This year we took part in the East Med Yacht Rally which traveled Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt over a six week period. We so enjoyed this experience that we will return next year to these countries but this time we will take 3 to 4 months. We will start in Finike, Turkey, about May 10 visiting Northern and Southern Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt ending in Alexandria about August 10. Our exit will then be a 250 mile sail to Southern Cyprus. We will have only 3 overnight trips plus the return to Cyprus, and will stop long enough in each harbor to fully see the sites in these historic and socially and culturally rich countries. We will travel extensively inland and will include Jordan by land.

It is our desire to put together a group of about 10 yachts with similar sea going capabilities and similar cruising habits to share next season's adventures. We are currently refining the harbor, tour and visa information with a view to having all this available in late November. If you are interested in being a member of this 2005 Levante basin cruise please let us know by return e-mail. This is a non-commercial non-profit adventure.

Newsletter2

Dear Friends

Thank you for your replies. Judging from the interest we should have a group of 10 to 12 boats leaving Finike about May 10. During October and November we will be researching harbor costs, read discounts, and visa and shore pass requirements. If we get this information to you in early December when can you confirm your spot?

The following is a suggested itinerary and time duration. None of these are cast in stone as our pace will be set by the speed at which we see all the desired sites and the weather. We seek your comments so we can adjust our route and timing to suite as many needs as practical.

May 10 leave Finike on an overnight 130 mile sail to Latzi, Southern Cyprus, and stay one week for wine tours, trips to Paphos, Larnaca, Limassol and historic sites.

May 18 leave Latzi for the 57 mile sail to Girne, Northern Cyprus, (yes you can now travel from Northern Cyprus to Southern Cyprus). Tour Girne, Famagusta and the many historic sites throughout Northern Cyprus.

May 26 depart Girne for the 61 mile sail to the anchorage on the northeast tip of Cyprus.

May 27 depart for the 63 mile sail to Lattakia, Syria. In Syria we will also sail 40 miles down the coast to Tartus. While in Syria we will take a land trip to Damascus also visiting Aleppo, Krak Des Chevaliers, Palmyra, the Baghdad Cafe in the Syrian desert and a Bedouin desert village and many other historic sites.

June 13 depart Tartus for the 63 mile sail to Jounieh, Beirut, Lebanon. We will tour Baalbeck, the Baakah valley, beautiful Beirut itself and other historic sites. We will also sail the 47 miles down the coast to Tyr where there are many historic sites.

June 23 depart Tyr for the 35 mile sail to Haifa, Israel. In Israel we will also sail down the coast for the 48 mile sail to Herzilya and the 31 mile sail to Ashquelon. While in Israel we will take land trips to Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee, the Golan Heights, the Dead Sea, Massada, the Negev desert and many other historic sites. We can also take a land trip to Jordan seeing Aquaba on the Red Sea and Petra, Wadi Rum and possibly Amman.

July 14 depart Asquelon on the 115 mile overnight sail to Port Said, Egypt. While in Egypt we will also sail the 40 miles to Damietta and the 107 mile overnight sail to Alexandria.

While in Egypt we will visit Aswaan, Luxor, The Pyramids and Sphinx, Cairo, dine on the Nile, sail on a Feluca on the Nile, visit the western Desert Oasis, visiit the Sinai and it's many historic sites. Egypt has so many sites to visit they cannot all be listed here.

The trip west from here through Libya is looking too difficult to as each leg is at least 130 miles and the harbor facilities are not suited for yachts. I will continue to research this but suggest the exit from this cruise will be Alexandria about August 10. The sail northeast to Paphos, Cyprus, from Alexandria is 250 miles.

Total distance from Finike to Alexandria is 837 miles. Three overnight passages are required. You will visit 13 harbours and one anchorage.

