Samos- we made it!

Well we made it Samos only to hear the terrible news about Paris. It was quite scary to find out that a number of the terrorists involved had worked their way through Leros where we had been only a few days ago, and it made us think about a group of guys we had been nervously watching on the waterfront! Looking at us and obviously discussing the boat!! Needless to say we didn't sleep well and left very early the following morning. It is a terrible situation for all at the moment but spare a thought for the Greek people who live and work on islands like Leros who are trying to keep the tourism industry going as well as themselves while dealing with a constant stream of refugees ( and others!) . A refugee camp has been set up at the back of the town hall now which wasn't there on our previous visit and the lovely lady we had met earlier in the summer who runs one of the harbour front cafes appeared to have aged ten years and was not the happy friendly person she was then. It appears there's going to be no stopping this migration of these young guys through Greece... Scary thoughts on where this will all end up in years to come! Like a cancer... There's going to be no way of stopping it now the gates are open and the ability of those attempting to police the thousands coming through these islands is obviously limited and as has been demonstrated by recent events in Paris failing terribly at times. Unfortunately now those who are truly in need of asylum will find the actions of others will make it even more difficult for them to get the help they need. 

Anyway on a brighter note, and after a 7 hour passage from Lipso, we made it to Samos our home port for the winter. We set off at 7 in the morning from Lipso and the forecast was meant to be reasonable. An hour in and in open water the wind-picked up and we were in a force 4 to 5! So un-predictable this Greek weather, luckily 'Christina's' bow is huge and the waves bounce off her. Smaller fibreglass yachts must get 'caught out' in some of these weird weather conditions out here. After a few hours bouncing off the waves, conditions calmed and we cruised steadily past the island of Agathonisi . We planned calling in here because it had great reviews in the Greek Water Pilot book, but forecasts were pretty bad and we wanted to get to Samos ASAP! More to follow in coming BLOGS and on settling in to Samos. All our thoughts to everyone involved in what happened in Paris. We still haven't had enough internet access to read the full story but it sounds horrific. Our thoughts our with all those affected by these events . 

Settling in!

We've been at the marina in Samos now for 2 days and we are settling in to what will be our winter life in Greece! The weathers starting to turn (16/11/2015), the wind changed round to the north this afternoon and picked up, COLD.. Brrr.. we went ashore this evening in jeans and a jacket, yep, welcome to the real world! Winters coming even here!  We are moored in a windy berth in the marina and Internet access is poor so over the next few weeks we will try to get a better spot. We also need storage for our cushions, dinghy, sails and other bits so we will see how we get on with the marina staff. It's an odd marina, we love it because it's so quiet, it should be thriving but it's almost as if it's been built just too far away from the main town of Pythagoria , it's about 15 mins walk from town down a dusty track past a sewage farm, not for everyone! The posh yachtees wouldn't be fond of it as facilities are short on supply. Selling points for us after being in a working boatyard back at home are hot showers, laundry, taverna / bar with Internet, plus it's cheap and quiet, very quiet.. With just about half a dozen live-aboards. We've already met a lovely English couple who have been here for 5 years, living on a Birchwood TS 37 motor boat. We're off to Lidl's with them tomorrow for our weekly shop... Exciting life!! Yep, they have a Lidl's just down the road! We have a limited monthly budget so it should come in very handy. 

We have lots to think about regarding the boat now we are settled - more lighting, heating, more power sockets, scraping off all the paint on everything! Portholes etc! the Turks don't do 'cutting in' ! Lots of woodwork to sand back, glue, secure and varnish. Inside we want some home comforts, she's a bit bland and Tara wats to personalise her a little with a few furnishings. The next 3 months won't be glamorous! Cold at times with some winter storms to deal with... The sun and island hopping days are about to end for a while... But hey! We don't care because we are here and know what an amazing place it is come rain or shine! The tranquility and charm of the island remains in all weathers and once the spring comes we look forward to visits from the"kids" and we will set off again to explore these wonderful waters in a great climate ,by which time Christina will be looking even more gorgeous and ready for her new adventures and admirers. 

Another vid

Samos- we made it!

