Trabzon to Samsun

From Trabzon, we sailed via Tirebolu, Giresun, and Fatsa to Samsun, a large city of 500,000 people. The coastline continues to be heavily built up with a population which seems to be increasing at an amazing rate. While here, we traveled 150 km inland through rich agricultural country to Amasya, a fascinating city straddling a river in a narrow gorge surrounded by high rocky mountains, and dominated by an ancient fortress built atop the highest peak. The city, which has a history dating back to the bronze age, was one of the most beautiful we have seen, with old ottoman houses lining the river banks, interesting bridges, and rock tombs carved into the mountain sides. It apparently occupies a strategically important location as there have been many battles fought for its possession over all those centuries. We are now ready to continue our journey west toward Istanbul.

Georgia mk 2 and on to Turkey

About 360 km inland, Tbilisi proved to be a large city of over a million people. It straddled the Mtkvari river in a broad valley and was dominated by churches. An old fortress was also high above and the whole city had a somewhat “Turkish” appearance. The right bank of the river was home to government buildings and much of the commercial sector, and was quite sophisticated. The comparison to Poti was like night and day. There were many cafes and bars and, like all of the ex-Soviet countries we have visited, casinos. The left bank was more like Poti in that it was one large bazaar and not particularly attractive. Although our return journey was at night, we saw lovely villages, ancient castles, and rich countryside enroute.
Back in Poti, we stocked up on what we could and departed for Turkey. The Georgian coast south of Poti and near the border was quite attractive and as we progressed, the Turkish coast proved to be one of the most beautiful we have seen. High mountains rose from the coast, covered in lush emerald green trees and small tea plantations. There were many tea factories each with a tall smoke stack and the while the area is much more heavily populated than we had expected, the number of mosques was astonishing; almost one on every corner or so it seemed.
Trabzon, 1100 km east of Istanbul, was our port of entry to Turkey and we berthed in the Coast Guard basin in the port. After touring the town and a trip to an old Greek monastery built into a cliff face high in the mountains at Sumela, 50 km inland, we are ready to begin our passage west, being the first foreign yacht in these parts for a long time.

Yalta and on to Georgia

Our passage to Yalta took us past some of the loveliest coastal scenery, with high mountains as a backdrop to green slopes spreading down to golden beaches; altogether very attractive. Unfortunately, we were required to keep some distance from the shore as it was apparently home to the dachas of some vip`s. Arrival at Yalta harbour revealed a city which proved to be one of the most attractive we have yet encountered. Magnificent old buildings, and the palaces of the former royal family, the Romanovs, surrounded the waterfront, set against a backdrop of high mountains. We visited Livadia Palace, the site of the Yalta conference, where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed to carve up the post WW2 world. After stocking up for our crossing to Georgia we endured prolonged bureaucratic clearance formalities and departed Ukraine into conditions forecast to be a quite mild, force 4. As it turned out, the wind increased to force 7, with a steady 35 kts and short sharp 6 metre seas. Surfing down those breaking waves was quite exhilarating, though the 1st Mate might not use that term. After 24 hrs, conditions moderated and the remainder of the crossing was uneventful. We were often escorted by hundreds of dolphins for hours on end. In the distance were the snowcapped Caucasus mountains on the border between Russia and the rebellious Georgian province of Abkazia.

Arrival at the port of Poti at night was an adventure. None of the lights marking the channel were to be seen and the lights of 15 ships anchored close off the entrance added to the difficulty, the end result of which was an anchorage until daylight revealed a port undergoing major rehabilitation and extension. From the sublime to the ridiculous is a good way of describing impressions of Yalta and Poti. Bordered by Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey, in the post Soviet era, Georgia is a struggling country and Poti is struggletown personified. Only the few main roads are paved and those are littered with pot holes. Cattle and chickens wander the streets and there appear to be no road rules. The open air markets sell everything imaginable. Said to be on the fabled silk road, if you replaced the concrete buildings with tents and the cars with horses and camels, it could be so. We plan to travel inland to the capital Tbilisi, so will get a more balanced view of the country then.

Balaklava Mk2