The jobs list had been persistent, and had refused to lie down and die. Last week we had found some cracks under the waterline of the dinghy. Its rigid hull is joined to a 'deck', and the cracks were along this join. A chisel soon revealed where the leak had been, as it dropped through into the cavity. The repairs took the best part of 3 days.
With Indigo, we had hired a car to do some stocking up and to facilitate the trip to the old harbour in order to check out. It also enabled us to visit the spring by the mosque in the hills above to fill our water containers. At last we were as ready as we ever would be.
We slipped on Wednesday, at around 1300 hours, with the limited objective of reaching Gazapaca. Briefly at one point the wind filled in enough to stop the engine and set the jib, but it was short lived, and we arrived in the little fishing harbour around 1730. It is unusual for us to enter a harbour that was neither contained in our edition of the pilot, nor features on any of the charts, so it was a question of slow and steady until we knew how the land (under the water) lay. Two other yachts were moored alongside a 'quay' off the outer breakwater, and fishing boats occupied the other. Another small quay is in the centre of the beach, and was occupied, although it would not have adequate depths. We anchored in 4 metres in the corner off the beach, avoiding what looked to be shallow rocks close in to the root of the breakwater. Having reverted to the Bruce instead of the Rocna, we were pleased that it bit convincingly.
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| Gazipaca has some history to uncover | The entrance to the harbour, no lights, no facilities |
The harbour is unlit except perhaps for a weak street light on the inner breakwater, which is lined with small fishing boats. The entrance is not immediately visible approaching from seaward, as it is hidden by the outer breakwater. (36 16,0N 32 16.7E). The harbour lies immediately north of the prominent headland (Kale Br) on which the ruins of ancient fortifications can be seen.
A dual carriageway road leads from the east side of the car park on the beach directly to the town centre about 2 km. away. The flat plain is used for market gardening, with large glass houses. Gradually these appear to be giving way for the construction of apartment blocks and hotels. It is mooted that an airport may be built here: if so it will open up this coastline and also serve as a handly alternative to Antalya for Alanya.
After the frenetic preparations for departure, it was a relief to take it slowly in the morning. I was pleased to raise (just about) Alchemy somewhere in the Aegean on SSB (8122khz, 0530UTC), and provided radio checks for some of the Alanya cruisers. One of the outstanding jobs on our jobs list was to complete repairs to the bimini, so we decided to tackle this. While we had not needed it on the trip down, we surely soon will. I took a trip into town, missing the direct route of course, and walking around the fields wondering where the town actually was. I was helped out when I asked a young man the way, and he flagged down his friend passing by on his motor bike to give me a lift into town, depositing me outside the Turkcell shop. Back on board, after walking back the direct route, I fired up the phone with the newly acquired credit in order to connect to the internet for mail and to obtain a weather forecast.
The forecast was for little wind and the possibility of a little rain, but the forecast for Saturday was for less wind and more rain. We set off at 0900 with a light headwind from the SSE. For a while the wind freshened and we tried motor sailing with the jib, but it headed us more so in the end we gave up. We were losing more from tacking than we were gaining from the F2-3. It was pleasant enough coasting along, looking at the Taurus mountain foothills as they climbed out of the sea. There were initially some buildings, but these became fewer and fewer as we progressed south. What appeared to be active vinyards occupied most of the ancient terraces that seemed to be cut out of the hillside wherever it was not pure rock. There were only two settlements of note on the way from Gazapaca to Anamur Burnu: neither had any kind of harbour facility or shelter. We did notice that the dotted depth countours on the chart bore no relation to reality, the shore being much steeper to than indicated. Isolated rocks did not feature either.
After lunch, the mate settled down to snooze. The wind swung from dead ahead to dead behind, wafting the sweet smell of spilt petrol from the dinghy. Unfortunately the mate was monopolising the cockpit locker top, so that I could not reach the bucket to wash it out. She woke up complaining about the way in which the leach of the mainsail was chafing against the backstay, and we decided to take the main down as it was doing no good.
We rounded Anamur quite close in, and motored up the coast to Boyazi Limani, arriving at 1720 where we were invited to go alongside by the resident welcoming committee. We were later relieved of harbour dues of 25TL, and comments were made about our frayed and faded courtesy flag. There is a coastguard station in the harbour, and they were concerned that we might get fined. We dug out our old small flag, and bent that on, or tried to. It disappeared up to the cross trees without the halyard tied to the bottom, so a trip up in the bosuns chair was necessary to retrieve it.
