EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN YACHT RALLY   APRIL 2010 NEWSLETTER

Dear Friends of EMYR 2010,
There are now 72 yachts from 15 countries with 228 crews registered for the Rally. We believe that few of the registered yachts will cancel their participation due to some reasons and few new yachts will register until the rally start and we will be little over 70 yachts that the names are listed on the EMYR web site
We are in contact with all the marinas in Turkey and the other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. All our friends are working to make the EMYR 2010 another wonderful event.
The Rally Manual for 2009 is still on our web site www.emyr.org and it is updated currently. The complete new EMYR2010 Rally Manual (Rally Bible) will be posted on our web site as soon as possible The final hard copy version, which will include a list of participants and their group assignments, will be available to each yacht at their joining port. This contains about 80 pages of important information for Rally participants. In the manual, there is a section on the history of the Middle East and a summary of the places that we will visit on the tours under each port. Don’t miss the 2 subsections that have the passage/harbor information, routes, harbor plans and pictures.  Most of your questions can be answered by reference to our newsletters and the manual, both of which are posted on the web site, and we ask you to do this rather than send e-mails to the committee. Please reread the newsletters since they contain valuable information that is not repeated here. The committee will be happy to respond to your questions but most can be answered from reading the website. Please remember that Rally Committee and working group have their own businesses and difficult to reply all the questions which the answers are already either in the newsletters or on the web site.
The start of the Rally will be at Kalamış Marina and there will be 7 yachts including SYMat Commodore of the Rally and SY Mashona Kath & Dave the Committee Members who will lead the rally down the Turkish Coast.  Hasan & Umut will be in Kalamış Marina to meet the group and wish them safe sailing to the southern coast of Turkey.
GROUPS: We have organized the Rally into six groups based on LOA (length over all) which implies relatively similar performance. The ‘preliminary’ group lists are posted already on our web site and it will be updated with the cancellations and the new entries. At all harbours/marinas, mooring will be assigned by group. Please see the Rally manual which describes this. Please do not request moving from one group to another as the committee decision is final.
NORTH CYPRUS: There is an invitation from Transportation & Tourism Ministers for our Girne visit. Girne Harbour Master Kutlu Bayramoğlu is organizing a 200 meters long quay in the Tourism Port for the EMYR Yachts. In Girne, one or two groups might have berths in the old harbor, the rest will be in the commercial port. There are some power connections in the old harbor and limited shower & WC facilities but there is a ferry terminal in the commercial harbor with wc facilities. There will be few water & power connection but no shower. The taxi service and the shuttle will be arranged from & to the city.
SAFETY: Foremost in the minds of the Committee Members is the safety and enjoyment or the Rally participants. Therefore, the Committee is watching the political/security situation in the entire Middle East very closely. We monitor the travel advisories of the British Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department. We are on an automatic distribution list of the U.S. State Department and will be advised immediately by e-mail of changes in the security situation of the countries we will visit. At the present time our assessment is that the political/security situation is stable and will allow us to continue with our preparations for the Rally. We will however, continually monitor the situation and make adjustments accordingly. We remind each owner/skipper that they are individually responsible for the safety decisions concerning their yacht.
BERTHING; With 70 (seventy) yachts participating in various legs of the Rally, berthing will be less tight at many of the marinas we visit and some will require having two tiers of yachts at the quay. This will require walking across other boats to access the quay, will limit the shore electrical power and water available to yachts and will strain the onshore shower, toilet and laundry facilities. Much good humor, tolerance and patience will be required! Also, it is recommended that you have a stern anchor available for use if at all possible. The use of generators should be limited as not to cause nuisance to other yachts. Please follow carefully the instructions of either the marina staff or the berthing master in other harbors. Boats entering out of turn or not in their group makes berthing longer, exasperates other rally participants and makes mooring much more difficult, boats not adhering to this simple rule may be asked to leave the rally.
SYRIA : They are organized and are looking forward to our visit. There have always been some minor difficulties as the management team doesn’t have much experience.
LEBANON : Anita Khoury has reported that it is safe to have the tours to Balbeek or southern ports of Lebanon, Tyre, Daida and Sour. Hasan was in contact with the ATCL club authorities and EMYR representatives Michel Naufal & Jean Philippe El Khazen. The general report is that there is no risk at all to sail to Jounieh at the moment.
ISRAEL: Haifa Carmel Club Commodore Yves Balely, Ashkelon Marina Manager Hillel Reshef, Herzliya Marina Manager Amir Tzinder are organizing everything nicely as usual for our visit.
EGYPT: If you wish to leave your yacht at Askelon Marina in Israel and travel on other people’s yachts for the last 2 legs of the Rally (to and from Egypt), there will be transportation available when we return to Herzliya to take you to Ashkelon (30 miles) to retrieve your yachts. If you are not planning to go to Port Said, please let us know as soon as you make that decision, so that we can plan ahead. Our Port Said representative and friend Nagib Latif has reported that all is arranged.
JERUSALEM & JORDAN TOUR: The EMYR Yacht crews, individually or in groups, can organize Jordan Tours. Descriptions of Jerusalem and Jordan Tours will be on the website under ‘tours’. We were kept waiting for several hours at the Jordanian/Israeli border due to the complicated visa procedure to cross the border on the way to Jordan and on the way back to Israel year before. This year, therefore, we will not organize the Jordan tour for the entire Rally Group. If they wish, smaller groups may organize their own tours with the help of Herzliya Marina and tour operators that they will have available at the marina. Kath on Mashona has written a guide to independent travel in Israel and Jordon that is announced on the EMYR web site. You can contact directly Mr. Noam, Consolidated Tour ctotours@bezeqint.net www.ctotours.com to organize your Jordan trips after the end of the rally.
INSPECTION of the radar reflectors, flares, VHF radios, life rafts, navigation lights will be done in Alanya marina by the group leaders. All the above items should be in proper working order.
JOINING PORTS This year the marinas are very full you will not be allowed to join the rally before your designated joining port. Please inform if there is a sudden / urgent change.

