6/13 Night Sail the Greek Islands & Turkey – September 2016

18 September – 1 October 2016

Join Wine Diva Deb on a sailing adventure through the Greek Islands and Turkey. Enjoy a relaxed and leisurely sail avoiding the more “touristy” towns to enjoy more unspoilt towns and villages. There is no need to worry about the logistics of getting ferries from one place to another, simply stay on board your floating home.

If you don’t have the time for the full two weeks you can still come along and choose to either sail Turkey or Greece, your choice.

And if you do have the time why not join Wine Diva Deb for a week Food and Wine land tour of Crete.

 

Sailing Details

Date Port Activity Time
Turkey Week
Sun 18 Sep Keci Buku Embark  11am
Mon 19 Sep Sailors Paradise
Tue 20 Sep Bozburun
Wed 21 Sep Datca
Thu 22 Sep Ova Buku
Fri 23 Sep Knidos
Greece Week
Sat 24 Sep Kos Disembark 2pm
Sun 25 Sep Kos to Vathi  Embark  10am
Mon 26 Sep Pandeli
Tue 27 Sep Lipsos
Wed 28 Sep Marathi
Thu 29 Sep Patmos
Fri 30 Sep Lakki (Leros)  Arrive
Sat 1 Oct Lakki Disembark  9am

Itinerary Details

This is an example of a typical itinerary on our 2 week trip. However, no two trips are ever exactly the same; one of the greatest things about being on a sailboat is the flexibility to change our minds and our route to suit personal preferences, prevailing wind conditions, etc. The start and finish points are fixed, of course – but all else is changeable according to the whims of the wind gods and those on board !

18 Sep

Your yacht will be awaiting you at 11am in Keci Buku. A little village/harbour just 30 minutes drive from the main town of Marmaris, it’s a wonderful contrast to the buzzing metropolis! Keci Buku is described as a “gem” in the Turkish Waters Pilot – and it truly is. A wide, sweeping bay surrounded by pine forests, with a fascinating old fortress perched on the top of an island guarding the entrance. An unusual sandspit extends far out into the bay, creating the illusion of people “walking on water” as they stroll out into the middle of the bay!After having everyone settled in, we’ll set off for our first destination of Dirsek – a very pretty little bay with just one taverna nestled in a corner. Tranquil though it is, we’ve had quite a few lively nights in this little spot! Wonderful swimming, a short hike up to a stunning look-out point and just generally a great chill-out spot. This first day is a fairly short sail to get everyone’s sea legs in shape!

19 Sep

 

 

 

 

Sailors Paradise – a beautiful bay with just one little restaurant. There is no road access here, so everything comes in by little fishing boat, or else they grow their own produce in the surrounding garden. Great swimming in deep clear water. For those feeling like a little aerobic workout – there’s a chance to join the local goats and scramble up a steep, craggy hlllside – the views over the bay make it all worthwhile!

In the wee small hours of the morning, a traditional wood-fired oven provides us with bread as fresh as one could ever wish for. Combine this with the local honey, and it’s a breakfast of kings.

20 Sep

Enough of the quiet, relaxing evenings to recover from jetlag – tonight, we are heading for a night of belly-dancing in Bozburun – a small, very traditional Turkish village. It’s full of gulets (wooden motor sailors), but not many yachts – and certainly not many tourists! We dock at a tiny wooden jetty just outside the village, at a little family-run pension/restaurant right on the waterfront. It is a shady, tranquil spot; we get to use their sunbeds, borrow their fun kayaks, and generally make ourselves very much at home here! Quiet though it may be usually, our groups often signal “party night” to the locals – the guys here love to dance – the most amazing belly-dancing moves which they delight in trying to teach us stiff-hipped types!

21 Sep

Sail to Datca– a lively little town. The waterfront is lined with bars and tavernas; one street behind are several interesting craft & jewellery shops. Walking towards the beach, there is a tiny lake, with a surprisingly powerful “mini-waterfall” as it runs into the ocean; a great and very cooling massage experience !!For more of the “real thing” – the local haman (Turkish baths) is a not-to-be-missed experience. Lounge around on heated marble slabs, have those layers of old, dirty skin loofah’d off, complete the process with a smoothing oil massage, piles of soft white towels and general pampered decadence!There’s several other cultural/historic trips from Datca for those interested; a visit to a stately old-home-turned-olive-farm (complete with instructions on gourmet oil-tasting!); “Old Town” Datca, abandoned by the Greeks after WW2, when the Greeks & Turks did their “population swap”.If carpet-buying is on your agenda – Datca is a great place to do it! There is not the over-abundance and confusion of Istanbul (nor the elevated prices!), yet still plenty of variety to choose from.

