2005

05 May Herzliya, Israel	Our crew arrived at 0530 on Thursday, 5 May 05. Since they had been traveling for three days, we decided to extend their jet lag by going for picnic in a lovely park (Gan Hashlosha) in the Golan Heights. Our friends Jean-Claude and Patricia and their granddaughter Cami from Tololea took us to one of their favorite spots. Three hot springs for swimming and a beautiful area for a picnic.
08 May Herzliya to Cyprus	We departed Herzliya on Sunday, 8 May 05, to begin our summer cruise. The weather was predicted with ~ 10 knots of wind and mild seas but the weather guessers missed the underlying 1 - 2 meter swells so we had a pretty rough crossing. 12 hours of constant pounding out of the 18 hour trip. I actually broke out the fishing pole and trolled during the first part of the trip but didn't catch anything. We arrived in Cypress and are staying at a beautiful marina near Limassol.
Sightseeing in Cyprus	We rented a car to do some sightseeing trips to Larnaca, the east coast of the island, Nicosia, and Kyrenia on the North coast. Here are some photos of the old city in Nicosia followed by the shots of the marina in Kyrenia and the ride back to the south side of Cyprus.
Friends from Nicosia	We met our friends Doros and Elenitsa Archilleos (we met them on our previous trip to Cypress) and enjoyed two lovely evenings with their family. Shown are Doros and Elenitsa with their new puppy Blackie. The second shot shows four generations of Elenitsa family: her daughter Sotia and her mother and grandmother. We enjoyed a traditional Cypriot dinner, called a Mezedes (spelling is an optional condition for me). The weather is still not cooperating fully so we plan to spend another two days here before leaving for Turkey.
15 - 18 May Limassol to Finike, Turkey	We left Cypress on Saturday to take advantage of a short weather window. We made the trip to Finike in under 16 hours and cruised really slow the last five miles or so to arrive at the marina around 0700. Since we arrived on Sunday, we didn't go through customs until Monday morning. Finike is the ancient Phoenicia, the marina is well protected and there is a thriving city with a really nice open air market. We went shopping for fresh veggies and fruits. We met Jerry and Nancy from Indianapolis on L'ame Libre (Free Soul - a Hylas 54' just like Wings) that have been cruising in the Med for two years and are now headed back to the Caribbean.
18 May Finike to Gokaya	We left Finike on Tuesday for Gokkaya Limani (Limani is a small bay or cove) near Kerkova Roads. It was a short ride of about 14 nm. This is a beautiful little cove with lots of places to anchor and swing free. There is a restaurant (the Smuggler's Inn) and a disco (although the disco was not open at this point in the season). My thanks to Tony for this suggestion, it is a great place. The water was crystal clear and cool thanks to a fresh water spring feed. When we arrived there were several Gullets (the homemade Turkish sailing vessels) but most of them left while we were there and a new round came in that evening. We did some exploring in the cove and islets. The islets had ruins, spectacular views, goats, and caves. After a few beers and games of Shesh Besh (Backgammon), we had a dinner in the restaurant. Here are some photos from both Mike and me. The three masted gullet was all mahogany and was vanished to perfection (even the hull). Talk about bright work.
Sightseeing in Myra and Demre	On Thursday we took the dinghy to Andraki and rented a car from a local fisherman to visit Myra and Demre. We thought the SUV on Cypress was bad but as you can see, this Fiat was even worse. I couldn't drive it since the driver's seat wouldn't move back and my knees wouldn't clear the wheel. You could see the road through the floor under the driver's seat and we went very slow over the speed bumps since we didn't want to loose Mike. Myra is a Lycian necropolis with the tombs carved from solid rock in a cliff face. There was also a well preserved Roman amphitheater. Demre is the home of St. Nicholas (of Santa Claus fame) so we visited the church and surrounding shops.
23 - 25 May Gokaya to Kerkova	We left Gokkaya after the tour to Demre and Myra for Ugaciz Limani in Kerkova (a short trip of less than 5 nm). We anchored on the west end of this huge, completely protected cove. We went ashore for some provisions, a little sightseeing, and dinner at Ibrahim's. Ibrahim and Hassan are two brothers that run competing restaurants (sharing a common wall and a family feud). We watched their fierce competition for incoming boats with a great deal of amusement. Ibrahim brought out fresh bread in the morning as a reward for our patronage and moments later we watched as Hassan delivered bread to our neighbor. It is often said that cruising is really just "boat maintenance in exotic places" so the pictures of Mike and I rebuilding the anchor windless seems appropriate. Mike and Bonnie then took the dinghy off to explore the nearby castle at Kale Koy. Mike and I also helped to rescue a beautiful mahogany sailing dinghy.
25 - 26 May Kerkova to Kas	We left Kerkova for Kas and stayed at the old harbor. The city is small but quite striking, lots of interesting buildings, restaurants, and some stunning views. There is a beautiful amphitheater there with a great view of the surrounding sea. The mountains provide excellent opportunities for hang gliding, para-sailing, and other sports. We had a wonderful meal at a local French restaurant - Chez Evy - highly recommended to all.
25 - 27 May Kas to Fethiye	We moved to Fethiye on Tuesday and rented a car on Wednesday for some land touring. Here are some photos of Tlos (an ancient city dating to the Hittites) and Saklikent gorge carved by ice cold springs. You could wade along an 11 km stretch of it. We had lunch at a trout farm called Yaka Doga. On Thursday, we went north to Dalyan, a river community with hot springs and mud spas. The last photo is of Fethiye Korfezi (Bay) from one of the mountain passes we traversed.