Well we made it Samos only to hear the terrible news about Paris. It was quite scary to find out that a number of the terrorists involved had worked their way through Leros where we had been only a few days ago, and it made us think about a group of guys we had been nervously watching on the waterfront! Looking at us and obviously discussing the boat!! Needless to say we didn't sleep well and left very early the following morning. It is a terrible situation for all at the moment but spare a thought for the Greek people who live and work on islands like Leros who are trying to keep the tourism industry going as well as themselves while dealing with a constant stream of refugees ( and others!) . A refugee camp has been set up at the back of the town hall now which wasn't there on our previous visit and the lovely lady we had met earlier in the summer who runs one of the harbour front cafes appeared to have aged ten years and was not the happy friendly person she was then. It appears there's going to be no stopping this migration of these young guys through Greece... Scary thoughts on where this will all end up in years to come! Like a cancer... There's going to be no way of stopping it now the gates are open and the ability of those attempting to police the thousands coming through these islands is obviously limited and as has been demonstrated by recent events in Paris failing terribly at times. Unfortunately now those who are truly in need of asylum will find the actions of others will make it even more difficult for them to get the help they need. 

Met a lovely family selling home made marmalade... The fig one is amazing! Yummy

J

Lol

Anyway on a brighter note, and after a 7 hour passage from Lipso, we made it to Samos our home port for the winter. We set off at 7 in the morning from Lipso and the forecast was meant to be reasonable. An hour in and in open water the wind-picked up and we were in a force 4 to 5! So un-predictable this Greek weather, luckily 'Christina's' bow is huge and the waves bounce off her. Smaller fibreglass yachts must get 'caught out' in some of these weird weather conditions out here. After a few hours bouncing off the waves, conditions calmed and we cruised steadily past the island of Agathonisi . We planned calling in here because it had great reviews in the Greek Water Pilot book, but forecasts were pretty bad and we wanted to get to Samos ASAP! More to follow in coming BLOGS and on settling in to Samos. All our thoughts to everyone involved in what happened in Paris. We still haven't had enough internet access to read the full story but it sounds horrific. Our thoughts our with all those affected by these events . 

A short stop at Leros

We arrived today at Leros after a 5 hour trip in reasonably calm waters from Kalymnos, and anchored off in the big bay near to the marina. (11th November 2015). It was a bit of an eye opener after our last visit in the summer, refugees were everywhere! We counted at least 300 just wondering around the port, many of the lucky ones with passports waiting for the ferry to Athens, but the unlucky main group with no paperwork and being held in camps along the seafront. We felt guilty sat in a bar watching them walk past on the prom with our glass of vino. Many of the families and children looked like they had been through hell and back and some of the younger guys made us feel nervous! We spoke to three men about their voyage and it sounded desperate, they had their live's threatened in Syria and two of the guys looked traumatised.

Another lady we spotted looked like she was praying, but I think she was in shock from what ever she had experienced before hand. The 3 guys had come in by boat to the other side of the island. They said some had died on the voyage including children. We were both close to tears listening to their stories and both felt guilty knowing our live's are so secure. They never asked for any money and we kissed and hugged them  and then jumped back in the dinghy and headed back to Christina at anchor in the bay. Tara was quite  upset, a night not to be forgotten and a reminder of how lucky we should count ourselves! Tomorrow we will set sail early and head to Lipsos, just eight hours from our final destination, a little island just South of Samos.

We set sail early to head for Lipsos after a disturbed night at anchor in Leros . Ferries and boats entering the harbour throughout the night. Another windy journey and a rather choppy sea! But we are in Lipsos as planned and what a gorgeous place! Quiet now as the season has ended here but beautiful and idyllic! Definitely happy to be here after some of the busier places we have stayed along the way! We may stay for a day or two depending on the weather ! Sitting in a little bar as it is once again beer O'clock!! The bay looks beautiful and despite it being mid November it is still warm enough to be in shorts and t shirts! Yep we know u guys at home will feel for us!!! Lol ! 

We plan to stop next at another small island on our final voyage to Samos . We will post another blog there if we can pick up wifi! 

Two days away from Samos

We've now been travelling for about a week and have two days to go before we get to Samos our winter home.... Weathers still great but evenings cold (10th November 2015). 

