Envoy is in Lefkas Marina, Greece for the winter until April.
This is part four of a five part summary of Envoy’s six years Med cruising to date. The full article will shortly be published in Pacific Motor Yacht magazine.
The Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea is so far our favourite cruising area incorporating the east coast of Greece, the north coast of Crete, the many Greek Aegean Islands and the east and south coasts of Turkey. It does not include the Dardanelles or the Sea of Marmara, where in our opinion areas of interest such as Canakkale, Gallipoli and Istanbul are best visited by land possibly leaving your boat at Ayvalik.
Time required – at least two seasons.
Map of the Aegean Sea bounded by Greece and Turkey
The prime cruising regions here are the fabulous Greek islands and the stunning Turkish south-west coast. The Greek Aegean Islands comprise the Sporades in the north, the Dodecanese in the south east, the Cyclades in the south west (Santorini with its steep cobblestone paths and whitewashed buildings with blue shutters epitomises your vision of a Greek island) and Crete in the south where the whole of its north coast is worth exploring. Most of these islands have interesting natural and historical features to view inland.
The prime Turkish region is from Bodrum to Antalya including the famed Turquoise Coast.
Simi is one of most beautiful Greek islands of this region
.JPG)
Diane and daughter Amy enjoying a swim while anchored off Bodrum's St Peters Castle
Envoy moored stern to shore in Turkey's English Harbour near Bodrum
Local Turks offering traditional pancakes
Picturesque Kalkan taverna
It is worth taking the time to venture inland to visit the unique landscape, underground cities and cave churches at Cappadocia, accessible by a full-day bus or rental car trip from Turkey's south coast.
In our opinion secondary cruising areas are western Turkey northwards from Bodrum to Ayavalik (take a trip inland to see the stunning ruins of Ephesus), the northern Aegean’s peninsulas known as “the Three Fingers” and Greece’s east coast.
Few cruisers venture east of Turkey’s Antalya except to visit Cyprus or to pass into the Red Sea. Similarly few cruisers visit the African coast, and those who do mostly visit Tunisia or Morocco to buy cheap fuel or to winter at low costs.
Some of our great and not so great moments
Our great times are experiencing new countries and their cultures, cuisines, customs and histories, particularly when sharing this with visiting family and friends. It’s also great meeting many other cruisers and local people, some of whom have become new friends. We love being aboard Envoy for long time periods, not being bound by schedules and all the time learning more about boating in general, Envoy, the sea and weather.
As Diane says, “it’s amazing to visit coastal ruins like those at Knidos in Turkey and walk where Julius Caesar once walked; to view the scenery from Envoy at anchor and realise that people have been looking at this for hundreds, and in some cases thousands of years”.
Knidos in south-west Turkey is surrounded by easily accessible ancient ruins
.JPG)
Naturally we miss family and friends, but we’re home for four months of the year during the Med winter.
Of course we have not such great moments too! One day ashore in a Turkish taverna during a fierce storm a plate glass window implodes on us, showering us with shards of glass and requiring us to go to hospital for multiple cuts to be cleaned and stitched.
Laurie in Envoy's saloon with bandage covering stitched ear
Twice our smoke detectors have sounded and we had smoke billowing from our engine room making us fear a fire. Once this was caused by hot smoking grease being pushed out of a failed hydraulic pump seal and the other time our engine’s alternator failed and red-hot sparks emitting from its case starting a small fire that we quickly extinguished.
One night an unexpected storm whips up 55 knot winds causing our anchor to drag. Hail soon follows making vision extremely difficult, and our chart plotter chooses that moment to play up. Fortunately we are able to retrieve our anchor and carefully make our way back to shelter.
In Greece we’re cruising down a narrow channel busy with local tripper boats and small ferries. One ferry approaching us from ahead on our port side suddenly turns to port across our bow just metres ahead of us. We instantly react with full reverse power narrowly missing the ferry as her unknowing passengers give us a cheery wave.
