It's a'blowing out thar!!!

We are experiencing another of the pre-winter weather systems passing through the area.  Winds have been in the 30+ range for a couple of days.  And forecast is to continue the same for several more days.


Above is an image of the weather forecast on the Turkish Weather website.  The little lines indicate the direction of the wind, and the little marks on the end of the lines (like fletches on arrows) indicate the predicted velocity of the wind.  As you can see, there are winds in excess of 50 knots forecast between Cyprus and Turkey.  At the moment we are in a lull with wind speeds of only 10 knots or less.  This won't last long before our area is back into the yellow range with winds back up in the 25 to 30 range.


Also note the location of Alanya, Turkey.  Alanya is really located a tiny bit north of where it is shown in this image, but this is close enough for you to get the idea.  We have been watching the Alanya area during the past 2 weather systems......because we are toying with the idea of wintering there next year.  Alanya appears to be in an area that misses the heaviest weather.  This is the third weather system that has left Alanya pretty much untouched.  As the system moves through, Alanya remains in the dark blue colors......meaning lighter winds.   According to the weather websites we are watching, Alanya appears to experience far better weather than Finicke, Fethiye or Marmaris.  I suspect this has something to do with the mountains in that area.  Alanya might be a good place for us to spend next winter (if we don't join the new Red Sea Rally and spend the winter season sailing in Egypt down to Massawa and back).  

Added later......the night after I posted this a storm blew through the area.  Highest gust recorded by wind gauge on another just down the dock from us was 58 knots!!!  For about 12 hours winds were consistently ranging 35 to 45 knots.  Were we ever glad to be safely tied to this marina dock!

Marine life

With all the dredging and construction work at this new marina during the past year, all the marine life fled.   When we arrived in late August we saw almost no fish.  And the few fish we did see were very tiny, not longer than an adult's index finger.   One day I did see one fish that was about 2-feet long.  But it left and never returned inside the marina as far as I know.  The water here is crystal clear, like looking through a glass of drinking water; so if anything is swimming around inside the marina it is easy to spot.


When we first moved the boat out to dock on the breakwater wall there was a huge old green turtle that swam near our boat every day.  We were docked not too far from the dog-leg to the marina from the tiny bay entrance, near the western end of the breakwater wall. The turtle  left around the first week of October and has not been seen since.   Green turtles have only 2 nesting grounds in the entire Mediterranean -- a location on the Turkish coastline and several beaches on Cyprus.  The turtles return to lay eggs during July and August.  Later when the eggs hatch, tourists go to the nesting beaches to watch the tiny hatch-lings make their way to the sea. The final hatch-ling watch was at midnight one Friday near the first of October.  Funny that it was at the same time that the big old turtle left the area.

Yesterday as we were walking down the dock on our way out for the day I spotted a small cuttlefish swimming nearby.  I was hurrying to meet someone; no time to run back to the boat for the camera; therefore, no photo of that particular cuttlefish.  Darn it!  But here is an image of a cuttlefish that I found on Google Images, and it looks very similar to the one I spotted.  Cuttlefish come in all kinds of shapes and colors.  If you are not familiar with this type of fish, check the images available online.  The first time I ate cuttlefish was in Sri Lanka.  Some of the restaurants served Deviled Cuttlefish, which was cooked in a spicy red sauce and served with rice.  Very delicious.  Cuttlefish is similar to calamari (squid) in both taste and texture. 


In the past few weeks we have seen several small groups of squid in the marina.  Yesterday I noticed a few small groups of fish, about 6 to 8 inches in length.  Some of the construction workers catch fish off the inside of the breakwater wall at the marina entrance.


The only marina construction in the water is now outside down on the eastern end where there is another small bay.  The breakwater wall that will protect the boatyard hardstand area is being completed down there; well separated by land from the interior marina area.  So marine life is beginning to return to the marina waters now that underwater construction is completed in the interior of the marina 'harbor' area.  Nice.

Rain!!!!!!!

We are experiencing the second rain since arriving in Cyprus in late August.  A lovely, slow, drenching type of rain.   I hope it keeps up for the next 36 hours -- to wash away all the salt encrusted on the upper rigging from the wind-driven spray over the breakwater wall last week.


It is 70F inside the boat at 09:00 this morning.  Bill is bundled up in fleece jacket and fleece pants, layered over short-sleeved tee-shirt.  And wearing his fur lined moccasins that serve as winter slippers.  I'm still in knee capris, tee-shirt and barefoot and quite comfortable.  He is going to need much warmer clothing for the winters in the Med.  How will he ever handle it when the temperature inside the boat gets down to 55F, which I fully expect it to be in February.  Wonder whatever happened to his old duck-hunting clothes?  The thermal long underwear, heavy waterproof gloves, battery-powered warmer socks and the L.L. Bean duck boots?  Can't remember if I sold those in a garage sale; stored them in someone's attic; or gave them to our younger son.  Think we better look for those when we visit Houston next month.  Gotta find something to keep this guy warm!  We can't stay snuggled beneath blankets 24 hours a day.

