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Call to discuss the kind of trip that you are after, then we can pick a location and plan a route that will give you the right mixture of adventure and relaxed cruising...
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A FLAVOUR OF PAST TRIPS |
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Over the past few years we have discovered some wonderful places in the Aegean. Some shown below. In 2013 Calypso left Istanbul in the spring to sail accross the sea of Marmara through the Dardenelles and back into the Aegean. Then zig-zagged southwards with the prevailing NW wind, taking in the Sporades, Cyclades and Dodecanese islands and ending up in Marmaris southern Turkey, Here are some of the places around our current cruising area: ISTANBUL Istanbul... We've done a few of these trips and now know it well. A great format is a couple of days in the Princes Islands, (7 miles south of the city), then up the Bosphoros to sail past all the fabulous palaces. Equally magnificent day or night; with the sun setting or the city lights all around. End the day with a night on the town anchored on the Bosphoros at Ortakoy. Then sail down the Bosphoros in the morning to Atakoy, for a day in the old city. Istanbul is on a high right now, even James Bond can't keep away! With its mix of history and east-meets- west, it offers highbrow ancient culture and proper underground fun! I can point you in the direction of either. Or both... Followed by a two day passage across the sea of Marmara, past ancient Troy and out through the Dardenelles. Marmara Island is where the white marble for all the ancient temples came from. As you pass the island you can see that a huge chunk of it is missing! |
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 BBQ sea bass in the late afternoon sun (Princes Islands), then head up the Bosphoros to catch the sunset over the Golden Horn... |
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EASTERN AEGEAN Once into the northern Aegean there are many options: Here are some of the best that I have discovered so far: Bozkaada: A wonderfully 'away from it' little island with a very funky town by the same name. Waterside bars and restaurants overlooked by a Genoese castle. The island has a real buzz, popular with Istanbulites for long weekends and famous for its food and wine festival. Limnos: Very remote... not much seems to have happened here since the island was famous for making the best bronze age swords... (apart from when it was the staging post for the British fleet during the Gallipoli landings). We found a fabulous reggae bar when we passed through in 2011. Built into a beached boat up in the dunes surrounded by a large bay on the southern side of the island. Well worth a night when in the area. Ayvalik: A charming town, still very un-touristy. Famous for its olive oil. The town is set in a lagoon withing the Ayvalik archipelago. Lots of deserted bays around. A great place to make a day trip to Pergamon (40 minutes by car/taxi). Pergamon: The 2,300 year old city built on top of a mountain by Alexander the Great's decendants, to house his treasure. Reputedly one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Unlike Ephesus it is not crowded. My favourite part is an hour and a half amble down the mountain into the city of Berbama below. As you leave the ruins of the ancient middle city you enter the backstreets and alley ways of Bergama eventually reaching the heart of the modern city, which still has horse and carts trotting around. Limani Baldemli: A sensational anchorage, between two islands, shallow clear water over white sand. The water is often like glass, great to waterski outside the wake. You feel like you are floating two metres above the seabed, looking down at the fish, starfish and shells. Foca: The mythical locations of the sirens... apparently the wind whistles through the rocks making a sound irresistable to sailors... Never had to use the wax ear plugs ourselves though! It has a charming buzzy seafront with great fish restaurants. I always try to drop in when passing. We normally anchor in one of the peaceful bays a mile or so away and RIB in to town for a lively evening. Khios: Worth making a trip for at Easter, just to see the annual firework festival. Words cannot explain how fab this is... see this Youtube clip: Khios easter firework battle. Alicati: A little Turkish town on the Ceseme peninsular, a short day's sail from Khios. 150 year old houses, narrow streets and bustling squares packed with excellent restaurants. Famous for its night life and boutique hotels. Favoured by the smart Istanbulites. When we've been there over a weekend, in season, the streets and squares were still filling up at 1am. Great to sit outside, in the balmy night air and watch the people go by. Nearby are a series of very cool waterside Ibiza-style nightclubs for the dance crowd. |
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NORTHERN SPORADESE A camping trip with my kids and a few families on the uninhabited island of Kiera (Cyclops Island). It is part of the island chain of Skiathos, Skopolos, Alonisons and Kiera, known as the Northern Sporadese. We spent the summer there a couple of years ago and found some wonderful places. Skiathos: Has an airport. Lots of nightlife. Good for teenagers I guess... but not in the same league as Alicati or Istanbul. Apart from the town, which is charming, we generally prefer to sail on to the less developed, wilder Islands in the chain. There are some nice villas on Skiathos though, We had a good week combining a villa/boat holiday, with the boat anchored in a bay below the villa. Skopolos: Where they filmed part of Mama Mia... you can see why. It's charming. Skopolos is the typical vision of a bustling whitewashed Greek town. A town allegedly with 120 churches although we found it impossible to count them! Alonisos: In my mind, even better... Kiera: Penisteira, Adelphi: All uninhabited and all wonderful. |