Newsletter3

Dear Friends

It looks like we have a full complement of participants for the cruise next season. I remind you that the upper limit of 12 boats has been picked due to the restrictions of some of the smaller harbors and the amount of volunteer organization required to successfully organize this cruise. The boats that have given me a firm indication that they will start in Turkey and finish in Alexandria are as follows; Soleil Sans Fin, Escape Key, Dakare, Kelaerin and Emperor. Those that have indicated possible participation from Turkey to Alexandria are as follows; Moonraker, Láme Libre, Attitudes, Monabhar, Wayward Wind, Mardling and Ginny. Thistle has expressed interest in leaving in Israel and Samarinda has expressed interest in joining at the end of May wherever we may be. The only fair way to fill the spots is on a first come first serve basis for those who intend from the outset to come with us all the way to Alexandria. For those who decide late or want to participate for a portion only we will try to include you if others drop out or if harbor facilities will permit a larger number of boats. We will try to be fair.

We have assistance in organizing the Egypt portion from Ron on Emperor who has spent many years in Egypt during his career. He has many connections in Egypt and vast knowledge of cruising the coast and the Nile delta. This help will make Egypt an even brighter jewel for all of us than it already is. Ron is also fluent in speaking Arabic. Ron, from all of us, thank you. We also have assistance in enhancing Lebanon from my close friend Salah on Liljana. While he will not be joining us for the cruise he has agreed to assist the organizing of the harbor through his friends in Lebanon. Salah lived in the region for years and will be traveling to Beirut during the last week of October and will work on these arrangements. Thank you Salah.

For those of you concerned about visas we are trying to have the Syria tour organizers arrange Syrian visas for us, this is possible as they have done it in the past. All other countries issue visas upon arrival.

Please put November 4 at 4 PM in your diaries. Almost all of us will be in Marmaris on November 4th so we will have an afternoon discussion at Marmaris Netsel Marina in the Pineapple restaurant on the second floor to exchange ideas and ask and answer the many questions that all of you must have.

Jean and I thank you for the enthusiasm shown so far for what will surely be a cruise to be remembered.

Please RSVP by radio or e-mail on your attendance at the November 4th 4 PM meeting so we can properly organize the slide show of our experiences in the Levante basin this year and of course ensure proper quantities of no host refreshments with the restaurant.

Newsletter4

Dear friends

Here is an updated list of boats for the cruise next season. The following eight boats are on the "for sure" list traveling from Finike to Alexandria. Soleil Sans Fin, Integral, Sea Swallow, Escape Key, Dakare, Kelaerin, Ginny and Emperor. Those showing interest but not yet decided are; Let it be, L' Ame Libre, Moonraker, Wayward Wind, Mardler, Amaranth, Thistle, Mardling and Attitudes. I feel we will fill the 12 boat fleet after the November 4th meeting which I remind you is at 4 PM upstairs at the Pineapple restaurant in Netsel Marina. Six of the eight for sure boats will be there and about half of those on the interested list will be there. If any of you that will not be there have questions please send them to me and they will be brought up for discussion. I will take notes during the discussion and send them to all involved. At the meeting Ron from Emperor will bring us up to date on his Egyptian contacts and Salah, from Liljana, will summarize his recent trip to Lebanon and the arrangements being made for us. I will summarize the progress made on all harbors arrangements and tour discussions. I will start collecting information from those on the for sure list with regards to crew, pets, boat dimensions, etc. Any questions from you will be welcome for discussion. I will try to get a feel for how the group feels about booking tours in advance. We will discuss what the feelings are for traveling by car or van for touring instead of organized tours. The next letter will be after the Nov 4 th meeting. In the mean time keep in touch and send in your questions.

Newsletter5

Dear friends,

Jean and I would like to thank all of you for your participation at the meeting yesterday. We will undoubtedly have a couple more meetings during the winter as our plans come together. We confirm that the following boats are on the ''for sure" list; Soleil Sans Fin, Escape Key, Kalearin, Emperor, Ginny, Dakare, Integral, Sea Swallow, Moonraker, Wayward Wind, Two Step and Celtic Dream and that Thistle, Odabella, Ripple, Láme Libra and Marnie are on the waiting list.

