View Balvenies 2009 Voyage in a larger map
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| A final get together with Ascension, Djarrka, Stardust and Gone with the Wind |
When we pulled out of Netsel Marina, our home for winter 2008 - 2009 the days were clear and we were well into spring. Balvenie was all ready for another summer season, or so we thought. Then during a couple of nights at anchor in Marmaris Bay a few little niggles popped up and delayed our departure a little longer but it also gave us a chance for more farewell dinners.
Our plan for the beginning of season was to make our way up through the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea, alternating with anchorages on the Turkish Coast to Ayvalik where we would marina Balvenie and travel by car to the battlefields of Gallipoli. Then we hoped to island hop our way back down the Greek Islands and head out of the Aegean Sea before the infamous meltimi started blowing, around mid June. So - off we went!!
The first event of the season was sharing Easter celebrations at the lovely Greek Island of Symi with White Rose and Gone with the Wind enjoying the spring sunshine on Easter Sunday with a very long lazy Greek lunch of Roast Lamb on a spit.
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| In the crater at Nissyros |
Time to part company with our friends for now, off we went and explored the small volcanic island of Nissyros where we hired a moped and putted slowly up to the top of the volcano then hiked down into it's steamy and bubbling belly. Back across to Turkey - a couple of nights in touristy Bodrum was enough for us so another Greek Island was sought out and we headed to a peaceful spot on Kalymnos.
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| Gordon and Mark overlooking Patmos Harbour |
We nibbled away at the miles, heading a little further north each time, stopping at some ramshackle spots where it looked like the locals just left town and headed for the big city - never to return. Then there was lovely Patmos, the economy injected with a steady flow of tourist euros as the cruise ships came and went. We caught up with our good Canadian friends Gordon and Ginny on Ascension here, it will be a long time before we see them again, as they are heading for the Caribbean this season.
Days passed, as did the miles north. The white sugar cube Greek houses were left behind as we headed back to the Turkish coastline enjoying often deserted anchorages, one where we soaked in bubbling hot baths from Roman times. We took inland excursions past fields of spring flowers to ancient cities and well preserved ruins, all the time appreciating the beautiful late spring days and settled weather.
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| At anchor off Anzac Cove, Gallipoli |
We changed our plans in Ayvalik, the weather was to be settled a tad longer, just long enough for us to sail to Gallipoli. Although neither of us lost relatives in the long battles during the First World War at Gallipoli, it is a huge part of our history, the opportunity of taking Balvenie and anchoring her off Anzac Cove was one we wouldn't pass up. Spending three days in the area and taking in hours of walking around the battlefields, climbing through the trenches, strolling through some of the thousands of gravestones amongst the fields of blood red poppies in flower, reading the history of the tragic event at the museum, it all gave us a better understanding of what happened, but it can never really answer WHY?
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| Back to Greece |
We finally said our farewells to Turkey and headed back to Greece, out to Limnos in the Northern Aegean. It was the end of May - the days were getting longer, the temperatures rising and the sun shone every day. The Greek Islands have a myriad of cosy coves with cute white washed villages, brightly coloured bourgainvillea exploding in all directions, fishing nets lie in bundles along the quaysides, cats lounge about awaiting the catch of the day, calamari hang drying in the sun, elderly widows really do sit on chairs outside their front doors dressed only in black - yes you really can find all those scenes from Hollywood blockbusters in most of the small Greek Islands, it's their everyday life.
We sailed from island to island, from tiny quiet Evstratios with not a tourist in sight to Mykonos the party island, where scantily clad "go go dancers" strutted their stuff on table tops, and overcooked tourists laid back drinking cocktails and shooters in the late afternoon sun. The Greek Islands sure do cater for every taste!!
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| Balvenie at Santorini, it doesn't get much better than this |
We were moving south through the island chain, and another weather window presented itself as chance no 2 to go somewhere on the "must see list". The amazing island of Thira, much better known as Santorini, is the absolute jewel in the crown of all the Greek Islands. We could not miss this opportunity and set sail south from Paros, arriving late afternoon inside the crater walls of this stunning submerged volcano. It is difficult for me to describe the beauty of Santorini, it is a living canvas. From the boat by day we stared at the stark volcanic walls, soil lines recording its explosive history. By night we watched the full moon rise, the stark white sugar cube houses glowing in its reflection a truly magical vista. The villages lie perched high above the sheer cliffs, tiny white houses cling to the cliff sides, sometimes it seems that the creeping plants are all that is attaching them. The beautiful "med blue" church domes mirror the water shades, everywhere you look the scene is perfect, it is full of moments and images that will be remembered always.
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| Transiting the Corinth Canal |
Next we moved west and through the Corinth Canal, a short, expensive but very convenient option and popped out the other side into the Gulf of Patras. We had a lovely time in this area, tying up to towns quays and unfinished frees marinas along the way. Galaxidi was a gem of a spot, a cute little town, and a bus ride away from the ancient city of Delphi - just so much history in these places. From Messalongi we took in more history at the ancient site of Olympia, where we crouched on the starting line and imagined the crowds of toga clad Greeks cheering us on.
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| On the starting blocks at Olympia |
We moved out into the Ionian, but the tales we had of picturesque islands, warm clear water, gentle breezes, idyllic coves just never quite materialized for us. The winds were often unfavourable, the anchorages overcrowded but it was now July so everyone was out on the water enjoying themselves . We did manage to catch up with friends on Samsara and then Aliesha, after cruising all of the season alone it was great to see some familiar faces. We stopped for a few days in Preveza, happily tying up in another unfinished free marina. We hired a car and had another inland excursion, enjoying northern Greece - the remote areas close to the Albanian boarder, the mountain region and across to Meteroa where still inhabited ancient monasteries perch high atop sheer stone peaks.