27 May - 1 Jun Fethiye to Gocek	We traveled about 12 nm to Gocek on Friday morning. We are in a nice anchorage near to Cloverleaf and plan to remain here until Wednesday at least. Mike and Bonnie fly out of Dalaman airport early Tuesday morning. We have explored the town, shopped at the open air market, and on Monday I plan to visit a metal shop to have them fabricate new water tanks and an electronics shop to have them look at the Northstar GPS on the fly bridge.
1 - 6 Jun Gocek to Fethiye to Wall Bay	We moved back to Fethiye on Wednesday and joined Bev, Dave, Rami, and Linda (from Elyan) for dinner in Fethiye. On Thursday we met Danny on Regina and are invited over to Cloverleaf for drinks at five. We will stay at this anchorage until Sunday and then plan to head over to the Gocek area to explore some new anchorages. We spent a couple of nights at Wall Bay with Cloverleaf, Regina, Elyan and enjoyed a whole lamb on the spit.
8 - 10 Jun Wall Bay to Gocek and back to Wall Bay and Fethiye	We moved back to Gocek to meet Didi and Masha when they flew into Dalaman on 9 Jun for a week visit. We will be cruising to Marmaris while they are here. We spent one night in Gocek and then traveled to Wall Bay to rejoin Elyan and Cloverleaf for Shabbat. Even though the water was cold we were able to swim and use the kayaks. We also took a climb up the surrounding hills for some panoramic views. The ruins shown in the first photo are purported from one of Cleopatra's bath houses. She bathed around as much as Washington slept around so there are lots of them here in Turkey. We had Shabbat dinner on the boat with Cloverleaf and Elyan. On Monday we traveled to Fethiye and went on a land tour to Tlos, Yaka Doga, and Saklikent to show Didi and Masha the sights.
14 Jun Fethiye to Marmaris	On Tuesday we traveled to Marmaris. We initially anchored in Kumlu Buku but when the wind came up we pulled up anchor and went into Marmaris Yacht Marina. We intend to have the water tanks replaced here and Didi and Masha departed here on Thursday. On Tuesday we celebrated my birthday aboard Odelia. Tsipy baked a lemon meringue pie and we had Donnie and Ruti from Benjamen and Bob and Margaret from Suprr over to share in my celebration.
8 - 12 Jul Marmaris to Sarsala and Fethiye	We had the old water tanks removed from under the galley sole and replace with new, stainless steel tanks. The first photo shows the old tanks after they removed the front side. Ruti, Hana, Itzak, and Hemda arrived in Marmaris on Thursday, 7 July. We enjoyed an evening in Marmaris and then departed early on Friday for Fethiye Bay. We saw an extremely rare sight along the way, a Turkish Navy diesel electric submarine. We spent Shabbat at Sarsala Cove and enjoyed the swimming and beach. We cruised to Fethiye on Sunday and had a nice dinner ashore in the old town. Tsipy, Ruti, Hana, Hemda, and Itzak rented a car and took a land cruise to Tlos, Yaka Doga, and Saklikent Gorge. Here are some photos.
12 - 18 Jul Fethiye to Gocek and Sarsala	We returned Ruti and her gang to Gocek for their return flight and then headed back out to one of the pretty bays to anchor. We have arranged to pick up fuel on Monday and then will return to Fethiye for Utz to reupholster the sofa in the salon and the dinette. We have gotten pretty adept at the Turkish art of anchoring in the small bays. The water is so deep that you can't free swing since it takes too large of an area when the depth is 50 ft or more. They anchor and then tie to a tree to restrict the swinging. I drop the anchor and then keep the boat in reverse while Tsipy swims ashore to tie to a tree. When we leave she swims ashore, releases the line, and I pull her back to the boat. You can see the full moon over a gullet in one the coves and some shots of Tsipy releasing our shore line.
21 - 31 Jul Sarsala to Fethiye	When we returned to Fethiye we were delighted to catch up with Lisa our neighbor from Herzliya. Yosi, Ruti, Israel, Aleena, and Judith were onboard. We had lunch aboard Lisa, then Shabbat dinner aboard Odelia. On Sunday they rented a van and we accompanied them to Saklikent Gorge and Ulu Deniz (the Blue Lagoon) where we had a wonderful dinner at the White Dolphin restaurant overlooking the entrance to the lagoon.
Utz recovering sofa and galley	We are having the sofa in the salon and the dinette reupholstered here in Fethiye. Utz's work is great although we had to stay in the marina for more than a week. Here are some photos.
31 Jul - 10 Aug Fethiye to Gocek and back	We moved back to Gocek and picked up Motti and Jackie. We explored Gocek on Monday and then moved to a remote bay on Tuesday to enjoy swimming and water toys. On Wednesday we cruised over to Fethiye, did some shopping in the bazaar, then rented a car to visit Tlos, Yaka Doga, Saklikent, and Olu Deniz. We are leaving Fethiye on Friday morning and will relocate to one of the coves in Skopea Limani, probably Tomb Bay if it is not too crowded, to spend Shabbat. On Sunday we will return to Gocek so our guests can leave on Monday. We plan to depart Gocek on Tuesday and begin our return to Israel.
10 - 14 Aug Fethiye to Finike, Limassol, and Herzliya	We departed Fethiye with Shmolik and Hanuch for our return to Israel. We cruised to Finike, then overnight to Limassol. We spent Shabbat in Cyprus and then departed on Sunday for the overnight trip to Herzliya.