Chris (Ginny), Dan (Dakare) and Jim (Kalearin) are working on dive sites and dive companies to be approached to organize dives. If you want to be involved in this please let them know.

Joy (Kalearin) and Karen (Dakare) have volunteered to help determine and organize our touring needs. Jean and I will work with them.

Courtesy flags are available in Marmaris at the upholstery shop around the corner from the Atlantis chandler at a cost of 4 million lire each. Please ensure that you have your courtesy flags.

You are under no obligation to participate in organized tours other than one tour in Syria as the tour operator will need us to do this in order to get our Syrian visas upon arrival, otherwise you need to get your Syrian visa in your home country and use it within 90 days. For most of us this is not practical. We would like comments from all participants on what sights and tours we as a group should plan. We recommend contacting various embassies at their web sights and request tourist information mailed to you, this is normally done at no cost. The Lets Go guide to the middle east is very good and covers all countries that we will visit. The lonely planet guides for these countries will also give you much detailed information. Please get back to us with your list of things to see and do.

We should be able to get back to all the group in early December with a budget cost for the harbours and tours. At this point we still need some harbors information and some tour costs.

Please review your insurance policy and let your insurers know which harbours we will be visiting.

We will send out a list of Admiralty charts that cover this cruise for those who do not yet have electronic charting.

Other than Syria all other countries will issue visas to us upon arrival. We will include a summary of these costs with the December news letter.

If there is anyone that would like to take on the task of organizing merchandise (T-shirts, etc.) please let us know.

Have a peaceful winter and e-mail us any time with questions and information.

Newsletter6

Hi Friends

1.The roster of participants is attached.

2. We have not received any feedback from any participants on the need for organized tours. We will work with Karen on Dakare to develope some suggestions and will share these with you.

3.We have collected most of the information on costs, most of these are based on 2004 fees and dues. You can expect some variation when we actually arrive. If we become aware of any increases we will pass the information on. All marina costs quoted are based on a 14 meter yacht.

Roster (Updated 1/17/05)

Soleil Sans Fin, Bill Cote and Jean Panepinto, UK flag, Loa 14.5 meters,

Escape Key, Fred and Jane Hoette, US flag, Loa 12.8 meters

Kelearin, Jim and Joy Carey, US flag, Loa 13.7 meters,.

Emperor, Ron Johnson and Esperanza Estrada Aballera ( Espi ), UK flag, Loa 10.7 meters

Ginny, Chris and Elaine Champ, UK flag, Loa 14.2 meters.

Dakare, Dan and Karen Sehnal, US flag, Loa 16.9 meters

Equus, Stephen Lochner and Patricia Thompson, US flag, Loa 14.4 meters

Sea Swallow, Bill and Jacqueline Bennett, US flag, Loa 14.5 meters

Moonraker, Felix (Manny) and Barbara Reyes, US flag, Loa 13.4 meters

Wayward Wind, Larry and Ellen Murphy, US flag, Loa 13.6 meters

Two Step, Paul and Sheryl Shard, Canadian flag, Loa 10 Meters

Moose, Richard and Adrienne Snape, UK flag, Loa 12.49 meters

Customs and Immigration Costs, based on 2004 costs as seen by Soleil Sans Fin.

Southern Cyprus. None.

Northern Cyprus. None.

Syria. 10USD per person plus 75USD per boat on entry.

Lebanon. 24USD per person plus 108USD per boat on entry.

Israel. 25USD per boat on departure only.

Egypt. As quoted in Nov 2004 by the Alexandria Yacht Club, 15USD per person plus 150USD per boat on entry plus 80USD per boat on departure.

Marina and Harbor costs, based on a Loa of 14.5 meters.

Latzi, Southern Cyprus, full service marina, 22USD/night

Girne, Northern Cyprus, full service marina or part service harbor wall, 25USD/night.

