It is now nearly a month until the start of the 23^rd EMYR and we have received and answered many questions from EMYR2012 participants. Dave & Kath and Hasan had a meeting in Girne and talked about the different issues. This newsletter will explain the update information that we have received from the ports at Lebanon, Israel and also give you some general answers to your questions concerning EMYR2012.

Safety; You will obviously be having some concerns about the safety issues in visiting those Middle East countries that have been the subject of conflict during the past few months. We are continually monitoring the political situation in the Middle East both in conjunction with our representatives in the country and the relevant embassies, as much as we can. We believe at the moment it is safe to visit all the ports in the programme but we will adapt our sailing passages as required before or during the rally. We will make appropriate decisions to ensure the enjoyment of the Rally when the situation and the time draw nearer. We have received the positive reports for the safety from the EMYR Representatives in Lebanese & Israeli Marinas/Ports and they all are looking forward to welcoming the EMYR Yachts in their ports & marinas. There are endless talks in Cyprus Island between Greek & Turkish Cypriot communities and they are working hard to achieve a positive solution, there is no safety issue in N. Cyprus. Unfortunately we have no more communication availability with Lattakia marina in Syria we have again reluctantly removed this port from our itinerary . Lebanon representatives Jean Phillipe El Khazen, ATCL Club Management Board Member, has reported that Lebanon is fine and safe for EMYR2012 visit. Yves Belleli, Carmel Yacht Club Commodore is happy that we will visit Haifa Quishon Port again. Herzliya & Ashkelon Marinas Managements are happy to welcome the rally again as this is also an enjoyable annual event for their sailors in their marinas. Our representative Nagib and the Felix team are organising all for our arrival at Port Said as usual.  Nagib Latif came to İstanbul to meet the Committee and to visit the boat show.

Tours; We are working on a regular tour programme and we are awaiting final details from all the harbours including the ports & marinas in Turkey N.Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. The tour details and the prices will be announced on the EMYR web site. There are already charges for the last year tours and last year information will remain in red colour letters. The updated information for 2012 will be in black colours.

EMYR Programme & Participants List; Attached is the provisional programme for 2012 and the latest list for the participants also announced on the web site. You may have the updated list on the EMYR web site always.

North Cyprus; We have received the confirmation of our visit at N.Cyprus – Girne. A small part of the harbour is reserved for the EMYR yachts and Delta Marina will provide berths to EMYR Yachts as much as possible. New Karpas Gate Marina is confirmed as a Port of Entry and we will be able to see more of the area than we were able to see last year. Karpas Gate Marina 50 NM east of Girne and the beaches on either side are perfectly clean and this visit will give us a chance to enjoy swimming.

Visa; There are no visa charges in N. Cyprus or Israel. There will be a tax per person in Lebanon and Egypt. Please see the information on the web site.

Entry – Exit Charges; There is no charge in Turkey on departure at Mersin and no entry & exit charges for N. Cyprus. Please see the information for entry – exit charges on the EMYR web site for Lebanon, Israel & Egypt.

Transit log; The expiry date should be after EMYR departure from Mersin, 30^th May 2012 and the last port should be registered as Mersin. Also please check that your Turkish Visa is valid up to the departure date from Mersin.

Crew: There are SIX (6) overnight passages after Mersin. Do you have adequate crew? We realize that this is an ambitious schedule of passages and tours but necessary in order to not inconvenience the local fishing boats and yachts owners. Tired crew can lead to short tempers and intolerance and would defeat the purpose of the Rally. We have an experience that also unknown crew can be a problem. Take people you know very well for the long Rally program.

Crew List; There are still some yachts that their crew list is not completed. Please complete as early as possible. Urgent.

Shirt sizes: Please e-mail to EMYR Secretary with shirt sizes for crew (S, M, L, XL, XXL) if you haven’t done it yet. Please insert this information in crew list form.

Passport pages of the crew with photo and personal information & Ship registry pages should be scanned and e-mailed to committee by the end of April 2011. Please check that you have NO Israeli stamp or any other connection to Israel in your passports, otherwise you will be refused to enter Lebanon.

New Passports; Please inform if there is a new passport for your crew. The list of the total EMYR participants should be 100% correct with passport details including passport numbers.

Insurance: For your own benefit, it is wise to check with your yacht insurance agency about coverage in some of the Eastern Med countries since they may be on the company's list of war territories. We recommend that you receive written confirmation from your insurance company that you are covered in these countries. Other participants have received approval by sending their company a letter of request for coverage explaining that we are a large group, that this is the 23^rd year for this rally.

Reservation at the Marinas; If you are arriving at a port before the designated Rally time, staying longer or returning after, you must have reservations and pay the agreed upon fees. Some marinas will have special rates for Rally yachts returning after the Rally depending on the length of your stay. Please contact the marina managements individually.

