Sailing Coco to North Cyprus - follow our journey!

[jofra]

Very disappointed we couldn't make it to George's; this visit (6 1/2 weeks!) has been pretty disastrous - OH has been rather ill (insect bites to blood poisoning) after first few days - at least no hospital as in April/May! Anyway, still enjoying your videos - I see Agia Napia is a future trip - definitely out of our (physical) age range......
Perhaps one day...

[SailingCoco]

Hey Guys!! Sorry we missed posting our video last week!! Last week we stretched our legs in Mykonos, then headed back to the boat to make our way down to Poseidon Temple with our new crew!


https://youtu.be/UKm2lvTP1fo



https://youtu.be/WOCCurxwoFM

[SailingCoco]

This week we head towards Milos but get stopped by the Meltemi winds!! We didn't realise that bad winds hit all the Aegean Islands throughout summer! Not only do we call all Marinas across different Islands to pull into, when we think we finally found a spot, we realise we sailed to the wrong Island!!

By the time we arrive to the wrong Marina, the winds had already started and our gearbox decided to give up on us! We lost control of the boat trying to get in the birth and the little Marina was like no other we had ever been to before... ZERO help!! Usually we dislike the help in Marinas as Ceylan finds someone watching a little off-putting! However, the one time we needed help...there was none there! We managed to get in the space but hadn't put our anchor down as there were no slime lines to secure onto! We decided to leave the space and moor up on the outside!

As we tried getting alongside, the wind and waves pushed us violently towards the stoney wall which scratched the side of our boat and popped a fender!! Despite putting ALL our fenders on that side the boat still kept touching the wall and we knew we were going to have to more AGAIN!

So the nightmare continued and we tried squeezing onto a small space on the other side of the wall, this time the elements were pushing the boat away from the wall and Ceylan couldn't pull both sides of the boat in. When she pulled one side in the other one went out. We decided to try and turn around and start again when the gearbox failed and we could only control the boat with one rope thrown to the pontoon! All other boats came out with their fenders as we had no control over the boat and it truly was a NIGHTMARE.

Luckily a local fisherman came out to help as did other sailors near by and together we manage to secure the boat to the pontoon and we finally breathe a sigh of relief. Alfie goes around the boats handing out beers to say thanks and we leave the boat in a local guy called Adonis's trusted hands...we hope!

We leave the boat in Serifos and carry on with our plans to visit Milos and later Crete, then England for a wedding! We visit the beautiful Kleftiko caves and let our hair down and have an unforgettable day with our friends Fadia & Adam.


https://youtu.be/o_tCtUmHX2Y

[SailingCoco]

Sorry Jofra and Samson, we have been getting a bit muddled here, not realising we have moved onto the second page We have now changed the setting to descending so all the new posts are at the top! So sorry we didn't see your message properly!

Sorry to hear Jofra and OH have been having a tough time!! Hope it all turns around and gets better soon!! Hahaa no Ayia Napa for us!! Although we have booked to get married in Cyprus next year and have a feeling that it will be on the agenda with our friends coming out hopefully AFTER the wedding at least!

[SailingCoco]

Hey guys! This week we spend some family time in Crete, where we surprise Ceylan’s mum for her 60th!!

https://youtu.be/S8Wv-4tjzl0

[SailingCoco]

Hey guys! Latest vid up on YT where we celebrate Ceylan's bday in Cyprus and conquer new fears

https://youtu.be/n0yIsL_xr4g

[SailingCoco]

Happy Sunday Kibkommers! Latest video up where we spend some family time in Sunny Cyprus!!

https://youtu.be/hlLf-x61i3I

[jofra]

Be kind to your Mum! Tequilas! - and then did you move onto Raki?
Too much for me, but the doughnuts - obviously an expert baker!

[SailingCoco]

Hahahaa we were a little hard on Mum!! She took it like a trooper! She didn't like the tequila so we will stick to Raki next time

Our latest video is now up on YouTube! This week we search for a wedding venue in Cyprus and as true Cypriots do... eat, eat and eat more!!

https://youtu.be/3-RtonvBhao

[SailingCoco]

This week we head back to the Greek Island of Serifos to bring the boat back to Athens. As we were caught off guard by the Meltemi Winds for the summer and a dodgy gearbox we ended up having a nail biting experience a couple months ago mooring up in Serifos. This lead us to take some time out of sailing while the winds were passing through the Summer months and therefore spending some family time with Ceylan's parents in Cyprus.

As we had a scary experience coming into Serifos it was such a relief when we managed to leave the harbour safely without damaging Coco or any other boats. Once we managed to get it into gear, we left it in gear the whole afternoon until we reached the harbour in Athens, where the harbour master towed us into a space.

As this was our last sail on our little Coco, the whole experience was an emotional one. We are so proud of our little boat and have had an incredible 8 months living onboard.

We have exciting news of a new boat that is currently being made and expected in April and will let you guys in on all the details shortly! But for now we will be selling Coco so if anyone is actually interested in looking / purchasing a boat already in the Med, give us a shout!!

https://youtu.be/uMwe9uJRyOM

[SailingCoco]

After an incredible summer, our trip has unfortunately come to an end. We spent 5 years restoring boats, dreaming to travel on sea one day and we cannot believe we have done it. We have loved every moment on Coco, even all the times Cey kept breaking things!!

We look forward to exciting times ahead with our new boat arriving in April!! Stay tuned.... all will be revealed!!

We cannot thank everyone enough who followed the journey with us for the support and kind words along the way!! We always wanted to keep record of our travels, but hearing from you all makes the videos that more special! Thank you


https://youtu.be/zv-e2g7nLtY

[jofra]

"....dreaming to travel on sea one day and we cannot believe we have done it..."
NEVER give up on your dreams and hopes; otherwise it's just existence rather than life, and WHEN you succeed and others see, they/we are all encouraged - even a CD like me!
One of my favourite songs -
"The hopes we had were much to high;
Way out of reach, but we have to try.
The game will never be over,
Because we're keeping the dream alive."
Hope you do continue to record and show your further adventures - looking forward to them!

[SailingCoco]

Thanks Jofra, that last post was so lovely! I can't believe we missed it!! It has been a crazy few months getting back into the swing of things in London. We are missing our sailing tremendously!!

Thank you for the words of encouragement!! We are so excited to start a new chapter of our lives in a few more months time and live aboard our new boat indefinitely. We are so happy that we can encourage you and others to go for it! With renting our property it should manage our mortgage and living costs onboard. We have found that we live a much more simple but happier life on the boat - only needing money for food and necessities and realising how much we don't actually need!

We will definitely document when we get our boat and start our journey again. It has been so nice having our friends and family talk about our travels as if they were there because of the videos and it's so nice meeting new people along the way. We will definitely be able to host more on our next boat and will be so nice arranging meet ups with you guys along the way

Great song that you recommended!!