Posted at 2:40 AM, 10 June 2009



Elixir is the white one with a mast!



Hmmm..nice! Same marina wrong boat!



Right type wrong size!



That's her right in the middle with the radar dome!
And all that is in the daylight amongst 2,000 yachts!

Here at last back with our dear Elixir at Yat Marine Marina in Marmaris Turkey. A arduous flight with some stuffups on behalf of our carriers meant that it was also quite stressful at times with She Who Must be Obeyed regaining that look in her eye that suggests that love can be tried to the nth degree but one step beyond that limit and she will turn into a demon of profound aggression and extreme hostility that would forebode dire consequences upon the touch thereof. Actually I did get to wonder, her being blond and all, if she could be some sort of direct reincarnation of Hera the Greek Goddess who was also known for the odd toys out of the cot episodes. I am of course just joking, just joking, just joking I tell you! David and Elizabeth met us about 10 minutes before our internal flight was due to depart from Istanbul to Dalaman because that is when our flight that had been delayed due solely to a considerable boo boo by the Dubai ground crew arrived. A mad rush ensued the four of us running with overly large trolley bags in toe through Ataturk Airport looking to all other travelers like we were completely looney. I avoided the eye of SWMBO with a lot of skill I thought. Arrived in Dalaman whereupon the ground crew insisted that we board the bus to go from the Domestic Terminal to the International one situated conveniently about 3 minutes away. Protests by us made not the slightest bit of difference, however, they quickly realised their mistake in time to prevent our bags from following us! Oh dear! Another hour and a half of trying to secure a reunion thereof. Basil's driver who had been waiting for us at the Domestic Terminal finally decided to try the International one, thank heavens! So just as we regained our bags we found our transport.

Arrived at Marmaris to find Elixir looking pretty and very welcoming in the pitch black about three quarters of the way out Juliet Pier approx where we left her some 10 months ago. Nobody could locate the key, once again I spent my time in avoiding the evil eye and making myself busy with the marina security man who could not speak English but was a very helpful person at 1am in the morning. Eventually the key was located at the workshop of Demir Marine who had just replaced Elixir after a haulout, scrub and antifoul. Time to collapse and sort it all out tomorrow. But no! our water had been drained for the haul out and power disconnected so I did the only reasonable thing and connected it to the most convenient plug which happened to be occupied by the German boat next door who was not at all amused next day and nearly had a heart attack on the spot. NZ trade with EU might take a bit of a bashing over this and I would not be at all surprised to read about it in the NZ Herald. Water here is 2 euro a tonne and I think we would have used two kettles full and had a bit of a wash. I gave him a Turkish Lira to try to calm him down which did not work even though it would have been about 1000% return on his investment!

Next day David, Elizabeth and Jenny caught the ferry into Marmaris while I stayed at the yacht and wore out the concrete between here and the toilets sorting out a particularly nasty bout of deli beli! (Struck down no doubt by a damn vengeful Hera!) They returned at the end of the day in a delivery truck loaded with essential supplies. Now all we have to do is make ship shape and hit the briney once again.


Our initial destination being Fethiye which is East about 65 miles. I have recovered from the deli beli but David and Jenny have now got it in sympathy.


On panning out a bit you can get an idea about where we are at the very bottom (southernmost) part of Turkey.