From Crete to Sicily

Chaniá in Crete was an enjoyable place for an unplanned stopover of six days while waiting for a weather window.  Chaniá is steeped in history and has been fought over and controlled by Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Genoese, Turks and Egyptians. Following unification with Greece in 1913, the island was then invaded by the Germans during World War II. The harbour is where most of the city’s interesting sights are, including the old Venetian quarter, the Venetian lighthouse and the Mosque of the Janissaries (1645) which is the oldest Ottoman building on the island. Sabbaticus was berthed in the town harbour, while a picturesque location and in the heart of the city to meander around it was also outside the bars and restaurants which quickly became tiresome in the early hours of every morning. Ear plugs were a must to ensure a quieting to the nightly noise.

With time available we decided on hiking the Samariá Gorge, the longest ravine in Europe.  The gorge is a well-trodden trail that leads down a 18km course to a seaside village. The Samariá Gorge is reached via a zigzag path which drops a staggering 1,000mtrs in the first 2km of the walk.  This hike was picturesque and included ancient ruins, donkeys, ranger huts and many fresh water springs to refresh at.  At the 12km point the route squeezed between two towering rock walls, only 3mtrs apart, forming the famous Iron Gates – the narrowest part of the Gorge.  At the end of the walk we rewarded ourselves with a swim in the sea to cool off before catching the ferry then bus back to Chaniá.  Not surprisingly we all felt the effects of the hike the next day – though this did not stop Sally going for her daily swim.

After six days of the noisy bars we were all ready to depart for Sicily and left late afternoon on 29 Sep.  Our departure was perfect with the motor off after  20mins and full sails up, with dolphins on the bow. Unfortunately these conditions did not last, with a twister sighted in the distance and then thunderstorms and lightning for 4-5hrs. Unfortunately the thunderstorms, lightning and squalls became the norm for the next few days which meant sails up / sails down and engine on. Thankfully we did not encounter any illegal immigrant boats but did follow on the radio a Man Overboard rescue that was 10 miles ahead of us which was eventually called off – hopefully due to a rescue. On our last night at sea we were visited by a huge pod of dolphins that enjoyed the bow wave and then a beautiful sunset.  After 384NM and four nights at sea, we arrived in Marina di Ragusa at 0130hrs in the morning and tied up at the fuel dock pleased to finally be in Sicily with no damage to Sabbaticus or her crew.  The last task that night was to raise the NZ flag before heading to bed for a long 5 hours sleep with no chance of being disturbed for a sail change!

 

After a hearty fried breakfast we then moved Sabbaticus to her berth for the next 7 months. Leanne must have been tired as we were asked if ‘we were in distress’ as our NZ flag was hoisted upside down – a tad embarrassing for an arrival! Sally and Bata kindly offered to assist us for few days before doing some sightseeing.  With extra hands to help we tackled the big jobs of removing the main and geona sails, all haylards, lines and sheets and then cleaning the mast. Sally was also able to assist with the never ending task of polishing the stainless. Sally and Bata were then finally able to relax, get off the boat and enjoy a few days sightseeing the local area before departing. After 27 days they left Sabbaticus tanned and with a greater awareness of offshore passage-making and the inevitable boat maintenance demands of live-aboard cruisers. 

Mosque of the Janissaries in Chaniá

Sabbaticus amongst the bars in Chaniá

Passage to Crete

Sally & Bata arrive 

Sailing friends from the UK, Sally and Bata, were keen to join us for the passage from Turkey to Sicily and joined Sabbaticus in Fethiye. After a couple of days acclimatizing to the warmer temps, enjoying swimming at anchor and a few local meals out we departed Fethiye for Crete. The weather forecast looked promising for a three day passage but as we continue to learn the the forecasts are changeable.

Lindos Acropolis

The first 5hrs was perfect weather but the wind steadily increased to 35kts. This was time to remove the reefed genoa and put up the storm jib. John had the task of going on the foredeck and rigging the forestay for the storm jib – with waves breaking over the bow it was hard wet work but at least the water was warm! After sailing in wind of Force 7/8 (28-40kts), and the inevitable seasickness, we decided to seek refuge on Rhodes Is and anchored in Lindos the next morning. This was a fast passage of 125NM with a max speed of 9kts and average of 6kts which was impressive given most of the trip was sailed under storm jib & a heavily reefed main sail.   

