The Black Sea for Softies

Keep it simple! That was our plan to explore the Black Sea. We would arrive at Istanbul at the beginning of June, once the stormy spring weather was over, pop up the Bosphorus, then head East for a couple of weeks hugging only the Turkish Coast to avoid all the bureaucracy of moving from country to country. Our research was little more than a few intense late night conversations in the Marmaris Yacht Marine bar during the winter with fellow cruisers who had already been there. One friend lent us a Black Sea pilot book, another passed on his charts......and we were off.

Rush hour at the Golden Horn is to be avoided!”, so said our wise local informant as we chatted at anchor in the Prince's Islands, just east of the entrance to the Bosphorus. Hundreds of ferries can cross the Bosphorus every minute, so forget your right of way, you must try to avoid them, a challenge with up to a 4 knot current against you. Rush hour lasts from 7 to 11, so at 11am we were at the foot of the Bosphorus. Even then there were ferries everywhere. Watching for a gap in the procession of cargo ships, we crossed over the shipping channel to the east by the magnificent Dolmabahce Palace to take advantage of the counter current there, but oh! what a view of the Palace and Istanbul we had.

The rest of the passage up the Bosphorus was straight forward. Crossing over to the east of the channel again, the view did not fail to astound, as we slowly went up we gazed at forts, silent witnesses to the armed struggles for this valuable stretch of water. We admired the picture perfect old wooden houses that line the waterfront with their shining power cruisers moored outside and tried to imagine how much these properties would cost. The palaces of the Ottoman empire and modern commerce vied for our attention whilst overhead the civil engineering masterpieces of the suspension bridges soared from side to side way above our heads (no need for tide planning for air draught here!).

Alexina completed one last bend in the Bosphorus and saw the Black Sea dead ahead. We'd had just about as much excitement as we could take for one day, so we stopped at Poyraz Harbour for a rest.

Northern Turkish Harbours are not always the cleanest of places. Poyraz is an exception, priding itself with its clean harbour and beaches. They send a boat round the harbour pulling any rubbish from the water, then collect rubbish from the boats too. It's a great place to lay anchor and watch the cargo ships go by. Perhaps if you are really lucky you might see a submarine plough up the Bosphorus. A stiff climb up the hill rewards you with great views and ruins to explore, then you can take Tiger off to the sandy beach for the late afternoon sunshine.

Our first taste of Black Sea hospitality was unforgettable. After a straight forward 20 mile passage, we were a little apprehensive of our arrival at Sile, our first Black Sea port, as the pilot book mentioned silting at the entrance and and lack of space. Instead a plentiful channel had been dredged parallel to the harbour wall, the quay was large and our reception committee even larger. Locals helped us moor then plied us with freshly caught mussels stuffed with rice, followed by water melon. With our tummy's full we were able to admire the harbour with it's walls that link and incorporate a number of small islands, each with a ruin of some kind. Sile is a large town, popular with tourists from Istanbul. It is well known for Sile Bilaz, a light cotton material, ideal for mediterranean boat wear and the captain now sports a new shirt (which he has promised not to wear whilst changing the oil.) Tiger choose a bright, green fabric to make new curtains for her heads. Here ın the photo Tıger and Tony and Pat from Full Flight help clean mussels on the waterfront.

The pilot book had warned us we were in an earthquake zone where the land and sea borders change continuously. As we approached our next port of call, Kefken Adasi, we checked our charts. Both our electronic and paper charts showed deep water all around the harbour and island, but our eyes could clearly see solid white water for the passage south of the harbour, a clear indication of rocks just under the surface. Seismic activity had pushed the land up so much it would be difficult for a dingy to pass through! So number one lesson for this area, do not trust your charts. We anchored in a large, empty man made harbour attached to the small island. By the way, Tiger loved exploring the little island as it was full of the largest variety of spiders we have ever encountered.

Approaching the small fishing harbour of Acakoca we saw what looked like an escapee from the 1960s Soviet Space program towering over the town. This was the mosque. Later that evening, whilst having drinks on board our friend's boat Full Flight, a visiting local explained that the mayor had visited Islamabad and had been inspired by the mosque there. Upon his return he built one in Acakoca.

