Israel to Turkey August 30, 2002 After our return from Jerusalem and Masada and the end of the EMYR, June 14, we stayed in Herzliya for a few more days, a courtesy of the marina for EMYR yachts. First day we went back to Jerusalem by bus and minibus via Tel Aviv to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. It was a sobering experience. We had been to other WW II museums which contained data on the Holocaust in places such as the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, and Resistance museums in Lyon, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and I have been to Dachau, so we had read the history and seen many of the horrible images of that era. This Memorial, however, in addition to the grim stories and images, had symbolic memorials which were very moving. One of the most moving for me was the children’s memorial, an opening set in the hillside leading through a darkened walkway with mirrored speckles of light, like sparkling stars in the black night, representing the souls of all the children taken during that horrible time. No commentary or picture is necessary for the impact of that experience. Then we went to the National Museum of Israel, where we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls and several archeological displays before it closed at 1700, a full day for us. We caught a bus to the main bus station in Tel Aviv, and then one to Herzliya, and a local one to the marina. It was not too difficult to figure out the buses or ask locals for information. However after we got back we heard there had been another bus bombing in Tel Aviv, during the rush hour when we were travelling from Tel Aviv to Herzliya. It causes one to think, but on the other hand, the chances of being killed in a terrorist attack would be no greater than chances of being hit in a traffic accident. Back at the marina we had Mike from Three Sheets to the Wind help us with problems with the engine. It had developed a bad vibration at 2200 rpm. When we checked it out, we found not only was the engine out of line, but the bolt of one of the foundation mounts had been severed. Mike was able to fabricate another for us from materials obtained from suppliers at Herzliya. However, the shaft was still not in alignment, as it seemed to be bent. We will need to get back to Kemer, as they installed a new shaft last winter with our new propeller. In addition, we had had engine water pump problems, and when we looked at our pump with Mike we discovered the impellor paddles were cracked and the oil seal and bearings were shot. Rather than try to buy a new water pump we were able to get a new oil seal and bearings which Mike helped us install. Thanks again Mike! We did spend an afternoon on the glorious beach adjacent to the marina. Judy just sat and read while I explored a couple of kilometres of the sandy beach. Surfboarders were enjoying the waves inshore while I wondered what the paragliders were doing just offshore. They were actually surfboarders hooked up to parabolic parachutes, whipping along, pulled by these chutes, then hitting waves and pulling themselves several feet off the water to describe crazy circles in the air before landing on the water and regaining their balance aided by the pull of the parachute. It looked great! I could see how beach bums could become addicted to surfing or parasurfing. Then there was the pulchritude of the bikinis, volleyball, paddle tennis, sand castles, ghetto blasters, barbecues, beach umbrellas, air mattresses, kite flying, life guard stations, and all the vitality of life on a beach! And another terrorist suicide bombing… We were invited to Bleo Gwenn for cocktails with a couple of the other French boats from the EMYR before we departed Herzliya. Thanks Daniel and Monique! We departed June 21 and headed up to Haifa, for a 9 hour motor sail, back to the Carmel Yacht Club at the Marina in the Quishon River. We were given a free week’s mooring courtesy of the marina as part of the EMYR. There we met many of the Israeli friends we made during our short stay earlier with the EMYR. Thee Sheets to the Wind and Jo Ho were there as well. The three of us were alongside between docks A and B. The day after we arrived, Gallant Lady and Neree from the EMYR came in for a day, then left after clearing out with customs and security. Several Carmel Yacht club members came over to say “Hello”, and to invite us to a variety of activities over the next few days with Jo Ho and Three Sheets. We went on a nice shopping expedition with Geoff Collins, a friend of Judy’s family, to local DIY stores for a variety of small items before going with him and Estee for a pleasant ride around the area. After going up to the top of the Haifa University building for a fantastic panorama from the top of Mount Carmel, we went to Daliat El Carmel a Druze village where I bargained for a pair of baggy peasant pants with a hanging crotch so I could dress with local colour. We also went to the Carmelite Monastery on the Mukhraka. This is the site where, according to the Old Testament, Elijah fought and defeated the prophets of the Canaanite god Baal. Thanks Geoff and Estee. Rina and her family were also very hospitable, having the group of us up to their condominium for a barbecue, and later taking us on a tour to the ancient remains at Caesarea just south of Haifa. This archeological site was built by King Herod in honour of Caesar Augustus, and encompasses Roman, Byzantine and Crusader remains including its ancient port, an aqueduct, city walls, a hippodrome and a restored Roman theatre. Just outside of Caesarea we visited an excellent private art museum containing not only an excellent collection of art and sculptures by Dali