Fortunately we didn’t need the heating on this morning after a slightly warmer night, which gave way to a beautiful sunny, warm day, but it was also Market Day in Finike.
So, after a late breakfast, we met Mai Tai (Kay and Lane) , together with a few other cruisers and walked the short distance to the market. We’d been told about this weekly event ahead of time, but we were, nonetheless, pleasantly surprised. Not only by the cleanliness and extent of the market, but also the lovely walk we enjoyed through gardens and along a canal, albeit that the Spring flowers weren’t in bloom yet. We actually can’t wait to see the gardens in full bloom, especially over all the little bridges that cross the canal, in all the planters that we saw hanging along the guardrails and the numerous rose gardens.
When we eventually returned to Paw Paw, after enjoying a hot drink and a savoury Turkish pancake at the market and loaded up with our supply of fruits, vegetables and absolutely delicious Turkish delight, Elaine enjoyed a marathon chat to her sister in Ireland, whom she hadn’t spoken to since Thailand, while Roy secured our passerelle to prevent it from falling into the water. As yet there’s no means of preventing Elaine from falling into the water, except for Roy helping her across it. Definitely not ideal!
Then, with the sun about to dip behind the mountains, Elaine spent the remainder of her afternoon finishing off the hand cleaning activities in the cockpit, removing the rest of the emergency equipment from the lifelines, removing the barberhauler sheets and washing all the jacklines, all to be stowed for quite sometime. This meant that the cockpit area was looking presentable again and we could at least invite visitors onboard and offer them a place to sit. We were settling in slowly!
Today started with a flurry of activity, but only after it had warmed up a bit after another chilly night. That meant another lazy morning in bed, while the central heating warmed Paw Paw before we ventured out of bed for breakfast.
After a hot breakfast, the first task of the day was to drop off our first two bags of laundry at the laundry service, specifically all our dirty clothes, following which Roy pickled the watermaker and we both got stuck in to cleaning Paw Paw’s exterior; at least as much as we could reach, starting from the stackpack, the shrouds, the mast, the furled headsail, the helm and coachroof, working our way down to the decks, topsides, helm and cockpit. Last was all the sunscreens, side-skirts and the dinghy, before filling our water tanks using our fancy filter we’d procured in Malaysia; to be sure, to be sure!
Fortunately the desert sand washed off fairly easily without requiring too much elbow grease, but what a mess! No doubt, after the first downpour we’ll have the rest of the sand higher up in the rigging all over the deck, but at least she’s looking somewhat presentable from the outside again. Getting the interior cleaned, however, is definitely a task for another day.
After lunch, we then took a walk to meet Kay, off Mai Tai, who had stopped by yesterday afternoon when we were out for our walk. While chatting to her and Lane on the dock, we met a few more cruisers who were walking passed. There is definitely a sense of community here; one we haven’t had since leaving Granada in 2015. It was definitely a welcome change from being so isolated these past few years.
From there we visited our agent, paid him for his services to date, discussed our temporary residency and collected our new “passerelle”, but not before we enjoyed an ice-cream on a warm, sunny day. The weather was improving!
Back onboard, with our new “passerelle” in tow, Roy completed his last task for the day; connecting the shorepower using the transformer we’d had manufactured in Malaysia, although some minor rewiring was required to replace a plug. Our “paraselle”, however, gives new meaning to “walking the plank!” and is definitely going to take some practice so as not to “end up in the water”!
By now, a late afternoon nap was unavoidable before we set off to enjoy our first cruiser’s Happy Hour hosted every Friday evening by a local restaurant, where we enjoyed spending time with Mai Tai (Kay and Lane). A light dinner back onboard sealed a rather busy day.
Once we were secured to the quarantine dock by very friendly and welcoming marina staff, we awaited the arrival of our agent, but we were pleasantly surprised to receive an in-person welcome from Lane, off Mai Tai, whom we had been corresponding with during our Red Sea passage, but had never met. That was followed by a friend of Kandiba (Hasan and Zehra) coming to introduce himself and welcome us, as well as to offer his help with anything we needed. This reminded us of our welcome to Puerto Rico in 2014, when Campechano (Babbie and Ronnie) had arranged a similar welcome by a friend. Very thoughtful and greatly appreciated.
