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| Dear Past and Potential EMYR Participants, |
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We are pleased to announce that the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally is scheduled for the 17th year. The Rally will start once again from Istanbul, Atakoy
Marina on 24th April and travel along the coast of Turkey. The international portion will leave
Park Kemer Marina on 15th May. The program will be very similar to EMYR 2005 with the addition of an extra day added to Kemer Marina to allow for additional festivities. Attached you will find the provisional program for EMYR 2006.
EMYR 2005 was very successful with 80 yachts from 19 nations participating. Fortunately, the winds were very good during the entire rally and many of us had more good sailing than we did the rest of the season. The local boats in Girne, Mersin & Iskenderun gave us their berths for the rally yachts during our visit. Lattakia Marina in Syria has completed much more of their marina. Lebanon ATCL Marina was an excellent host as always. Israeli marinas received the rally yachts with special care. Port Said was very well organized and hospitable. We enjoyed every day and every person we met on the yachts or ashore in the marinas that have welcomed us. We were truly fortunate to have such an exceptional experience and hope that the same opportunity is available for many years to come.
The organizing committee for EMYR 2006 will be joined by veteran committee members Frank and Tari McCabe, S/Y Vision and Kath and David Gerrard of S/Y Mashona who have helped lead the Rally the last two years. Hasan Kaçmaz, of course, will be our primary organizer and will sail the whole Rally from Kemer once again.
The Rally Committee is monitoring the political situation in the Middle East and will make decisions to ensure the safety enjoyment of the Rally.
The Rally leaves Istanbul at Ataköy Marina on 24th April, sailing through the Dardanelles with stops at the following marinas:
| Bozcaada |
-known for its fish meals and local wine and vineyards |
| Ayvalik |
-where there is a conveniently located Migros for provisioning |
| Çesme ; |
-a marvelous resort town |
| Kusadasi |
-with a free day to visit Ephesus and enjoy the city |
| Bodrum |
-with a free day to visit the incredible castle (a must-see) and perhaps a hamam |
| Orhaniye |
-one of the most beautiful little bays in the Gulf of Hisaronu |
| Gocek |
-delightful town at the eastern end of Skopea Limani, a gorgeous group of islands and bays |
| Finike |
- with sightseeing to Lycian Tombs, Myra (St. Nicholas’ origin) and ancient sites |
| Kekova |
-a beautiful anchorage with great restaurants. |
| Kemer |
- games, social activities, the Rally dinner and the official start of the international part of the EMYR. New groups are formed. |
| Alanya |
-a new marina still under development. This first short passage will enable us to check the engines, sails and the crew. We will have tours to the local sites and a Rally dinner with the Mayor and dignitaries. |
| Girne, Cyprus |
- we are welcomed by the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with a cocktail party at the Castle. The next days, tours are organized followed by the Pirate Party and Dinner |
| Mersin |
- the welcome that is organized by the local Chamber of Shipping is overwhelming. There is time here for a tour to Taurus and surrounding sites of interest and beauty or take a leisurely stroll through the bustling streets and markets of the town. We may stay in new Mersin Marina if the facilities are completed. |
| Iskenderun |
-founded by Alexander the Great and until recently called Alexandretta. Here our tour will include visiting ancient Antioch and its precious mosaic museum. |
| Lattakia, Syria |
-tours to Ugarit, Krak de Chevalier, Saladdin Castle and Aleppo City. We will have an overnight tour to Damascus and Palmyra, the Queen of the Desert. An amazing experience
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| Jounieh, Lebanon |
- a beautiful modern marina with tours available to Beirut, Bekaa Valley including Baalbek and Anjou, Chorf Mountain, North and/or south areas of Lebanon.
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| Haifa, Israel |
-we are guests of Carmel Sailing Club and have a tour to Acco, a major coastal settlement dating back to 2000 BC Egypt and a tour to the Sea of Galilee |
| Ashkelon, Isreal |
-tours to Masad, and the Dead Sea |
| Port Said, Egypt |
-overnight tour to Cairo, the pyramids, museum and soukh (Cairo open market with thousands of shops) |
| Herzliya, Israel |
-where the Final Rally Dinner will be held amid great ceremony. We will organize a group trip to Jerusalem and other sites in Israel. Groups may organize tours to Petra, Jordan with the assistance of tour operators who will be available in Herzliya Marina. |
We are checking the prices of fuel, tours, and entry taxes of every country that we will visit. All information will be posted on our website and forwarded in future newsletters. As in prior years, all marina fees, many meals and cocktail parties will be included in cost sharing fee of 250 €uros per person.
You can visit the web site of the rally to find information about the rally, ports, tours, and articles written by past Rally participants. www.kemermarina.com (EMYR section). The Rally Committee will be happy to respond to any of your questions.
The Rally committee has decided to limit the number of the yachts to 80. Already 52 yachts are registered. Therefore it is necessary to make your registration soon. There is a limit on sizes of a minimum of 10 meters and maximum 18 meters.
The Rally Secretary, Faruk Gunlu, is now accepting payments by using the credit card payment form found on our web site. The cost is 250 €uros per person for any part of the Rally. Please include all of your crew members in your payment. As always, if there is a cancellation prior to the start of the Rally for any reason, your payment will be refunded. Please take extra care in filling out Rally forms as inaccuracies and omissions generate unnecessary correspondence. The entry form, Rally rules, payment information form, crew list, and program schedule can be found at our website: www.kemermarina.com (EMYR section). Please complete the forms on the computer and then send as an e-mail (typed entries are preferred), or print them and fax the forms to us at:
+90 242 814 1552 Attention Rally Secretary, Faruk Günlü. We prefer receiving the forms as e-mail since it is the easier and more economical.
Past rally participants will receive the newsletters (via e-mail) regularly unless they send a message to the Rally committee stating that they no longer wish to receive them.
We look forward to seeing you all in southern Turkey where the weather is still warm and the sun is still shining.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
EMYR 2006 COMMITTEE
Shirley & Geoff Withrington--UK
Frank & Tari McCabe--USA
Hasan Kaçmaz-- Turkey
Roland Boedt-- Belgium
Kath & David Gerrrard--UK
Rally Secretary
Faruk Günlü
Rally Coordinator
Umut Tepe
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