and others, but also a very informative museum of diagrams, pictures and artifacts from Caesarea. The chandlery in the marina grounds was very co-operative and resourceful. We got some electrical supplies, a couple of air horns (one was a compressed air horn, and the other a mouth operated one), and a small inverter (to change DC current to AC) . The one we had to charge up our computer and batteries for the toothbrush, VHF, and other small electrical appliances had recently died, and would be more expensive to try to repair than buy a new one. However what we got changes from 12 volts DC to 220 AC, as that’s all that’s available on this side of the Atlantic. The chandlery was able to provide a small plug-in step down transformer to change the 220 to 110, and so we are operational again. The marina itself is incomplete, but hopes to be fully operational within a year. It has a large secure area, good docks, lockable gates, an established service area for local fishing boats, and many other assets. However, it is too far from town, and the nearest bus stop is a few kilometres away. There is a possible feud brewing between the marina and the Carmel Yacht Club, as the marina wants to double their mooring fees. If that were to happen I think the yacht club would pull its boats out of the marina and relocate to their original site out in the main harbour area. It will be interesting to see how this dispute ends. Otherwise, we enjoyed the marina, and appreciated the gesture of a week’s free mooring after the EMYR. The one museum we visited in Haifa was the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum. The museum was set up in three sections. The first was a traditional but good archeological museum showing the development of seafaring in the Eastern Mediterranean from primitive to modern times, with excellent models, maps, pictures, and artifacts. The lower two sections contained a museum of the Israeli navy from its beginnings in 1948 up through the different wars, with a focus on the clandestine immigration movement. On display were some of the naval gear, mines, communications equipment and missile launchers used by the Israeli navy so effectively on their small missile boats. The first Israeli navy missile boat, the Mivtakh, was there but not open for visitors. However, the main focus was on the Ha’apala, the clandestine (both secret and illegal) immigration movement from 1934 until 1948. This movement was designed not only to rescue Jews from persecution, but, “was part of a great struggle in an effort to create a Jewish majority in Palestine” (quoted from a State of Israel Ministy of Defence I. D. F. Museum pamphlet). During this 14 year period 122,000 immigrants (Ma’apilim) were brought to Palestine in three waves as follows: 1934 to 1939 – 21,630; 1940 to 1944 – 16,456; 1945 to 1948 – 84,333. These latter figures from 1945 to 48 include 42,000 would be immigrants who were caught and deported to camps in Cyprus and finally “liberated” in Feb. 1949. Most of us think of the movie Exodus when we think of that period. The centre piece of this display was the Af Al Pi Chen, one of the refugee ships that actually sailed to Haifa before 1948. Another day we sailed the 9 miles across the bay over to Acco for an overnight stay, with Geoff Collins on board. Enroute we noticed many of cabbage sized, white, semi solid jelly fish which have been prevalent on the coast this past while. After a hummus lunch in the old Arab town, he left us there to return in another Carmel Yacht Club boat. We enjoyed the marina (free) as it was in the old harbour with a view of the town walls 150 metres away. We took more time to wander through the warrens of this ancient Arab city, and went through the Crusader remains again, this time able to spend as much time as we wanted. It was fun to take time to meander through the narrow winding bazaar area, savoring the sites, sounds and smells of the shops and stalls. We bought a lobster and some vegetables, enjoyed hummus, shawarmas, and falafels. Returning to Haifa, we were getting ready to leave next day when we met Debbie Vered and found something in common, in that her daughter is going to Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario this fall. We know the area well, and Judy’s family have a cottage on Lake Chemong nearby. Debbie asked us to stay an extra day and took us to one of the earlier settlements in the Galilee area, Zichron Ya’ Acov, and to an interesting museum of the early Zionist movements and settlements in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. After lunch we went to another museum, the Aronsohn House which documented the “Hebrew Underground”, the Nil’y, which assisted Great Britain with intelligence gathering at the end of WW I in the war against the Ottoman Turks who occupied Palestine at that time.. At their apartment we also were able to get showers, do laundry and send E-mail, all the night before we finally left Haifa and Israel. Thanks Debbie and Ohad. We were refueled, and watered up and ready to go; made arrangements for the immigration and customs to come early in the morning so we could leave before 0900. However … they showed up, but required a clearance from the marina before they could authorize our departure. The marina office was frequently unoccupied and getting some one from it to sign us out would have been a major problem. The officials called up their office, and when informed we were part of the EMYR, we received automatic clearance, and were on our way for the 2 and ½ day, 325 mile run non stop straight back to Kemer in Turkey by 0845, July 1st, Dominion Day (now unfortunately called Canada Day).
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