The Turks are enormously proud of their flag, hanging it from everywhere and placing large flagpoles on every island and rock, sometimes 50m high. Peter and Tony from Full Flight were well onto their second glass of red wine when the harbour master came by and pointed out that our Turkish courtesy flag, veteran of two long years cruising in Turkey, was faded and beginning to fray a little at the edges. Full Flight's was no better. Though eight o'clock at night, the captains were duly escorted to the nearest shop to buy new ones. Did we mind? Not a bit. We have received such welcome in Turkey that perhaps we felt a little foolish for our thoughtlessness and lack of courtesy.

Zonguldak is a working harbour, dirty, smelly and full, but the fishermen welcomed us to their quay with typical Black Sea hospitality - as I passed them a mooring line they passed me a cay (glass of tea)! The quay was almost three times the height of Tiger so my first venture up the side took the combined efforts of Peter pushing up my bottom and a fisherman hauling me up. The fishermen had adopted a cat, and it's four kittens were frolicking all our the nets the fishermen were mending, with Tiger hard on their heels following them.

Our final destination in the Black Sea was the beautiful harbour of Amasra. For those English readers amongst you, try and imagine the beach at Weymouth on a rare sunny day with a backdrop of minarets and castles. There, you have it! School had just broken up and the beach was full to the brim with Turkish holiday makers. We anchored up for five days, enjoying the views and made a 90 km trip inland to see the Ottoman houses at the Unesco world heritage site of Saffronbolu. Tiger made friends with the local English teacher and his wonderful children and was made to feel completely at home. Peter impressed the local fishermen by whipping up a dish of Hamsi, fried anchovies, a Black Sea delicacy.

During our research phase back a the bar in Marmaris, we had been assured there would be few other cruising boats in this region. Instead we were surprised to find quite a few, and even more surprised to find that we knew most of them. Here's the role call......Delicatus we first met in Mykinos, Crystelle Venture, Venus, Emocean I, Mary Hay, Joy, Sugulite, Tara Lee, Subeki all from last year's EMYR, Full Flight, Malua and Kelibek from Marmaris Yacht Marine, Radiance from Simi and Ocean Gem whom we have met regularly since Rome. Here we are enjoying cocktails on Mary Hay. Next day it would be Chocolate brownies on board Sugulite. Yum!

From Amasra we decided to sail a straight line back to the mouth of the Bosphorus, some 160 miles away. The passage took nearly two days and nights as the captain was determined to sail (have you seen the price of diesel these days?). This gave us plenty of time to enjoy the abundant marine live of this area. Cormorant, dolphins and Manx Shearwaters (Puffinus Puffinus). Here is Peter and Tıger provisioning the boat for the trıp.

The long running battle with our solar panels continues. Peter thought he had fixed them by changing their shape using a series of blocks, but they fail as soon as it get hot. Our temporary solution is a kitchen sponge on a string! You dunk the sponge in the sea then spread cold water over the solar panel. Within a minute the panels are cool enough to work. Great, except five minutes later you need to do the task again. Does anyone want to apply for the job?


Today we are in Port Marmara, on the island of Marmara, in the sea of Marmara! . We have had a great month exploring the Black Sea, so it feels very strange to be saying goodbye to Turkey. Now that we are moving on I keep trying to find excuses to stay a little longer. Once the boat is full of all those bits you can only buy in Turkey, we shall head back down the Dardanelles to the Aegean.

From Lesvos to Istanbul

Panic is setting in. No high seas drama or dragging anchor this time. Mum and David are coming to stay and the boat is in a complete mess with six weeks worth of washing and a one inch layer of thick salt over everything! Better find a launderette double quick and get cleaning .

Entertaining the folks is always interesting because of their diverse interests. Mum came to Lesvos for the migratory birds, while David wanted to sail. Mum goes white with fear in anything above a force 2, whilst David's eyes glaze over after a morning's bird watching. What to do? A bit of both and hope for the best. We never found the rare Cinereous Bunting, but Queen Sofia of Spain saved the day by mooring her super yacht next to us. Mum contentedly ticked her off in her copy of the Field Guide to the European Royalty.

