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Welcome to the new Cruising on Mantra Website
The catamaran Mantra was sold after circumnavigating westabout round the world. I then bought a displacement motor yacht, renamed her MANTRA and have very nearly completed the process of adapting this website for the new Mantra.
Any photos which show the M.Y. "Mantra" with a green hull are old. Mantra has been repainted and now has a yellow hull. I have adapted & updated nearly all the website. What remains to be done is the Mantra Operating Manual, past history of where I’ve cruised, new Full Specification, replacing the Video and adding more photos as well as replacing those photos which are of Mantra before I refurbished and repainted her. I face some technical challenges in getting the photo albums right, in replacing photos in the body of the website and other things which require better computer skills than I have.
I’ve noticed that there’s a nuisance error in the Photo Gallery. When one goes to Photo Gallery / Cruising / 2007 and selects, say, Aegean and gets to the end of Aegean and then wants to see the Corinth Canal photos one has to go back to Home / Photo Gallery / Cruising / 2007 and then select Corinth Canal. And one has to suffer the same iterative nuisance after one has viewed Corinth Canal and wants to see the photos in On Passage (which photos I like very much).
The purpose of the site:
To provide information for people who might be interested in joining me cruising on Mantra To provide a means for friends and potential future crew to keep up to date with where I am, what I'm doing and what my plans are. To answer the most frequently asked questions.
Using the Website:
To navigate around the site, click on the buttons which are at the top left of the first page of each section (but see above regarding the Cruising part of Photo Gallery).
STOP PRESS NEWS
New phone number for Turkey is:
05314 800 800 when calling from inside Turkey
+9 05314 800 800 when calling internationally.
SUMMARY & IMMEDIATE PLANS
Mantra is now at Gocek and I am enjoying cruising Turkish waters again. Mantra went back in the water on 4th May, 2009 after wintering ashore at Larnaca. I expect to winter again at Larnaca and will then be looking for crew for the 2010 season when I’ll either cruise Turkey / Aegean again or could start on the return trip to England where I would like to arrive in Summer 2011. Winter 2010 / 2011 could be at France or again at Larnaca or wherever.
Patricia, a new friend from LImassol is joining me late June or early in July and will be staying through to our return to Larnaca in October / November.
We are planning on cruising towards Marmaris and then deciding whether to continue along the Turkish coast towards Bodrum or first to visit some Greek Aegean islands.
An old friend from Larnaca came with me on the passage across to Turkey. We went direct from Larnaca to Finike and took 46 hours. After checking in under the new system which forces the use of an agent, we came to Gocek via Ucagiz and Ali’s at Bestaz Bay / Coldwater Bay. I think I have more company for June but that is not yet definite. No crew plans yet for beyond 2009, but I will soon start thinking ahead.
During 2007, Mantra was repositioned successfully from Portsmouth to Cyprus via Guernsey / Gibraltar / Malta and also cruised from Cyprus to the Greek Aegean islands, on to Athens, through the Corinth Canal to the Greek Ionian islands, visited Italy, revisited Malta and come back to Cyprus again. In 2008 we cruised Turkey from Finike to Marmaris and back, also taking in Greek Kastellorizon.
I am looking for crew who love cruising on yachts and pottering about on boats, who enjoy adventure and the romance of new places, and who are capable of keeping watch conscientiously, enjoy cooking, are fit, are agreeable and who will participate in ongoing work on the boat. Additional skills would be a bonus. Of particular interest are skills with engines, electronics, electrics, computers and cooking. Someone who knows more than me and can help me with maintenance would be great, but not essential. Crew must be nonsmokers who don’t get sea sick and whose ego does not inhibit them from asking when they don't know or are unsure. Another important requirement is freedom from time constraints which might cause problems if we were delayed. We would share day to day expenses such as food & consumables, marina charges, mooring fees, etc. I would not expect any contribution towards the cost of diesel fuel, nor towards the costs of maintaining Mantra. While cruising we would be likely to try to eat our evening meal ashore at tavernas, trattorias, etc.
While I would prefer someone with good yachting experience, I am prepared to take a beginner to yachting who has a strong desire to learn and who is willing to dose with anti-seasickness stuff until sure of being free from seasickness. I would prefer someone whose mother tongue is English, but I would be prepared to take someone otherwise particularly suitable who either has good English or wants to improve their English.
I have a lot of cruising experience (see PM Sailing Experience in the Section called "Ship's Company") but I am always learning. I am told I am an effective and patient teacher and I would be happy to help someone learn more about yachting.
MANTRA (ex-Strobarli) is very well equipped, including paravane stabilisers, comprehensive electronics, a get-one-home wing engine and sails. I bought her in 2006 and have considerably upgraded her. She is a Cygnus displacement motor yacht. Maximum speed is 8 knots. Cruising speed is from 4 to 7 knots. Safe range should be well over 3000 miles. Mantra has a steadying mizzen sail and also has twin running / reaching foresails.
On this "nearly completed'' website you should find answers to most of your questions. Unfortunately, many of the pictures are of MANTRA as she was (= green hull) rather than as she is now (= yellow hull). Also unfortunately, the current photos do not do justice to her lovely interior, nor do they show the new electronics. I have included on this website the Yacht Broker's specification which originally aroused my interest and which I’ve updated as as I intend selling Mantra sometime in the next few years.
The best methods for communicating with me are email to paulonmantra@yahoo.com or by phone or SMS text message. In Cyprus my phone number is + 357) 99 647 619. For those who have Skype (Voice Over Internet Protocol) my Skype name is: paulonmantra.
The website is organised as follows:
You can click on any of the yellow headings above instead of going back up to the buttons at the top left.
Thank you for visiting my Website
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