Thursday April 4, 2013
At home we think of rain washing away the dust and dirt but here it is a different story. After yesterday’s rain the deck and cockpit … in fact all exterior surfaces were coated with a visible film of red dust. It is sand from the Sahara (the storm came from the south) and it is not like any sand you have seen. It is more like a silt or powdered clay. Rinsing with water just piles it up and makes it more visible. To get it off took lots of water and a scrub with the deck brush.
I joined the local cruiser’s radio net and enquired about getting our North American propane tank refilled. 2 cruisers responded that they go to a dealer in Marmaris and the tanks are sent away for refilling – back in a week. Later I asked at the grocery store (the same one that supplies diesel) and they told me they can do it in 2 days. We will see.
We gave the headsail furler a minor adjustment as it has been sticky and hard to turn. It took a bit of study and dismantling but I think we have improved it a lot. Time will tell. Next it was up the mast to install the wind instruments. While there I had a magnificent view of this huge marina which can handle 1300 boats on the hard and 1000 in the water. We have never seen so many boats in one place and not just a toy like Necessity. We watched them launch a 75’ power yacht and where it docked there were probably 50 more the same size. There are at least 25 boats, both power and sail in excess of 100’ sitting in the yard being worked on. Their largest of 3 travel lifts can launch 330 tons (Necessity is 13 tons) and they regularly use it! The Marina even has a hairdresser on site.
We raised the genoa just as the wind piped up and now Necessity is ready for sea. We decided that was a full day for us and agreed to call it quits (we were overdue for a disappointment). We went over to the library to skype Jen (28 weeks tomorrow!!!) anhd Rene spent a frustrating hour trying to get the computer to connect to the internet. Finally all was accomplished and we headed back to Necessity for dinner.
Brian on board Necessity, Marmaris Turkey