We got out the jobs list, and determined to finish the bimini. At a loose end while Mo used the sewing machine, she suggested I sew the cockpit hood where the stitching had gone. Two jobs off the list! Fixing the jackstays a third! The forecast was right: there was hardly any wind, and there was some thundery rain about. At tea break time, Ilhan appeared with two glasses of cay for us. After lunch we relapsed and read for a while. Two German boats came in, the first a small HR, Pipe, from Alanya. Between them they displayed some thoroughly unpleasant and unseamanlike language, and seemed to have very little idea what they were doing. I printed off some Soduku for the mate, and log sheets for the boat. Ilhan, our host, appeared as we were in the midst of our supper with a hot pasta dish and a separate plate of sliced, peeled cucumber. We soon appreciated why he had supplied the cucumber, as it was incredibly tasty and spicy.
The forecast was for a westerly wind filling in from about midday and slowly backing to south west F4/5. We left the harbour at around 0930, preceded by the Germans, with a barely detectable north easterly breeze. We were quite relieved to see the others set off up the coast. We had not been motoring long, and had hoisted the full mainsail (against the mate's advice) when wind started to fill in from the west north west. It was soon up to 17 knots, and the first reef had to go in, but was not happy to settle there. First we rolled a bit of jib, and then tried to put the second reef in as it reached a steady F6. Unfortunately the block on the mainsail reefing point had been free to rotate, and the reefing line was in a pickle, so we had to drop the sail altogether while we sorted ourselves out. It was perhaps lucky, as I had not tightened the shackle pin either! It was not particularly comfortable: high quartering seas would every so often pile up and break, and unusually for Fuga we were taking some water on board. The helmsman's seat was a no go area, and the wind was chilly despite the blue skies and sunshine. The journey passed, with speeds around the high 6 to 7 knots despite our weedy bottom, and with the occasional banana sandwich. Within a few miles, fortunately, of Girne there were some very loud, expensive noises suddenly from below the steering console, and Mo soon diagnosed autopilot failure.
We made for the old harbour, although I was uncertain what the conditions at the entrance might be like in view of the high seas and shallows. We entered the channel, and had no problem with depths off the castle as we might have anticipated from the pilot. When we arrived in the pool it was clear that it was packed wall to wall with gulets and local boats, and there was absolutely nowhere where Fuga could berth. So we left, and went around to the commercial harbour. Our pilot (Heikell 6th 2001) was uncertain what the facilities there might be, although we knew that Steel Sapphire had recently visited and lain on the fuelling berth. There were however two pontoons, and we were directed to go to the end of the wall near the cafe, where we berthed bows to to laid mooring lines. Wall is a bit of a misnomer, as a steel platform is built out from the wall on piles, with paving slabs laid on it. There we were soon visited by immigration, and taken by the marineiro to see the customs in the nearby ferry terminal.
In addition to the cafe, there is a small chandlery that makes Alanya look well stocked, but which is never open. The toilets and showers boast two berths each for ladies and gents, and have been in place for quite some while. The marina has a reasonable area of hard standing, a 30 ton travel hoist, and a slipway for larger craft, but there are not many boats here, and not a lot is happening around the yard.
I was up early and soon had the linear drive unit for the autopilot apart. The teeth off the drive wheel that engages through some planetry gears with the clutch had stripped. They had probably worn gradually to the point that they finally slipped and failed catastrophically. I picked out minute plastic traces from the bottom of the teeth on the gears. We were just able to connect to the marina wifi, which is very weak, from the boat and through Raymarine located their distributor in Cyprus, Costas Damianou. I sent an e-mail, and followed up later with a phone call. Costas sent an exploded parts diagram, so that I was able to identify positively the part which had failed, and he was able to confirm that he had it in stock. The only problem was that he is in Larnaca, in the southern half of Cyprus, and we were in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus!
During this process, Mo and I had set off to walk into town, and found our way around the old harbour, fighting off invitations to have a drink at numerous bars. Once we had cleared these hurdles, and desperate for a drink, we fell into a bar just around the corner, and this in turn led to lunch preceded by a superb spread of metzes and then lamb kebab. We enjoyed the waiters' banter. Afterwards we walked it off walking around the town, which has a surfeit of mobile phone shops, and it seems, very little else of note.
On Tuesday morning our intention had been to get away early, and we almost did. Mosquitoes are proving to be a pest here. I had been unable and unsure how to remove the pin on the autopilot securing the clutch and failed part, so had not been able to inspect it closely. In consequence it was necessary to carry the fairly heavy autopilot unit with us in the haversack. We were picked up by a bus as we walked into town, and deposited on another bus (actually a shared taxi, rather than a dolmus) that was going to Lefkosia (Nicosia). The bus eventually took off up the road to Lefkosia at a great rate, slowing briefly once or twice for a speed camera, but then started touring the town to drop off the occupants one by one. We saw the campus of the Near East University, built to the north of the town, as well as some of the smarter central business areas of the Turkish side of town. As we approached the 'green line' separating us from the 'Greek South' it became much scruffier.