We also have character-building frustrations such as solving onboard technical problems and dealing with not always helpful foreign officials and their bureaucratic regulations. ………… continued next posting
This is part four of a five part summary of Envoy’s six years Med cruising to date. The full article will shortly be published in Pacific Motor Yacht magazine.
The Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea is so far our favourite cruising area incorporating the east coast of Greece, the north coast of Crete, the many Greek Aegean Islands and the east and south coasts of Turkey. It does not include the Dardanelles or the Sea of Marmara, where in our opinion areas of interest such as Canakkale, Gallipoli and Istanbul are best visited by land possibly leaving your boat at Ayvalik.
Time required – at least two seasons.
Map of the Aegean Sea bounded by Greece and Turkey
The prime cruising regions here are the fabulous Greek islands and the stunning Turkish south-west coast. The Greek Aegean Islands comprise the Sporades in the north, the Dodecanese in the south east, the Cyclades in the south west (Santorini with its steep cobblestone paths and whitewashed buildings with blue shutters epitomises your vision of a Greek island) and Crete in the south where the whole of its north coast is worth exploring. Most of these islands have interesting natural and historical features to view inland.
The prime Turkish region is from Bodrum to Antalya including the famed Turquoise Coast.
Simi is one of most beautiful Greek islands of this region
Diane and daughter Amy enjoying a swim while anchored off Bodrum's St Peters Castle
Envoy moored stern to shore in Turkey's English Harbour near Bodrum
Local Turks offering traditional pancakes
Picturesque Kalkan taverna
Envoy anchored at Greek island of Kastellerizon close to Turkish coast
It is worth taking the time to venture inland to visit the unique landscape, underground cities and cave churches at Cappadocia, accessible by a full-day bus or rental car trip from Turkey's south coast.
In our opinion secondary cruising areas are western Turkey northwards from Bodrum to Ayavalik (take a trip inland to see the stunning ruins of Ephesus), the northern Aegean’s peninsulas known as “the Three Fingers” and Greece’s east coast.
Few cruisers venture east of Turkey’s Antalya except to visit Cyprus or to pass into the Red Sea. Similarly few cruisers visit the African coast, and those who do mostly visit Tunisia or Morocco to buy cheap fuel or to winter at low costs.
Some of our great and not so great moments
Our great times are experiencing new countries and their cultures, cuisines, customs and histories, particularly when sharing this with visiting family and friends. It’s also great meeting many other cruisers and local people, some of whom have become new friends. We love being aboard Envoy for long time periods, not being bound by schedules and all the time learning more about boating in general, Envoy, the sea and weather.
As Diane says, “it’s amazing to visit coastal ruins like those at Knidos in Turkey and walk where Julius Caesar once walked; to view the scenery from Envoy at anchor and realise that people have been looking at this for hundreds, and in some cases thousands of years”.
Knidos in south-west Turkey is surrounded by easily accessible ancient ruins
Naturally we miss family and friends, but we’re home for four months of the year during the Med winter.
Of course we have not such great moments too! One day ashore in a Turkish taverna during a fierce storm a plate glass window implodes on us, showering us with shards of glass and requiring us to go to hospital for multiple cuts to be cleaned and stitched.
Laurie in Envoy's saloon with bandage covering stitched ear
Twice our smoke detectors have sounded and we had smoke billowing from our engine room making us fear a fire. Once this was caused by hot smoking grease being pushed out of a failed hydraulic pump seal and the other time our engine’s alternator failed and red-hot sparks emitting from its case starting a small fire that we quickly extinguished.
One night an unexpected storm whips up 55 knot winds causing our anchor to drag. Hail soon follows making vision extremely difficult, and our chart plotter chooses that moment to play up. Fortunately we are able to retrieve our anchor and carefully make our way back to shelter.
In Greece we’re cruising down a narrow channel busy with local tripper boats and small ferries. One ferry approaching us from ahead on our port side suddenly turns to port across our bow just metres ahead of us. We instantly react with full reverse power narrowly missing the ferry as her unknowing passengers give us a cheery wave.
We also have character-building frustrations such as solving onboard technical problems and dealing with not always helpful foreign officials and their bureaucratic regulations. ………… continued next posting
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