Lattakia, Syria, Yacht club with some services, 40USD/night

Note: We are working very hard to get a serious discount here as it is to costly. Hasan Kasmaz who runs the EMYR is assisting us with a discount. If we do not get an acceptable price we can minimize our stay here and tour Syria from Lebanon. This is a very practical option. We will advise.

Tartous, Syria, Harbor wall, no services, minimal cost if any.

Beirut, Lebanon, full service marina, Budget cost of 25USD/night. This has not yet been confirmed with the marina. We will advise once it is confirmed.

Tyr, Lebanon, Harbor wall, no services, minimal cost if any.

Haifa, Israel, Carmel Yacht club or municipal marina, most services available. 15USD/night.

Herzliya, Israel, full service marina in a large shopping and residential developement. 12USD/night.

Ashquelon, Israel, full service marina, 40USD/night. We can stay here for one night only to clear out of Israel.

Port Said, Egypt, Harbor wall, no services, minimal if any costs.

Damietta, Egypt, Harbor wall, no services, minimal if any costs.

Alexandria, Egypt, Yacht club, full services at a pontoon if desired or a mooring buoy, 30USD/night or 5USD/night.

As further or changed information becomes available we will pass it on to all. If your plans change and you will not be joining us please let us know as soon as possible so others can take your place.

The organization of this cruise is coming together nicely and we should all have a memorable cruise.

We will now focus on land touring and ask for your input on what touring we can organize for the group or individuals in advance to best use the limited time available in each country and see the most of the cultures and history.

Newsletter7 (Revised)

Hi Friends

The following is the list of gps waypoints for each harbor on our cruise. The source is the May 2002 issue of C-Map. Enjoy cruising the charts.

1. Latzi, Southern Cyprus. 35 02.5N 32 24.0E. This is the east (entry) end of the new breakwater forming the new marina.

2. Girne, Northern Cyprus. 35 20.7N 33 19.7E This waypoint is midway between the two available harbors in Girne, the old and the new harbors. We will select the harbor we use at a later date.

3. Northeast tip of Cyprus. An anchorage. 35 40.4N 34 31.0E. The departure from Girne to this anchorage will be in weather that will leave this anchorage calm.

4. Lattakia, Syria. 35 32.4N 35 45.75E. Harbor entrance.

5. Tartous, Syria. 34 54.6N 35 51.4E. Harbor entrance, final berth co-ordinates to follow.

6. Beirut, Lebanon. 33 57.6N 35 35.8E. New marina harbor entrance.

7. Tyr (Sour) Lebanon. 33 16 5N 35 11.9E. Harbor entrance.

8. Haifa, Israel. 32 49.6N 35 01.5E. Entrance to river. Final co-ordinates at the Carmel Yacht Club will follow.

9. Herzliya, Israel. 32 09.8N 34 46.7E. Harbor entrance.

10. Ashkelon, Israel. 31 41.2N 34 33.4E. Harbour entrance.

11. Suez, Egypt canal entrance.35 51.4E 32 22.5E.

12. Port Said, Egypt. 31 15.4N 32 18.4E Arsenal mooring basin.

13. Damietta, Egypt. 31 35.3N 31 47.0E. Entrance to buoyed channel. Final mooring co-ordinates to follow.

14. Alexandria, Egypt. 31 09.9N 29 50.9E. Harbor entrance. Final co-ordinates of the Alexandria Yacht club to follow.

Newsletter8

Dear friends,

The following includes a revised roster as two boats have declined for family reasons and two keen replacements have jumped in to join us. We still have eight other boats on the waiting list and I am encouraging one of them to lead a second group a few days behind us, we will see how that works out as no one has stepped forward to be the leader of a second group.

Also some new harbour and tour information is included.

Roster

Soleil Sans Fin, Bill Cote and Jean Panepinto, UK flag, Loa 14.5 meters, Canadian and Italian passports, soleilsansfin@aol.com, tel. no. in Turkey 537 498 3705, no pets aboard.