We hit Corfu mid July, but the Corfu we saw was nothing like the one I remember from my backpacking days there over 20 years ago. The old town was beautiful, with little twisting lanes, laundry hanging out windows, window boxes with blooming flowers cascading, a grassy village green - complete with regular cricket fixtures! The anchorage was ok, close to town and we enjoyed a few days here to finish off our Greek experience. Greece is a diverse cruising destination with many options - island groups in two different seas, the huge Peloponnese peninsular and of course the mainland. We had a few ups and downs along the way but all in all wouldn't have missed any of it.
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| Rural scene in Montenegro |
Mid July saw us head north for our first overnighter of the season, passing by Albania and heading to the tiny country of Montenegro, formerly part of Yugoslavia. There is a very limited cruising ground here that comprises of a small inland fjord like waterway, it seemed a shame to sail on by so we checked in and checked it out. We were extremely lucky to get a free berth at the excellent Porto Montenegro Marina. It is a brand new facility still in the finishing stages so they weren't charging, a bonus for us. It's in a great spot right in the small local town of Tivat so we based ourselves there for 10 nights and explored Montenegro by bus and hire car and really enjoyed this beautiful mountainous country.
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| Mljet National Park, super spot |
Next was Croatia, all advice had been "don't go in August - it's very busy", and here we were, checking into Cavtat in Southern Croatia on the 28th of July - oh well, what can you do??? Croatia had some real highlights, it was beautiful and green, some of the National Park anchorages reminding us of home. The walled towns ashore were stunning, when you consider the very recent devastation of war endured by most of this country it was truly amazing to see how well the population has come together again, rebuilt their lives and their surroundings and carried on with their life.
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| A classic scene in Croatia |
Sadly there were several negative aspects to our cruising here - the grossly overcrowded anchorages, the wind bullets that shot through most nights creating havoc with yachts dragging just when we wanted to go ashore, the poor anchoring techniques of a huge percentage of the charter boat fleet and the totally inconsistent and erratic requirement to pay to anchor in many of the bays, having already paid a substantial fee for a cruising permit.
However we have very fonds memories of Croatia also, particularly Trogir, Split, Hvar and Korcula for their enchanting walled old towns - nowhere else we have seen can compare. We will remember too the many wonderful free concerts we attended, under starlit skies, in ancient open air theatres - truly magical.
In the end the crowds got to us and we aborted plans to continue north through Croatia and onto Venice. We arranged a rendezvous with several friends, had a big reunion and some fun for a few days then headed south, checked out of Croatia and did an overnight passage across the Ionian and arrived in Brindisi, Italy.
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| Patron Saint week in Brindisi |
Oh what a breath of fresh air, the Italians are such a vibrant, bubbly, alive race of people and it just rubs off. We loved Brindisi - another free town quay, the pasta, pizzas, gelato, wine, language, crumbling buildings, art, ancient history - the list just goes on. Our friends on Destiny and Argos were there too, it's always great to have company. After being in the Med for 16 months and having visited 4 countries on its shores, we finally felt we were in Europe and soaked it all up.
Cruising this part of Italy sure isn't easy though, September was upon us and summer was finished - the weather had changed. We tiptoed our way down to Siracusa in Sicily, having some pretty sporty sails enroute. The southern coast of Italy is a challenging coastline with few safe harbours but we we covered the miles! The anchorage in Siracusa did not treat us so kindly either with several hiccups to keep us on our toes, the storms just kept on coming through.
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| Mount Etna huffing and puffing away |
Ah - but the town was wonderful, the open air morning market one of the best anywhere and our inland trip to steaming Mt Etna and getting lost inland was unforgettable. We were entertained daily while sitting at side walk cafes sipping on our lattes, watching men in dark suits, with slicked back hair and designer sunglasses, hug each other before getting into dark cars with tinted windows - we felt we were on the set of "The Godfather" every day!! We were in love with Italy!! Sadly there is not a well protected marina here as it would be a great place to winter over, so we had to move on.
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| Phil and Mark on their guitars in Brindisi |
IN A NUTSHELL ....
Countries visited - 6 Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy and Malta,
Nautical Miles travelled - 2364
Nights at sea - 3 Greece - Montenegro, Croatia - Italy, Italy -Sicily
Nights tied up for free at a dock - 44 of which 40 were in Greece, we love the free docks in Greece
Nights tied up in Pay Marinas - 16 of which 6 were in Cannakale and 5 in Brindisi sitting out strong weather
Nights we paid to anchor - 3 2 in National Parks and we only paid once in Croatia, possibly a cruiser record!
Different Anchorages visisted - 85Strongest winds - 42 knots tied up in Greece, 30 knots at sea across the sole of Italy
Fastest speed - 9.9 knots flying out of the Bospherous leaving Turkey but current assisted. 9.2 knots across the instep of Italy, no current just plenty of wind!
Sleepless nights - 2 Both with unforecast storm cells turning our cosy anchorages into lee shores. One in Greece and one in Croatia, both times we lifted anchor and got out!
Rainy days - Not too many until September then things started to get a little soggy
How much did it cost? - Done all the numbers and it averaged out at 320€ per week (this season was 24 weeks). That includes stocking up the food supplies in Turkey before we left there, and starting/finishing with full diesel tanks. Our biggest expense was eating/drinking onboard 1,700€, diesel was 1,354€, next came eating/drinking ashore 1,200€, sightseeing/local transport 905€, Marinas and Corinth Transit 914€, repairs/maintenance/spares 750€, cruising permits for Montenegro and Croatia 460€, phone/internet 300€, the rest is made up of odds and ends - souvenirs, clothing, laundry etc
AND THAT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2009
