Autumn Cruise 2021, Marmaris to Symi.

/ Türkiye / By
Living on board our old boat in Yat Marin.

In September 2021 it would be 5 years since we brought our old boat into Türkiye and 5 years is the maximum period allowed in the country without having to pay tax on the boat. We had to leave the territorial waters of Türkiye for at least one day before we could check back in with the year counter reset to zero.

It would be safe to officially check into Greece to have paper prove we had left Türkish territorial waters. For administrative reasons (we will spare you the silly details) we had to check back into Türkiye in a different maritime sector then from where we departed.

During summer and autumn, the prevailing winds are from the West so we decided to go day sailing to Greece along the coast against the prevailing winds. From Greece it would be a downwind sail to Kas in Türkiye where we could check in again. This would especially make the overnight sail from Rhodes to Kas a relaxed trip. From Kas back to Marmaris we planned to day sail again whilst waiting for favourable winds when at anchor for sightseeing and the nights.

Counterclockwise from Marmaris to Symi, to Rhodes, to Kas and back to Marmaris.
At anchor next to the old port in Marmaris. With check-out formalities cleared it is time to relax with a beer and lamb-chops on the barbie.
View from the boat of the lovely restored Castle and the day-tripper boats for tourists.
Marmaris by night as seen from the boat. Disco's ARE loud but they turn down the volume at 11pm, unlike in some of the other anchorages we visited.
Oops.....another wildfire? No, this time it was a kitchen fire in one of the restaurants.
We re-anchored a bit further Southwest in Marmaris bay in front of Icmeler to be better protected for a storm that was approaching. The gusts over deck reached 40+ kts and our anchor held fine.
Içmeler village square.

After the storm cleared, we set sail for the Greek island of Symi. Immediately behind the storm the wind came from the East so we could take advantage of this rare summer easterly and had a lovely 25 Nm sail to our next anchorage although the left over sea was a bit lumpy.

At Anchor for the night in front of the restaurant in Bozukkale Koyu (Bozukkale Bay).

The next day we continued another 12 miles to Symi. We motored for an hour against the light morning Westerly and could set sail after rounding the cape on a NNW course.

Moored, stern to smack in the middle of Gialos, the lower town and harbour of Symi.

We visited Symi island earlier on our route from the Peloponnesos to Türkiye with TWO B in Oct 2020. https://www.twobatsea.com/dodecanese-greece/. In this linked post you can find a brief description of the islands history and more pictures of course.

Kali Strata, the nice marble staircase (500 steps) connecting Gialos (lower town) with Chorio (upper town).
The architectural style of the Dodecanese islands was formed during the Venetian occupation. Later, the Symi sponge fishermen and traders traveled to Turkey, Italy and France to sell their sponges and brought construction materials and architectural ideas in return resulting in the neoclassical houses we see today.
From this position (The Pontikokastro, a circular stone structure with unknown purpose) we have a wonderful view over the port and...............
.......over Pedi, the hamlet and bay on the other side of the hill. We would return a few more times to this well protected anchorage over our two year stay in Türkiye.
At the end of World War II, the surrender of German forces to the British was signed on May 1945 in this building, that is now home to Symi's most expensive restaurant. (No we didn't eat there).
We sailed the 10 or so Nm from Gialos to Panormitis bay to have a better starting point for the crossing to Rhodes. On the foreground the jetty for the tourist boats that come to visit the monastery, many as pilgrims........
......and they arrive in droves on two different ferries each day. Religion is good business.
Liza rowing back to the boat with fresh abby bread, baked in the monasteries bakery.

On Sep 22, 2020 we set sail for the 23 Nm sail to Rhodes, the main island of the Dodecanese. This fascinating island is the subject for the next post.

Thank you for reading our story.

Warm regards, Liza and Frits.