Waiting for customers

Downtime

With nobody keen to cook or eat any food during the previous 24hrs it was a quick breakfast and then to bed for several hours to recover.  After cleaning Sabbaticus to remove the salt residue, and John going up the mast for a minor sail repair, it was time to launch the dinghy to visit the imposing acropolis of Lindos perched on a sheer cliff face above the village. Lindos was first inhabited around 3^rd century BC and is now a village comprising a maze of narrow lanes and whitewashed houses.  We enjoyed seeing the many donkeys around the narrow streets but not the large tourists riding the donkeys to the acropolis. 

The unexpected diversion to Rhodes meant we needed a Greek data plan for weather forecasting. This loggie task required Sally and Leanne to forego a relaxing day on the boat swimming/reading and catching a local bus into Rhodes to find the Vodafone shop. The data plan task was quickly achieved and we were then free to enjoy the sights of the Old Town of Rhodes. The Old Town is a medieval walled city contained within 4kms of walls surrounded by moats. Eleven gates access the Old Town with a mixture of different architectures from various historical periods dominated by the Order of St John and the Ottoman period. Approx 10,000 people live and work in the Old Town which was fascinating to wander around the medieval buildings, castles, narrow streets, houses, mosques, fountains and squares.  

A short swim home...

After arriving back in Lindos we saw John & Bata on Sabbaticus and waved frantically from the beach. Despite a pre-planned pick up point/time the dinghy never arrived so the only option was to swim to the boat. Leanne stripped down to her underwear and swam to the boat where John promptly departed in the dinghy to pick up Sally with all the groceries. After three days in Lindos the winds were favourable for the passage along the top of Crete. Of interest, Crete is the largest Greek Is and is known as the home of Europe’s earliest civilization. Crete has a strong agriculture economy and is probably one of the only Greek Islands that could support itself without tourism.

Sitia Town Quay

Our next unplanned stop was Sitia in Crete.  After leaving Lindos the first 8 hrs were relatively easy sailing until the wind increased to 30kts, resulting in the storm jib being raised at 2200hrs and the main sail reefed down further. After 36hrs sailing we decided to stop at Sitia town quay and arrived just on dusk after 200NM with a max speed of 10kts. Sitia is a small town unaffected by tourism and felt quite authentic with a pretty harbor, waterfront bars and cafes surrounded by the local fishing boats. A Venetian Castle dominated the hilltop and provided great views over the bay.  
 

Spinalonga

After two nights we then departed Sitia to Spinalonga Lagoon which was a lovely day sail across the bay. Spinalonga Lagoon is about 2NM long and provided excellent shelter from the weather and is named after Spinalonga Island which is at the entrance to the lagoon. We anchored in the bay and took the dinghy for a trip to Spinalonga Island. The island is a barren and rocky islet with a forbidding 16^th century Venetian fortress that withstood Turkish invaders for 45 years after the mainland had fallen. From 1903-1957 the island was used as leper colony for Greece and the unfortunate inhabitants experienced the reality of living and dying in isolation. Although now deserted, the picturesque island of ruins has become synonymous with suffering and has an unnervingly sense of desolation.

Spinalonga - Venetian Fortress 

While visiting Spinalonga Island Leanne heard another kiwi accent and realized it was another NZ yachting couple we had met in Turkey. This resulted in Brigitta moving across to our anchorage and joining us for sundowners onboard Sabbaticus. The next morning the forecast looked favourable so we headed out of the lagoon only to return six hours later when the forecast changed dramatically with thunder, lighting and 45kts head winds. With no safe anchorages close by we motored back to Spingalonga. After squalls, rain (first time we have experienced rain since June), thunder and lightning the weather settled down and we had a good night’s sleep. We then departed Spinalonga the next morning (finally) for Khanai at the West end of Crete to preposition ourselves for our 500nm crossing to Sicily. 

