Heading East To Cyprus Through Antalya Bay. 15 - 20 Sep 2017.

The Final Leg Of 2017.  Around The Bay Of Antalya Then On To North Cyprus, Our Winter Home.  15 - 20 September 2018.

The Route From Finike (1) to Sazak Koyu Anchorage (2), Then Anchorage Off Gloria Golf Resort (3),
On To Alanya Marina (3) And Finally To Karpaz Gate Marina (5), North Cyprus.

1.    Finike To Sazak Koyu.  15 September 2017.     We left Finike Marina at 0845 after being pumped out for the final time. As usual in the morning, there was no wind so we motored round the headland and islands of Taslik Burnu before heading north. We visited Sulu Island and were amazed by its green coloured rock that we had last seen on the volcanic island of Nisiros in Greece. We managed a small amount of sailing admiring the mountainous scenery and eventually settled for a nights anchorage in the stunning small cove of Sazak. The scenery was amazing.

Finike To Sazak Koyu.

Departing Finike.

The Mountainous Ridge Behind Finike.

Rounding The Headland Of Taslik Burnu.

Approaching Sulu Island.

The Beach And Green Rock Of Sulu Island.

Sulu Island And Markuz Beach On The Mainland.

The Beach Of Cavus Bay.

Looking Towards Olympus Beach. Tahtalidagi Peak (2366m) In The Distance With Chair Lift!

A Gullet In The North Of Sazak Cove.

The Beautiful Clean Waters Of Sazak Cove.

Looking North From Cineviz Cove.

Anchored In Sazak Cove With A View Of The Hills Looking Remarkably Like Mount Mulanje In Malawi!!

Cineviz Cove With Mount Mulanje Lookalike!!

2.     Cinevez To Gloria Golf Resort. 16 - 18 September 2017.     We suddenly discovered that our next door neighbours from home in Bere Regis, Dorset, England were on holiday a short distance east of Antalya, so decided to pay them a visit. We departed the peace and beauty of Cinevez anchorage at 1115 hrs and headed up the coastline. After a glorious start of quiet beaches, we suddenly came back into the world of mass tourism, monster hotels and fleets of gullets. That was enough to make Guy charge on north at speed under engine to escape. It was not easy and we were surrounded for a good hour by noise and mad gullets until we were north of Kemer. Kemer looked lovely, but all that mayhem spoilt it for us.  We eventually found the golf resort where our friends were on the north coast just at nightfall so anchored off and decided to wait till daybreak to meet up. We rowed ashore, met up with Martin and Ali and joined them in the all inclusive delightful resort as well as taking advantage of a full breakfast, lunch, drinks and a swim in the pool. How the other half live!! The wind picked up in the afternoon so we returned to Kisti Two and departed early next morning. 

The Site Of Ancient Olympos With Crusader Castle Walls And Gorgeous Beach.

A Contented Skipper Just Before Kemer.

Suddenly The Wilds Of Lysinia Gave Way To Major Tourist Developments!!

8 Gullet Boats On The Beach!

The First Gullet Chase Complete With Foam Spray And Disco At Full Volume!

Escaping The Gullet Fleet.

3.   Gloria Golf Resort To Alanya Marina. 18 September 2017.    This proved to be a long and dull long 43 NM motor direct to Alanya Marina. We had plenty of space to be able to go alongside and then we arranged with an agent to book us out of Turkey so that we could leave the following morning and go direct to Cyprus. While waiting, we were horrified to see the most ugly gullet ever imaginable come and berth overnight in the marina. We had seen it all now. We enjoyed a lovely meal in the restaurant that night. After finally being booked out of Turkey by Customs and Marine Police, we left Alanya Marina at 0945 to start what would turn out to be a most wonderful and eventful 24 hour  130 NM trip from Turkey to Karpaz Gate, Cyprus. We motor sailed along in flat calm seas and hazy waters when Guy suddenly spotted 2 large whales on our bow only 20 meters ahead. The looked up and suddenly dived down which certainly gave an enormous shock to Guy. The rest of the time was spent swatting flies that had obviously hatched from a nest on the boat that Guy eventually identified as the rear rope locker. Still, it kept him amused for a good 3 hours. The wind picked up at 1600 hours as we rounded the corner of Turkey to a following F4/5, so we dropped the main and sailed under Genoa only. Night fell and we sailed along at 6.5 knots avoiding several cargo boats. Unfortunately Guy picked up a passenger ferry from Gernia on AIS heading straight for us so had to call them up on the radio to avoid a collision at 0400 hrs. A slightly embarrassed skipper changed course as requested and apologised as they sped past at 14 knots behind us!  We were welcomed outside Karpaz Gate Marina by the harbour master who helped us through customs and immigration and then a few days later we were put into our spot for winter.

Alanya Marina With Hideous Gullet.

The Pirate Castle Of Alanya.

Hazy Waters.

Two Whales On The Bow!!!

Guy Fly Swatting For 3 Hours!!!!

Sailing At Night In F5, SOG 6.5 Knots.

4.   Karpaz Gate Marina. Winter 2017/18.   This wonderful marina is to be our home for the winter.  We soon settled into winter life sorting out Kisti Two, giving her a good clean, re-doing the decks with Teak Wonder, changing the oil and filters again, getting rid of rusty chain and enjoying The Beach Club facilities. We were due to fly back to UK for our daughters wedding so were kept very busy sorting Kisti Two out. More to follow at the end of winter.

Kisti Two All Safely Tied Up In Karpaz Gate Marina.

Kisti Two Resting After A Hard Summers Sail.

Guy Squeezing Into The Anchor Well.

Guy Cleaning The Anchor Well After Removing The Rusty Chain.

The Marina Beach Club

Karpaz Gate Marina - Modern, Clean And Very Well Priced.

Decks Fish And Chips Pub.

Marina Entrance.

Marina Beach Club.

The Marina Wall.

Sunset View From Kisti Two.

Beach Club Infinity Pool.

I Can Get Used To This Very Easily.
Guy Putting His Feet Up After A Long Summers Sail.

SUMMER OF 2017 SUMMARY.     

      The two charts below represent our summer sail for 2017 with different colours for different months. We left Ag Nik on Crete on 14 April and completed 2379 NM in 5 months (14 Apr - 20 Sep) until Karpaz Gate Marina on North Cyprus. We motored for 367 hours with one oil and filter change midway and another on arrival at Karpaz Gate. We were underway for a total of 516 hours. So we sailed for about 30% of the time, motor sailed for 20% of the time and motored for 50%. It has been a wonderful summer sailing, first around the Aegean exploring islands and avoiding the Meltemi wind and swell followed by a mad dash across to Poros and back, another good sail around the Aegean again with Martin before finally sailing along the Turkish coastline to Cyprus over two months. Kisti Two has performed superbly and the only problem has been her fridge, not surprisingly in the 40C temperatures we endured. We hope you have enjoyed sailing along with us, till 2018, safe winds and fair passages as they say.

The Summer Of 2017.

The Final Leg To Karpaz Gate Marina.