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Chrysalis Voyage
Family, Cruising, Exploration and Laughter
Passagemaking: Giving Away a Daughter
Author: kim
Passagemaking is a nautical term and refers to a time when you leave safe harbour and make an extended offshore voyage. Thousands have done it, many to their peril. Care must be taken to plan effectively for weather and mechanical problems should they arise. The ship should be in good condition. Some people take years to plan for such a journey. They read books. Consult experts. Pray. In case of an injury, it helps if someone on board knows first aid.
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Anchor Dragging in Patmos
Author: kim
It took us about 8 hours to reach Patmos from Rhodes. We arrived about 5pm and went straight away to the harbor of Skala, the main town, where we took a spin around the waterfront to see if there might be space for us to med moor to the city wall. This is high season for tourism and the wall was packed. So we attempted to anchor right in the center of the harbor behind several sailboats. We usually have no problem setting our anchor, but after two failed attempts, we moved further away from town toward the mouth of the harbor and tried again with the same results.
Latest News from Rhodes
Author: kim
Our time in Turkey was both educational and enjoyable. Marmaris where we were docked for the duration turned out to be a great location. Fun town with lots of great shopping and for Mike, loads of well supplied yachting, mechanical, and electrical stores. From this location we were able to explore eastward along the coast, making our way through several small resort beach towns and NW up to Ephesus and Izmir (Smryna), only a 3 hour drive away. We also took a week to explore Istanbul.
Knock Knock…Who’s There. Thoughts in Turkey
Author: kim
“There are nothing like the remains of great empires to be seen in Western cities, preserved like museums of history and proudly displayed. The people of Istanbul simply carry on with their lives amongst the ruins. “
Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul Memories and the City
“If the world were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
Remembering the Good-Further thoughts on Egypt
Author: kim
Here in Turkey we met up with some friends from the Med Red rally. They came by Chrysalis in their sailboat one morning and knocked on our hull wondering if we wanted to sail with them for the day. There was a sailing race/regatta taking place in the bay and they were are fired up for the win. Having never sailed before (let alone in a race) Mike and I jumped at the opportunity. Had a terrific day and gained an appreciation for the teamwork and exhilaration that racing a sailboat provides.
Solving Mysteries (or Wide Eyed) in Marmaris
Author: kim
Health care issues are always interesting when you’re living on a boat. For the first three years we lived aboard it wasn’t a problem as we were in North America operating within a system we were familiar with. Once while in the Bahamas I had to track down a dentist to replace a filling. Again, no big deal-everyone spoke English, I rode in a taxi and met a lovely Bahamanian dentist who despite equipment I recognized from my childhood dentist’s office back in the 70’s, did a marvelous job and only charged me 25$. Being in the Med is a little dicey as often there is not only the tracking down of a doctor (no yellow pages in English) but often a language barrier with the doctor as well. Up until recently, the only real health care providers we’ve dealt with are veterinarians as we’ve had to keep Skippers vaccinations up to date. Skipper is from Hungary and has a Euro Passport listing all his vaccines which should make passing him through customs an easy deal. So far, I don’t think one country we’ve been in has even asked to see it.
Aliens in Egypt
Author: kim
Egypt was the first culture I’ve been in where I have truly felt like a foreigner. Even traveling in Zambia or Hong Kong several years ago where the color of our skin made us a blatant minority, I didn’t feel the cultural gap I felt in Egypt. On our Mediterranean journey so far we have been in countries whose dress and customs have, for the most part, been similar to our own. Even though I didn’t speak the language, I could blend into a crowd, into a milieu that was just different enough to be interesting yet still comfortably familiar. In Egypt I found myself a complete alien.
Worth Three Donkeys
Author: kim
The heat in the Egyptian desert is oppressive. Combined with the wind which blows in through the car window directly on my face, I can practically feel my skin shrinking to wrinkles by the minute. No matter how much water I drink I am always thirsty. My lips parch almost immediately after I tighten the cap on my water bottle. The road from Hurghada to Luxor stretches about 200kms through the mountains and the desert. The terrain looks like I’ve stepped into the Indiana Jones movie - Raiders of the Lost Ark. Bleak. Several hundred yards ahead of us, the highway appears awash in water. Mirage.
See You Later, Alligator
Author: kim
Being moored in Suez City was pleasant enough. The view from the port side of Chrysalis was of town–a couple of bars and a lovely open sitting area with flowering red trees ablaze even from a distance. Off to starboard, the Canal. We could sit in the cockpit and watch a steady stream of tankers go by. Sort of like sitting in a café and watching the world go by, which in this instance was exactly the case.
Egypt and the Red Sea
Author: kim
We left Herzliya a week ago today (Sunday) headed toward Egypt. Chrysalis was too big to be docked with the other Med Red boats in Tel Aviv, so as we made our way south west, we had a great view on the radar of the other 50 boats making their way out of the Tel Aviv Marina. We slowed down about a ½ mile off the marina entrance to pick up our new friend, Sandy, who writes for Blue Water Sailing magazine. The rally coordinator asked if we could host her for a few days and we readily conceded. Under lovely conditions we went overnight, keeping in contact with our rally group and arrived at Port Said in good spirits.