It is now less than two months till the commencement of the 20th EMYR and we know that you all have many questions and this newsletter will address some of them only.
Safety; You will obviously be having some concerns about the safety issues in visiting those Middle East countries that have been the subject of conflict during the past few months. We are continually monitoring the situation both in conjunction with our representatives in the country and the relevant embassy’s. We believe at the moment it is safe to visit all the ports in the programme but we will adapt our sailing passages as or may be required before or during the rally. The Rally Committee is continually monitoring the political situation in the Middle East. We will make appropriate decisions to ensure the enjoyment of the Rally as and when the situation and the time draw nearer. We have received the positive reports for the safety from the EMYR Representatives in Israeli Marinas/Ports and they all are looking forward to welcoming the EMYR Yachts in their marinas. According to the news, Israel & Palestinians will have an agreement soon. There are progressive talks in Cyprus Island between Greek & Turkish Cypriot communities and they are working hard to achieve a positive solution. EMYR Lebanon representatives Michel Naufal & Jean Phillipe El Khazen, ATCL Club Management Board Members, have reported that Lebanon is fine and safe for any organisation. Azi Bilik, Carmel Club Commodore is happy that we will stay in their club marina one more day than last year. Our representative Nagib and the Felix team are organising all for our arrival as usual.
Tours; We are working on a expanded tour programme some of which we have agreed we are still awaiting final details from Syria, Lebanon, Israel and N.Cyprus
Group 1 Yachts are always in contact and it is great pleasure to receive their e-mails. RED RED
Attached is the program for 2009 and also the latest list for the participants. We have one more column for the years that you have sailed with the rally.
Hasan will be at Stockholm 28 February 3 March 2009 and Moscow 9 – 12 April 2009 Boat shows. He will meet you and give you more information with the company of few glasses of Turkish wine.
Dave and Kath are planning to leave Girne, Kıbrıs at the end of March beginning of April to sail up to Istanbul for the rally start they may well meet up with some of you on their North bound passage please feel free to offer them hospitality on the way.
In previous years we had a limit of 80 yachts due to the limited mooring capacities in the marinas that we will visit in Turkey, N. Cyprus, Syria, and Lebanon. We now have 88 yachts listed and the names are announced on the EMYR web site. According to our past years experiences we know that there will be some cancellation from the list. Therefore, if you are registered and find that you must cancel, please do so as soon as possible.
Please complete the attached form and return to info@emyr.org until the end of February 2009. The cost sharing fee is 400 Euro per person. The cost sharing amount will be fully refundable till the 30th March 2009. There will be no refund option after this date as the committee will complete the arrangements and settle the certain payments for the EMYR organisation.

We are checking the prices of tours, entry fees/taxes and fuel of every country that we will visit. You may find the samples of the costs for 2008 on our web site but there will be many different tours as we have seen all those places and we all are looking for new adventures. Therefore, we will inform you of the latest information with our next newsletters. All new information will be posted on our website.
You can visit the web site of the rally to find information about the rally, ports, tours, and articles written by past Rally participants. www.emyr.org the official website. The Rally Committee will be happy to respond to any of your questions. We would welcome your contributions to the memories section of the web site please e mail to info@emyr.org.
INSURANCE: For you own benefit, it is wise to check with your yacht insurance agency about coverage in some of the Eastern Med countries since they may be on the company's list of 'war territories.' We recommend that you receive written confirmation from your insurance company that you are covered in these counties. Other participants have received approval by sending their company a letter of request for coverage explaining that we are a large group, that this is the 20 th year for this rally.
• Crew: There are NINE (9) overnight passages after Alanya. Do you have adequate crew? We realize that this is an ambitious schedule of passages and tours but necessary in order to not inconvenience the local fishing boats and yachts owners. Tired crew can lead to short tempers and intolerance and would defeat the purpose of the Rally. We have an experience that also unknown crew can be a problem. Take people you know very well and really get on very well as a crew for the long Rally program.
• Passport Information: Ceren Günlü, EMYR Secretary at Göcek has collected only some crew and passport information please can you fill in the online form in the web wage as soon as possible if you are not completed yet. Please inform her if there are any changes in your crew passports.
• Reservation at the Marinas; If you are arriving at a port before the designated Rally time, staying longer or returning after, you must have reservations! And pay the agreed upon fees. Some marinas will have special rates for yachts returning after the Rally depending on the length of your stay. Please contact the marina managements individually.
• Shirt sizes: Please e-mail to EMYR Secretary with shirt sizes for crew (S, M, L, XL, XXL)
• Attached you will find the latest provisional programme for EMYR’2009. The programme can be changed by the EMYR committee members if necessary and the changed programme will be announced on the EMYR website. Please visit regularly for the latest information.
The Committee members look forward to meeting you again in the Rally where you will be sure of a warm welcome with cold drinks. If there are further questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail info@emyr.org . Our hope is for good weather, friendships, hospitality, and great experiences as we will make the 20th Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally a wonderful event for both the sailors and our hosts.
We wish fair cruising and many Happy Hours. (Dave’s happy hour starts at 9 and fishes at 8)

THE EMYR’2009 COMMITTEE

 Kath & David Gerrard        Gönül & Hasan Kaçmaz    Shirley & Geoffrey Withrington

 SY Mashona UK                 SY IBIS II, Turkey             SY Three Sheets, UK

Umut Tepedelenlioğlu               Ceren & Faruk Günlü

EMYR Coordinator                     EMYR Secretary