The bus eventually deposited us, and we were vaguely told in which direction to walk. There appeared to be no signs directing us to the border! We finally found our way where we were stamped out of TRNC. I am not sure whether it was a different checkpoint to the one I had visited from the south in 2001, but there was now no evidence of the messages with photographs of the 'missing', UN soldiers on guard, and so on. A notice on the Greek side referred to Lefkosia as 'the last divided city'.
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| A smart pedestrianised street leads to the 'border' on the 'Greek' side | The border: no soldiers now but a plaque on the wall refers to 'the last divided city' |
We had been advised by the marina to hire a car in Lefkosia, because of insurance complications. The information centre told us where there was a car hire company, but also advised us that there was a shared taxi service and indicated these on the map he had given us. After a juice and a smoothy, we felt in shape to hump the autopilot to the car hire firm. This proved to be Avis, and not only were their rates very high, but they wanted an extra 20 euros for short term hire. It seemed extortionate, so we declined. We saw no other car hire places, and so had to hump our way back east to the shared taxi. There was a considerable wait, presumably while they made up a full load, then we set off, touring the town for quite some time with mixed success to pick up people before eventually setting off towards Larnaca.
We had been first in, but were last out, only to find that Damianou's office was closed! There was a business open opposite, and the guy fortunately had Costas' number in his mobile. He looked after the autopilot, while we went to find food, drink and most importantly a toilet. When we got back Costas had already stripped the offending part from the autopilot, and was ready to instal a new one, which he did free of any additional charge. I still do not know how to get that pin out (although it sounded as if it needed some hammering). Costas' shop carried the most enormous stock of Raymarine gear I have seen in one place!
Returning was a reverse exercise. The journey to Lefkosia was relatively straightforward. When we got there we made our way to the opticians which had made me up some glasses in 2001 when I was there on business, and they had sent glasses to Portugal after I had lost a pair overboard. George Pilides had soon measured me up for two new pairs of specs, to be ready next Monday. Back in the TRNC, the wait for the bus to Girne was long and tedious, and we again toured the town to pick up passengers before setting off, but we were dropped off directly to the marina. We were glad to take advantage of the cafe for a drink and supper, picking up a bottle of duty free scotch (10TL) to try.
Wednesday morning started off with an appraisal of the jobs list. Anti-mosquito measures are now a priority: we cannot deploy the mosquito net effectively and are going to barricade the door and hatch cover. First however, the autohelm was fitted and tested. The steering again seems rather stiff and squeaky, so we tried once more the acid/rinse/sunflower oil on the bottom bearing, and tried cleaning and oiling the top bearing. The rudder probably has to come out sometime: Dehler recommend this every 5 years! Later, after lunch, we set out to try to locate an alternative chandlery. We did not make it, however, as we decided to visit the castle. This was most interesting, and includes several displays about the castle and local archealogy. Of most interest to us was the ship dating from 390BC that was recovered from the sea bed along with its cargo in the 1960's. That required another drink before we wandered the town unsuccessfully looking for chandlery.
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| A gulet entering the old harbour past the castle | The old inner harbour is crowded | Inside the Byzantine church |
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| whose roof protrudes above: the church was originally outside the walls | The trading ship recovered from the sea in 1964 |
We had planned to hire a car to see something of the island, but the lady receptionist at the marina office was missing, and no one spoke a lot of English. I found a firm recommended by Googling on the internet, and made contact. They agreed to bring a car down to the marina at midday, for just £20 GBP per day. After lunch we set off and drove towards Gazimagusa (Famagusta), the port on the south eastern side of the island. We found the very flat plain east of Lefkosia a bit tedious: it seems to be relatively productively farmed, and combine harvesters were out cutting the first crop of wheat from large fields. We headed north towards Iskele, at the top of the bay, and happened upon a shop selling diving gear: we needed to replace mask and fins, and he also had a weight belt to enable me to use the wetsuit I bought last year.
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| This Greek chapel in Iskele is used as an information centre | The Abbey at Gazimagusa, now a mosque | Many interesting buildings and churches in the walled town |
At Gazimagusa we could not get to the foreshore, as it is outwith the walls which seemed to surround the port area, part of the original town walls. We spent a while looking at some of the old churches. The most impressive abbey reminded me of Westminster abbey, but it now boasts a minaret and is used as a mosque. Prayers were in progress, so we could not go in. We returned to Girne by taking the Lefkosia road, then going north through Degirmenlik on an attractive road through the mountains which joined the northern coast road some way east of Girne. On the way back we dropped in to the Lemar supermarket near the marina, and stocked up with supplies, particularly whisky, gin and some wine.
