Many people when buying a property in Cyprus visit a local marina and dream of having their own boat. We are lucky - we are living this dream.

When we first visited Southern Cyprus we toured around and visited most of the island and finally settled in the most scenic and unspoilt part of the island which is the Polis/ Latchi area. The one big bonus for us was relaxing by the beautiful marina and watching the world go by. Having moved into a villa close to Latchi we opened our own totally independent real estate and property business in Latchi marina, known as A20 Real Estate, and would spend many a happy hour dreaming of owning our own boat. Two years ago we decided to fulfil this dream and purchased a brand new 24 ft Maxum, which is ideal for us as it is small enough to handle on our own but also big enough to accommodate 4 people sleeping as well as a fridge, cooker and toilet on board. We are not experienced boat people so this was quite an adventure for us.

 It was a day of great excitement when we were told that the boat had arrived at Limassol and was ready in the water. In the meantime we had booked our berth in Latchi Marina, which was to cost 600 euros/year which we are informed is much cheaper than the UK. We had taken a fully comprehensive course on boat handling and received the necessary certificate to satisfy the marina police who monitor boats here in Cyprus – but just as important we now had the confidence and ability to take the boat out to sea ourselves.

 On the due day we packed our sandwiches and set off for Limassol to look at the boat, receive handling instructions and then to bring it around the island and back to Latchi – a trip of about two hours. What excitement when we saw our new boat moored in the water – it looked magnificent!!

Andreas, who sold us the boat, took us through the controls and all of the necessary operating procedures which started to make me nervous but fortunately he offered to come with us on our journey back to Latchi Marina. What an adventure and with great excitement, we cast off and motored out of the marina  past many of the large cargo vessels parked off Limassol harbour and set off along the coast. I had never imagined that having a boat could be so much fun and so instructive. Cyprus is a beautiful island but takes on a totally new perspective when seen from the sea. We motored past the hills at Pissouri Bay then down towards Paphos which is larger when seen from the sea. Going past Paphos we spotted porpoises basking in the midday sun who were totally oblivious of our presence. On past Paphos we motored past the Akamas Nature Reserve and were able for the first time to fully appreciate its beauty with the deserted mountains, inlets and little coves, then turned round the end of the island and down towards Latchi where there was more wind and some sea spray – only a boat owner can tell you how good this feels when you are speeding along at 35 knots !! Then finally into Latchi marina where we fully appreciated having an experienced ‘skipper’ with us because mooring a boat in a new marina for the first time is very daunting – especially with customers sitting on the quayside, enjoying a drink and watching the new boat coming in. Andreas moored it perfectly and we were at last able to sit down and enjoy some liquid refreshment!! What a wonderful day.

 Since that day we have become fully committed boat owners, had endless days of fun and laughter with friends, and have really appreciated that Cyprus is the perfect place to have a boat. We do not have to worry about tidal waters – when we decide that want to go out, we just cast off and go. We do not worry about the weather – the sun shines for 320 days of the year, although we do have a ‘bimini top’ to keep off the sunshine during the peak summer months. Some days we just sit in the marina, put music on and then relax with friends and watch the world go by. Often in the week I take the boat out early in the morning, go a short distance, drop anchor then have a snooze or read the paper. Often at weekends we go with friends and visit the ‘Blue Lagoon’ which is a beautiful lagoon next to the Akamas Nature Reserve and a twenty minute trip from the marina. We drop anchor in the lagoon, and relax for the day – from the boat we can go snorkelling in the crystal clear water, swim to the beach or just doze in the sunshine.

 Some weekends we are more adventurous and will take a one hour trip along to the coast to the small fishing harbour at Pomos, where we will go and visit one of the restaurants and enjoy a relaxing ‘fish meze’ - often the fish being caught earlier in the day by one of the local fishermen working out of the harbour. Late afternoon we will motor back and maybe we will stop off at the Irish Bar at Argaka. Here we will drop anchor and then wade ashore to the beach and into the bar where there is often live music. After a lively night and much dancing, we wade back to the boat and fall asleep in our beds. It is a unique feeling to wake up, early in the morning, to the gentle rocking of the boat and to go out and enjoy the early morning air. We wade ashore, once again, for a nice cooked breakfast and then a short speedy trip back to the marina. The last time we did this was mid November, and when we arrived back in the marina - we are told that it has started to snow in the UK. . What a pleasure to have a boat here in Cyprus.