Crete/ Turkey

[Mr Cassandra]

Hello All.
Can anyone give imformation on Crete I would like to stop off there for a month as part of my pasage to Turkey, as I am leaving Greece because it has now become to expensive after the intro..of the euro. Is there a place to leave the boat for a few week if I have to come back to the UK.
Also would like to know some good places to stay/leave a 44ft yacht in Turkey ,the sort of place that you only find, after a few seasons in an area.
thanks bob t

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[HenryB]

Hi Bob,

I've left my boat several times in Ag. Nik in Crete. It's a safe marina used mainly by local fishing boats but with an area reserved for yachts. The charges were quite reasonable. The marina suffers a little from swell so I always left the boat with a safe margin from the quay and used the those big coil spring shock absorbers (which I bought from the chandler in the town).

I left Crete for Turkey and have spent 2 years happy years there in Finike marina. I plan to return to Greece at the end of this season.

I've noticed that the prices are rising fast in Turkey as well.

Contact me again if you would like e-mail addresses or whatever.

By the way, were you based in Poros? I'm hoping to move to that general area with a winter hauled out at Sousaki planned. I would appreciate any info on moorings and yards around Poros.

Thanks,

Henry

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[Mr Cassandra]

Thanks for the reply, I looked at Ag Nic in the Heikell,aprox how much per /week
for Gardiennage do they charge?
You say Turkey is getting more expensive,but how about taverners charging 4euro for a beer .Ok not all but things are going that way
Yes I am based in Poros and can and will be able to give you names and phone numbers of the ones that I could recomend .there are moorings in the channel
that can be had for aprox 10euro pw I keep my boat on a private mooring owned by a local for a very small amount ,cannot place the name Sousaki though.
cheers bob t

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[HenryB]

Bob,

The Ag. Nik marina web site is

http://www.forthnet.gr/internetcity/yachting/marina/

I've left my boat there several times for a couple of months at a time while I returned to the UK to work. The marina is safe (once you have allowed for the swell) and clean but has few facilities (portacabins for toilets and showers). I found the staff to be diligent - they check the boats regularly. I didn't need any specific gardiennage. I have a copy of the prices and for a 14m boat it was about £100 per month in winter and £120 per month in summer (plus 18%). The marina is next to the bus station and close to the town centre. There is also a clean beach 200 metres away.

Finike marina can be contacted by e-mail

Caglar Altuntas <finike@seturmarinas.com>

I've cruised the coast between Finike and Gocek and there are places where live-aboards stay at anchor but the only really safe place that I would leave my boat might be at the inner lagoon at Kekova near the village of Ucagiz. This is very well protected from any sea and is an area of about 1.5 miles by .3 miles, all about 6 metres deep and good holding. Gulets are often left at anchor there. I'm sure that you could make arrangements with a local boatman to look after your boat. If you get there try asking Ibrahim (who runs an excellent taverna on the waterfront) and he might point you to the right man.

I was in Greece looking for a place to haul out over winter and to moor next season only two weeks ago. I spoke to the man who runs the Poros Boatyard. He offered me a place in his yard but didn't appear to have any moorings. I eventually thought that the yard at Sousaki (just east of the Corinth canal) was best for the winter and a mooring at Porto Heli for the summer. Poros is a lot quicker to get to so I would like your contact details.

Regards,

Henry

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[Mr Cassandra]

Henry thanks for the info..
There are two boatyards in Poros one by Richard Kouvaras[Greek sails]
www.greeksails.com tel 00302298023147

And the other Andoni who I only have a mobile no for 6932321001 he has moorings and a yard, with the better rep..I do not know him well enough to say mention my name ,but he does know, Red Dragon. If you tell him that you have been given his name by a friend of Manolis Psillakis from the Taverna Kathestos.
it will do the trick . Manos look after my boat but only as favour to me as he has given me his boats mooring .
I am not 100%sure but a few bad tales from Franks, at Porto Heli.
Also a very good social life in Poros, that you can be involved in ,if that your thing,
cheers bob t