Return to Turkey; Many of you will stay in Israel at least for few weeks to discover the Holy Land and also to visit Jordan. Some of you will sail to North or Southern Cyprus marinas or direct to Turkish mainland in groups and some alone. It is always good to sail in company. Monastery bay in N.Cyprus, on the southern side of the Karpas peninsula is an ideal stopover place in nature. You will love the place. Dave and Kath highly recommend this anchorage don’t miss out the visit to the small restaurant on the cliffs above.

Where to stay after the rally; Herzliya is a beautiful well organised marina to leave your yacht while travelling inland. [email protected] Second option is Ashkelon Marina with less expensive charges. [email protected] You can contact them for reservation. You are always welcome to stay at Karpas Gate, Delta, Mersin or Alanya Marina after the rally if you need a berth to fly home for couple of weeks or months. You can contact them by e-mail for reservation and they may give you special discounts as you are the member of EMYR rally.

Visiting Lebanon after the Rally; You have to visit Cyprus, either north or south and after sail to Lebanon.  The authorities at this country will question whether your last port is one of the Israeli Marinas/ports. You have to prove with your passport or a piece of document from Cyprus Immigration or harbour authority that you are coming from Cyprus not from an Israeli port.

Pets; It is fine to have dog or cat on board. The problem is you can’t take them with you while touring in the buses. There is a two days tour in Egypt. You can’t take them to the hotels. There is a quarantine system in N. Cyprus so any animals should be kept on board and certainly not taken out of the Marina.

Children ; There have been always children in the rally. They have enjoyed the entire rally even if there are no other children. EMYR Rally will be a life time experience for any child. We don’t charge the children if the age is less than 12 years old and full charge for the above 12 years. There will be some discounts on the tour charges for the children if we can convince the tour operators.

Dress ; There will be many dinners and some will be Jacket and Tie dinners. The ladies will have their best dresses. We will have the Pirate Party at Girne so don’t forget to make your pirate outfits. Don’t forget to bring comfortable walking shoes for the tours.

Difficulties but don’t complain please; After Alanya, there are some ports like Bozyazı & Taşucu, Haifa, Port Said where there may be some water and power connections, very primitive sanitary facilities or none. There will be double tier mooring in some ports so listen carefully to instructions and be considerate to your neighbours. The rally yachts will be packed in Jounieh & Haifa but this year we have fewer yachts so hopefully the Committee have an easier job. There will be marinas where the yachts will raft alongside one another, have your fenders ready. You may have to cross 6 yachts in Haifa to go ashore and they may pass along your deck. Please don’t complain because of the limited facilities or no facilities at the ports that we will visit and the people walking on your deck.

Water; The majority of the ports we visit can provide water but the quality cannot be guaranteed. It is advisable to have bottled water for drinking.

Fuel; There will be always option to refuelling by pump at the quay side, by tanker or by jerry canes. We always recommend spare fuel filters. The fuel prices are announced on the web site. Red colour is last year price and black colour is updated for 2012. There might be unexpected changes depending on the world fuel market.

Flags; Please inform if you need the national flags for N. Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel & Egypt. We can buy them on your behalf and you will receive and pay at Alanya Marina.

New Ports & Marinas; We will visit Bozyazı & Taşucu Ports and New Mersin Marina.

Rally Groups; Groups will be formed according to the length over all and changing group inquires will not be accepted. Group leaders will be announced in Alanya.

Volunteers; Medical qualified people are asked to inform the committee as there can be urgent situations their names will be kept confidential. Musicians are very welcome to announce their names to the groups.

Joining Ports; There are 35 yachts listed and there might be few changes addition or cancellation. Please check your joining ports on the attached list and inform the committee if there is any mistake.

Cost Sharing Fee; Please complete the credit card payment form on the EMYR web site and return to [email protected] until the end of March 2012 either by internet or fax to 00 90 242 323 45 80. The cost sharing fee is 450 Euro per person. Please deduct 250 Euro non-refundable advance payment from your total cost sharing fee. The cost sharing amount will be fully refundable till the 10 th April 2012 except 250 Euro non-refundable deposits per yacht. There will be no refund option after this date for any reason as the committee will complete the arrangements and settle the certain payments for the EMYR organisation.

Update information; You can visit the web site of the rally to find information about the rally, ports, tours, and articles written by past Rally participants. The Rally Committee will be happy to respond to any of your questions if you can’t find the answers on the web site. We would welcome your contributions to the memories section of the web site. Please e mail to [email protected].

Dave and Kath are planning to leave Girne, Kıbrıs at the end of March beginning of April to sail up to Çeşme or Ayvalık for the rally start they may well meet up with some of you on their North bound passage. Please feel free to offer them hospitality on the way.

The Committee members look forward to meeting you in the Rally where you will be sure of a warm welcome with cold drinks. If there are further questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail but as less as possible [email protected] . Our hope is for good weather, friendships, hospitality, and great experiences as we will make the 23^rd Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally a wonderful event for both the sailors and our hosts.

We wish fair cruising and many Happy Hours. (Dave’s happy hour starts at 9 and finishes at 8 every day)