Northern Fantasy Adios Amigos

Please like new page, I could not merge the NF page so going to do away with.

I am no longer going to update the Northern Fantasy page if you keen to follow the sailing ventures, please like this page.

Jasper, Janna and Jose are on Tam Tam, did their SAS YM Offshore with me........ The world is too small, this is so cool

SAS YM Offshore, two Coastal’s and a Day Skipper done and dusted. Well-done.

Nother Office day....

Office for the Day SAS CS and YM

Student for a Change Celestial Navigation 🙄🤔🤔🤔🤔

Or this one for two cozy couples @+- R9,000 per couple for a week mid May, early April and from a November even cheaper....
www.sailfleet.net

How about this one sleeps 9, 4 +1 Cabins, +-R21,000 per family, take two family's, once off deal first come first served.
www.sailfleet.net

Leopard 43, late April to mid June, take two families @ € 1,425 (+- R23,500) per family, once off deal for first booking.
www.sailfleet.net

25% off for first to book before 31st January, 15% for next two, through me only!

Back for the Summer….
We left for Greece to put Northern Fantasy back in the water, took a month to cross to Turkey to juggle the Shengan 90 day visa, made a mess of that one, advise to self, do 90 days in Shengan then 90days out don’t try and come and go between, worked out quiet costly our way with trips to the UK, Visa costs, travel and accommodation but that’s a story all in itself that my new found “Pom” Sally can tell you.
I digress, we crossed during April, Corinth (NF 40ft Mono, winter laid up Almira Boat Yard, €120 a month) to Kythnos, thought we had a great berth till the 2 in the morning rollercoaster ride got too much, dropped the spare med moored style anchor and promptly learnt what a simulated blind navigation exercise actually means…..nothing ….. you need to actually do a live one in your next ticket upgrade, I eventually canned following the Navionics and used a land light to hold a straight course into a nice North wind protected anchorage. We moved pretty much each day except for two weeks in Paros (€4 a night when they decided to collect, mid season was almost double and they collected every day) for a visa application run back to Athens.
Kythnos to Siphnos to Paros to Armogos to Nisos Astipalaia to South East end of Kos to Nysiros (My Favourite with a live Volcano) to Tilos and on to Rodos Madraki (my least favourite €50 a night Marina) all a day Sail or less, weather was extremes from rainy and windy to beautiful no wind days, not a sailors paradise in April, weather forecast are never accurate and wind is always “head on” only swim I had was the involuntary 17~ degree dive to retrieve the inevitable “if you don’t secure me properly I will punish you and fall through your fingers into the water” nut, the only one that fits the fitting!
Prior to leaving Greece we had to fit a holding tank, no, pun NOT intended a s**t job made even worse second time round when you can’t understand the gravity system does not work too well only to appreciate gravity goes down, hence correct pipe must go down……. And pressure is not good for a holding tank pipe…..
The whole Blue Card pump out thing in Turkey is blown out of proportion if you believed every “Fakebook” post you would not even consider Turkey, it’s really not a big deal.
On leaving Rodos we sailed into Gocek, entering what is known as the “Gateway to Heaven” and Heaven it is with the Snow capped Mountain range to the South of Fethiye and the Pristine Limani/Lagoon of Gocek with 22~ degree water and 15m vis. This is an area surrounded by green hills and abundant bays, choices of restuarant’s and private docks to uncrowded anchorages especially in May. For me after listening to fellow cruisers and negative social media, a completely underrated and must do destination. People where great, prices were reasonable, clearing in with an agent completely hassle free for €100.
We did from Fethiye Bay South to Kas and North to Bodrem, stand out places Dalyan River, Gemiler and Datca, that is not to mention Gocek Limani, though Gocek itself’s a bit too touristy.
