Karpas Gate Marina, Northern Cyprus - The Truth

[stevensuf]

i need to go to southern cyprus for a few nights come august, i think on those prices and states i should have invested in a bigger anchor

[rivonia]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

i need to go to southern cyprus for a few nights come august, i think on those prices and states i should have invested in a bigger anchor

Update on the South Cyprus Marinas- They are all FULL. However if you are prepared to pay extra (brown envelope) you WILL get a berth. If you have been in the North then you would have to give up any idea of ever taking your yacht to the South. The new limasol marina is a long way of being opened yet.

fair winds

Peter

[stevensuf]

i hope there are some good anchorages!

[rivonia]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

i hope there are some good anchorages!

Not realy BUT if you have asmall mono-hull you just might get into one of the fisshing harbours, like the one past Paphos on the Sth E. coast called Agios George (St> Goerge)

Fair winds

Peter

[Navwoman]

Very interesting comments over the past few months for a marina that is under construction.

I have received a very beneficial quote for an annual berth at Karpaz Gate Marina from June 1st - 50% off berthing fees and as I want to cruise the Aegean and visit Turkey over the next two years this seems like a good place to be as I can hop across from Turkey when my 90 days are up!

[rivonia]

Hi we also got the 50% off and as we are a CATAMARAN it is a very big saving. We shall stay another year. Look forward to meeting you are you a full time live-aboard?

peter

[miyagimoon]

Originally Posted by Navwoman

Very interesting comments over the past few months for a marina that is under construction.

I have received a very beneficial quote for an annual berth at Karpaz Gate Marina from June 1st - 50% off berthing fees and as I want to cruise the Aegean and visit Turkey over the next two years this seems like a good place to be as I can hop across from Turkey when my 90 days are up!

Okay, I understand where you are coming from. However, firstly check out http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post905157 from this you will see that you may be able to stay in Turkey for 9 month. only time will tell. But also if you intend to be there for 2 years then you could get a Residents Permit in Turkey. Kas Marina is/was doing specials (18 month for 12 month fee but if you are away from marina then time away is added on. i.e. 3 month away would increase your contract to 21 month, mentioned by beneteau-500 on the same link as above).

Secondly, you state "I want to cruise the Aegean and visit Turkey". Now look at where KGM is in relation to the Aegean and the rest of Turkey.

Its 50Nm from the nearest Port of Entry (Tasucu), 130 Miles from Alanya, 200+ miles from Finike and 300+ from the Aegean (around Rhodes / Marmaris) and 400ish from Bodrum / Kos

The best cruising grounds IMHO being between Bodrum/Kos, the Dodeconese, the Cyclalides, Marmaris, Gocek, Fethiye and Finike.

A 50% discount is great if you intend to park up and stay. But as you intend to "cruise" the Aegean and Turkey then the cost and time going (probably under motor) back and forth to KGM may not work in your favour. Plus every time you sign in and/or out of Turkey you will need to purchase/cancel your Turkish Transit Log (subject to agents fees, size of boat, where and many other factors etc. 100Tl to 600Tl a time).

You also need to think of maintenance of your vessel. There are no facilities or decent chandlers in KGM/TRNC/Southern Cyprus, whereas main land Turkey has an abundance.

Also check out "Rod the Gods" Turkish / Cyprus Pilot Book about sailing to and from Cyprus. Weather and sea conditions can be evil.

There are many Marina's in the Aegean both Turkish and Greek that offer good deals. You need to research and work it all out.

Personally my vote would go for Yat Marine in Marmaris others would differ.

But all that aside, The Aegean / Turkey is BRILLIANT!

The choice is yours

[Navwoman]

Thanks for the useful information Miyagi Moon. I appreciate from reading previous postings about Karpaz Gate Marina that you are not particularly keen on the place!

When I say I will be based in the Aegean for the next two years, I shall not spend all my time there as I plan to go to Israel and Egypt, so Karpaz Gate Marina would be an ideal stopping-off point.

As a true 'gipsy of the seas' I have no inclination to take up residency anywhere - I just play by the rules and keep below the radar.

I have never been attracted to large marinas, nor to staying in one place for more than four weeks at a time as I want to see as much as I can whilst I have the chance to live on board a sailing yacht

There's no reason why you can't sail all the year round, so I find the idea of an annual berth at Karpaz Gate Marina at a very attractive price appealing - I can come and go when I please, it is ideally placed between Egypt and the Aegean and just a short hop to Egypt when the weather is inclement during February/March.

Bon voyage!

[Katiusha]

Navwoman, just to add my two cents to miyagimoon's post:

As far as I know (if wrong, please correct me), August, September, and sometimes July in that part of the Med are HOT. The air is HOT, the water is HOT. There is no wind (or on a good day "almost" no wind). No sure how much sailing you might be able to to in those months in the east.