We had lost an hour after arriving in Turkey from Egypt, so, being collected by our agent after dark to be processed by Immigration and the Harbour Master, was definitely a novelty. By 2000, however, after opting to walk back to Paw Paw, we were enjoying our celebratory meal and drinks; bangers and mash, accompanied by some wine for Elaine and a wee drop of Laphroaig for Roy, before we both passed out from sheer exhaustion or was it the alcohol!
After a good night’s sleep, we stayed in bed this morning until Paw Paw had warmed up once Roy had switched on the heating, then enjoyed breakfast using the last of our Egyptian bread and oranges, following which we had showers and readied ourselves for the day. A big day at that because we were moving Paw Paw to her med-mooring berth, something we had never done before. Of course, this also meant we had no way of getting off Paw Paw because we didn’t own a passerelle. This was a problem for later!
In the interim, Elaine started a few small cleaning jobs like washing our saloon blinds and mosquito net curtain, while Roy completed formalities at the marina office, scoped out the laundry facilities and the communal bathrooms and visited the boatyard in search of someone who could acquire or make us a passerelle.
On his return, with Elaine at the helm and Roy ready to work the lines together with a dockhandler who had jumped aboard Paw Paw, we cast off the quarantine dock and followed the jetty boat around to our new home for the next year. Fortunately Elaine was able to reverse Paw Paw into the berth without incident and by 1230 we were secure, including a passerelle that was provided for our use temporarily.
It didn’t take long to meet our new neighbours to our starboard side, Gary and Katherine, following which another cruiser, Peter, stopped by to introduce himself and welcome us.
Not able to sleep, although we were both tired again by now, we decided a nice long walk was properly what we needed, stopping at one of the local cafés for our first Turkish coffee. Feeling somewhat refreshed and high on caffeine, we returned to the boatyard in anticipation of our passerelle dilemma being permanently resolved. Unfortunately it wasn’t, so we decided to pay our agent a visit in the hopes that he could help us. As it turns out he could, and he’d also completed all our clearance documentation which we were able to collect.
Back onboard, we enjoyed chats to Elaine’s folks in Ireland and to Keenan, who was in Michigan, staying with Courtney and Garrett, while awaiting his upcoming base transfer from New York to Detroit. It had been a good few weeks since we were able to enjoy a nice long chat and indeed “see” Keenan.
After dinner we started our search for possible flights to the US, the UK and Ireland, but we’d forgotten just how tedious and time consuming this process could be. Regardless, it was exciting and worth every minute and we found a few suitable options. Being pleasantly surprised at what we had managed to achieve for the day, by then it was definitely time for bed.
Under a clear starry night, although cold and winds less than 5 Kts out of the east, we continued to make good progress on engines alone and obtain a DMG (Distance Made Good) that would ensure a mid-afternoon arrival in Finike, Turkey, and avoid a third night at sea. That was until Elaine came on watch at 0300 and a strong countercurrent of 2 Kts raised its ugly head, reducing our SOG (Speed Over Ground) to 5 Kts and moving our arrival time to late afternoon / early evening, but before sunset. Not ideal, but we were hoping we’d make up the lost time if and when the current reversed.
Dawn broke at around 0500 and the sunrise at 0545 revealed a bright sunny day with clear blue skies. We had 60 NM to go and the countercurrent had reduced by 0.5 Kts. Thankfully, at around 1030 we had a 1.1 Kt current with us, increasing our SOG back to 7.5 Kts. Land ahoy occurred at 30NM out when we spotted the towering mountains bordering the coastline. What we weren’t expecting was snow on the mountains. No wonder it was so cold! The next surprise was a warship of NATO Sea Guardian Operations greeting us and waited around until we had raised our Turkey and Quarantine flags. We’d definitely entered another world!