We had been advised by one of the local ex-pat yachties to visit St. Hilarion castle, on the mountains overlooking Girne, but to do it first thing in the morning before it became too hot and crowded. This therefore was our first stop, after picking up news of the General Election in the UK via the internet. The road to the castle has notices forbidding photography, and there is an army establishment with training grounds on the way up. The notices were being ignored by the occupants of a coach that has disgorged en route, so it may simply be that they have not yet been taken down, in keeping with the relaxation of access to the coastline around northern Cyprus (Kuzey Kibris). We were one of the first up there, and we set out to climb up to the castle which is in 3 broad levels. It is said that it was the inspiration for Walt Disney's magical castle, but I could not see much similarity! The castle originates to before 1191, as it was present when Richard the Lionheart took the island. It was probably a defence against Arab attacks in 6th to 10th centuries. It was hard work climbing up, although there were rough rocky steps and hand rails around all the dodgy places. We were quite pleased with our performance, and made it to the rocky pinnacle at 723metres as well as to the Prince John tower.
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| The view of St Hilarion from just above the car park | The Byzantine church | Mo in the entrance to the church |
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| The path up is hard going | 'Admiring the view' on the way up | ..and finally at the top.. |
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| The notice says that you are at the peak | The entrance to the royal quarters | At one of the windows of the royal quarters |
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| One of the displays | The Prince John Tower is imposing | ..but a little disappointing when you get there! |
Our next objective was the abbey and monastery at Bellapais. We rather fumbled our way there, as the signs gave out at the last critical roundabout. The abbey was in use for regular worship until the Turkish invasion in 1974: now it is under the control of the Department of Antiquities and Museums, as are many of the major sites around Turkey. The abbey dates from around 1200, with a central cloisters, and a church on one wing with a refectory on the other. It is built on the mountain side, and overlooks the coastal plain surrounding Girne below. It now draws numerous tourists to the village and grounds.
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| Part of the cloisters at Bellapais | The refectory is on the left of the cloisters |
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| The screen in front of the sanctuary still has the icons and visitors were seen to be worshipping | The gallery and part of the ceiling |
After lunch back on Fuga, we set off along the coast road to find the 'new marina'. We may have blinked, but never found it. There is extensive development of villas along the coast for some distance east of Girne, and new roads are being put in but in a rather disjointed fashion. Many of the villa developments have not proceeded beyond the shell stage, or have been walled in but remain unfinished, unsold, and rather sad. Others were heaped one on another, whereas some of the more established were quite attractive having developed some gardens and plants around them. There appeared to be very little supporting infrastructure, shops, and we wondered who would want to spend a holiday there.
Having failed to find the marina, we decided to find the castle at Kantara. This is built on the eastern extremity of the mountain range, on the mountain top as St. Hilarion was. The sign post directed us up through the village of Mersinik and on up a narrow winding mountain road. We were surprised at the top, not only by the dramatic views both to the north, east and to the south, but by a new road that has been built across the mountains from Iskele in the south to Kaplica in the north.
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| The castle seen from the car park below | Access was via an outer gate and barbican |
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| with an inner entrance guarded by towers | Impressive views in all directions |
Kantaracastle is possibly earlier than St. Hilarion, originating in the 10th century. Having walked up and explored the castle we returned to the coast along this road, and found a small fishing port there.
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| This small fishing harbour at Kaplica was all we found |
Was this the site of the proposed marina? The Eastern Med Marinas handbook suggests that Port Cyprium is to be built 30km east at Kuchuk Erenkoy, 25km west. The literature at the London boat show showed concrete cassions ready to be placed: of these we saw no sign.
The countryside was fairly wild towards the east, particularly after the villa developments petered out. It was refreshing to see some 'real' habitation, and farming going on, at a couple of the villages we saw. There were several abandoned Greek churches amongst these and on the coastline, as well as mosques.
Our major objective before returning the car was to provision up for our voyage west. We found a roadside fruit and vegetable stall, with good fresh produce, and then returned to the Lemar supermarket for further supplies. It was nice to be able to pick up English cheddar and pork sausages and bacon, more reasonable wine, and other absolute essentials. A phone call to Pilides confirmed that my specs were ready for collection, but as they close early on Saturdays, they will have to wait until Monday morning. At least we now know we are 'Go' for Monday, and hopefully there will continue to be no threatening weather in the 7 day Grib files.