For two years we gave up our progress east at Finike. Some other boats made it as far as Antalya, but turned around to wait out the heat and the non-moving air. The worst is that you can't cool off in the water - you need to dive deep to maybe reach a cold layer of water.

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by Katiusha

Navwoman, just to add my two cents to miyagimoon's post:

As far as I know (if wrong, please correct me), August, September, and sometimes July in that part of the Med are HOT. The air is HOT, the water is HOT. There is no wind (or on a good day "almost" no wind). No sure how much sailing you might be able to to in those months in the east.

For two years we gave up our progress east at Finike. Some other boats made it as far as Antalya, but turned around to wait out the heat and the non-moving air. The worst is that you can't cool off in the water - you need to dive deep to maybe reach a cold layer of water.

You are right about the air being HOT in August & Sept in this part of the world. But the water temp will depend on whatever you are accustomed to. We found the water around Cyprus too cold to our liking even in the hottest days of Aug & Sept. Never got into the water at Turkey because it was too cold. Only tried it once in Greece and it was also too cold. Both my husband and I grew up living on the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where sea temps during summer were 85-93F (30-34C). A German woman swam almost daily here in Cyprus even in October. She loved the cold water and found it refreshing. Made me shiver just to watch her swimming in water that was too cold to dip my foot into.

Just depends on what one is accustomed to.

Judy

[Ram]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

You are right about the air being HOT in August & Sept in this part of the world. But the water temp will depend on whatever you are accustomed to. We found the water around Cyprus too cold to our liking even in the hottest days of Aug & Sept. Never got into the water at Turkey because it was too cold. Only tried it once in Greece and it was also too cold. Both my husband and I grew up living on the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where sea temps during summer were 85-93F (30-34C). A German woman swam almost daily here in Cyprus even in October. She loved the cold water and found it refreshing. Made me shiver just to watch her swimming in water that was too cold to dip my foot into.

Just depends on what one is accustomed to.

Judy

Judy Its a little cool for me also but once I jump in after a few moments I get used to it- refreshing-the water temp in the summer is about 75* (24*c) in southern Turkey/Greece- Im from S. Florida and we also have that warm water, but its not refreshing when its over 85* , in fact I sweat underwater if I swim to much- the cool water in the summer keeps the hulls cool- I notice a difference in temp from the cabins down below and above in the galley area

[miyagimoon]

We used to live in middle o road!

Okay, I'll close the door on the way out

[Katiusha]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

You are right about the air being HOT in August & Sept in this part of the world. But the water temp will depend on whatever you are accustomed to. We found the water around Cyprus too cold to our liking even in the hottest days of Aug & Sept. Never got into the water at Turkey because it was too cold. Only tried it once in Greece and it was also too cold. Both my husband and I grew up living on the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where sea temps during summer were 85-93F (30-34C). A German woman swam almost daily here in Cyprus even in October. She loved the cold water and found it refreshing. Made me shiver just to watch her swimming in water that was too cold to dip my foot into.

Just depends on what one is accustomed to.

Judy

We find some bays too cold here as well. When there is a fresh or mineral water spring flowing out into the sea (and a lot of smaller bays got formed that way), the water is beyond "refreshing". We usually determine whether there is a fresh water on the surface by looking for refraction of light reflected off the bottom. Actually, some of these springs have wonderfully drinkable water. In that case there's usually a small docking space (stones, branches, etc) and a narrow path leading to the spring. The taste beats Uludag

[Navwoman]

I last cruised in this area in 2005. Places visited include Crete, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus. We did quite a few overnight trips and took advantage of the afternoon/evening winds.

Having written that, I'm always keen to read the views of other yachties, particularly those who have been in the area for some time.

[Katiusha]

Originally Posted by Ram

Judy Its a little cool for me also but once I jump in after a few moments I get used to it- refreshing-the water temp in the summer is about 75* (24*c) in southern Turkey/Greece- Im from S. Florida and we also have that warm water, but its not refreshing when its over 85* , in fact I sweat underwater if I swim to much- the cool water in the summer keeps the hulls cool- I notice a difference in temp from the cabins down below and above in the galley area

We found that up to end of July the water was around 24C, but in second half of August/September we saw temps of close to 30C on the water surface (even offshore) and in secuded bays (ones that don't have springs) Fethyie and east of there. There is no meltemi that stirs the waters that far east on the Turkish coast (at least in the last 2 years), so the thermocline is very well defined there. In November near Antalya water temp during our trip went back down to 24C...

We're still wondering how fish survives in these conditions