L to R: Martin Walker, director of the RCCPF, with The Black Sea co-authors Lisa Borre and David Read Barker.
The Black Sea cruising guide is now available for purchase from the RCC Pilotage Foundation and Imray. We will be launching the book at a briefing about the Black Sea in Marmaris, Turkey this Saturday, 28 April at 10:00 AM in the Dining Room Annex at Marmaris Yacht Marina. The timing couldn’t be better. We are back aboard Gyatso in Marmaris preparing for a seasonal cruise in the Med. Martin Walker, our editor at the RCCPF, will be hand-carrying a copy of the book from England when he returns to his boat in Marmaris tomorrow. Continue reading The Black Sea book launch scheduled for Saturday 28 April in Marmaris, Turkey→
Gyatso motoring on the Black Sea near Rize, Turkey in 2010. Photo by Hasan Techimer.
The Black Sea cruising guide that we wrote is scheduled for release later this month. The guide is being published in a hard-cover book format with updated harbor plans and color photos as a joint venture between the RCC Pilotage Foundation and Imray. It replaces the text-only e-pilot we published with the RCCPF last year and provides sailing directions for all six countries surrounding the Black Sea. The guide is based on previously published and unpublished cruising notes as well as information we gathered while sailing around the Black Sea in 2010. For our personal account of sailing on the Black Sea, see the Black Sea section of the Gyatso website.
Juki (in green shirt), the founder of the Poti Yacht Club, poses with the young sailors and coaches participating in the local regatta. Photo by Lisa Borre.
As we motored north today, the rugged, mountainous shoreline gave way to the low flood plain and delta of the Rioni, Georgia’s largest river. The heat and humidity of this sub-tropical environment seemed to intensify as we went. The threat of thunderstorms loomed in the distance, but thankfully held-off until after we arrived in port when they let loose with cracks of lightening and heavy rain later that night. By then we were safely moored with many tall cranes and towers in the vicinity. Continue reading Poti: Georgian hospitality, photo ops and a local sailing regatta→
Gyatso berthed in the yacht harbor of Batumi which is also home to several tour boats, including Sea Star, the one shown here, as well as a fleet of pilot boats serving the busy commercial harbor. Photo by Lisa Borre.
After clearing out of Hopa, Turkey this morning, we carefully steered around the “prohibited zone” extending from the Turkish/Georgia border out 12 miles to international waters on passage to Batumi, Georgia. It was a 24 mile detour which we had been instructed to take by the Turkish Coast Guard but didn’t mind because we had a nice breeze for sailing most of the way. Afternoon rain showers moved in and the wind dropped and then shifted to the south, so we dropped the mainsail and turned on the engine as we made our final turn toward the Georgian coast. Continue reading Batumi: Welcome to Georgia!→
