Cyprus
Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Mon 5 Jul 2010 11:36
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35 40.9N 34 34.7E Herzliya - Monastery Bay 208
miles
Thursday 1st - Friday 2nd July
We set off as soon as we had cleared the customs in
Herzliya hoisting the sails once clear of the breakwater. The sun was
shining
and the wind around 10 knots so all was
looking good for a fair passage to Cyprus. We worked our usual 4 hour
watches and the boat flew along
with a bit of help from the engine if the speed
dropped below 6.5 knots. We saw very little other traffic a couple of ships
passing from north to south
and no yachts at all. The wind dropped on Friday
morning and the sea was like glass - we even saw flying fish skimming the water
surface. We dropped
the anchor over a sandy patch in about 8
metres of water at 1800 and were very glad of a cool off in the sea.
Following a quiet night with both of us up
fairly frequently to check the anchor we left the
mooring at 0545 and motored round the northern tip of Cyprus and then headed
south west for Girne and as usual we had
wind on the nose! The coast line here is rugged and
steep to with no buildings and few coves for anchoring. We did see signs of the
new marina being built - they are
completing the outer breakwater at the moment -
this is some 20 miles north of Girne and looks like it will be a good place to
stop in the future. Between there and Girne
we saw some small fishing boats and several
promising bays where in settled weather one could anchor. We called and
confirmed a place with Delta Marina and were all
tied up on a pontoon with the help of the friendly
marineros by 1800. There are 3 other EMYR boats already here Mia, Hex on
and Oyster Bay, so we were able to catch up
with their crews over the next couple of
days.
There are washing machines here so after a rest day
on Sunday (and Jacky went to church) we got stuck into chores and got 3 loads of
washing done as well as a big shop. Thanks to
Mark from Oyster Bay (EMYR boat) for ferrying Rob
to the supermarket! In the mean time Jacky was able to get wifi and catch up on
the emails and bank information!
We are alongside another British boat -
Nigel and Karen have a Nayed 380 and know Serafina!! (Small world)! It was
through them that Jacky found out about the local C of E Church St.
Andrew's
and was able to cadge a lift from their friends to
the 1000 Eucharist service which included a baptism.
The plan is for us to leave here on Wednesday and
sail across the the mainland of Turkey - not sure yet which port it will depend
on the wind direction.
The weather is still glorious with wall to wall
sunshine and generally light breezes. The mid day temperatures are made bearable
because there is usually a breeze but it does get very warm at
night!
One of the reasons for being in a port is so we can
have the electric fans on at night to cool us down!
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