By 1500 we had arrived in Setur Finike Marina, where Paw Paw will remain while we visit loved ones in various parts of the world. This has been our single motivator for this passage, as exhausting as it’s been. We’ve sailed 5600NM in just under 2 1/2 months, departing Phuket, Thailand on 15th January 2022, where at least 30 days of that time was spent at anchor when we stopped for rest, diesel or weather. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we would do this particular passage and never in the timeframe that we did it in.
Hello Turkey and now for a well deserved rest, get Paw Paw cleaned, get much needed haircuts, detox our bodies from all the “Armageddon” meals, get some exercise and finalise arrangements to see loved ones.
Well, we can’t actually say we’ve received a warm welcome to the Mediterranean, since our passage, thus far, has simply been an extension of our experience in the Red Sea. Given the extremely uncomfortable conditions, we both struggled to sleep during our first rest period last night, but, thankfully, slept like babies during our second, since the conditions had moderated somewhat.
Although we had favourable winds of 13 - 17 Kts out of the northeast, which veered to the east-northeast, it was the sea state, with our all-time favourite short, steep waves, that made the passage unpleasant, although we continued to make good progress with a SOG (Speed Over Ground) of anything from 7 - 8.5 Kts. It didn’t help matters, though, that we were forced to divert at least 5NM off our rhumbline, after an approaching motor vessel stopped right in front of us, then hailed us to dictate a 2NM CPA (Closest Point of Approach) because they were about to undertake “machinery tests”. If the vessel had actually stopped 2 nautical miles sooner to our port side, we wouldn’t have had to make the detour. Since we were already hard to weather we, therefore, had no choice but to bare away and pass astern of it. Very frustrating when we were trying to keep our DMG (Distance Made Good) as high as possible in order to avoid an extra night at sea.
Earlier in the night, we had already narrowly averted a collision when a small vessel, which was passing us port to port suddenly turned to port and almost t-boned us. If it wasn’t for Roy’s quick actions of switching on one of the engines to power forward, we most certainly would have collided, as this vessel barely past astern of us by 10 - 20 metres. We have to assume that they hadn’t seen us at all; so, on went the steaming light to light up the sails, even though we were sailing.
A clear, starry night gave way to a very wintery morning; dull, overcast and cold. Elaine was happy to crawl into her nice warm cocoon after her early morning watch, but by mid-morning the conditions had deteriorated rapidly. Within a space of an hour, the wind speed had gone from 10 - 15 Kts to 25 - 30Kts, with seas of 3 - 4 metres, breaking over Paw Paw’s bow, prompting Roy to wake Elaine so that we could drop the doubled-reef mainsail and continue under a double-reefed headsail alone. Fortunately the winds were now out of the east making for a good angle of sail, so we continued to make good progress. However, not one forecast or our weather routing service showed these conditions; we had essentially sailed straight into a Low Pressure system.
Fortunately it didn’t last long and an hour later the winds were back down to 15 - 18 Kts, the slate gray seas had turned to a dark blue and had flattened, the sun was starting to break through and we had blue skies ahead. It wasn’t long, though, before we were motoring without a breath of wind. Unbelievable!
We had crossed the halfway mark, though, way ahead of schedule and we’d received confirmation from the marina that we were heading to, so we definitely couldn’t complain!
Tonight, under another beautiful moonless starry sky, a northeasterly breeze has returned, so we can at least motor-sail, which is keeping our SOG higher, as we continue on towards Turkey.
We had an even earlier start this morning . In fact, we were woken up before our alarm went off at 0515; our pilot was clearly eager to get going for the day. By 0530, we’d cast off the dock and we were leaving Ismailia in the distance, with Sans Peur, Kandiba and La Maria in hot pursuit.
We had the canal all to ourselves for a brief period before we encountered the southbound traffic and, at one point, it was a rather tight squeeze with four vessels abreast; a tug, a cargo ship, a yacht and a fishing boat.
Everything was progressing well, though, until we received a VHF radio call from Sans Peur explaining that Kandiba had engine problems. After a few WhatsApp messages it was confirmed to be a fouled propeller, which appeared to have been resolved. Regardless, our agent, Captain Heebi informed us that, under no circumstances were we allowed to stop or wait for Kandiba to check their propeller in the waiting area. With that, we had no choice, but to continue on. However, a little while later we heard from Kandiba that they did not think it was necessary to stop in the waiting area after all and would be continuing on as planned.
