Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

Maybe they are laying concrete pedestals for some aquatic Ataturk statues ....

[Kikapu]

Holy shit, not another marina enthusiast!

What on earth is a yachtsman going to do in Cyprus! Ever thought about that? You think it is fun to sail around a big island with nor particular beauty spots or other islands within a short distance?

Cypriots hear of marinas in Turkey and Greece and think "if they can we can". It is not the same. You leave a marina in the Aegean and within an hour you are on another island. You dont have to be pouned to a pulp in a floating box, which is what a boat is to most summer sailors. You leave Kyrenia harbor and in one hour you go where exactly? Same goes for Limassol marina, you go to..... Paphos. Wow, what a change of scene that is!

Lay off the marinas guys, north and south. Cyprus is not now and will not be in the future a yachting paradise.

Well as a matter of fact we did own a yacht for years and used to spend a lot of time sailing around the North coast in the past and also recently with a rental yacht. I have also spent time sailing between Istanbul and the Western coasts of Turkey.

So I have difficulty understanding what you mean Nikitas?

What DO you mean?

Are you saying people who cross the Atlantic are just wasting time because there is nothing to see in the next hour?

Are you saying that our coasts are simply shit and not worth the effort?

If I had the time and the opportunity I would absolutely LOVE to travel the Southern coasts and the coasts facing Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, up to Crete, across the Southern coast of Turkey and back home

Unfortunately it is hard to care fora yacht over here for the moment as there are not enough facilities plus the fact that you get illegally harassed by the coast guard of the RoC if you have even visited the North coasts, let alone being from the TRNC

The people who are able to cross the Atlantic are not the kind of people who make the bulk of summer yachties, ie the clients who leave money.

Money is made from tourists who want to pretend they are yachtsmen and like short daily sails in safe conditions. Short sails with a variety of scenery is what the Aegean offers. This is called flotilla sailing.

Then there are the megayacht owners who like to moor their boats and use them as floating hotels and expect an interesting and sophisticated harbor scene, ie Monte Carlo.

These are the clients that make marinas worth building. These are the clients who will not come to CYprus, north or south.

Cyprus simply does not have the scenery or the sheer class to attract this kind of tourist. I may be a Cypriot but have travelled around the Med a lot and can tell you that for all our pride in our island, well, it is not exactly a beauty spot.

As an experienced Blue Water (Ocean) sailor, I have to agree with the main points Nikitas has made in his above posts. I have made three long open sea passages of 26 days, 33 days and 36 days along with many other passages of 10 days and less. Average cruising boaters are very creative and frugal sailors who do not spend money in touristy areas when ever possible, but instead mix with the locals and eat and drink in the local neighbourhoods. They also carry most of their own supplies and eat and sleep aboard their boats which are almost always at anchor outside the marinas, hence not having to pay any dock fees. Nothing better than taking your dingy ashore and then try and row back in the dark trying to find your boat and climb aboard half drunk while singing.!

From my experience in sailing around the British Isles, Western Europe, Canary Islands, Caribbean Islands, Panama Canal, Galapagos Islands, Hawaiian Islands, West coast of USA and all the places in between, the best part about cruising for me was, arriving at a new place and departing that place after a while. "Been there Done that" is very much the sentiment of most cruising sailors. That is why, what Nikitas says is true to most, that having short sails between islands is very appealing. For example, around Western Turkey and Greece would be very ideal. In the Canaries and the Caribbean is also very appealing. Hawaiian islands is the same. The Carribean is a special place, because the next island you sail to, often is another country altogether, which also changes the atmosphere a little from say island hoping in the Greek Islands. "Eyeball navigation" is appealing where you can see where you are going next as you are leaving the place you are at. It requires very little preparations because you have company of other boats in the area which gives the sense of security in case it is needed in an emergency, supplies needed at the very minimum and most trips takes during the same day and so on. This is why I don't believe Cyprus is a good destination for cruising sailors, because of it's location. It is stuck in the far corner of the Eastern Med with no other islands near it for a day sailing along with all the political problems on the island of Cyprus and most other countries around it..

Shah, people go across the Ocean for one reason, and that is to get to the other side and sailing it is the most common way. Some people ship their boats or hire professional crew to sail their boats for long passages while they take the plane, or else they will sail the easy “downwind” part and let others sail the difficult “uphill” part.

As much as it is exciting to be away from land for many days, it is also a lot of work preparing for such long passage before leaving, doing everything while on the way to keeping safe for the crew and the boat, and finding the place you wish to go to and arriving safely without hitting the land first. You have weather issues, personality of the crew issues, time away from land issues, comfort away from home issues, drinking water issues, parts breaking on the boat issues and on and on and on. Although it is all adventure and fun most of the time, it is also a lot of work when the weather gets bad, ships in the area specially going across shipping lanes, taking watch duties, which with us it was 3 hours on 6 hours off when we had 3 or more crew but with only 2 crew members, 3 hours on and 3 hours off. It can get very tiring at times. But it is all worth it when land is sighted and you arrive where you suppose to. With today’s GPS, it has made life a lot easier to find your way around, but it has also taken away major part of sailing of what it means to be independent and doing it yourself the old fashion way..

