What is the latest on Rhodes Marina.

It is not open yet and the construction has ground to a halt. We had a big blow here about a month ago with winds up to 50 knots from the SE which actually damaged the breakwater (which was reinforced last year). The pontoons are in place but really move in winds from N and NE. No major construction has been completed on land yet. The rumor around town is that they have run out of money (I can't confirm this) and that it will not be completed for several years now, if ever.

Cheers,
Per
 
Rhodes is a special case, hope this will not spread to other islands close to Turkey.
Until a few years back, arriving on Rhodes, one sailed into Mandraki and looked for an empty place. First come, first had a place. I liked to go in second or even third row, that way I could be sure not to be bothered by all sorts of land infestations. ( Gnarr gnarr )

Now that yachting is the latest trend among the super rich Turks and lots of them have real big mobo`s, some clever guys have made a new business. First they became “Shipping agent” then bought political power. Next thing, they claimed the Mandraki harbour. Copied to the Italian ormegio system. They “Rent” the quay, yachts rent from them. Lots of money rolling in different directions.
Since three years, a new hype among the Turkish mobo owners is to do a quick hop over to Rhodes.
Illegal, Turks are not allowed to leave there country just like that, oh no.
A deal is made with the agent. By phone, or by VHF. The super yachts cross over from Marmaris, for them a half hour run.
Entering Mandraki ( Not Colona, one is not been in Rhodes if not moored in Mandraki ) from then on the agents take over. Tanks filled with cheap diesel, vans full of alcohol, western food ) Those pay already for the trip. Owners are been taxied over to Lindos, papers are done ( No stamps into passport but on a “Special” form. All arranged by the agents. They now have Turkish speaking hostesses.
Little yachts, say under 50 feet are been refused a place, rather send away two small yachts then loose one of these big fish. They are been told to anchor outside the mole. Good anchoring in summer provided they do not anchor in the way of the big cruise ships. Have seen a lot of clowns do that in which case they are forced with huge violence to move. By tug. Although these tug captains are magicians thy manage often to scare the hell out of the yachts lying in the way for one of those Costa´s ( Sometimes five a day )
Greek locals who had there yacht in Mandraki have been told to look for an other place. A lot of people earn money on the Rhodes hops of the rich.
I always wondered why the Turkish Coast Guard not interfered with the constant stream of super yachts on the waypoint lane Marmaris Rhodes. Even I, so low on the water, anchored outside Mandraki could see them coming for miles.
The new marina will be a refuge for those who can not afford an agent.
 
OldBawley said:
Rhodes is a special case, hope this will not spread to other islands close to Turkey.
Click to expand...

Pretty good description indeed. Last summer we wanted to book a space in Mandraki for two nights well in advance and went to one of the "agents". They quoted €200 for two nights. I instead spoke to the harbour master at the real rate of around €10 / night. "Thieves" is a better word than "agents".

I too really want them to finish the new marina, but I don't think it is going to happen for many years.

Per
 
OldBawley said:
Rhodes is a special case, hope this will not spread to other islands close to Turkey.
Until a few years back, arriving on Rhodes, one sailed into Mandraki and looked for an empty place. First come, first had a place. I liked to go in second or even third row, that way I could be sure not to be bothered by all sorts of land infestations. ( Gnarr gnarr )