Escape Key, Fred and Jane Hoette, US flag, Loa 12.8 meters, US passports, svescapekey@wanadoo.fr, tel. no. in France 33 562 33 1358, a cat aboard.

Kelearin, Jim and Joy Carey, US flag, Loa 13.7 meters, US passports, kelaerin@yahoo.com, tel. no. in Turkey 537 668 8891, no pets aboard.

Emperor, Ron Johnson and Esperanza Estrada Aballera ( Espi ), UK flag, Loa 10.7 meters, UK and Phillipine passports, ronj@cytanet.com.cy, Tel no. in Cyprus 357 246 45723, no pets aboard.

Ginny, Chris and Elaine Champ, UK flag, Loa 14.2 meters, UK passports, Ginnykwik@aol.com, tel. no. in Turkey 537 295 4803, no pets aboard.

Dakare, Dan and Karen Sehnal, US flag, Loa 16.9 meters, US passports, KQ4YK@winlink.org, tel. no. in Turkey 538 223 3195, cat aboard.

Equus, Stephen Lochner and Patricia Thompson, US flag, Loa 14.4 meters, US passports, sail621@yahoo.com, tel no in Turkey 535 494 3724, no pets aboard.

Sea Swallow, Bill and Jacqueline Bennett, US flag, Loa 14.5 meters, US passports, billbennett@hotmail.com, tel. no. in US until Jan 15 843 559 3833, no pets aboard.

Moonraker, Felix (Manny) and Barbara Reyes, US flag, Loa 13.4 meters, US passports, FM101Reyes@aol.com, tel. no. in US 972 886 1886, no pets aboard.

Wayward Wind, Larry and Ellen Murphy, US flag, Loa 13.6 meters, US passports, waywardwind_99@yahoo.com, tel. no. in Turkey 537 651 8675, no pets aboard.

Two Step, Paul and Sheryl Shard, Canadian flag, Loa 10 Meters, Canadian passports, svtwostep@rogers.com, tel. no. in Turkey 537 505 2448, no pets aboard.

Moose, Richard and Adrienne Snape, UK flag, Loa 12.49 meters, UK passports, the_moody_moose@hotmail.com Tel nos in Turkey 538 318 6389 and 538 318 6395.

Harbours, The harbour master for Latzi, Southern Cyprus is also the harbour master in Paphos (We met him there last summer). He is concerned about all 12 of our boats being able to fit into the new Latzi marina as it is nearly booked with residents. As a back up only he has suggested that some of us may have to moor in Paphos while the balance are in Latzi. We will know the final number when I call him before we leave Finike. There is a beautiful anchorage between Paphos and Latzi, Fontana Amorosa (fountain of love) which is perfect for swimming snorkelling and diving (we anchored there for a couple of nights last summer) so we can make a 4 or 5 day combination with these three stopping points in Southern Cyprus. The GPS waypoint for Paphos is 34 45 1N 32 24 4E (We spent a wonderful week in this harbour last summer). The waypoint for the Fontana Amorosa anchorage is 35 05 166N 32 18 384E.

Tours, After discussing Syria with four of our boats in Marmaris earlier this month we are booking two tours with the operator in Lattakia. You will recall this operator will get our visas for us if we take a tour with him. These tours are as follows;

Tour 1, depart 9 am June 1 and return 7 pm June 2. Tour Northern Syria including The Basilica of St. Simon the Stylit, Ugarit (the origin of our alphabet), the Salah Al-Din Fortress and then overnight in Aleppo giving us time to visit the souk(bazaar), the National Museum, the Citadel, the Christian Quarter and the great Mosque of the Umayyads.

