In 2010, we circumnavigated the Black Sea, visiting five of the six countries beginning in Turkey and continuing in a counterclockwise direction to Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria before returning to Turkey again. We did not sail to Russia because officials there could not give us assurances regarding clearance procedures. A map showing Gyatso’s route, and links to our logbook entries are provided below.
Map of Gyatso’s Black Sea Voyage
Black Sea Logbook Entries
- Bosphorus passage to Poyrazköy (5/29/10)
- Sile: Our first day on the Black Sea (5/30/10)
- Kefken: The calm before the storm (5/31/10)
- Kefken Adasi: Paying tribute to Apollo (6/2/10)
- Akçakoca: Admiring the scenic and historic coastline (6/3/10)
- Eregli: A town with multiple personalities (6/4/10)
- Filyos (Hisarönü): A newly constructed harbor with ancient history (6/5/10)
- Amasra: It’s a small world after all (6/6/10)
- Kurucasile: A boat-building town (6/8/10)
- Cide: More pleasant than we expected (6/9/10)
- Doganyurt: A big welcome in a tiny village (6/10/10)
- Inebolu: A traditional Turkish town with a modern commercial port (6/12/10)
- Çaylioglu: A remote village where donkeys greet you at the quay (6/13/10)
- Akliman: A natural harbor near the northernmost point of Turkey (6/14/10)
- Sinop: The half-way point of our voyage on the Turkish Black Sea coast (6/17/10)
- Gerze: Passing an invisible threshold on the Black Sea (6/19/10)
- Yakakent: A gorgeous sunset reminds us of the Great Lakes (6/20/10)
- Samsun: A modern city, ancient Amisos and a gateway to the Kisilirmak Delta (6/21/10)
- Ünye: By bus to Terme, the land of the Amazons (6/25/10)
- Yaliköy: A festive day at Jason’s Cape (6/27/10)
- Ordu: Another quality harbor near a busy waterfront town (6/28/10)
- Giresun: Cherries, hazelnuts, sunsets, sailing and new friends (6/29/10)
- Tirebolu: Celebrating Turkey’s annual harbor festival (7/1/10)
- Akçakale: Discovering another new harbor just when we needed it (7/2/10)
- Trabzon: Ancient history meets modern culture (7/3/10)
- Yeniyay and Çamburnu: A visit to KTU Marine Sciences Faculty and the Kastel of Sürmene (7/13/10)
- Rize: We’ll take a friendly fishing harbor over a yacht harbor any day! (7/14/10)
- Pazar: A double rainbow, cooler temperatures and another pleasant dinner ashore (7/15/10)
- Hopa: An empty commercial port and a trucker’s border town (7/16/10)
- Batumi: Welcome to Georgia! (7/18/10)
- Poti: Georgian hospitality, photo ops and a local sailing regatta (7/23/10)
- News Update: Gyatso crew cancels plans to visit Russia after learning that foreign yachts are still not welcome (7/16/10)
- Feodosia: No gift from the gods for us (7/31/10)
- Yalta: Stiletto heels, sharky agents and mobs of tourists on holiday — welcome to the Ukraine! (8/1/10)
- Balaklava: Resting up in a protected natural harbor (8/3/10)
Yevpatoria: Anchored off another Black Sea summer resort (8/11/10) - Chornomorske: An enjoyable day sailing in the company of another yacht (8/13/10)
- Skadovsk & Dzharylgach Island: An unsettled night at anchor becomes a pleasant nighttime sail (8/14/10)
- Odessa: Life in the fast lane at our last Ukrainian port (8/15/10)
- Sulina, Romania: A trip up the Danube (8/24/10)
- Constanta (Port Tomis), Romania: A historic city in a lovely setting near the Danube Delta (8/26/10)
- Eforie Nord, Romania: A brief stay at a Black Sea beach resort while waiting for the wind to shift (8/31/10)
- Balchik, Bulgaria: A Black Sea resort fit for royalty and full of pleasant surprises (9/3/10)
- Varna, Bulgaria: Soaking up the energy of a vibrant city (9/5/10)
- Sveti Vlas, Burgas Bay, Bulgaria: A quick stop in a Spanish-style resort (9/7/10)
- Sozopol, Bulgaria: Saving the best for last (9/8/10)
- Igneada, Turkey: Our final stop on the Black Sea and a warm welcome back to Turkey
- Istanbul, Turkey: Black Sea Circumnavigation Completed
Updating Black Sea Cruising Guide Information
Finding information about sailing on the Black Sea was not easy in 2010, especially if you plan to visit five countries like we did. Most of the published guides were out-of-date, and the information was scattered among numerous books, several of which are out-of-print.
We managed to locate copies of each published guide and to interview and/or obtain cruising notes from a couple of dozen cruising sailors who visited the Black Sea in recent years. Armed with all of this information (cruising guides and notes, good charts (paper and electronic), a list of key contacts in each country, and a library of books and website resources about the history and environmental issues on the Black Sea), we set-out on our voyage with the intention of updating the cruising information available.
In 2011, we wrote an updated cruising guide to the Black Sea that was first published by the RCC Pilotage Foundation as a downloadable PDF document (2011) and then later as a printed book by Imray (2012). As co-authors (Barker and Borre) of The Black Sea, we continue to provide annual updates to the guide based on information sent to us by cruising sailors who have visited more recently.