22 Sep

Today we will be sailing to Ova Buku. It’s a little, out-of-the-way village, which is not exactly on the main tourist map; road access is not easy. For us yachties, however – it’s a little paradise on earth. A rickety wooden dock, half a dozen tavernas, one shop and super-friendly locals. There’s a lovely sandy beach, perfect for diving straight off the boat to cool off! A short 15 min hike over the hill and through farmland, is another long, quiet beach – for those with more energy to burn, there is a circular route coming back through the village; a glimpse into traditional Turkish life far removed from the tourism glitz.
What defines Ova Buku most of all is a wonderful little spot called “Ogunʼs Place” – our SeaScape home-from-home. A wonderful little beachfront taverna, hang-out-and-chill-out spot for afternoon beers – Semraʼs home-cooked Turkish food, quite different to the usual tourist fare. On top of this, there is the very fun and entertaining ambiance created by our young and lively host, Ogun, who often has a few practical joke surprises up his sleeve!

23 Sep

Sail to Knidos – once upon a time, this was a key city/harbour in the ancient world, home to many thousands of people. Now it is just a tranquil and well-sheltered bay – but extensive remains of these former civilizations still lie scattered around the hills, surrounding the bay on all three sides. There are amphitheatres, stone pillars and carvings, statue and temple remains – all incredibly intact. It is really a time warp experience to wander around these hills and imagine the way of life all those thousands of years ago.

24 Sep

An early morning start for Kos – our entry point into Greece. A busy little harbor town, whose entrance is guarded by a 12th century fortress. A popular destination with northern Europeans, Kos is quite the pot pourri of ancient and modern. One can go sit under the same tree which (reputedly!) shades Hippocrates’ students as he taught medical class, many centuries ago, wander around the remains of amphitheatres….or partake of our day-and-age’s entertainments – beaches, “bar street” , and shopping!

24 Sep

Kos is the halfway point for those sailing with us for the first week; disembarkation is at 2pm on Saturday Sep 24th.  Please do not make your flight out of Kos before 6pm. 25 Sep will be embarkation at 10am  in Kos for our Greece Sailing trip.  We will leave Kos and sail to Vathi this morning.

25 Sep

Our destination for this morning is the little harbour of Vathi, on the island of Kalymnos. It is a very dramatic little spot; a well-hidden and very narrow fjord-like entrance, opening up into a tiny fishing village at the head of the bay. It boasts one main street and a collection of houses scattered into the valley; an unexpected patch of lush vegetation on an otherwise very dry and arid-looking island. Vathi is the only place on the entire island that is lucky enough to have it’s own spring water supply, and they use it carefully to cultivate citrus fruits, figs, grapes and anything else that can be persuaded to grow.It’s also the home of Poppy’s– one of our “adopted families” around here, where momma makes the best home-made dolmades (stuffed grapeleaves) you’ll ever taste in your life, and the swordfish steaks are out of this world!!

26 Sep

Sail to Pandeli Bay, on the east coast of Leros. This is one of the prettiest anchorages to sail into you can imagine; a horseshoe-shaped bay with traditional blue-and-white houses scattered down the hillside; 11th century fortress which towers over the bay. Our favourite little beach tavernas are just 2 mins swim from the boats! For those with plenty of night-owl energy, there is the infamous Savana Bar – a very idiosyncratic little local hangout, where we often end up dancing the night away…

27 Sep

The next day is Lipsos – the island of 42 blue-domed churches. It’s a quiet, very untouristy island; the harbour is a typical, whitewashed little Greek town; a photographers’ dream in the village. To cool off, there is a lovely little sandy beach, just over the hill from where we moor the boats, and a great hike out to the point for those needing to burn off some of those calamari! If we’re lucky and conditions are calm, we may be able to visit Macro Nisi (the “cave” island) for a swim stop en route. It’s a secluded little anchorage with sheer-sided cliffs, which have been known to entice the braver (or more foolhardy!) amongst us to throw caution to the wind and leap off them! For those more inclined to be adventurous in/under the water, there’s also a swim-through hole to snorkel through to the cave the other side.

