Coronavirus, Italian sailors kicked out of Cyprus and forced to make a hopeful crossing back to Italy

Greta and Michael are two globetrotting sailors from Italy who contacted us to tell us about their “Cypriot misadventure” caused by the coronavirus: they were forced to leave the country on their boat despite bad weather conditions. Unfairly, in our opinion. Because lockdown is fine, everything is fine, but you can’t risk putting people’s lives at risk.

SO THEY KICKED US OUT OF CYPRUS

“Our names are Greta (Höller, age 27) and Michael (Hofer, age 30) both Italian citizens from South Tyrol. Since April 2019 we have been living on a boat (a 2003 Beneteau Oceanis 393) and have traveled most of the Mediterranean starting from Sardinia, passing through Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Israel to find ourselves back in Cyprus.

And now we come straight to our current misadventure.

In early February we returned to Cyprus after spending the winter months in Tel Aviv. For three weeks we stayed in Larnaca and then decided to continue westward. At the end of February the situation here in Cyprus was more or less nonexistent and was still developing, slowly, in Italy. On our way west we encountered problems with the boat and had to make an emergency stop in Zigy. A small fishing harbor not classified as a marina but usable in emergency situations such as ours. Between problems with the rudder and the engine, we spent three weeks in Zigy.

By now it was late March and the situation around the world had changed. Unfortunately, Zigy is only a fishing boat marina, so it does not have electricity. Knowing that the probilility of being locked up in port for so long because of the coronavirus was high, we decided to look for another marina that could provide us with electricity. We found it in Latchi.

Before leaving for Latchi, we phoned the harbor master’s office and the coast guard to make sure it was still possible to sail. Both assured us that it was possible for us to sail since we were already in Cyprus and therefore there was no problem if we wanted to change port, especially knowing that Zigy was not an appropriate port for our boat. With this information we set out to navigate. On our way we stopped at Coral Bay where we anchored for two nights because of a storm that prevented us from getting to Latchi.

THE BEGINNING OF THE MISADVENTURE

During the third day in Coral Bay, we were approached by the Paphos coast guard who indicated that the laws had changed and that we should return to port or leave Cyprus. Knowing that both Greece and Turkey had closed their borders we obviously opted to return to port. At this point Latchi was still 5 hours away, so we immediately set out.

The moment we passed Cape Arnaoutis we were contacted by the Latchi coast guard telling us that we could not sail to Cyprus and that we had to leave the country immediately. Obviously we were confused and contacted the Paphos Coast Guard again. So began a squabble between the Paphos and Latchi coast guards, until after two hours stationary at sea we decided to resume heading toward Latchi as we were close to the waning of the sun. When we arrived in Latchi, now late in the evening, the harbormaster decided that we could anchor in front of the marina for the evening but then we would have to leave Cyprus.

The next day we contacted the Italian embassy in Cyprus, because it was not reasonable for us to have to return to Italy without the possibility of stopping in Greece (which had closed its borders) with security equipment on board at that time. However, we were talking about 9 days at sea in a very unstable Mediterranean. In addition, we had been in Cyprus for two months now and had gotten approval from the Coast Guard to be able to change port, so it made no sense for us not to be able to return to port.

THE WEATHER IS GETTING WORSE!

The embassy immediately took action and tried to find a solution. Unfortunately, during the day the waves and wind grew, and by lunchtime they were so strong that we had to pull anchor to avoid being swept away. We contacted the port again to let us in, saying that the weather conditions were getting so bad that it was dangerous. Unfortunately, the port and coast guard refused our entry, and so we found ourselves battling 4m waves and winds up to 38 knots (80km/h) for the next 8 hours.

Fortunately, in the evening the sea calmed down slightly, and when the waves returned to a meter we decided to drop anchor. It was now 9 p.m. and there was no chance they would let us back into port even though we had been in Cyprus for more than two months, so we carried no danger of contamination.

They even started accusing us of a thousand violations of laws, telling us that they had been watching us for months (so they knew we had never left territorial waters!) and that if they let us into port there would be serious consequences and the opening of an investigation for our conduct. Tired from a day at sea, we wouldn’t even have cared about legal consequences, (except that we knew we hadn’t broken any laws) we just wanted a safe haven. But the answer remained negative.

WATER ON BOARD.

As we went to bed in a boat that was rocking in three-foot waves, we noticed that there was water inside the boat. Convinced that it was just water from the water bottles stored under the floor we set about cleaning up the boat. But after some time we felt there was too much water and could not find a broken bottle. Checking the engine, we found that it too was under water. We launched a PANPAN. After about 30 minutes, the coast guard decided to accept our PANPAN and let us into port. Docking late at night was not friendly at all, and only after midnight did the coast guard, after asking us a thousand questions and forbidding us to leave the boat, send us to bed. Fortunately, we discovered that the water leak was caused “only” by the engine’s seawater release valve, which had become blocked, letting water into the boat. We were able to solve the problem ourselves….

“YOU MUST GET OUT OF CYPRUS!”

We spent two weeks in this situation. Locked up on our boat with no ability to move, with the constant fear of being accused of breaking naval laws and with constant requests to leave port. Now I would like to point out that the individual people from the coast guard are very nice, they helped us where they could, even doing our shopping. However, the current situation due to border closures does not give us a chance to stay here in Cyprus (even the Italian embassy received a no from the Ministry of Transport and Health in Cyprus).

We used these days in the navy to equip ourselves properly, updating our safety equipment and purchasing an Epirb, the last things we need for such a long trip, restock our food and drinks, and mentally prepare ourselves for this trip.

On April 16 we left Cyprus to embark on a 9-day journey back to Italy. We made it through the first 5 days, overcoming seasickness, 4-meter waves and winds up to 30 knots. We are now south of Crete, where Greek institutions have allowed us to anchor in front of a port and will bring us gasoline and food for the next leg. Then it will depend on the Meltemi as to when and how we return to Italy. Hoping that after being at sea for so many days the laws in Italy will allow us to return.

This is our story, or rather the first part of them hoping for a good end and a return to Italy. We are glad to share this story, knowing that there are other boats in a similar situation to ours. Stuck between borders with no possibility of docking in any country because at sea at the time of lockdown.

Greta and Michael”

Follow their adventures on their facebook page and at https://whensailing.com/

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