Did a few charters for a company in Fethiye made some good contacts, found a good charter company with very good deals and nice boats, hit me up, I’ll get you sorted for your next Turkey Charter. Fethiye bay you can anchor and leave boat in good mud holding, water was not great, plenty of Algea bloom but safe. The Marina at Hotel Classic was €60 a night, 50% discount if you eat at the hotel with a great swimming pool. In true Saffa style we spent one night had a great meal and after that made ourselves at home round the pool as a familiar look by dinging each day into the dingy dock and walked around like we owned the place, believe me it worked, Europeans are way to honest!
Cruising in Turkey and keeping your boat there is fairly easy but more costly than Greece, that said with an annual Marina contract you can convert your 30day visa to a long stay 12 month visa, it is also warmer during the winter. 40ft Mono annual contract which would give you around 3months on the hard then berth rest of the year with reciprocal usage at partner Marinas from between R48,000 and R60,000 for a year, I have all that info.
Chartering is well priced and fairly uncrowded, Turkey tourism has been quite badly affected by their current leader, not a very popular guy along the coast, all his support is from more extreme quarters inland. Sally never felt any discomfort and I enjoyed many a beer with the local people. If you looking for a weeks charter I would not go any further than a rental out of Fethiye, from there a four to six hour sail South to Gemiler or North to Dalyan river and Gocek Limani across the bay. A two week charter, jump off the same place and do Datca as well. All a flight into Dalaman and a €25 transfer, “it’s not what you know it’s who you know”. Winds much more consistent.
Around mid August we left Turkey for Greece via Symi, this time round the cruising tax was in place, 0,12m cost us nearly €60 extra each month, 12m and under is around €30 a month but 12,12m was €97. Still a few things to be sorted as this is a monthly tax regardless of time, ie. Two days early or two days into the next month will cost you a full months cruising tax. We did much longer runs back through the Dodecanese trying to avoid the Meltemi which is more doable later in the season back to an area we really enjoy with local tourism just below Athens in the Aegean Sea. Spent a few weeks hoping to get up to Skiathos only to leave for another year and sailed around Aegina and Poros then back onto the hard at the end of September at Almira 60km South of Athens and a €14 train ride into Athens.
From there an all expenses paid trip across to Barbados to run a 100ft 100ton Tallship, the devil was in the detail, alas we lasted a month and had a truly special learning curve as Captain of a traditionally rigged craft, this after devouring five of the twenty one series ‘Aubrey and Maturin’ books by Patrick O’Brian, if you a Sailor worth you’re salt a good read. At least I now knew what a fo’c’sle or a cathead was and the real definition of a Spanker…..No Brad….No.
Anyway that did not work out but we managed to sail and explore Barbados and Grenada, a special experience with wonderful people, albeit the cruising community that had found their final resting grounds, many a SBYC’er would fit in really well.
Barbados is not really a sailing destination although the water clarity on our mooring was incredible with an abundance of sea life that was very lacking in the Med, it’s an island with the next one over 140nm away generally upwind to get home and no other anchorages other than about 20nm coastline on the West leeward shore.
We spent time in Clark’s Court Bay near Hog Island Grenada, a popular hurricane hole/cruisers step off zone. This was on the Eastern windward side, October being the rainy season made it rather murky water, leeward, West side did look more inviting but sounds like the true cruising grounds are north in the Grenadines and further up into the Leeward Islands.
Clark’s Court Boat Yard had every other South African built Cat waiting out the hurricane season on the hard, we can be proud of our product, bumped into Geoff from Alexis3 that was at SBYC a few months last year. In-fact there is a big expat South African contingence in the area, a place defiantly to be return to, to explore North.
My cost Barometer
Beer:-
Greece; Shop Price R12-15, Restaurant R36-45
Turkey; Shop Price R15-18, Restaurant R 45’ish
Barbados/Grenada; Shop Price R20-25, Restaurant R45-75
On the Hard 40ft Mono:-
Greece; From R2,000 to R3,600pm
Turkey; From R4,000 to R5,000pm
Clark’s Court; R13,860pm, that was a daily rate may be less for long stay.
Feel free to corner us and discuss further
Farewinds
Paul and Sally, [email protected]