Our transit today was another day of unexpected sights; this time a very impressive bridge, two-way car ferries criss-crossing us at various intervals and a train running along the west bank.
The unpleasant surprise of the day ended up being the pilot, to the extent that Elaine lost her temper; a rare event these days. Although Captain Heebi had indicated that $25USD was a sufficient amount of baksheesh, we concluded that this pilot was also deserving of a bit extra. So, after providing a substantial increase over the suggested amount, given his apparent friendliness and appreciation for our hospitality, including steering Paw Paw all morning, he then had the cheek to ask for more. When Roy came into the saloon to inform Elaine of this request, her reaction was one of complete disbelief and told Roy to tell him that she’ll take the lot of him and give him only the $25USD suggested by the agent. She was furious that we’d been slapped in the face for our kindness and generosity. Roy, of course, being far more diplomatic, didn’t relay that message, but simply told him he was not going to receive anymore money. He pushed Roy a second time, telling Roy that he wanted $10USD to give to the pilot boat. With this latest insistence, although, at this point Roy decided not to reveal the full extent of the conversation to Elaine, knowing better, Elaine was now spitting mad and the agent was informed.
To say Captain Heebi was exasperated, was an understatement, apologising profusely and vowing to call the pilot’s manager, as this was considered unacceptable behaviour. A few minutes later the pilot received a phone call from his manager, resulting in the pilot apologising and wanting to return the money. What we hadn’t realised at that point, was the pilot had been ordered to return the money and Elaine was then only supposed to give him $25USD as a lesson. We didn’t do this of course, since she’d received the message too late and, after all, a gift was a gift. It was, however, all too little too late; the damage had been done and Elaine requested that he be removed from Paw Paw immediately, a request that was granted within a few minutes. It definitely was a good job the pilot boat arrived when it did, because Roy then revealed the full conversation associated with the second demand; one which essentially amounted to nothing less than a threat. The pilot had told Roy that if he didn’t get the extra $10USD, “the pilot boat will scratch your boat”.
Needless to say, that didn’t happen and, by the panic in his face when he received the phone call from his manager, it was apparent he risked loosing his job, but at the very least, he would no longer be piloting for transiting yachts.
This was the second individual within 24 hours that had to be told in no uncertain terms, that they were getting not one penny more. The entire experience has left us with such a bad taste in our mouths, concluding that the vast majority of this nation suffers from pleonexia and certainly put a damper on our visit to Egypt after being shown such kindness in Port Suez.
That said, though, research revealed that the Suez Canal divides Africa and Asia and serves as a trade route between Europe and Asia. Construction of the canal took place from 1859 to 1869 and officially opened on 17th November 1869. It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez, a total length of 193.30 Km / 120.11 miles, including its northern and southern access channels. Seawater flows freely through it, where the water north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer, and south of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.
Although European shareholders, mostly British and French, owned the concessionary company which operated the canal until July 1956, it was nationalised by the Egyptian government; an event which led to the Suez Crisis of October–November 1956. However, under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag."
After Egypt closed the Suez canal at the beginning of the Six-Day War on 5th June 1967, the canal remained closed for eight years, reopening on 5th June 1975, following which the Egyptian government launched a construction project in 2014 to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass to speed up the canal's transit time. The expansion was opened in a ceremony on 6 August 2015, but officially opened for use in 2016.
Tonight we soldier on to our next port of call, which we hope will be in Turkey. However, the Mediterranean Sea, thus far, has just been an extension of the terrible conditions we had in the Red Sea as we pound to weather. The only difference being is that we’re sailing, not motoring. This was, however, not what we expected based on the forecasts. Oh surprise, surprise! And it was most certainly not what we wanted after two very long days getting through the Suez Canal, but onward we go!
We were up with the alarm at sunrise this morning and by 0600 the pilot was onboard and we were underway; the first leg of our Suez Canal transit had begun.