Our 'neighbour' in Sitia town quay

Lindos tourist beach 

Lindos village

Lindos acropolis and amphitheater

Spinalonga Island

Leaving Turkey

Marmaris Castle built 1044BC

Despite the plan to sail from Marmaris  to Goeck we were thwarted by lack of wind and ended up sailing around Marmaris bay and anchored outside Yacht Marina where we started from.  Marmaris Bay is the centre of Turkish yachting and charter industry and a beach holiday destination. The large bay is picturesque and is surrounded by pine forests and hotels with numerous anchorages. The town of Marmaris was devastated by an earthquake in 1958 so not many old buildings remain the exception being the medieval fortress built on a rocky knoll. The only positive of returning to the same place was a kiwi yacht was already anchored there which resulted in an enjoyable evening of drinks onboard Birgitta.

Daily exercise taking lines ashore

The next day the wind arrived and we had a great day’s sailing, in prefect conditions reaching in 15kts to Gocek 45NM. On arrival, we planned to anchor in 22 Fathom Bay (a deep by on the W coast of the bay).  However, this planned was thwarted by our inability to set the anchor in 15-20mtrs of water. Despite two different locations and the anchor being reset six times it would not hold in the weedy / muddy bottom.  By this time the windlass (anchor) switch had overheated and failed - along with our sense of humour.  With only one hour of light left we motored off in frustration to a Goeck marina for the night.  Goeck has five marina’s which appears to be the major industry with a lovely village to stroll in. The next morning we were relieved to have the windlass switch operating and headed out to find a bay to anchor in.

Friendly local visit

Finally on the mooring

As we were motoring past Adasi Island Leanne spied some mooring boys so we quickly diverted to pick one up. This became another trial and learning point - after picking up the the first bouy we realised by the time Sabbaticus swung around we were too close to shore. The next bouy we picked up was then too close to some rocks.  We rounded the next point and picked up another bouy - having secured one line ashore the second line was too short.  Arghh! Our sense of humour was starting to fail again - the fourth bouy was perfect. After all this effort we stayed fora couple of nights to rest and relax with lots of swims to cool off in the inevitable midday/afternoon heat. The bay is beautiful with pine covered slopes to the water edge, deep clear water, and large turtles swimming in close proximity to the boat. Every day we had new 'neighbours' arrive, usually tourist gulets stopping for an hour to swim before the next boat arrived so there was plenty of anchoring skills.

Memorial to Fethie Bay

It was then a short trip, 12NM, across to Fethiye located in another picturesque bay with pine trees around the natural harbour.  We anchored in the bay outside the marinas - all the better to get the cooling breeze.  Although Fethiye was flattened in the same earthquake as Marmaris the ancient theatre, medieval fort and Lycian rock tombs survived. The largest tomb is the Tomb of Amyntas, dating back to 4th century BC. We learned that Fethiye is named after a local Air Force aviator who died while attempting to fly between Istanbul and Cairo in 1914. 

 

Men's coffee group?

Wile we would have liked to head further south, there was no wind forecast and motoring for 8 hours was not appealing. So instead we had a relaxing few days at anchor with daily trips into Fethiye town where Leanne enjoyed the markets and John the wifi cafés. As always the local cafes had the men sitting around drinking coffee while board games - a familiar sight in Turkey and Greece. Rarely are groups of women seen sitting around - guess they are all at home working.

 

During the time in Fethiye Sabbaticus was re-provisioned, spares re-packed, laundry taken ashore for a 'real wash' as opposed to buckets on the foredeck and another boat wash completed in preparation for our passage to Sicily.  Friends from the UK, Sally and Bata, are joining us for the trip to Sicily which will be good to have the company onboard and longer sleeps during each watch change which will be luxury. After doing day sails for the last few months we are keen to get going and sail a longer passage - this will be the last passage for this season before Sabbaticus hibernate's in a marina in Sicily for winter. 

 

Lycian Rock Tombs - 4th century BC

Marmaris monument to Ataturk - Turkey's first President