28 Sep

Sail to Marathi; a truly tiny little island with a sandy, horseshoe-shaped beach, beautiful water to swim and snorkel in; a totally tranquil and peaceful spot. If you could paint a picture of the perfect, idyllic island retreat, Marathi would be it! There are just three families living here; wonderfully friendly and hospitable people. Great food too!! This place is a magical balm for the stressed-out city-living soul….so much so that it’s often been hard to persuade people that, really, we should leave, there are other islands to visit!

29 Sep

Sail to Patmos – a short hop of only a couple of hours. This is the famous monastery island, where St John (as of Apostle fame) was inspired by visions to write the Book of Revelations. The 10th century monastery (built by Crusader Knights) reigns over the island, still an active training centre for novice monks. The village that lies at the foot of the monastery is everyone’s romantic image of a Greek village; incredibly narrow, winding alleyways, cats sunning themselves on whitewashed streets, old ladies in black collecting fresh bread from the bakery in the morning. Despite all the visitors they now get, these villagers have remained wonderfully friendly; particularly if you go up there in the early morning hours; the old ladies will look at you in faint amazement that a foreigner should find their way up there at such an hour; if you can remember enough of our Greek lessons to say “kalimera!” (good morning), they’ll give you a huge smile and a “kalimera-sas” back (good morning to you too)!

30 Sep

Sail to Leros, to our home base of Lakki on the western side. En route, we’ll stop for lunch-and-swim at the little uninhabited island of Archangelos. Beautifully bright turquoise waters, last chance to get some of those “wow” shots to make the folks back home totally jealous! Once back in Lakki, there is one last chance to soak up the sun on the little beach just around the corner from the yachts, or maybe just chill out with a beer / ice-cream frappe in the marina’s taverna! Farewell dinner at Vromolithos – a beautiful beachfront taverna with amazing views over the bay – and, for a final night’s grand finale – live Greek music!

1 Oct

 Disemembark at 9am in Lakki (main harbour on Leros).

 

Further Itinerary Details

Ongoing connection info: One flight per day Leros-Athens, departs approx 10.30am. There is also a hydrofoil to Samos (normally around 4pm, but please check!), which takes around 2.5 hours.  There are 2-3 ferry connections per to Kos (see www.gtp.gr), and a fast catamaran which goes daily to Rhodes. These slands have 3-4 flights per day back to Athens. 

It is also possible to get the overnight ferry to Athens;  departs late evening, usually between 10-12pm. Takes 8-10 hours. Cabins are comfortable and it is quite a fun, relaxing trip usually.  The ferry dock is 5 minutes from our marina base; the airport is 15 minutes taxi ride.

Connections to Turkey; 1-2 ferries per day from Samos-Kusadasi ; 2 ferries daily from Kos to either Bodrum or Turgutreis.  The fast catamaran connects Leros to Rhodes twice a day; there are also ferries from Rhodes-Marmaris.

See also Seascape-sail.com

Inclusions

  • Sailboats are 53’ and 49’ beamy and spacious built for comfort rather than speed. Each boat has 4 cabins, some cabins are doubles, some convert to bunkbeds and the boats have 4 heads (bathrooms)
  • Breakfasts
  • Lunches
  • Soft drinks
  • Open bar (local beers, wines & liquors)
  • Skipper
  • Informal sailing instruction if desired
  • Fuel
  • Water
  • Mooring fees
  • Security deposit / insurance

Not Included

  • Dinners ashore
  • Transport to and from the boats – airfares, transfers
  • Personal & medical insurance
  • Personal visas for Turkey (when applicable)

Pricing Details* (per person)

*Airfare not included in prices listed

Sailing Trip

For entire 2 weeks (Greece & Turkey) €2,150/person
For 1 week only (either Turkey or Greece) €1,350/person

To Reserve your space

Send email to: winedivadeb@yahoo.com or call Wine Diva Deb on 206-617-6160.

A deposit of €500 is required for the sailing trip to secure your space. Space is limited.

All reservations based on double occupancy.

Travel Insurance highly recommended as well as Personal & Medical Insurance.