Now that yachting is the latest trend among the super rich Turks and lots of them have real big mobo`s, some clever guys have made a new business. First they became “Shipping agent” then bought political power. Next thing, they claimed the Mandraki harbour. Copied to the Italian ormegio system. They “Rent” the quay, yachts rent from them. Lots of money rolling in different directions.
Since three years, a new hype among the Turkish mobo owners is to do a quick hop over to Rhodes.
Illegal, Turks are not allowed to leave there country just like that, oh no.
A deal is made with the agent. By phone, or by VHF. The super yachts cross over from Marmaris, for them a half hour run.
Entering Mandraki ( Not Colona, one is not been in Rhodes if not moored in Mandraki ) from then on the agents take over. Tanks filled with cheap diesel, vans full of alcohol, western food ) Those pay already for the trip. Owners are been taxied over to Lindos, papers are done ( No stamps into passport but on a “Special” form. All arranged by the agents. They now have Turkish speaking hostesses.
Little yachts, say under 50 feet are been refused a place, rather send away two small yachts then loose one of these big fish. They are been told to anchor outside the mole. Good anchoring in summer provided they do not anchor in the way of the big cruise ships. Have seen a lot of clowns do that in which case they are forced with huge violence to move. By tug. Although these tug captains are magicians thy manage often to scare the hell out of the yachts lying in the way for one of those Costa´s ( Sometimes five a day )
Greek locals who had there yacht in Mandraki have been told to look for an other place. A lot of people earn money on the Rhodes hops of the rich.
I always wondered why the Turkish Coast Guard not interfered with the constant stream of super yachts on the waypoint lane Marmaris Rhodes. Even I, so low on the water, anchored outside Mandraki could see them coming for miles.
The new marina will be a refuge for those who can not afford an agent.
Click to expand...

I have been in email contact over the last few days with a close friend from the marina here on Crete who is now in Mandraki on Rhodes. I asked him to check up on the comments you made here. The marina manager in Mandraki told him that there is no more berth ownership in Mandraki by Turks than there was 5 or 6 years ago. Large motor yachts of course need special treatment (whatever their flag) partly because of their size and partly because they bring in a lot of revenue. But the manager claimed that Mandraki will continue to welcome all vessels.

The visitor/liveaboard pontoon on the north side is no longer there (probably a good thing). It's still a struggle to find a free berth there, especially in the summer, but the current marina manager is reported to be "yacht friendly", helpful and welcoming.

No work has been done on the "new" marina. It is still as it was in 2007, empty, barren, unfinished and with an unsafe entrance.

Tony Cross
 
Rhodes New Marina

The company building the new marina in Rhodes has not paid its workers since May 2011, however they continue to work in the hope that they will get paid one day ..... as there are no jobs what choice do they have. The local press keeps printing articles that the marina will open 'unfinished' in July, this is a scandalous situation, living in Greece has become a nightmare for the ordinary man.
 
Last time I was on Rhodes was April last year, the weather was good so did not even bother to go into Mandraki, anchored outside. For a boat with varnished rubbing strake the best thing to do.
Glad to hear the situation is better now. If I was manager of Mandraki marina I would claim exactly the same. It is a fact that a “small” yacht brings less revenue than a big one. Turkish super yachts with a Turkish flag are rare. Almost always registered in “Delaware” and if not then they are Turkish anyway.
Some remarks, The “new” marina had a lot of work done in 2009 / 2010. In fact could be used for shelter. Although the blue sign “Funded by EU “ was still there, I think that this time local money was used for the works.
Hearsay story: Building a harbour funded by EU, start of repaying the loan starts when works are 90% reddy. By some miracle the money always runs out at 89 %, so works are stopped and no refund is done. Is this a tale or true ?
 
OldBawley said:
Hearsay story: Building a harbour funded by EU, start of repaying the loan starts when works are 90% reddy. By some miracle the money always runs out at 89 %, so works are stopped and no refund is done. Is this a tale or true ?
Click to expand...

I believe that it's true. Although I heard that they only have to repay the loan when the marina becomes operational. Naturally they never do because the locals didn't want a marina they wanted a fishing harbour. But you can't get a loan for a fishing harbour from the EU, but you can get one for a marina (tourism and all that). There are dozens of marinas in this state all over Greece.

I blame the EU not the Greeks. The Greeks are playing the system, but the EU should send someone out after, say, five years to find out why the marina is not yet in operation. But the EU just shells out the money (our money) and then forgets about it!
 
A little curious : is the new harbour/moorings off limits , or can a small draft vessel get in ?
I will be there next year and it would be usefull to stop a few days.
I have a catamaran , so am very curious about costs.

