ALMA'S LOG: TURKEY

As I have come from Greece, a country I know already pretty well, as well as most of the cruising grounds in the Med, probably will be of interest to some cruisers my opinion about Turkey as a cruising ground. It surely would have interested me before I went there to have more information about it and the one I had not always proved correct, at least from my view point.

Datça

I have heard that the Marmaris and Bodrum regions were very beautiful, more beautiful than Greece and that the Turks were very nice. I was also worried with that stupid law about black water and grey water (impossible to respect) and the need of emptying the black water tank on special stations on very expensive marinas, instead of emptying it far away from the shore.

Regarding this last concern I have to say that even if I had passed 15 days cruising Turkey and though I had to buy the famous blue card (to register black tanks pumped out) I never went to a pumping station (they are available only in expensive marinas) and I did not have any problem with it, neither was I asked to show it when I checked out, maybe because I did not check out on the Marmaris or Bodrum area.

Bodrum

There is one thing definitively better in Turkey, compared to Greece: the food. Better and less expensive, much less expensive if you go out of the tourism zone and eat with the locals, there a varied delicious meal can cost as little as 5 Euros. Of course you will not drink beer or wine (sometime they don’t have it at all) and drink water or tea (as the locals).

Keçi Buku

On the market the variety of food is also bigger (and cheaper) with some delicious stuff around. The Greek wine is nothing special but it is not expensive and they have good beer (Fix), the Turks have only expensive wines that don’t deserve their price and the best beer is the Tuborg (made in Turkey) . Both things are very expensive in restaurants.

If you do like us and adapt to the local costumes you will find that their tea (sold in 1kg packages) is very strong and tasty as well as inexpensive (sometimes is just offered).

About the cruising grounds the surprise for me was that on the Marmaris and Bodrum zone there are more charters (and a huge number of gullets) compared with the nearby Greek Dodecanese Islands, incomparably more than on the Cyclades and even more than on the Greek Ionian. I don’t know how but in what concerns mass tourism and charters the Turks are clearly beating the Greeks. That was another surprise for me.

They have more and better marinas (more expensive) and less small town ports were you can stay on the quay.

The landscape around Marmaris and Bodrum is magnificent, the number of coves, bays and natural ports is huge (very small distance among them), the wind is less strong than on the Greek Islands and it would be truly perfect if not for the number of boats everywhere.

Merfinçik

Don’t make me wrong, it is not like Croatia were sometimes it is very difficult to find a place to anchor, in Turkey they use mostly an anchor and ropes tying the boat transom to land and that allows for many boats using a cove…but I just don’t like it, I mean being surrounded by boats, many of them charters and gullets with a big and noisy bunch of tourists inside.

So if you like solitude and more peaceful ambiances skip the zones near Marmaris and Bodrum.

Kuruca Buku

Datça region, between the two is much better, as beautiful and with a lot less boats. I went up till near Izmir and though the anchorages are more spaced I found some beautiful and lonely ones, sometimes plagued with garbage that no one picks and the Turks that are very nice on the Tourism areas here eye you with a different look, like if you are not really welcomed, you know, you say good day and someone just looks at you with a blank stare, that kind of thing. Also while on the tourism areas almost all women dress occidental clothes and use bikinis, here most are completely hidden up on traditional Muslim vests and went to bath with them.

Bençik

Turkey is an odd country with two conflicting cultures, an urban one, clearly Occidentalised and a rural one, strongly Muslim, I mean the kind where you see almost everybody praying on their knees facing Meca at the prescribed hours.

To make things even more confusing my departing port was Çesme that I thought it was a small town with a small Marina. Yes it is a small town but a big marina (Camper & Nicholson) with an incredible quantity of high end shops and restaurants.

Sigaçik

You would not believe the crowds that gather at night to eat on the many fancy and expensive restaurants and to enjoy the night…and to my surprise they were almost all Turks and of course these ones are not “fundamentalists”.

So, did I prefer Turkey? Yes for the food, no for the rest of it. In Turkey you feel that those tourist places are created expressly for foreigners and very rich Turks while there is a huge difference in income to the average population that would not have the means to frequent them.

Kazikli Limani

Those places, as well as the global architecture and urbanism for  tourists and privileged is way better than in Greece You can also note that those places are maintained very clean by an incredible number of workers that are always on duty. When you go out of those spots the difference is huge and nobody cares about garbage, not the people, not the nearby town, not the state.

Comparing to Turkey I find Greece more interesting and with a less outrageous difference between the privileged and the average.

Even if most of the islands clearly live from tourism, contrary to Turkey the diversity on offer is much bigger and while in Turkey big investment tourism developments is the norm, in Greece it is the family business, on the small restaurants or on the shops that appear a bit everywhere in a very disorganized and free way.