A few videos

Half way house

Finally found a little time to put pen to paper. Where to start! We left Marmaris early morning a couple of days ago now. (2nd November 2015).  We had to do a customs exit, showed passports, and our agent signed us out. Quite straight forward, and they allowed us to moor on the fuel platform for the night so we could get an early start out of Marmaris and onto Greece the following morning. Simi our first port of call was a bit to far for a days sailing so we opted for a small anchorage down the Bozburun Yarimadasi Coast called Bozuk, about 6 hours west of Marmaris. The weathers still gorgeous and 'Christina' punched the swell and ran us down the Turkish coast. It was Tara's first real trip out to sea on 'Christina' and she loved it. The engine ran well all day with not a clinch. Bozuk was an amazing spot to stop the night, a castle on the hill is now just an ancient ruin and we climbed to the top. 'Christina' lay at anchor in the middle of the bay and we dinghy'd ashore to the one and only Taverna where we bought a bottle of cheap plonk. Tara cooked a nice Spag Bol onboard and we crashed exhausted. Well sort of ! Try sleeping when a wind gets up in the middle of the night and you're constantly worrying about the anchor dragging! Yep one of the many things you have to deal with on this adventure. More to follow! Anyway next morning we were up bright and early and heading out of the bay and heading for Simi, time to change our courtesy flag to the Greek one instead of the Turkish flag we have flown since we arrived! Simi was a sight for sore eyes, we'd been here briefly in the summer on a ferry stop and we loved the coloured houses and the Italian feel of the buildings. We were lucky the ferries had now stopped as winter was coming and we moored right on the town quay, with no charge. Well apart from a fiver for water off the water man. We were meant to catch up with another agent here to sign us into Greece, but with time schedules we decided to leave it until later in the trip and hope we don't get fined! We headed ashore and couldn't resist climbing the steps of the streets all the way up to the church on top of the hill overlooking the town ( typical Greek) step after step, knackering! Their were little old ladies living at the top in gorgeous little houses, so fit! Next morning we were up early again. A shame to leave Simi so quickly but this weather window was too good to miss this time of year and Samos is still a long way away.... Our home for the winter. Next Blog we are heading north past Kos and up to Leros... 

Leaving Marmaris..... Bye bye good memories

Going through customs in Marmaris with our new awnings just finished

Leaving Marmaris

Well time has come to start thinking about our first voyage out of Turkey and over into Greece.

A good weather window is forecast for the next 10 days (today 1st November 2015) so we have arranged to meet our 'agent' this Wednesday so we can complete customs and depart from Marmaris. This involves an 80 euros tax! checking ships log/ blue card, passports, visas, skippers certificates, radio licences, insurance etc, and then we can leave. We have arranged to meet a new agent in Simi our first port of call into a Greece which is about a day away. Weather is still amazing, hot, very little wind, (25') and just cools nights....

We will miss Marmaris for its convenience and all the characters!,  We have  managed to buy  most of the equipment we needed for the boat. I don't think either of us will miss the marina much. Lots of charter yachtees stuck up their own arses! You know the type! The striped shirts brigade and all the other stuff, but not even capable of folding up a sail! The Russians have departed now the regattas over so at least we can sleep at night, god those guys can party!! We gate crashed the last night in the regatta marquee and got smashed with them on free wine and grub! Lots of dad dancing.... They are a weird lot! But then again....so are we!!! L

Tonight we are anchored off Turunc, a small village around the coast from Marmaris. We've just been ashore in the dingy for a pint ( 4 o'clock club as we called it back home). A ghost town now the seasons ended, but lovely, met a girl from Birmingham who's been here on and off for 14 years after meeting a Turkish guy on holiday. Back onboard now, Tara cooking a chilli and a bottle of red to wash it down. Happy days!  Blog next when we head off. Love to all our friends and family . We love and miss you all . Come join us soon! ❤️😍👣xx

First days sailing!

Today we finally managed to get 'Christina' out into Marmaris Bay and wow was it worth waiting for! We had two sails up to start, (Front and back) and she plodded along in light winds like an old Wherry on the Broads. It should be really exciting putting up the main sail, but we will wait a few more days for that. Tara's been brilliant. She loves 'Christina, and totally gets the wooden boat thing! She also loves being on the helm.... happy days!! The engine ran really well all day with no hiccups. I'm also really impressed with the new electrics onboard, the fridge just draws 3 amps and we can leave it on all the time. One problem was when we anchored the first night, the bolts holding the winch almost gave way! Luckily I noticed them moving before the whole lot went overboard! Temporary fix was bracing a large lump of wood over the horns. 

