First blog of this autumns travels.
Personally (Alan) i have been here for 2 1/2 weeks. a few things broke during our spring meander around the coast and bays of turkey and greece. i volunteered to come out here early on my own and see to all the business required. Selfless, thats me, 2 extra weeks in the sun. So, all jobs having been done, i was joined by my glamorous crew ..and wife (Dorothy) along with Helen (mother-in-law) who i am now allowed to say is 90 years young and always up for a challenge. Chaperoning Helen, Andrew...macho man (or so i thought!!!).
The crew appeared at 5am following delays at the airport. So , sunday was spent at leisure (as they say in all the best cruise itineries). Andrew and Helen impressed by the swimming pool and the nosh provided by the restaurant.
So, following a hearty breakfast in the marina, we set forth, all jobs complete. we headed out into marmaris bay, and as is my wont after an hour or so on the engine, i nipped below to makes sure it was still there and functioning as i would hope. Sadly, we had that old thing going on....water outside the boat GOOD....water inside the boat BAD (very). a leak from the impeller pump ,which sucks up water from the sea and throws it around the engine to stop it overheating and eventually blowing up. as my regular readers will know, i have a prescribed set of anglo saxon words which i roll out on these occasions to vent my frustration. so, back to the marina we headed, hopefully getting there before any serious damage ensues. arriving back in the marina on a bank holiday, the crew decamped to the swimming pool, as nothing was going to be done on that day. i searched around one of the various spare parts stockpiles i have on the boat. i found 3 impeller pumps. i was not sure exactly what was required (i do now!!!) , so i decided to wait for my friend Emin to come along as i also noted a bracket holding a pipe had also sheered off and required welding.
tuesday came, and so did my very very good friend emin. he replaced the pump (not just the impeller), took away the broken pump for refurb. he also had the bracket welded, top bloke.
So , a full day later, we set off again, this time we made Ciftlik and had a pleasant evening at anchor with the wind whistling round our earholes.
Wednesday, and the wind decided to have a good old blow, and from a direction which would allow us a rather exciting sail. Too exciting for some it would seem (Andrew Christie you know who you are). we rattled along in the morning at 8knots or so, and once i had the sail trimmed, at a very comfortable pace , with hardly any waves crashing over the forepeak and into the spray hood. andrew and dorothy were clearly not too happy with the state of affairs as white knuckles were apparent and questions asked about "at which point the boat would just flip over?"...the crew were not happy....all apart from Helen...she was having a high old time, enjoying the thrill of ploughing along in 25knot winds. Lunch was taken in serce limani, beautiful bay, where we swam and ate our lunch.
Setting off in the afternoon with Bozburun in mind, the wind really decided to give it a go, at one point i spotted 35knots on the wind speed gizmo....it was shortly after this the wind speed gizmo decided it had had enough....and so too had the crew. the wind had shifted onto the nose makng progress almost impossible and the sea was starting to build....and Andrew had gone very quiet. not to be phased, we did a 180 degree turn and headed for cover...which on reflection, we should have done at lunchtime, but having sailed around the coast of the UK , it was only a bit of wind and a bit of a swell. Once we turned around and we were back up to 8knots with a tea towel up fir a sail, conversation started and happy little faces could be seen once more. We had a lovely evening at bozu buku, shielded below a beautiful headland on which stood a 2,500 year old battlement. crew happy again, especially with the news that the following day would bring fair winds.
Thursday indeed woke to a slight breeze, clear skies as usual. we headed off and made bozburun for a lunch stop in a beautiful bay. we got the sails up once more, much to the consternation of andrew, but thursdays sailing was a different animal, cruising along with every inch of sail, very pleasant indeed. Although i have to say, Helen was heard to comment that whilst it was very pleasant, it was not as exciting as the previous day, a girl after my own heart...dorothy and andrew just put some more sun tan lotion on and said nothing.
Thursday evening found is in sogut limani following a lovely afternoon sail. The Octopus restaurant is one of our favorite places and crew agreed. Beautiful swim stop, great food, friendly staff...not to mention showers and proper toilets, a combo never to be underestimated where the happiness of the crew is concerned.
Friday was spent chilling on the boat, get the encrusted salt off the boat, swim in the warm sea, lunch in the restaurant...very pleasant indeed.
Helen and Andrew headed off by taxi early evening.
Helen grasped the whole concept of sailing in these parts.
Andrew grasped the concept of 1. Swim O'clock 2. Beer O'clock ... and general chill O'clock...
Its been fun, and i was even allowed to win the odd game of cards, so all good.