am. We have had concerns that our water maker has not been working correctly and had had it checked in Portugal. There is a representative here for our water maker whom we have been in touch with through the manufacture. He arrived down to us as soon as we docked. We hope that will be back in full operation soon. I suppose that we will be here for the week! Not too bad as the weather is great and this is a place for the rich and famous to play. You wouldn't believe the yachts here!!

We are not sure if we will stop at Sardinia as it looks as if the weather (winds) will be favorable for a straight shot thru to Sicily. We have just under a thousand miles to Athens so should be there around the first of April. We look forward to introducing Nevan, Sarah and Elise our 5 month old grand daughter to Kilkea II and the cruising life.

Gibraltar

February 25th.

Seville was great with all its beautiful buildings and the third biggest cathedral in the world. We spent 5 days here with our Swiss friends whom we toured, had dinners and drank some nice Spanish wine. We left on Wednesday evening as that is the only time the bridge will open to let us out. It only opens three days a week and twice on weekends. After exiting the harbour at the club nautico we had to wait for the lock to open. This meant we did not get back into the river until 18.15. We motored until just before dark and anchored for the night. This is a little awkward as there is freighter traffic all day and night so we needed to be out of the main channel but the shore line is very shallow and comes up very quickly. It was a beautiful day of touring some more of Seville and playing with the boat.

The next morning we woke to rain and wind so had to power all the way down the Guadalquivir. We had plans to go back to Cadiz for the night but the winds at the mouth were up to 35-40 knots so we spent the night at Chippiona.

We left at 08.00 for Barbate about 50 miles down the coast. We sailed most of the way and went past Trafalgar which is just before Barbate. Again a showery day with squalls passing us by every couple of hours.

Off before 08.00 in clear skies and a wonderful sunrise over Spain. We only had 35 miles to go today and had the current which flows always into the Med at 1-3 knots. We set the sails in the Strait of Gibraltar and had our first views of Africa on the right and Europe on the left. There is a huge amount of commercial traffic here with freighters everywhere. We docked in Queensway Marina which is right below the Rock and in the middle of town. We were most excited as this is our entrance to a new ocean, the Mediterranean, and the views of Gibraltar are just like a post card picture. We docked around 14.00 and took the cable car to the top of the Rock and then walked down. Much easier except for the knees! There are monkeys all over the place and will steal anything you are holding onto.

We will be here for the next few days then off to Alicante, another 300 miles up the coast of Spain.

Seville

February 18th.

I'll try to catch up with this blog. We are so busy that we keep forgetting to do it. It is amazing how much work this travelling around is!!

Well to bring you up to date we left Lagos, which we spent two weeks in. We enjoyed the town and all the ex pats that were tied up there. The internet was up in a bar, so at happy hour there are a lot of cruisers tapping away. We left on the 31st of January and sailed to Vilamoura, a resort town with lots of big power boats and high end restaurants and shops. We enjoyed the walks along the beach and cliffs which are a red and brown mix and with the green background and the spring flowers make a pretty site.

Next we sailed to Ayamonte which is on the Portugese and Spanish border and is in Spain. It is a small fishing village which has a new marina and we spent three days waiting for the weather so we could sail for Santa Maria which is in the bay of Cadiz. On leaving the passage over the bar at the entrance of Ayamonte was tough as there had been some big winds the day before and the swell was still large and the water shallow. Once outside things settled down.

We arrived in Santa Maria after an 11 hour day. The town is very nice and is where they bring the sherry down the river from Jarez. So the bodegas are all about and the smell is intoxicating.
We took the train up to Jarez and did a tour of the Tio Pepe bodega and as we were the only English speaking people we had a tour guide and golf cart to ourselves. We are learning a lot about the wine and sherry business. Jerez is a beautiful town with Seville orange trees lining the streets full of oranges. Marian couldn't resist and picked some, brought them back to the boat and made marmalade which is terrific.

Four miles across the bay and we were in Cadiz the oldest city in Europe with small streets all lit up for Carnival this week. Lots of archaeological work going on as one city was built on another from as far back as 1200 BC. We enjoyed three days here and are now off to Chipiona for a night.

