2013, We're off again.

Kurukulla ready to launch

The 2013 season started in some chaos, In the last two weeks before departure I managed, with the aid of an excellent solicitor in the form of my friend Nick Stuart-Taylor (Biscoes, Petersfield office), to buy the top floor apartment in the same block in which I live; with completion occurring, at earliest, on the day Kurukulla was originally due to go in the water. Fortunately I was able to delay launch by 12 days, at modest cost; giving time to complete the purchase, move apartments, introduce tenants into the old apartment, finalise all the necessary administration (changing addresses etc.) and fly out to Marmaris, all with three days to spare to do the anti-fouling and underwater maintenance before the launch. Not much of a challenge there then! To compound this I managed to put my back out two days before the move; fortunately this time it recovered relatively quickly, but to make life easier I sub contracted this years underwater painting and topside polish, (I concluded having my back in good shape for the start of the season was worth more than 600YTL approx £220 the hull work cost).

Another advantage has been having company this year for the preparations. A friend, Christoph, had volunteered to sail the first leg out to the Greek Islands. When the programme changed he very kindly agreed to stick to his original dates and assist with the commissioning work enabling me to catch up the time lost in the programme and thus enable us to arrive on time at his departure point from where his flights are already booked (we hope!).

330 ton crane seems a bit excessive

The launch of Kurukulla was straightforward and the work to be done soon completed. The most complex item was the manufacture of new fairleads on the bow, to replace the ones broken in the storm in Bozyazi last year, and this was completed by Wednesday. Thus it was Wednesday night we set off into Marmaris to have a last meal ashore and to visit the local Transas supermarket to top up on all the necessities for the voyage north into the Greek Islands. I had decided to depart Turkey from Marmaris to avoid having to make additional stops en route, this should have been easy but bureaucracy had taken its toll. Instead of being able to pay the agent at the marina to do all the necessary administration it was now necessary to appear in person at the international ferry port at an appointed time for a head count of those onboard. As we arrived for this process we were waived off the berth nearest their office and sent to the far end of the liner berth, half a mile away, from which we had to walk to and fro to the office. All designed to be helpful! In addition one now has to have a “Blue Card” on which all of your black water (i.e. sewage) pump outs have to be recorded; as I had not had one previously (I had deliberately avoided getting one to avoid the hassle) I was now require to buy one before I was allowed to leave! Not only that but I had to buy a “virtual” pump out (from the agent) to prove that the boat was empty before departing. Nothing was ever pumped out of anywhere but honour was satisfied for the officials!

Anchorage at Marathouda, Simi

Alongside in Simi, waiting.......

Simi town drops into the distance

All that done we set off for Simi, our first port of call in Greece and the scene of the next battle with bureaucracy. We had a great first sail into the Rhodes Straits, light to moderate winds and varying from broad reach to close fetch. This resulted in us reaching Simi in the early evening and thus we decided to anchor overnight in the inlet at Marathouda on the south eastern side of the island. Next morning dawned bright and clear but with very light winds and so we sailed off the anchor and made a slow passage north up the east coast to the port of Simi where the necessary paperwork could be completed. We arrived in Simi port at 1410, 10 minutes after the immigration police had closed the office for the afternoon! Since the cutbacks in manning to reduce the Greek deficit (there are now only two officials to man the office), they only open from 0800 – 1400 and 1800 – 2100. The Port Police (aka Coast Guard) on the other hand are open all day but sadly, they explained, they could do nothing until the Immigration Police had stamped the crew list form with which they, the Port Police, had provided me. We settled down for a frustrating four hour wait. Our in and out visit was not to be! To add to my black mood one of the ferry line handlers tried to persuade me to reposition the boat from the temporary alongside position (on what used to be the quarantine berth) that we had taken to a Mediterranean moor in the harbour for which he would of course we then would have had to pay. He got short shrift! His friend, whose fishing from the quay had been momentarily interrupted as we came alongside, and who had persuaded him to intervene, was equally disappointed. At the end of it all we finally got away at 1930, four hours later that planned, and headed for the nearest anchorage in the adjacent bay, Ormos Emborios, where we arrived just after dusk. Not the best of anchorages, especially when visibility is constrained by poor light, but we managed to anchor in 10 m just off the hamlet and spent a safe night there. Next morning, at 0800, we got under-way again just as the wind was setting in. This wind built to 20+ knots from the west and so we limited our days sailing to a quick motor round to the anchorage near the monastery at Ay Emilianos, on the west side of Simi but protected from the west. The monastery seems to have only one inhabitant, and elderly caretaker or monk who scrutinised us closely on arrival but then paid us no more attention.

The monastery and anchorage at Emilianos

The anchorage was not as good as described in Heikell's pilot but give we were sharing it with only two other fishing boats it served our purpose for the following 18 hours.

We leave tomorrow at 0600. More when we are further north!