Day 35

Day 35 – Mykonos to Istanbul – Tuesday 19/6/12

Weather – Fine and Sunny 23C - 24C

Sunrise – 5.59am

Sunset – 8.40pm

Time difference - minus 7 hours ex Sydney.

At 6am this morning Sun Princess approached what was to be our anchorage at Mykonos rounding Arktas Point 2 miles portside. However, due to strong winds the Captain deemed it not to be sufficiently safe for a tendering operation, which was quite understandable. I think he mentioned winds across the deck in the vicinity of 50knots. Therefore we took a northerly course and headed for our next port , Istanbul.

Whilst there was general disappointment about missing Mykonos, it seemed to be well accepted, and as you do when cruising, you just roll with the punches and keep looking ahead to the next adventure.

The disappointment of the morning, became the excitement of the afternoon, as we became very lucky people to have the rare opportunity to transit the Dardanelles by daylight. What a wonderful, wonderful experience, this was just a delightful few hours of scenic cruising. The pilot embarked at 5pm at Kumkale, and then we followed traffic lanes past Canakkale and Gelibolu, where the pilot jumped off at 8pm. We entered the Sea of Marmara and continued on north easterly courses towards Istanbul.

The Dardanelles, formerly known as Hellespont, (literally “Sea of Helle”), is a narrow strait in north-western Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart, the Bosporus.

The strait is 61 km long, but only 1.2km to 6km wide, averaging 55m depth, with a maximum depth of 103m. Water flows in both directions along the strait, from the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea via a surface current, and in the opposite direction via an undercurrent.

Like the Bosporous, it separates Europe (the Gallipoli Peninsula) from mainland Asia. The strait is an international waterway, and together the Bosporus and Dardanelles connect the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The other bonus was that we will now be docking a few hours earlier than planned in Istanbul. Another pilot will jump on at 6am, four miles south of the entrance to the Bosporus, and then we continue past Sultanahmet (Old City) to our berth at Saliparzari Quay.

Another relaxing day, so not much different to report.

Kids – the photos will be posted, just be patient..chill out dudes :)

Garry and Joanne – No, we did not stop at Port Said, we sailed slowly around to Alexandria. Our guides name was Mohammed, a nice young fella, who knew his stuff.