Mohammad,

This is a long email, but I will completely describe 3 options for you to consider.

After cruising the Greek Islands and zig-zagging from North to South to Crete, we stayed in Cyprus (Northern Cyprus) at Karpaz Gate Marina which is only a few years old. It is about a 400 mile sail from Cyprus and only about 50 miles West of Turkey. It worked out perfect for us because of the strong summer wind from the North. The marina manager is Deniz Akaltan deniza"at"karpazbay.com. Deniz loves Amels, especially Super Maramus. He was looking for a Santorin and may be an Amel owner. Email him for a marina berth quote and a haulout quote. The yard has a 350 ton travellift, and everything is very modern.

The next season we cruised Turkey and stayed in Fethiye at probably the most protected place there at Yacht Classic Hotel (www.yachtclassichotel.com). It is a boutique hotel that is one of the best in the eastern Med. It has a nice floating dock and is home base to The Moorings. They rent a few berths for the winter season. The rate is very reasonable (about 3000 euro/season). Email the owner, Banu, at info"at"yachtclassichotel.com  Banu is very particular about who she rents a berth to. You will need a reference. Use me (BeBe) in your email and let me know if I should email her. About half of her winter berths are Amels.

The next season was at Marina di Ragusa, Sicily Contact:
Porto Turistico Marina di Ragusa
Tel: + 39 0932.230301
Fax: +39 0932.239466
Email: info"at"ptmr.it
The winter rate here is less than 2,000 euro and the marina staff is very good and very attentive. The yard is very busy with Oysters because it is an Oyster authorized service location. The yard  at Marina di Ragusa quoted me twice as much as the yard Malta for a haulout to renew antifouling. In fact the yard at Ragusa gave me the highest quote of anyone in the world that I have approached. I reviewed all my other quotes with the Pietro Carnemolla, yard manager, and he just shrugged and offered nothing. If I were you and I did not own an Oyster, I would NOT do business with this yard, ever.  It is too small and has too much business from Oyster owners.
But, only 50 miles away you will find Manoel Island Boat Yard in Malta. Contact information:
Andrew Wilson - Commercial Manager
MIYY LTD | Manoel Island | Gzira | MALTA
(+356) 2133 4453/4   (+356) 2134 3900
awilson"at"yachtyard-malta.com |  www.yachtyard-malta.com
Email Andrew and tell him you have a sister boat to BeBe. Ask him for a quote. There is an Amel qualified rigger in Malta that we used for an inspection and another owner used for a re-rigging with a new ACMO kit. His name is Nicky Sammut.  nickysail"at"hotmail.com. He has worked on dozens of Amels including a 64 and 55. I can also recommend a surveyor for insurance renewal...his first experience on an Amel was BeBe...I trained him.
I had one of the best haulout in the world at this yard. The yard has about 6 specialty shops including dinghy and liferaft, woodworking, metal fabrication, tube shop, rope shop, and a ship's supply store where you can buy almost anything at competitive prices. The yard will arrange sail, canvass, polishing, and other subcontractors. I like this place a lot. The yard was originally a British Royal Navy refit yard for ships up to Frigate size. They still operate the 4 or 5 slipways that the Royal Navy installed. They use these for very large boats.

Bill Rouse
BeBe Amel 53 #387
Sent from my tablet
+1832-380-4970 USA Voice Mail

Hi Rink & Marloes;

Thanks for the suggestions. We'll check them out.

We will not be close to the boat, so our main concern is the lift quality, safety of the boat, conditions in storms, some one or a company to check on the boat and if it is a place that one can spend 2-3 weeks during the haul out and annual maintenance and have some areas to visit and explore, would be a plus.

Mohammad and Aty
Amel 54
B&B Kokomo #099

Mohammad, email anytime, or directly at bill"at"svbebe.com. I tried to give you the best understanding of our experience in the Med from Sicily to Turkey to Cyprus to Greece.

Bill Rouse
BeBe Amel 53 #387
Sent from my tablet
+1832-380-4970 USA Voice Mail