Every cruising boat boasts of having dolphins playing on their bow but for 4 long year they have stayed well away from us. Now something magical has happened and Alexina has become a dolphin magnet: they play on our bow, under our hull and all around us. So what has changed? Tiger, at the grand age of 8, has finally discovered that squealing with delight and yelling at the top of her voice“dolphins, dolphins” just frightens them away. Silent, awe-filled observation works so much better.


Tiger has had her ups and downs this month. On the plus side she had not one, but two parties to celebrate her 8th Birthday with lots of children at the first and Grandparents at the second. Grandma and Granddad were overweight on the flight to Lesvos bringing piles of presents! On the down side, our spring cruise of family boats was over. RM1200 headed west at the beginning of May. Maritea stayed another 2 weeks, visiting Evstratios Island and Limnos with us, but then our plans diverged. We will re-join them in two months. Tiger has taken a few weeks to acclimatise to just being with Mum and Dad (and that's putting it politely!)


Here ıs Alexina and Maritea anchored at Lımnos. We would head our dıfferent ways at dawn the next day.

Our next destination, the Dardanelles, needed a great deal of planning. A high level chart was purchased from the UK and we spent hours discussing what would be the perfect weather for the trip. Alexina is a slow boat by modern standards and we would have a current of up to 4 knots against us. So Plan A was to sail overnight to the foot of the Dardanelles, then use a rare southerly wind to help push us up the channel. I was a bit nervous at the thought of a night passage towards one of the busiest waterways in the world, so a few days before the trip I decided to switch on the radar and refresh my skills. The screen lit up but showed nothing at all, despite being in a harbour. Drat! With no radar, our overnight trip was abandoned in favour of 2 day long passages. The winds turned light and southerly and we motor-sailed over glassy waters with big ships to our port and dolphins to our starboard. The photo ıs taken from Alexina as we turn the corner ınto the Dardanelles and pass the Allied Gallipoli War Memorıals.

“Please Mum, can we go to Troy”, said 4 year old Tiger after reading her Greek Myths for the first time. Troy and the Dardanelles are inextricably linked. In ancient times, with no motors to help them, boats could be stuck for months on end waiting for the predominantly North winds to turn Southerly and allow them to sail up the channel. At the foot of the Dardanelles was a large bay to wait in and Troy was right by it, ideally positioned to look after those stranded sailors and profit from them. Situated in a large fertile plateau, it had everything going for it. Nine times Troy was destroyed and nine times it was rebuilt. This leads to a pretty confusing archaeological site that needs a bit of homework before visiting. The setting was exquisite with fields of corn and spring flowers all around, bee eaters flying in the air and well written explanations of the site. And what did Tiger enjoy the most? The climb inside the imitation Trojan Horse, of course!

The Sea of Marmara, separating the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus is some 120 miles wide and 40 miles long. We would need to cross it diagonally. Plenty of space for little Alexina, you would have thought. On the chart was marked a large exclusion zone around a Penal Colony to the South of the sea and the shipping channel dominates the North, complete with it's own roundabout. By the time we had marked, slap bang in the middle of chart, two areas of live firing exercise by the Turkish Navy, this left little Alexina with a 500 metre channel to go through.

The end of May finds us at in an anchorage at the south of Heybeliada, one of the Princes Islands. Heybeliada Island is an pine covered oasis of peace and calm where storks soar overhead and cars are banned. However, look from the North of the Island and the spreading metropolis of Istanbul stretches as far as the eye can see. It's presence is felt as Stamboulites bring their city habits to the island and cover it with an astounding amount of litter. Ever so often a large wake rolls in from cargo ships heading towards the Bosphorus. And what of our quiet anchorage today? We woke this morning to four cruising boats gently bobbing. This afternoon, a Saturday, there are 50 boats of every conceivable shape and size. Welcome to Istanbul.