Now the system to enter Israel is as follows:-

At least 48 hours, preferably more, before departure you e-mail shipping@idf.gov.il stating your routing, timing, and crew list and ask them to e-mail you back the form ‘YACHT-IMOT’.

You then fill it in – it’s a standard Word document – and send it back. This completed IMOT will contain information about your previous ports of call, crew list, yacht description, call signs – nothing too strenuous. Your IMOT will be circulated to Israeli Navy on shore and at sea and all the answers you give tested against those on the IMOT – so it will be worth keeping a copy of what you sent them. A question not on the IMOT but a pre-emptive answer worth adding is ‘There are no weapons on board.’ If you have a referee in Israel it is worth adding the details, but warn your friend first: mine was woken at 0330 with news of my arrival 15 miles out and asked to confirm my bona fides!

Although the term International Waters is generally accepted to mean 12 miles offshore, Israel has upped her boundary to 15 miles. Of course, it’s not worth arguing the toss, as their ability to mess you around is almost unlimited. They will first contact you about 20 miles offshore, again on their 15-mile limit and finally a few miles out. They state your position and ask whomsoever is there to identify themselves. Every time it will be a different operator, young and friendly, and every time it is to confirm the IMOT information.

The final loop at sea is to deal with Port Security, which in the case of Haifa is a well-armed RIB-cum-pocket-battleship. They will escort you to the Immigration and Customs area. They will almost certainly walk through the yacht, ostensibly looking for stowaways. It’s all part of the fun, and once you are in – you are in; that is to say, Israeli the security emphasis is totally geared around patrolling who gets in, and once you are in they presume you are there official and leave you alone.

Haifa

The Port Security RIB warship will now escort you round to your berth at the Carmel YC ‘marina’. It is actually the old Kishon fishing harbor in which a half-hearted attempt has been made to lay pontoons and rig up power and water. It may look like a marina from a distance but the facilities are minimal and wifi, shops, bars, restaurants and atmosphere non-existent and even at $100/week/12m not really good value. Furthermore it has two massive further disadvantages: it is totally cut-off from the rest of Haifa and a hire car is essential for transport and secondly, it on the edge of an open park and anyone can come and hold a private disco party all night long – and they do!

Haifa itself is an impressive town and well worth a visit, but my suggestion is to leave it alone by sea and visit it by land later.

Herzliya

Better to sail to the next marina, Herzliya, 40 nautical miles south of Haifa and check-in there. This is the main Israeli marina for visiting yachts and is a fully functioning port of entry/exit with the whole range of yachting and leisure facilities. It is part of a large shopping mall, residential and hotel complex and after the eccentricities of Syria and Lebanon and the simplicities of Haifa, it is strange to find oneself in -, well, Florida.

Herzliya is a fine marina with a very active sailing scene. Every evening, after a day’s work and the mid-afternoon heat blast, is over, dozens of sailing boats head out to sea for a beam reach up and down the coast. This is the irony of sailing in Israel: by Mediterranean standards the sailing is great, but there’s nowhere to go. A lowish low-pressure area – normally 1005-1010 MBS – sits over Cyprus during the summer giving steady westerlies which combine with the afternoon onshore breeze to give a constant F3-4 every p.m. The coast runs north/south, the wind runs west, so it’s beam reach time up and down, then down and up, then up and down again. Herzliya marina charges $450/month/12m.

Tel Aviv

The next yachting port to the south is Tel Aviv, 6 nautical miles away. Unfortunately for Vasco da Gama, it was closed for refurbishment during the summer of 2010 and the resident yachts dispersed around Herzliya to the north and Ashdod to the south. By common consent, this is the most amusing marina in Israel. We did visit it by land and can see why it is so popular as it is right in the center of the city – and Tel Aviv is a garrulous and secular city, full of hope and vitality – not to mention Miami beaches. The problem in the marina is space, lack thereof, and the refurbishment is concentrating on renewing existing facilities rather than expanding them. I imagine it would be a great place to over-winter – not that there is much of a winter – if one can get in. They expect to re-open the marina before the end of 2010 with prices similar to Herzliya’s.

Ashdod

Still heading south, we come next to Ashdod, 30 nautical miles distant. Ashdod is about as grim as Tel Aviv is carefree. I know nearly all marinas are concrete but most of them make some sort of effort to landscape it or cover it up with color. Ashdod wears its concrete on its sleeve, defiant against aesthetics and taste. The marina is small and a long way from town. Normally this would be a disadvantage but in Ashdod’s case not so: the town itself is even grimmer than the marina, all new high rise and riddled with religion. Time to head south.

Ashkelon

South, 15 nautical miles south, we have the last marina in Israel, Ashkelon. Ashkelon is a country version of Herzliya and none the worse for that. The area has an agricultural feel to it, and a level of excitement as Gaza is only 8 kilometers to the south.

Ashkelon is quiet by day but prone to discos at night. There are all the facilities one would expect and a trickle of yachts heading to or from Port Said are good company. The staff was particularly friendly, in a country not known for its friendliness, and the marina is a happy place to be, with the prospect of the occasional rocket to provide an edge. Personally, I preferred it’s more individual style to the corporate calculatedness of Herzliya – especially as the prices of the former are half those of the latter – but either marina will look after you well.

Departure

Leaving Israel is considerably easier than arriving as the Israel Navy are only concerned with who comes in. Our friends left Ashkelon for Alexandria, while we headed back to rejoin Vasco da Gama in Herzliya and headed for Cyprus. Neither of us had hardly any dealings with the Israeli Navy at all – although I’m sure we were under constant surveillance. My own goodbye went like this:

‘Vasco da Gama, Vasco da Gama, Israeli Navy’

‘Israeli Navy, this is Vasco da Gama, over.’

‘Vasco da Gama, what is your current GPS position?

I read it off to her.

‘What is your boat name?’

‘The boat name is the same as the one you hailed. Good night.’

Our thanks to Ian Strathcarron www.strathcarrons-ahoy.com [BROKEN LINK] for this most informative report.