[Nikitas]

Kikapu I had a good laugh with the image of you rowing the dinghy at night, drunk, trying to find your boat!

I have some experience of that, albeit not trying to find anything, just drunk on a paddle boat at 3 am holding on to a bottle of tequila.

Thinking about Cyprus and yachting, or should we say boating, it might be a much better, more practical and lucrative proposition to create marine sports centers where people can go to learn sailing, power boating and ancillary sports and gain the relevant qualification. Now that would be an interesting business- the man parks the family in a comfortable hotel with all mod cons while he is learning to handle a sailing dinghy and pass his exams in a fortnight. All done professionally in a nice relaxed atmosphere.

It all falls in the sphere of activity tourism but to do it our tourism professional have to think out of the golfing box.

As long as we think inside the box we will be stuck in our impasse in this as well as other things.

[shahmaran]

Maybe these people will take on your idea Nikitas, as they seem to be into a lot more than just a marina

http://www.portcypriummarina.com/Port_C ... Marina.asp

[Kikapu]

Maybe these people will take on your idea Nikitas, as they seem to be into a lot more than just a marina

http://www.portcypriummarina.com/Port_C ... Marina.asp

I'll believe it when I see it Shah, for such a project to get off the ground given the political situation in Cyprus, now that the ECJ has given it's rulings. It all depends who actually owns all of the land and the coastal area that this project is intended for. Aside from that, it looks very appealing, whether it will be able to generate enough business or not is another matter all together.! It may be just one more of those GREAT ideas that is often thought of to have in the north, but not necessarily a very practical one.!

[Kikapu]

Kikapu I had a good laugh with the image of you rowing the dinghy at night, drunk, trying to find your boat!

I have some experience of that, albeit not trying to find anything, just drunk on a paddle boat at 3 am holding on to a bottle of tequila.

Thinking about Cyprus and yachting, or should we say boating, it might be a much better, more practical and lucrative proposition to create marine sports centers where people can go to learn sailing, power boating and ancillary sports and gain the relevant qualification. Now that would be an interesting business- the man parks the family in a comfortable hotel with all mod cons while he is learning to handle a sailing dinghy and pass his exams in a fortnight. All done professionally in a nice relaxed atmosphere.

It all falls in the sphere of activity tourism but to do it our tourism professional have to think out of the golfing box.

As long as we think inside the box we will be stuck in our impasse in this as well as other things.

Kikapu I had a good laugh with the image of you rowing the dinghy at night, drunk, trying to find your boat!

I have some experience of that, albeit not trying to find anything, just drunk on a paddle boat at 3 am holding on to a bottle of tequila.

It's a lot of fun, specially when we were on anchor in Margarita
island, Venezvuela, where there were so many cruisers all parked off the coast around Pampatar and Porlamar. As long as we did not get any southerlies, all the boats were safe at anchor there, otherwise there would have been very little protection for them. That's why, that the most important item on any boat ought to be 2-3 very good anchors, such as the CQR "Plough" anchors which once set, you stayed there no matter how many times the boat swung around it.

In a unified Cyprus, I can imagine someone doing a week's saling and navigation courses conducted on a large catamaran saling all around the island. Hands on experience is the best way to learn both seamanship and coastal & celestial navigation. Pulling into variuous ports for few hours at a time and departing again for the students to learn day and night approches to ports. Everyone taking turn in cooking, doing watches, navigating, trimming sails and steering. It will appeal to many who would like to learn to sail and have a week's cruising adventure of sailing around the island. £ 1,500-£2,000 per head, all inclusive would be a bargain. Who is in for partnership with me, Shah, Nikitas.???

[shahmaran]

Maybe these people will take on your idea Nikitas, as they seem to be into a lot more than just a marina

http://www.portcypriummarina.com/Port_C ... Marina.asp

I'll believe it when I see it Shah, for such a project to get off the ground given the political situation in Cyprus, now that the ECJ has given it's rulings. It all depends who actually owns all of the land and the coastal area that this project is intended for. Aside from that, it looks very appealing, whether it will be able to generate enough business or not is another matter all together.! It may be just one more of those GREAT ideas that is often thought of to have in the north, but not necessarily a very practical one.!

I have seen it Kikapu, I think I have anyways, I'm not sure where Esentepe actually is but there is a gigantic construction on the way as you are approaching the Dipkarpaz village.

Hurts to see all the cranes, bulldozers and concrete all over the wonderful turquoise waters.

And if that is not the marina in question, then it means there are more