Off the wall

 This afternoon we moved off the breakwater wall to what is probably a temporary berth on D dock. Our permanent berth should be on C dock, but the electrical re-routing work on C dock likely will take a few more weeks.  The power should be restored to D dock at any moment.


The government inspector signed off on the re-routed (and bonded) electrical work on D dock last Friday.  An engineer inspector from the corporate office of the marina company flew down from England and inspected the repairs on Sunday.  The marina is now waiting for one final inspector to sign off on the job, and then the electricity will be turned on for D dock.  That inspector was supposed to be here yesterday.  It is now mid-afternoon and he still has not arrived.  Cypriots don't get in a hurry about anything.  








Since the weather was nice and calm we opted to move to this dock today and hope this inspector shows up in a day or two.  Three other boats also moved onto this dock today.  Optimists, aren't we.

Re-routing of electrical lines on E dock hopefully will be completed in about a week.  That is the dock for boats up to about 40-feet long.  So that is the dock with the most boats.  I'm glad the electrician opted to finish the D dock for 40 to 50-foot boats first.  Our boat is 53-feet and we are a little too big for this dock, but all should be fine for a few weeks until we can move to C dock where the larger boats are supposed to berth.  


Surely the work will be finished and approved so we can move over there before we fly home on 3 December.  My mind would rest easier during our trip if our boat is berthed at the dock built for our size boat.  If we have to leave the boat on D dock during our trip home, we will worry about the possibility of a winter storm and being on a dock with lighter weight moorings.

Kantara Castle

Kantara Castle

Kantara Castle is the closest castle to our marina.  Kantara is situated on a mountain overlooking the Karpaz peninsula of northeastern Cyprus.  It is the easternmost castle on the Kyrenia mountain range and is situated at 630 meters above sea level. The high elevation on the peninsula affords views north to Turkey, south towards Israel and Lebanon, and eastward towards Syria.  Turkey is only 44 miles north and can be seen on a clear day.  The other countries range from 75 miles to 150 miles distant and a bit too far for the human eye.  This was the perfect vantage point to be on the lookout for raiding Arabs arriving by sea in centuries past.

Kantara Castle

No one seems to know the original date of construction for the Kantara Castle.  It is believed to have been built by the Byzantines during the 10th century to ward off raiding Arabs.  The first historical mention of this castle is when Richard the Lionheart captured Cyprus in 1191 A.D. during the Crusades.  Makes one wonder if dear brave Richard realized that the inhabitants were Christian or if he just assumed that they must be infidels.  At the time Richard captured Cyprus, the ruler was Isaac Commenus (also spelled Kommenus) and was Byzantine, not Islamic.  Makes one wonder just how many non-Muslim people were killed during the Crusades.  When Richard attacked Cyprus, Commenus took refuge in Kantara Castle.

Kantara Castle

Kantara (630 meters) is the lowest of the 3 great crusader castles located in the Kyrenia mountain range of Cyprus.  Located nearer the center of the mountain range is the Buffavento Castle, which is also the highest (950 meters).  Nearer the western end of the mountain range is the St. Hillarion Castle (732 meters), after which Walt Disney is said to have modeled the castle depicted in the movie Snow White.  I hope to visit St. Hillarion during our stay on Cyprus, although it takes over an hour to climb to the castle from the parking lot and I probably can't handle that activity at that height.  It was hard enough breathing walking the steps at Kantara Castle.

Kantara Castle from parking lot

Kantara was bombarded by royalists with catapults in 1228 A.D. and the walls were severely damaged.  During the Genoese attacks at Famagusta on the southern coast of the peninsula, people escaped the fighting by sheltering in Kantara Castle.  One of these was the Prince of Antioch who escaped Famagusta with the help of his trusted cook.   Later, during more peaceful times, the Lusignan royalty would come to Kantara and use tame leopards to hunt wild mountain goats. 

Kantara Castle

Like the other castles on Cyprus, the Venetians took over when they arrived.  But the Venetians abandoned Kantara in 1525 because the castle was so remote.  The ruins seen today date from the 13th century.   It is very picturesque and the ruins include towers, walls and a barbican, or approach fortification.

Half way up looking to south

The word kantara in Arabic means 'arch.'  Kantara Castle is built on an arch and is accessible from only one side.  We drove to the castle from the south side of the peninsula and the road was horrible -- very narrow and far-too-many patches in the asphalt.  Very bumpy and long ride up there, with spectacular views and sheer drop-offs!.  On the way down we opted to take a different route.  About 1/4 way down there was an intersection and we turned north rather than take re-trace our route to the south.  Much, much better!  The road was all new asphalt; even had shoulders and guard rails!  Definitely the better route to visit this castle.

Looking to north from Kantara Castle

After visiting Kantara at 630 meters, I have no desire to visit Buffavento Castle at 930 meters.  The guide books state that the roads up to that castle are in deplorable condition.  No thanks!

But Kantara Castle gets a thumbs up.

Here are a few more photos added later.  Taken by Glenn and later emailed to us.

Judy at Kantara Castle looking southward

Bill near top at Kantara Castle

Glenn at Kantara Castle

Kantara Castle

Judy & Bill at Kantara Castle