We spent the night here and left before sunrise to sail up the Guadalquivir river 55miles to Seville. The river is a chocolate brown and can run at 3k plus so it is important to have the tides right. The day was very windy with winds of 45k plus on our stern all the way up so we managed to sail most of the way. Strange site to see a sail boat sailing in the middle of the land. We had one lock and a bridge opening to negotiate. The bridge only opens four times a week.
Yesterday we got our bearings here and today are going out to see some of the sights.

Will try to do better job of updating the blog.

January 30, 2007 Lagos,

We have spent the last two weeks here and plan to sail to Vilamoura tomorrow. It is just thirty miles east of us and is also on the Algarve. The weather here for the first week was warm and clear with highs in the low twenties. Nice for shorts and sandals and walks on the beach. This last week we have had showers and a north wind which has caused us to put on sweaters and heat on the boat as a couple of nights it has gone down to three or four degrees. We do not like cold weather and looking at the forecast we are hopeful for a return of warmer days.

I have no idea what we do all the time but there never is enough hours in the day to do all that we wanted to do. We have walked all over (many many miles) along the beaches and on the cliffs that are a hundred feet high. The walks along all of the Portuguese shore are common ground or park lands with trails right to the edge of the drop offs. We see these crazy Portuguese fisherman with long rods climbing down the cliffs and casting their lines out from 50 to 100 feet above the ocean. It is very dangerous and as we read one fell off at Sagres and died. Fishing is a tough sport over here! There are no fences or barriers on these walks and if we were in Canada the parks people would go nuts.

We cannot get wifi on the boat so most evenings (morning for you on the west coast) we go up to South Bar for a drink and internet service. This area is full of British and Irish so the bar is busy. We met a couple from England (Charles and Angie) who live here part time and play a lot of golf. They invited us to play which we did. It was Marians first time on an eighteen hole course and she managed very well. I even remembered on occasion how to play a shot or two. We had a great day and enjoyed their company. They had owned hotels and restaurants and some of their stories reminded us of Basil and Sybil in the Faulty Towers TV show.

We have been travelling on the same route as another boat that we were beside in Cascais. They are a Swiss couple (Jean-Claude and Marlene) who arrived in the next slip to us last week. We have enjoyed their company and spent the last three days driving around the countryside. There are many orange groves in this area with little stands selling the oranges. We stopped at one and were treated to many oranges that Carlos, the owner (74 years old) kept pealing for us to eat. We left with four and a half kilos at .50 euro a kilo and now have fresh juice in the morning. We drove up in the hills to Monchique which gives you a panoramic view of most all the south coast of Portugal. We had a great lunch then drove to the west to Cabo do Sao Vicente and Sagres. The road was a winding mountain road that had sheer drops to the bottom of the valleys with no guard rails at all. This has helped me to learn left and right in French as Marlene calls this out to me when I miss my turns! The hills are all terraced which was done by the Moors 1000 to 1500 years ago. The next day we drove to Faro which is a pretty town but has no marina. It does have storks that build huge nests on top of roofs and towers, these birds used to nest in Morocco but now come here. On the third day we went shopping with stops at the three main marinas along the coast. This is why we are going to Vilamoura as it looks the best to us. There are four golf courses connected with the marina so maybe we will get another game in?

Our plans right now are to go up the Guadalquivir River to Seville in a couple of weeks and probably stay there for a week then down to Cadiz and Gibraltar. Our plans always are open to change so past that we really don’t know. We are always meeting people who give us new ideas and places to go.