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[Mr Cassandra]

Hi Henry have just phoned Manolis , in Poros ,it would appear, that Richard has mooring to rent in the channel. There is also a good yard on Aigena
Jordon Kandonis 0030229724151 I used him the first season there he is fair but do not let him put your boat in the corner as he get very full and you can be stuck there longer than you would like . but don`t leave your boat in Aegina town marina Andoni who looks after them there , has not got a good rep..
cheers bob t

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[HenryB]

Bob,

Thanks for all the most useful information. I know Jordan, having stayed there for a winter and I also know about getting trapped in a corner of his yard.

If you are staying on your boat while in Crete then the lagoon at Spinalonga is sheltered from the sea but gets very gusty at times. Good holding but I wouldn't like to leave a boat unattended for long. When I was last at Rethimnon (2 years ago) they were preparing to lay yacht pontoons in the inner harbour which is safe but, Greece being what it is, I doubt whether much has been done since.

Good sailing,

Henry

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[Mr Cassandra]

Re:What about

Hi
What about any problems, with moving between Greece and Turkey on a regular basis ,I know that the Greek port police always try to make things difficult,are the Turks any better! cheers bob t

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[HenryB]

Re:What about

Bob,

The Turkish authorities are a pleasure to deal with, especially when compared to some of the Greeks that I have met. The entry procedure is quite formal if you go via a smaller port (Kas in my case) and I had to visit the harbour master, the doctor (health clearance), the customs, the port police then the customs again. However, once that is accomplished you never need see anyone again until you renew your transit log.

If you enter at the marina at Finike then they do everything for you.

Originally the transit log was renewed 3 monthly but now it is annually. One tip - when you apply for the transit log you need to tell them which ports you will be visiting in Turkey - simply state the two extremes - i.e. Istanbul to Iskederun - as you can visit anywhere in between.

The customs man made me a glass of tea and gave me a Turkish cigarette. The harbourmaster handed me a bottle of lemon cologne (I thought that I must have been ponging a bit after a long passage down from Kos but it is a Turkish custom) - you simple pour a drop onto your palm, then rub it between your hands and on your face.

I've not heard of anyone getting their documents checked once afloat in Turkey.

Regards,

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[HenryB]

Re:What about

Bob,

One thing that I forgot to mention - the harbourmaster will ask for your Greek clearance paper which you will be given when you officially leave Greece. I had one but others have entered Turkey without the paper and with no trouble. You may also be approached by someone (normally on a moped) who offers to be your agent and who will sort out all the formalities for you. They seem to do the job efficiently and can be worth the £15 or so that they charge.

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[Mr Cassandra]

Re:What about

Thank you very much for all the advice. One more question ,can you cruise say up the Turkish coast and call in to the Dodecanese / eastern Sporades with Turkish papers, or with Greek papers call in to Turkey ad hoc?
cheers bob t

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[HenryB]

Re:What about

Bob,

I haven't tried it because I don't think that it is legally possible. Officially, you should clear from each country then go directly to a port of entry in the other and check in. I have met a cruiser who kept both his Greek and Turkish transit logs at the same time but he was pushing his luck.
I haven't sailed in Greek waters for 2 years but then they operated that silly penalty scheme whereby they charged you much extra if you returned to Greece within 31 days of leaving. I don't know if this still operates.
The port police in Chios were very angry when I arrived in October without having a stamp in my transit log since June because they thought that I had been to Turkey. They only calmed down (a bit) when I showed them the receipt for my boat's stay in Porto Carras marina where I had left it during August, and eventually accepted my explanation that I had spent the rest of the time in anchorages well away from limani. That's going to be my plan when I return to Greece - use anchorages and keep well away from the port police!
I'm planning to return to Greece in September, probably leaving Turkey at Marmaris and entering Greece in Rhodes - I'll keep a lookout for you.

Regards,

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