You will find also this difference in what regards the offer of impeccable numerous high-end Turkish marinas (expensive) versus the many town quays available in all Greece (inexpensive but without a shower or WC).

It is all a question of personal taste, in what regards crowded or lonely anchorages, marinas or town quays (a big difference in money too) and in what regards my discomfort facing the luxury type of tourism among much poor populations that live very differently. This discomfort with big cultural and economic asymmetries in the local population is really a very personal thing since that situation is typical in most of the so called tourist paradises all around the world.

ARCONA 380

That's a favorite boat, one that I would not mind to have (when I got older and the Comet 41s proves to be too much for me to handle eh! eh!), a beautiful fast boat with classic lines and a design criteria not far from the Comet with a big ballast ratio and a moderated beam. The boat was tested recently by Yachting Monthly and Chris Benson, normally very contained in his praises says wonders about the Arcona 380:

"If the 380 were a car, she would be an Aston Martin: a beautifully-engineered, luxurious and refined sports tourer, purring with power and control. ... For anyone who actively and genuinely enjoys the business of sailing, this boat is the benchmark. Drape an arm over the lifelines, check your position on the binnacle plotter, and luxuriate in a peerless helming experience, unrivalled among production boats. I defy anyone to sail this boat and not smile as she leans gently on a gust and surges forward. It's pure sailing pleasure.

She positively flies upwind. Her structural stiffness and ballast distribution allow her to carry full canvas when others will be reefing. Off the wind she glided across the water regally, accelerating with each extra knot, once again with the helmsman in total control. ...

...She's not a boat for beginners. For a start, she's got plenty of power - easily controlled if you know what you're doing but she might scare newbies. With a cockpit traveller, the falls of the mainsheet could catch the unwary during a gybe, too. Plus, if you're new to sailing, you should sail something else for a few years just so you can appreciate how good the 380 is.

If you're a dinghy-sailing couple looking for a classy, sporty cruiser then she could be right up your alley, likewise a couple with a more sedate cruising yacht looking to get a bit more excitement out of their time afloat as well as expanding their cruising range thanks to her effortless speed..."

more here:

http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/reviews/boats/1/129184/arcona-380-yachting-monthly-review

If Arnaud is reading this he is probably thinking that this is the right boat for him and Vonnie and he would be absolutely right but this is an expensive one and very dificult to find on the used market where they have always high resale values, but then we only live once ;-)

Here the Swedish test on Hamnen (well I don't understand a thing of what they are sayng but I can read their expressions and I am quite sure they are saying nice things about the boat ;-)

SALONA 33

There is no secret that I have a soft spot for Salonas, I narrowly missed buying a 38ft (money problems) but the truth is that they are one of the brands that offer more for the money, if you just want something that sails better than a Bavaria or an Oceanis.

It is nice to see that I am not the only one thinking that way: On Yacht de. they tested the little 33ft and they said " Joyful adaptable Salona 33....with the 33ers can do everything from leisurely boat ride to tuned racer".

The boat test movie deserves a look and as usual you can download the full test for 2 euros.
Movie:
http://tv.yacht.de/video/Anpassungsfreudig%253A-Salona-33/d0c7e74cf31b09e15d00b9c866f8d51a

ALMA'S LOG: SIMI

Our French friends, on the First 30, invited us to meet their brother who is going to build a house on Simi and as we also wanted to visit this little Island, that was famous since ancient times by the quality and speed of their boats, it just suited us well and we kept sailing together, well not quite because the little First,even if fast, it is not a match for our boat and normally we arrived about 2 hours earlier. Simi is at only 25K from Rhodes but even so we had to wait a couple of days on anchor for the Meltemi to lower its power because nobody wants to go against the wind on a F6/7 facing the choppy 2/3m short period waves that are the rule on these parts. They can really stop you down and make a journey miserable.

The Island was quite an agreeable surprise with a very particular and nice traditional architecture that has some resemblance with the Croatian and none with the one of the Cyclades. The capital is just beautiful (and a great natural port) but again mass tourism is well developed and besides the many yachts looking for a place on the old port, at the end of the day you have truly a Turkish invasion, this time a pacific one and anyway only the boats are Turks (Traditional Gulets) since inside there are people of all parts and very few Turks. It is quite a view to see all those traditional boats, flying proudly their Turkish banners, entering port almost at the same time.

 

Simi has also a troubled history and has changed so many times of hands as Rhodes but here they have managed to maintain their culture and live quite well, no matter the occupying powers. 

The deal was simple: they were famous since ancient times for the quality and design of their boats (warships) and everybody knew that so, basically what they had to do was keep producing their famous boats to the new power in charge and that would allow them a degree of liberty unheard on the other occupied Islands. That has allowed them to diversify since due to that the fishermen of Symi were also allowed to dive for sponges that became a major source of income and one of the places with the biggest production on the med.