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DODECANESE A broad reach back across the Aegean - glory sailing - towards the Ceseme peninsular (Turkey) and the Greek Dodecanese islands. This is the most remote part of the Aegean that I have yet discovered. In many of the places tourism seems to be a low-key add-on to people's daily lives, rather than the main economic activity. I think it's this that makes the place incredibly charming and 'real'. Wind in July and August is very reliable and there is plenty of it. We cruised at 7 knots in this area last summer and hardly used the engine. Fourni: Hard to get to, given the typical wind patterns. Incredibly chilled. My favourite Island in this area. It really feels a million miles away from the hectic world around. Ikera: I haven't made it there yet but I've heard good things. The people are famously laid back. One journalist went on a trip to find out if the Greek Island hopping experience of the 1970s still existed... His conclusion was that it didn't... except on Ikera. The island is a huge slab of rock... good to jump off with a pair of wings, but not good for anchoring a yacht, so you need very settled weather to visit, but its high on my list of places to go when the opportunity presents. Arkoi, Agathonisos, Lipsos, Patmos and Leros: Blue water, lovely towns, bays and tavernas. Very unspoilt and few tourists. Fabulous food too... No, really!... I'm a bit of a foodie and so notice these things. When travelling between Greece and Turkey, I usually can't help but be disappointed by the Greek fare... but not here. I've had dishes such as carpaccio of tuna with home made pesto, fried feta; gooey inside, coated with a crispy shell of honey and sesame seeds, fabulous thick-cut, home made marmalade served with Greek yoghurt, wild rabbit casserole and home made sausages, best baby calamari and baby shrimps that I've ever had. Sea Bass, Snapper and Dorado all good but also at reasonable prices...all in tiny local tavernas. Tilos. Dramatic and barren volcanic island. Red veins of iron and green veins of copper scarring the almost treeless mountains. Very few people visit. I think its a great stop-off en route to Symi. Symi. At risk of giving away secrets, this island is fantastic. A big island with large population but few cruising boats and very few if any flotillas. The town of Symi is great as are the dramatic bays littered around.
CYCLADES From western Turkey we can broad reach out into the Cyclades and back. Thiera (Santorini) would be an ideal turning point. On the way there are lots of options for uninhabited islands or busy islands with whitewashed towns. Very good winds in the Cyclades. One for the sailors. Planning to explore here more fully in 2015. |
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SOUTHERN TURKEY Datca and Bozburun peninsulars, Gulf of Gokova, Bodrum, Marmaris, Fetiye, Gocek, Kalkun, Kas, Kekova. I could go on for pages about this area. 500 miles of mostly unspoilt, wooded coastline with lots of bays offering ideal anchorages. Clear, very warm water (30 degrees+ in summer). The climate here is sensational. 9 months of sun. May - December and gloriously quiet at beginning and end of season. Stacks of ancient history, fabulous towns and great food too!
DATCHA PENINSULA
A typical anchorage on the wooded southern shore of the Datca Peninsula.
Great little taverna, in the lush, densely wooded bay at English Harbour, on the northern shore of Datcha/Bozburun. Our base when we stay in the Gulf of Gokova. It gets its name because the SBS used it as a secret base in the second world war.
BOZBURUN PENINSULA Three typical tavernas around the Bozburun peninsular. Bozburin town itself used to be one of the main centers for Aegean sponge fishing, along with the greek island of Symi. Now they make Gulets. I'm glad to report that it is still fabulously sleepy, even in August.
GULF OF GOKOVA - KITESURFING
CAMPING, secret location, Dalyan region
The 5000-seat amphitheatre at Kaunas has an incredible setting, looking out to sea over the delta. Even higher, from the Acropolis above, you get a commanding view up-river to Dalyan and across the delta to the estuary and sea beyond. When visiting places like Pergamon, Kaunas and Knidos I can't help wondering whether the ancients sited their cities as much for the drama of view as for commercial and defensive practicalities.
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Stocking up from a local fisherman.
This little chap flew onto our deck one morning off the Bozburn peninsular... . We put him back unscathed. The colour in the photo does't do justice to its beauty. Electric blue.
Blue crab is another delicacy of the southern Turkish estuaries. We catch them in the deltas of Gokova and Dalyan with string and chicken bones, my daughter is an expert. But beware! vicious clippers.
Fooling about, by day and night, around Loryma.
Further up river we had a lot of fun in the thermal springs and mud baths.
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