Tour 2, depart 9 am June 4 and return 7 pm June 7. Tour Southern Syria including Crac Des Chevaliers and then into the desert to Palmyra. We will stay in a hotel in the desert town of Palmyra and have the opportunity to see the ruins at sunset and again at sunrise, make sure your cameras are in top form for this. We will then continue into the desert lunching and shopping in a Bedouin tent and then an afternoon stop at the Bagdad cafe before entering Damascus. We will stay 2 nights in Damascus as there is so much to see including the Citadel, the Great Mosque, the souk and the National Museum. We will have time to explore parts of Damascus on our own before the bus ride back to the boats.

These tour itineraries are not cast in stone we can revise them later as more of you have time to study what you would like to do. This suggested itinerary gives us a base line from which to firm up and negotiate prices.

Egypt, As we write this Ron from Emperor is in Egypt for a couple of weeks dealing with our arrangements. After he has returned we will send an update to all of you. Joy from Kelaerin has a contact in Egypt for touring. Please contact Joy with your touring ideas for Egypt.

Website, Dan from Dakare has a webpage for our cruise on his website. www. dakare.com if you haven't already done so visit it as he has done a great job. Your friends and family will be able to keep up with our progress through this website.

White water rafting. We can organise medium risk white water rafting from Finike. If you want to do this contact Dan on Dakare. Jean and I did it on our way back from Israel last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Newsletter9

Dear Friends,

Our cruise has been invited to rendezvous with the EMYR in Girne, Northern Cyprus, for a pirate party in a local hotel. We attended the party last year while on the EMYR and report that it was a great evening. On behalf of all of us we have accepted the invitation to attend. We will arrange our exact arrival date and time at a later date. We suggest arriving after the EMYR boats would be prudent. Delta Marine in Girne is reserving 12 spots for our boats. The cost of this marina is approximately 0.90 euro per meter per night. We will stay in Girne for about a week after the EMYR has left. So put together some pirate costumes for this evening of dinner and dance. The cost of the evening is USD 12 for the dinner and drinks are paid for by each of us. We will most likely have a separate table for our group. It should be an evening to remember.

On another topic it is time for us to get an idea of how many guests will be aboard the boats during the cruise. We must include these guests in the planning for tours and parties. At this point the number of guests is to be an indication only. Please let us know of your guest numbers by return e-mail.

Revised Dates

Dear Friends

We have received the dates that the EMYR will be visiting Finike, Girne and Lattakia next season. As we do not want to conflict with their dates in the harbors and the potential over crowded problems we will revise slightly our first 4 dates.

1. We will depart from Finike, Turkey on May 13 or 14 as selected by our group. We all get three more days to enjoy Fetihye and Kekova as the EMYR gets ahead of us and we make our way to Finike. The EMYR depart Finike May 12.

2. We will arrive in Girne, Northern Cyprus on May 20 or 21 as selected by our group. The EMYR will have departed on May 19.

3. We will depart Girne on May 28 or 29 as selected by our group.

4. We will arrive in Lattakia, Syria on May 30 after the EMYR has departed earlier that day.

This minor revision will see the Rally ahead of us after Lattakia.

Newsletter 10

Dear Friends,

Last night the crews from the five boats here in Marmaris met to discuss a number of items that are being organised, these are as follows.

1. We received the final programme from the EMYR. We must co-ordinate our travels with them during the early days of our rally to avoid causing congestion problems in harbours. The date for the costume pirate dinner dance evening in Girne, Northern Cyprus, is May 18. The party is in the Dome Hotel and starts at 20:00 hrs. The EMYR will be in Finike, Turkey, from the afternoon of May 10 to the morning of May 12. In order to give us a week to see Cyprus and then sail to Girne, Northern Cyprus, on May 17th or 18th for the party on the 18th of May our rally will be starting from Finike on May 10 which is the date originally chosen. Please put May 10 in your diary as our confirmed start date.

2. Karen from Dakare has agreed to organise our send off party in Finike most likely for the evening of May 9th. She will contact all of us about this.

3. Richard from Moose has agreed to be our music leader to assist in helping all of us with the song "Wandering Star" which any volunteers in our group will be invited to sing during the pirate party. We also thank Richard for the art work required to produce our logo.