REMINDERS!!
□ Shirt sizes: Please e-mail the Rally secretary with shirt sizes for crew (S, M, L, XL, XXL) if you have not already done so.
□ Passport Information: Faruk Günlü, Rally Secretary at Göcek has all crew passport information. Please inform him if there are any changes in your crew passports.
□ Reservations: If you are planning to arrive at a port before the designated Rally date, stay longer than the Rally date or return after the Rally, you must have reservations, and pay the agreed fees. Some marinas will have special rates for yachts returning after the Rally depending on the length of your stay. Please contact the marina managements individually. Their contact addresses are on the EMYR web site.
□ VISAS: If you are arriving at a country before the designated Rally date, staying longer or returning after the Rally, you must have the appropriate VISA that you obtain on arrival, except for Syria and Lebanon, where you must obtain the visa from the embassy in your own country. If flying into or out of any country to join or leave the rally, you must have a valid VISA for that country. Turks has no more visa problem in Lebanon& Syria. Syria is still difficult country for visa issue for the nationalities other than Turks. There are high visa charges up to 60 Euro for British citizens. There is a possibility to cancel the visa charges and the committee is working on the situation.
□ Pets: There have not been any problems in past rallies for pets on board yachts. Please keep a valid vaccination certificate for each pet on board. The immigration officials in Girne may request that you keep your pets on board whilst in Cyprus. Having pets on board will not necessarily mean you will get preferential berthing positions.
□ Money: After İskenderun, mostly American dollars are necessary for payment of the tours and fees, and the availability of ATMs is limited although Euro becomes more popular in the region after each year. Please be sure that you all have enough dollars with you in cash. See tour/fee information on the EMYR web site to determine how much each person and boat will need.
 □ Dress: Some events on the Rally are ‘formal’, requiring jackets and ties for the men, and dresses for ladies, and don’t forget the pirate costume for Girne!
□ Fuel: Refuel when entering harbors and marinas if possible. Note that updated fuel prices for most of the harbors will be provided at the briefing at Kemer.
□ Fire extinguishers: With so many yachts moored in so tightly, the hazards of fire are unthinkable. Please be sure that you have adequate fire extinguishers on board and that they are current and in working order.
□ Grey or black water: Some harbors/marinas are absolutely stringent about no dumping of grey or black water overboard. Be prepared with holding tanks, or else there must be NO washing dishes, showering, washing decks with soap or emptying toilets overboard in these harbors/marinas. There are restaurants and facilities available. Detailed information will be provided prior to arriving at these sensitive harbors.
Boats not complying with this rule may be asked to leave the rally.
□Meetings: There will be a mandatory meeting at Kemer at the City Hall for all participants. Also, there are group meetings before each passage.
 □ Passages: There are NINE (9) overnight passages after Kemer. Do you have adequate crew? We realize that this is an ambitious schedule of passages and tours but it is necessary in order to not inconvenience the local fishing boats and yachts owners, who have to give up their berths for the Rally. Tired crew can lead to short tempers and intolerance and would defeat the purpose of the Rally. Keep smiling!!
□ Provisioning/Spare parts: Please remember that there will be large numbers of participants using the facilities, shops, restaurants and chandleries so plan your activities accordingly and please be patient. Have your yacht stocked with supplies before leaving on the Rally. Spares may not be available at some ports.
□ Arrivals/departures of this number of yachts will require patience and tolerance. We must all act to make this a wonderful experience for ourselves and everyone else. It is an incredible opportunity for us! Be happy!!
□ Other websites that you may want to check include:
www.israeli-marinas.co.il     www.syrianyachtclub.org     www.atcl.org    www.gemyatdelta.com

A list of medically qualified people (doctors, nurses, dentists etc.) can be very useful during the rally in case of emergency. Please inform the Rally Committee if you or any member of your crew who is qualified would be willing to be added to the list. There are already few names on the list
ASHKELON  Marina offers a special discount for the EMYR 2010 yachts that is called "Follow the Winter Sun to Ashkelon", you pay for 6 month and get 7 month. Please contact Marina Ashkelon for more information. marin_nm@netvision.net.il
Commodore Teoman Arsay has special programs for the group that they will start the rally in İstanbul. They will definitely enjoy their stay in İstanbul with the Commodore.
The committee is inviting Turkish and British Ambassadors to Rally dinners in Girne, Lattakia, Jounieh, Herzliya & Port Said. As a major national group in EMYR2010, we will invite also French Ambassadors. We need one French Yacht Skipper to provide the French Embassies e-mail addresses and ambassadors names in Cyprus, Damascus, Beirut, Tel Aviv and Cairo.
We are confident that this is going to be a wonderful and rewarding Rally and we look forward to sharing the experience with all of you.