Our first night out was anchored off Marmaris harbour next to two huge gullets. We slept like babies with no noise from the marina and the boat gently rocked.... Lovely! The regattas still on in the marina and the place is crawling with drunk Russians! They party in the marquee until about 4am, (we sound old!) so it was great to get away from the "yachtees"! It was fun watching them racing though, with all their colourful spinnakers flying.

The captain...

Our second night out was anchored off Ismalar (about two miles down the coast from Marmaris). We'd got a water taxi here months ago when we were on holiday, and joked we would return one day when we bought Christina! Huh! Lol Dreams can come true....

We returned to the marina to moor up after our first voyage out and were assisted by the guys in the marina with their dinghy , although we didn't need help! And moored up easily only for one of the guys helping to then fall off the boarding platform into the water!! Fortunately he was ok and found it funny! " I like to swim" he said!!! 

We are currently sitting under our new awnings which were made by our friend Rashit!! We have one over the bow of the yacht and one over the aft deck . Rain proof and sun proof they add a lovely extension to the deck for sitting out in the evening with a glass of wine watching the world go by! He is going to make us some cushions for the aft deck too ! Once finished we plan to set sail for Simi , our first stop on the way to Samos!

Finally got the old girl to sea!

( excuse my grammar / I pads are crap for blogging). It's been raining heavy here for about 3 days and thunder and lightning so it's been interesting! We've got a few leaks on the boat so we ended up putting the winter cover on which is huge! We took it off today as the sun came out and they have forecasted good weather now for about 2 weeks. We are really enjoying Marmaris because we can get all the bits we wanted for the boat, so far, a new boarding platform, folding bikes, rubber dingy, 2 x awnings, cushions, new bed mattresses, bedding, towels, crockery, cutlery, deck cushions, kettle, sauce pans, clothes, tool box, spanners boarding ladder, engine spares, engine service, YEP... Busy. Weve made lots of friends already, an elderly British couple a few boats down have been doing this for 30 years! Both in the mid 80's!!! He's been great for passing me on all those tips you need to know. The family making the boat covers have been very good and invited as around for tea... Another guy cut some mirrors for the heads compartment waves in the morning...  

We are going to take the boat out tomorrow for the first time so watch this space! 

Arrived in Marmaris (the start)

Not sure where to start, but it's been a little manic getting here! We finally made it to Marmaris, absolutely exhausted after all the planning over the past few months. (Not for the faint hearted this venture, if you've got a dicky heart, don't do it! ). First night onboard we slept rough with no pillows and just a coat as a blanket! First morning the sun was out ( which helped!) We stood on the deck of our new boat 'Christina' and had time to take it all in, we'd finally made it! The boat was as beautiful as we had remembered and all our hard work getting here over the last few months was definitely worth it. But still more to do as she needed completely kitting out from scratch! We needed a kettle ASAP! 

We are planning to set off from Marmaris in about two weeks time so there's been plenty to do. First day was at the Bizarres getting stores, supplies and kitting the boat out. Second day we headed out to look for a bed shop. The mattress's onboard are rock hard and we're both having trouble sleeping, they don't do memory foam in Turkey! Friendly guys out here, the man from the hardware shop gave us a lift back to the boat with all our stuff and another guy in the bed shop gave us a piece of foam for our bed on the condition he can come down tomorrow to measure up for awnings!! We also bought two foldaway bikes this morning which are great fun and ideal for getting about. 

The yacht broker came to see us  this morning to finalise all the paperwork for owning and moving 'Christina' out of Marmaris and on to Greece. Quite a complicated venture! Changing the boat from a German flag to English, setting up a ships log,  proving VAT payed, copies of  skippers certificates and so on! When we sail out of here alGl paperwork has to be in place....or we can't go! 

Weathers been great again today, around 28c ! (On October 19th 2015), We had a chance to get some of the sails up as the winds were light and they didn't look too bad so we're now itching to get her out into the bay and give her a 'Shake Down'.

I will upload some images when I've figured out how too!