4. Jean from Soleil Sans Fin is completing the details for our merchandise, shirts, flags, hats and scarves and will be contacting all of us shortly with prices, sizes and selections.

5. Joy from Kelaerin continues to develop organised tours in Lebanon and Egypt and will be contacting all of us with the details. The tours in Syria have been completed.

6. All of our harbour, marina and officialdom arrangements are in place.

7. If you haven't already done so please visit www.dakare.com/levante/rally.htm for more details on our rally. We thank Dan from Dakare for his many hours of work in setting this up and then maintaining the sight.

Newsletter11

Dear friends,

We hope this e-mail finds you all well and nearing completion of the annual work on your boats in preparation for the coming season. The merchandise has been ordered and should be available on April 2.

We have one difficulty that requires some action on our part. Three of our members have been approached by the crews of four different boats that have told us they will be tagging along with our rally. There could be more than four. None of these boats have made any prior arrangements with authorities or harbour and marina management. One couple went so far as to tell us we cannot prevent them from joining our rally. This makes it necessary for us to issue each boat and individual with unique identification. This will enable patrol vessels at sea to identify us and marina and harbour officials to identify us when entering and leaving harbours. The personal identification will provide identification within marinas and harbours. Our boat names and the names and nationalities of all individuals are in the possession of all the authorities who have agreed that we can enter their waters and harbours. These countries do not like surprises. Any intrusion in our group by these unofficial rallyers will make a nonsense of our organisation and the arrangements that have been made. If you are approached by anyone wishing to tag along please politely discourage this.

We have nearly completed our cruising guide to the Levante Basin 2005 Rally and will issue this to you along with the unique boat and personal identification in Finike. The cruising guide contains passage and harbour information for our cruising route and stops.

Newsletter12

Dear friends,

This should be the last newsletter. All systems are go and confirmed. After delays due to poor quality the merchandise should finally be delivered today. We will distribute these to you as we run in to you between today and May 10. We are now pleased with the quality.

Karen from Dakare will be sending each of you by e-mail a crew list form in Excel. Please complete the form and make about 25 copies. As your guests come and go you can manually add and delete their names. It is important to have an accurate crew list with the authorities in all countries that we will visit. The various harbours and marinas will expect you to provide two copies of your crew list when you check in. Also please make about 15 copies of your ships registration papers, your insurance cover note for the sea area and copies of your passports. Various harbours will want copies of some of these when you check in and they normally do not have photocopy facilities.

Karen and Dan on Dakare and the Finike marina management have organised a party for us in Finike for 5pm on May 9th. We suggest we have a 4pm discussion with our group to answer questions that you may have on the harbours, routes, officialdom, parties and tours. When we see you in Finike we will let you know where this 4pm discussion will take place. Most likely it will be the same venue as the 5pm party. Karen and Dan will let us all know where the party will be held. For those who will be at the April 22nd Pamukalle wine tasting party being held for our group at Netsel marina we will see you there.

We would like to thank Fred, Jane and Halifax on Escape Key for stepping forward and volunteering to be communications boat.

Newsletter13

Dear Friends,

As promised the following is a summary of mooring costs at the harbours we will visit during our rally.

All figures are approximate and are based on a 12.5 X 4.2 meter boat. These figures represent, in all cases, the discounted figures we have negotiated.

1. Finike 25 euros/night. May 10 and 11 free.

2. Lachi 24 Cyprus pounds per week.

3. Girne 27 Turkish Lira/night.

4. Cyprus anchorage free.

5. Lattakia 21USD/night.

6. Tartous free.

7. Beirut 300 USD/week. This is a five star resort facility.

8. Tyr (Sour) free.

9. Haifa free, we are hosted by the Carmel Yacht Club.

10. Herzliya 12 USD/night.

11. Ashdod 1 week free.

12. Ashquelon 12 USD/night