Algarve

Now that I have the blog set up I must try to keep it up to date. David has done a good job so far but now it’s my turn!
Well the sewing machine kept me busy for a few days and we have smart, useful fender covers and the machine has paid for its self.
We were joined in Cascais by Barb and John Glynes who had a rather tedious journey from Vancouver, snow in B.C., wind in London. They had honeymooned in Estoril 38 years ago so it was a good opportunity for them to revisit the area. We went to the Hotel Atlantico and found it closed and due to be demolished! We did get to go inside and they were able to reminisce. Next day a visit to Sintra, a World Heritage site in the hills, that has many old, large, ornate homes with trees and plants from all over the world.
Sunday 14th January 0900 saw us drop the lines and head out to sea again. We wondered if, after 6 weeks, we remembered how to sail but did not have to worry as there was no wind and we motored all the way to Sines. A very tired homing pigeon joined us for a few hours before he headed on his way again. We were there for the night and had a good Portuguese meal in the quaint town.
Up early on the 15th and headed south. We started out powering and then got some wind and managed the sails all right! Several schools of dolphins played along side the boat, they enjoy the bow wake. At 1630 we rounded a very calm Cabo de Sao Vicente(Cape St. Vincent). We cracked a bottle of Champagne to celebrate. The cliffs are a magnificent sight and we thought of all the world explorers that have been in the same waters on their journeys to and from their discoveries of the New World.
The light was beginning to fade so we dropped the anchor in Sagres bay under the ruins of Henry the Navigators school, The hoped for quiet night was not to be as the 2 knots of wind went right angles to the swell and we rolled all night.
Tuesday morning was beautiful so we followed the coast all the way to Lagos past more wonderful cliff formations and pretty little villages. After the village of Luz there are caves and grottos in the cliffs with little tour boats going in and out. By 1500 we were safely tied up to a berth at the newish marina here in Lagos.
Lagos is full of British people who spend their winters here and some who spend all their time here! The climate is wonderfully mild all year long and there are many golf courses. The town has a long esplanade along the water and the old town is enclosed by the old walls. There is a HUGE long beach along the east of town.
Barb and John headed off to a blustery England first thing Wednesday morning and David and I walked the beach after we had washed the boat.
Now we are settled in here and will stay 2 weeks. The weather has been wonderful since we arrived, shorts and T-shirts. We have been invited to play a round of golf by a couple we met in the bar. We awoke this morning to RAIN so the golf had to be cancelled for today! Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Shopping January4th

Another day of sunshine and temps in the high teens. We went to see the Amel representative today for some extra bits and pieces. Afterwards we went for a hike around the western parts of the city. We do get a lot of exercise walking up and down the hills and Lisbon has many. On this walk we came across a sewing machine shop and we, or should I say Marian is the proud owner of a Husquvarna something or other. She is going to sew up fender covers to stop the fenders squeaking against the hull when we are at the dock. No rest for her. I imagine that the baby clothes will start coming into life very shortly.!! Anything to amuse ourselves. The only problem is there is never enough time in the day to do all we want.

Back to Kilkea for some wine and cheese.

January 1st 07

Happy New Year.

The start of a new year sees us in Cascais, Portugal, having spent Christmas with the children and grandchildren back in Vancouver. The question is how the heck did we get here??

This is the long story of our year of 2006 that has been very eventful.

It all started last new years eve when we made a deal on buying this boat, a 2005 Amel Super Maramu, which was in Ft Lauderdale Fld. At that time we anticipated taking delivery of her in February but due to some legal stuff and Marian getting knocked over and knocked out and then having to have her gall bladder out we did not get onto the boat until mid March. We provisioned the boat in three and a half days with everything from Iridum phones and laptops to bedding, pots and pans etc. Then it was off to Freeport, the Bahamas, for some more legal stuff with the previous owners Dave and Chis who then stayed with us for another two weeks to teach us how to operate the boat systems and also how to sail it!! They were just wonderful and we would not be here now if it were not for them. We ended up saying farewell to them in George Town Great Exuma, had a couple days on our own before Natalie joined us for a week or so. Practiced some more with the sail configuration and went over to Cat Island then back to George Town where our friend Darrell and his friend Doug joined the crew. Natalie left the morning of May 02 and we headed out. Next stop Conception Island for a couple of nights as it is a marine park on the outer bank of the Bahamas.

Now we (the novice sailors) set off to cross the Atlantic!! Well all those years of cruising up and down the BC coast were not wasted and we were not fearful but admit to being anxious. The first leg was to Bermuda which took us seven days with not much wind at all and we used the motor half the time. We could have run any of our power boats on this leg if we had enough fuel! The distance was around nine hundred miles and everything worked as planned with Bermuda coming into view just after sunrise. We enjoyed the islands with their white roofs beautiful gardens and winding streets. We stayed for six days then headed for the Azores some 1900 plus miles away!