Talking about boats, Homero says that Symi boats were used on the invasion of Troy and the legend says that the most famous boat of ancient times, Argos, was a Symi boat. 

http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Am-Ar/Argonauts.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonauts

 It is not only the capital that is interesting, there are a lot of nice small bays, unfortunately with quite a number of boats on anchor, but even so I was always able to find a place. A special reference to the natural port of Panormitis that is almost exclusively occupied by a Monastery that sits there for more than 500 years.

The Monks sell bread and cookies on a shop. I could not taste the bread but the cookies are just delicious.

http://www.symi.gr/en/panormitis.htm

Eric - POGO, A "POINTED SHOE BOX"?

According to one or another North American on the Sailnet "Interesting Sailboats" thread (now as dead as a dodo), these are no more than "pointed shoe boxes". I don't agree.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ivj235xmgjrt8k0/TriMen%20video%20augustus%202014%20NL.wmv?n=9253652

Hi Eric, what about your summer sailing? Looking at the video (nice one) it looks you are having fun ;-)

Who said that? Bob Perry? He said an Oceanis 38, also designed by Finot/Conq and with some similarities in what regards hull design, looked like a bloated tennis shoe :-)

The truth is that Sailnet is one of the most conservative boat forum around (to be nice) and the thread that I started with the same name as this Blog was really against the current but remember that you once were around that site  :-) Among hard conservatives and outdated boat designers you will find there also a substantial number of Americans interested in contemporary design, a minority but even so meaningful. By the way do you know that probably the majority of followers of this Blog are Americans? Probably a fair number of them followed the original interesting sailboat thread.

Regarding Pogos, this year I only saw one, a 12.50, in Kea, waiting as me and a Boreal 44, the bad weather and high winds to subside. The first one to leave was the Pogo, I leaved the next day (my wife really hates high winds and nasty waves) and the Boreal with a full crew staid there waiting for a better window so, I would say that the "pointed shoe box" is not only fast but is not afraid of bad weather LOL.

FROM CHICAGO, THE MAC RACE AND A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE

There are many sailing movies around but this one kind of touch the essence of Ocean racing and it is a beautiful one:

ALMA'S LOG - RHODES

The Old city of Rhodes is a great place, no doubt, but the lack of a place to anchor near the city, the almost impossibility to find a place at the local marina as well as the huge crowds of tourists take some shine from it. Let me tell that’s a strange place from the cruising view point: Several ports almost unused were you cannot stay and a huge marina that is still not finished after 10 years. The new marina is a local joke among the resident Greeks that say always that it is going to open next month :-)

There are lots of boats that anchor outside the walls, near the marina, but the holding is poor, the winds strong and I like to sleep well, knowing that the boat is not going to drag the anchor, so we chose a beach on the outskirts of the town, were some very nice and helpful fishermen live by.

We came to love the place, that has good shelter from the prevailing winds, places to leave the dinghy with the fishermen, nice and inexpensive restaurants near by.  It is  30m walking from the old town and a Taxi  there costs only 5 euros, even if they are hard to find around that beach.

Rhodes is great, deserves a long visit but after some time there are just too many tourists to my taste.

The city has been vastly destroyed by successive invasions but the majestic walls, mostly built by the knights of St John of Jerusalem, survived the passage of time as well as some old stone buildings and those are the highlights of the place.

The highlights unless you have come for the night time (wild) or for shopping touristic souvenirs on the streets. The streets, including the old stone houses have been submerged by tourist stores and restaurants that cover everything on a very Turkish (Arab) way:
 You cannot see the houses anymore but a succession of expositors with T shirts, glasses, souvenirs and all that jazz.

Further away from the center it is possible to find an urban landscape less degraded by mass tourism and some medieval/Turkish streets have survived, if not in the flesh on its essence (last photos).

You can fell that on Rhodes West mingles with the East and the Christians with Muslims. Not always has it been that way and Rhodes was one of the places were the clash between Christians and Muslims and their different cultures was stronger.

Just to give an idea of the turning point this city has been it suffices to know that the original settlers were driven out by Minoans (Crete) an later by Dorians (Greeks) then came the Persians. In the time of Alexander the Great it belonged to the Macedonians and then it was finally independent. That is the time where the Rhodes Colossus was built. Their independence only lasted a bit more than 100 years!!!

 The Romans came next, then Byzantium, then the Genovese and the Knights of St John (initially Hospitaller Knights). Their rule, in name of Christianity stood for more than 200 years. The Island became Muslim under the rule of Suleiman the magnificent (Turkish-Ottoman empire). That lasted 400 years.

After it was Italian for more than 30 years and only for the last 60 years it belongs to Greece again, after a time lapse of more than 2000 years!!!

So you can imagine what a melting pot Rhodes is :-) and that's one of the things that makes this a fascinating place.