Kris
 
Quote Athens News:

. VISA SUCCESSFUL The pilot programme for limited duration tourist visits from Turkey to the Aegean islands of Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios and Lesvos through simplified visa issuance procedures available to third country citizens, has been successful based on foreign ministry figures, it was announced on Thursday. A total of 2,224 visas were issued in the first 60 days of the programme’s implementation which was launched on June 7 and will end on Sept. 30. Leading destinations were the islands of Rhodes and Lesvos. As regards the tourists that took advantage of the initiative, the top places are occupied by Turks, Russians an Ukrainians.





I wish them good luck.
 
Friendly harbourmaster

little_roundtop said:
The visitor/liveaboard pontoon on the north side is no longer there (probably a good thing). It's still a struggle to find a free berth there, especially in the summer, but the current marina manager is reported to be "yacht friendly", helpful and welcoming.
Tony Cross
Click to expand...

We did a quick round trip there last week.. The Harbourmaster maybe be friendly. Sadly we couldn't find out as his man at the entrance made it abundantly clear the harbour was closed. Whilst we maneuvered around cto leave it was quite clear there were a few spaces.

This is the second time in two years we have received this treatment, so Rhodes is definitely off the list for us now.
 
Told you, they rather send away a lot of “small” yachts then lose one of these big fish.
The fat scooter guy at the entrance has nothing to do with the harbour master, he works for one of the agents and is known to be very rude. If neglecting this individual, he uses violence. Mooring in an open space means you take away his earnings. Lots of people get there share from the agent. Italian ormeggio system.
 
cmedsailor said:
Any latest news about the NEW marina for this summer?
Click to expand...

Latest news is as much as it was this time last year (and the year before that, and...). There is a web site for the marina, with a phone number, and text to the effect that it will open in June. When you call the number, they tell you that's June 2014 (or 2015, 2016, take your pick). Last month there was no sign of any construction work at the 'new' marina.

So, just as before, only Mandraki 'marina' offers harbour berthing, and that was already pretty congested even three weeks ago. For the possibility of a place you'd need to call on Ch9 on approach, or (much more costly) use one of the agents mentioned in the pilot. A real shame, as Rhodes town is truly worth visiting.

There is a good anchorage very nearby, on the east side of the Mandraki breakwater with three windmills. However, I was told that, particularly in the height of the season, yachts are sometimes moved on from there (ostensibly because of complaints from captains of cruise ship trying to berth, although there's heaps of room for them to manoeuvre). On the way back from Lidl I also noticed several yachts anchored in the bay south of the 'new' marina.
 
Yes, the new marina is still under construction, little progress.....
but in case Mandraki is full, you may enter the new marina and find a berth
to starbord when coming in, at least for a night.
I wouldn-t leave the boat for more than a couple of hours, but much better than
anchoring outside of Mandraki in strong winds, i.e. northerly to easterly winds....
 
x-ray said:
Yes, the new marina is still under construction, little progress.....
but in case Mandraki is full, you may enter the new marina and find a berth
to starbord when coming in, at least for a night.
I wouldn-t leave the boat for more than a couple of hours, but much better than
anchoring outside of Mandraki in strong winds, i.e. northerly to easterly winds....
Click to expand...
Is it true that leaving your boat unattenuated you risk Gipsy's moving on board?
 
Our yacht was burgled and robbed in Rhodes. ( 2009 ) We ware anchored, they swam.
Later, I was contacted by a gipsy kid, the boy ( Think he was 15 or so ) told me I could buy my laptop back from someone he knew. In fact he bragged he and a friend robbed us. They are always in packs, never leave the camps ( Two on Rhodes ) alone.
Even kids carry weapons and I don’t mean knives. Greeks are afraid of them, so is the local police.
That laptop had years of pictures and scribblings in it so I negotiated for some time with the gang who had robbed us.
During that time I was anchored just 100 yards from that gipsy camp. I saw and learned.
In the end I had to leave, fearing for our life.
Before the recent changes in the “ New “ marina, I often anchored inside. That place is dangerous ( Gipsy´s ) even when on board.
 
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