Before we left the Port Suez Yacht Club, though, we hadn’t even castoff the mooring lines, when the marina “manager“ had the audacity to ask for something more; “more money or something small”. He had absolutely no shame and there was simply no end to his begging! Needless to say, he was given his walking papers by Roy in no uncertain terms.
We were last off our mooring, with Sans Peur and Wind Hog the first to depart respectively, but, since we were flying along at 8 to 10 Kts with the current, we ended up overtaking both yachts. This proved to be to our advantage, given the somewhat limited space at the Ismailia Yacht Club for all five yachts to berth side-to.
Regardless, we were delighted to arrive soon after midday and had the afternoon to ourselves, or so we thought. While Elaine decided she wasn’t doing one more thing and went to bed for an afternoon nap, Roy topped up the diesel tanks and dealt with the never-ending trickle of various officials, all wanting something that seemed so superfluous; first it was someone to check our passports, this after we’d already cleared out of Egypt in Port Suez and couldn’t go anywhere anyway, even if we wanted to, since we weren’t allowed to leave the premises of the yacht club and there was no way to actually do so. Then someone wanted a Crew List and had difficulty figuring out where Ireland was, following which another official arrived to clarify our nationality. Another wanted a copy of our Yacht Registration. Last was the yacht “manager “ requiring payment for our one night stay and was surprised to learn we actually had the exact amount $21 USD; no baksheesh this time because of the lack of change! The only important visitor was our agent around 1600, confirming our transit for tomorrow and providing our Port Clearance; there were no warships transiting, so we were scheduled to depart as planned.
As for the transit itself, we had a very polite and respectful pilot, who did a sterling job of steering Paw Paw all morning in the freezing wind, but with Roy sitting with him to keep a watchful eye. We had been pre-warned that some pilots would attempt to crank the engines at full speed, but we weren’t having any of that; 1500RPM was the maximum we allowed. We weren’t in any hurry!
At around 1000 we had reached the first lake, after which the canal split and we were progressing against the southbound traffic. It was definitely a tad disconcerting to be that close to these monstrosities passing us in the opposite direction.
Besides enjoying the “scenery” along the way, Elaine spent her morning playing host to the pilot, so that Roy could remain at the helmstation. This meant cooking a slightly different breakfast to what we would normally eat in order to accommodate the pilot. Fortunately the little old man had helped us with this. So, after an initial coffee first thing, fresh fruit, a small tossed side salad, a warmed pita bread and scrambled eggs, accompanied by fruit juice, went down like a treat. Elaine had definitely excelled by the large smile on the pilot’s face afterwards.
While the men ate in the cockpit, Elaine steered, before preparing her own, far simpler breakfast.
Mid-morning tea was served with the Egyptian rusks. Our pilot left happy with a substantial baksheesh, given how well-mannered and friendly he was.
For whatever reason, we only expected to see vessels transiting the canal, but seeing fishing boats bobbing around in the middle of the canal between the transiting vessels, was definitely not something we expected to see. Additionally, on more than one occasion, we had to slow down a little for the car ferries crossing back and forth. This was obviously in lieu of bridges to connect both sections of Egypt after it was split by the canal.
Lunch was another pleasant surprise when Zehra, off Kandiba, presented us with another delicious meal. We were definitely getting spoilt!
Our day ended with a get-together on the dock with Kandiba and Sans Peur to discuss the latest weather updates and to enjoy a chat over coffee, as well as seeing a beautiful bride and her groom. This was also our first opportunity to enjoy a walk too since leaving Suakin, Sudan, on the 5th March. Our bodies were most grateful!
All in all, it was a pleasant experience, far simpler than our Panama Canal transit, since there were no line-handlers and numerous locks to deal with, not to mention the fact that the transit fees were definitely cheaper than we expected, given Paw Paw’s volume, being a rather beamy, spacious catamaran.
Finally, Happy Mother’s Day to all those mom’s celebrating in the UK, including Elaine’s mom and sister. We hope you all had a wonderful day.