We powered out of St Georges hbr set the sails and headed east. The wind was building and after the first day we had winds hitting 40 knots, the boat was just fine cruising along at 9 to 11 knots. I on the other hand had a little stomach problem which lasted about a day then all was fine. We had winds for the rest of the crossing from the south west at an average speed of about 25 knots which gave us some great sailing with three days of over two hundred miles and the rest in the high hundreds. We arrived in Horta in the early morning and just started the engine for the last few hundred meters to get into the anchorage. Only eleven days at sea and we were off to the pub where I tried to choke on a piece of steak except Marian gave me a special hug and I survived and she lost out on the insurance monies. Lucky me!

After about twelve days with the winds being out of the northeast, which is just the direction we needed to go, it switched to the north west so off we went. The first four days were a little rough with winds in the 30 knot range then the next four were flat calm, so calm that if you threw a penny in the water it would have made a big wave. So after eight days and another 1200 miles we arrived in Kinsale Ireland. This is a beautiful little town where our crew left us and after a week we left Kilkea and flew home for three weeks. Now the work began with us having to empty our home of everything!! We kept the good stuff and put a table at the end of the driveway with a sign saying free stuff and after ten or so days of filling it up all was gone, even the table. Now the house was put into the rental agents hands and we have it rented. Minimum one year rental just in case we need or want to go home. So mid July it was back to Ireland and some cruising along the south coast and visiting with some of the relatives.

The beginning of August and the weather was already getting on the cooler side so it was off to France. We arrived, after a 48 hour sail, to Camaret Sur Mer which is just outside Brest. We were not sure, especially me, if we would enjoy France but to our delight we found the people to be most friendly and hospitable. Marian who as a girl spent six months in Belgium had picked up some French and it all came back after a couple of weeks. She loved just babbling away with me not knowing what the heck was being said. Actually after three months on the Brittany coast I could understand most things but still am not able to articulate much. Anyway we ended up in La Rochelle the end of September and as this is where the boat was built we had the Amel people check it all out for us. We had it pulled and the bottom painted along with shaft bearings and bow thruster seals replaced. We were just out of the water for three days in the boat yard which has no security and living aboard when the second night we had a couple of guys visit around 2 am and were trying to break in. We managed to scare them off, probably Marians screaming, and were glad to get back in the water and to Amels dock at the marina. Amel were very good and fixed anything that we asked about and found some that we did not know existed. All at no charge as the boat is still under their warranty. We like them a lot!!

Marian went over to Dublin for a reunion of her nursing class on Ryan Air for one cent each way! With taxes it was only 29 eu the cab fare was more. Henning and Linda Pedersen arrived mid October and stayed with us for a week. We had hoped to sail with them to Spain but the weather did not cooperate so just did a trip over to St Martin on the Isle de Rey which is a beautiful old town where you tie up right in the middle of an old fortress where they used to send all the French convicts to before transporting them to Guyana (devils island).

Marian and I managed to leave a few days later (27th Oct) after some good storms with 70 knot winds and 14 meter seas. Very glad to be tied up to the dock. We had a smooth passage with some fog and light winds and arrived in Villa Garcia just around the corner from Cape Finisterre northern Spain after 72 hours. We stayed for a day then hopped a flight to London and back to Vancouver for the arrival of our grand daughter Elise Victoria who arrived on November the 05th. Both Nevan and Sarah were delighted and even the dog Baily was excited for the home coming of the baby. For us it was back to Spain on the 12th where we slowly moved down the coast of Spain waiting out a bunch of storms. Left Bayona Spain, (where Columbus arrived back to after his discoveries) for Cascais Portugal which is just outside of Lisbon. After two weeks here we again flew to Vancouver for Christmas with all the children. Had a wonderful time seeing them all again and managed to get them hooked up on Skype with the cameras on their computers so now when we call we can see them as well as talk. For those we missed we apologise but we were just there for eleven days. It rained a lot. Back to Portugal on the 30th so spent new years eve hear watching the fire works and enjoying the weather.

This finally brings us, more or less up to date and we plan, (Marian say so), to update this blog often. Next is to figure how to post some pictures on it?

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year and look forward to hearing from you.

David and Marian