July 9-16 2012

07:30: At the Ashkelon marina collected the crew of Mistral III for a week’s sailing holiday to Cyprus.

08:00: Released from the Marine Police, farewell to the marina staff and on our way. Wonderful wind just off our port and off with the engine. At 14:00 used the motor for a short while, and then once again a short time sailing until the evening. Then, unfortunately, the old iron spinnaker until we reached Paphos at 13:00 on Wednesday July 11.

Events worth noting during the sail:

44 hours of engine and topped up at Paphos with 44 liters of fuel.

We caught two big tuna. The side of Mistral was hung with 10 cm pieces of fish that had been put into the fridge with coarse salt and then hung out to dry. The rest was put in containers with vinegar, soya sauce and a bit of onion and garlic.

At midnight on the 9^th we almost ran down the rig at N 32 33’527 E 033 59’859. Security made us pass within a distance of two miles.

At midnight on the 10^th we encountered an Israeli warship, which, after identifying us, wished us a good voyage. Nice to know that at such a distance from Israel we were under the wings of our Navy.

At Paphos, we were well received by the harbormaster, who, through the radio, directed us to a position between two boats where we could tie up. Unfortunately, at Paphos, water is a problem, and forget about electricity! Between Cris, the harbor master, the police, immigration, and customs, we came up with satisfactory solutions to visit Kato Pyrgos marina, then Latchi, and from there departed back to Israel.

On the 11^th at 05:00 we set off for the 46 miles up the west coast of Cyprus and then eastwards to the new but unused marina at the town of Kato Pyrgos.  Position N 35 11’26 E 032 40’27.

This is a marina built by the European commision 3-4 years ago and then forgotten. The town is small and separated from the area of Pomos, Polis and Latchi by a small Turkish enclave that makes access to the town both long and difficult. The marina is rapidly silting up at the entrance and we, with a draught of 1.5 meters, could just get in. The local residents, who have no foreign tourism, were very pleasant to us for our overnight stay.

I have included a Google map of the area to illustrate the location of the Turkish enclave. Also, the Cyprus Navy, who came out to check our destination, advised us to keep two miles off the coast at that point.

The following morning, the 12^th, we once again motor-sailed to just west of the marina of Latchi, where we dropped anchor first at Fontana Amarousa and then Loutra Afroditis.

We spent a very pleasant day. Due to the hot weather, there was no point in entering Latchi marina before evening.

At Latchi we once again encountered the Cypriot (Greek) bureaucracy, which meant filling in forms after forms, but with a good smile all went well. We had a tasty meal at a local tavern and the next morning, at 05:00, we received our passports, and by 05:30 were on our way home.

We motor-sailed until just before Paphos, and then sailed, at over 5 knots, until the evening of the 15^th, when the wind gave up on us and we motored to Ashkelon, arriving the next morning at 08:00 after 51 hours of sailing; a total of 250 nautical miles.

Points worth noting were we caught two additional tuna, and the tremendous heat.

All in all a wonderful week, which my crew and I could recommend to any keen sailor.

S/Y Mistral III _/)_/)_/)_

May the winds always be fair and behind you, and may you never drink salt water.