The early hours of Sunday morning brought Gordon and Olivia to Aurora. Since arrivng, they have been earning their keep helping on the boat under the watchful eye of lead crew Dorothy-Anne. There maybe RYA competent crew courses where you learn how to lassoo a mooring buoy and tie a boat to a pontoon with a turn and half hitch, but on the DYA (Dorothy Yachting Association) course, you get to learn the more day to day skills of just how much ice to put in the G & T, best spot to read your book and the like...though i have to say Dorothy's offer of a "putting out the fender" tutorial was initially greeted with enthusiasm...this interest soon petered out and the fenders remained where they were in the first place.
Sunday was spent at rest on Skopia marina in Gocek , Dorothy and I visited the sunday fruit market whilst Gordon and Olivia slept off their late arrival. Pool aquatics were undertaken whilst we waited for our laundry to be completed. It is amazing just how dirty one gets on a boat swanning around the med, so it was lovely to get everything back nice and clean. Olivia and Gordon took lunch in the strangely named restaurant "Kebab Hospital". Having passed it a few times, it was always busy with the locals, usulally a good sign and they reported back saying it was very good indeed.
We left the marina with the intention of anchoring in the bay, only to be harangued by the coast guard who told us it was no longer possible to anchor in the bay. So, along with a number of other boats we had to make haste to find an anchorage out in the tiny bays dotted around here. A number of the boats told to leave made for the same cove which all of a sudden became quite busy with boats jostling for a place to drop the hook. It turned out to be a very pleasant place to spend an evening.
It would be interesting to know the thoughts of the Gocek businesses who rely on boat people mooring in the bay whilst provisioning and using the local restaurants.
Monday, the winds blew 20/25 knots, so all this lazing around in the sun came to an abrupt end as we got the sails up for a whizz up the bay. Gordon and Olivia proving a very handy crew as we had a really good sail. A lunch stop and swim in a bay followed by an afternoons sail ending up finding a mooring buoy in a very sheltered little cove. A quick check of the weather and it was decided that this is where the evenings swimming/drinking/eating and card playing activities woukd take place.
A quiet night , early morning swim and a visit from the local boat shop with fresh bread and baklava for later..life is tough.