Aisling I
18 July 2016 | Genoa
11 July 2016 | Genoa Italy
04 July 2016 | Genoa
02 July 2016 | Genoa
25 June 2016 | Porto Azzurro Elba
11 April 2016 | Marina di Ragusa
21 March 2016 | Halifax
01 March 2016
14 January 2016
30 September 2015
25 September 2015 | Crotone Italy
18 September 2015 | Erikoussa
10 September 2015 | Preveza
10 September 2015 | Preveza
24 July 2015 | Preveza
20 July 2015 | Varko Bay
13 July 2015 | Vlicho Bay
09 July 2015
03 July 2015 | Preveza Greece
21 June 2015
Finally Underway-Wall Bay and Gocek
17 September 2010 | Gocek, Fethiye Korfezi
Rick and Bonnie
At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, we slipped away from our berth at Yacht Marine and motored out into Marmaris Bay, where not a breath of wind was stirring.
Destination: Skopea Limani in the Gulf of Fethiye, 40 miles to the east where hopefully, a vast selection of idyllic anchorages awaited us. We have been here 16 days and haven't had the sails up yet!
Within 10 minutes of departure, our third crew member, Otto Helm, decided to go on strike. Or, to be more accurate, he was on restricted duties, refusing to make any port-side course adjustments. Fortunately, hand steering for 40 miles in flat calm conditions is not particularly arduous, so we just took turns at the wheel and enjoyed the ride.
We sailed into the breathtaking scenery of the gulf of Fethiye at around 3 p.m. Even though it is mid-September and supposedly the sailing season is winding down, the anchorages are still busy, with gullets and charter boats lining the restaurant docks and shore. Fortunately, we were able to find a place in our chosen anchorage- Wall Bay. We opted not to tie up to the restaurant dock, as it was full on the outside. Instead, after much fretting by Rick (all the way from Marmaris!), we dropped our anchor off the wall on the south side. Then Rick rowed ashore and tied a long line to one of the orange bollards that have been installed along the shoreline (to prevent environmental damage).
This was our first experience performing this manoeuvre and although things seemed to go smoothly, we probably did not get it quite right. Rick fretted and paced, again, not confident that the anchor was properly set, but reluctant to untie the shore line and repeat the whole exercise. When we hauled up the anchor the next morning, it was pretty obvious that it hadn't dug in very well, but fortunately there had been almost no wind during the night.
Shortly after our arrival, we watched a skipper from the UK scout the anchorage . After getting his dinghy, anchor and lines ready, he motored out of the anchorage. We thought he was leaving but instead he stopped about half a kilometer out and then reversed into his spot at speed. He dropped the hook about 4 or 5 boat-lengths from shore and stopped the boat when it dug in. He then frantically jumped into his dinghy and rowed to shore with his lines. Next he pulled in more chain with the windlass (probably at this point he had about 200' out) and set the hook even tighter. Lastly he took a second line to shore and made the boat fast. His boat didn't budge and was well anchored. We, on the other hand , watched our bow swing with the breeze while Rick fretted. We think that next time we should drop further out and get more way on in reverse- but if anyone has experience with this technique please leave us a comment or email with some advice!
With dozens of boats keeping us company, we can't claim that the Wall Bay anchorage is remote or undiscovered, but it is a magical place. Dark green pine trees sit on steep red-coloured cliffs that plunge down to the water. The cliffs continue their dramatic descent underwater, and consequently even near the shoreline the depths exceed 20 meters. The faces of the cliffs are dotted with deep caves (although in Wall Bay there are none on the ancient tombs found in some areas, or at least we didn't see any). A path through the woods behind the wall leads to Ruin Bay.
We were content to sit on board and experience the beauty of our surroundings, but it was turning out to be one of those days when a lot of things go wrong. I went below to start dinner, smelled something funny in the galley, and discovered that several potatoes had gone rotten. I decided to boil and refrigerate the remaining potatoes, then fried up some garlic, proscuitto (brought from home) artichoke hearts, olives and feta for pasta. The pasta water was just coming to a boil when the butane died. Shouldn't have boiled those potatoes. As you may be guessing by now, the skipper has not been getting much chance to relax on this trip. By then it was fully dark, making the task of changing the butane bottle even more aggravating than usual (although, based on experience, that is when the butane always runs out). The fittings did not cooperate and it was a full 45 minutes before it all came together. In spite of the delay, the pasta was delicious, and we ended the evening with some star-gazing in the cockpit while listening to the various languages and laughter from the other boats. Others were having a good time also.
The gulf of Fethiye has the kind of beauty that is difficult to capture with a camera, but we tried anyway.
Yesterday morning, we sailed to Gocek, to get gas for the outboard and (hopefully) sort out the problem with the autopilot. After spending another hour in the aft locker, Rick was able to get the autopilot fixed -seems like it was just low on fluid. We'll see. Most unfairly, the first mate got to hide from the sun and read while he was hard at work.
The outboard ran much better with new fuel and the proper amount of oil in the mix. Will we run out of things to fix before our vacation ends? Probably not, but the list is getting shorter. This has seemed in many ways almost like a re-fit. I think Aisling is smiling. :-)
Gocek turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Although we knew only that it is the main base for the charter fleets, it is a lovely little town, in yet another spectacular setting. Although sailing-based tourism is clearly the town's main industry, there is less tacky commercialism than we saw in Marmaris.
The people-watching opportunities are equally as good here though....
One of the biggest advantages, in Rick's opinion, is that we can anchor and swing from the hook, although space is limited unless you want to anchor in 60' or more. The breeze is better , the wind generator is generating and it feels safer. There are smiles all around. Yesterday evening, we watched the shadows deepen from the dock of a little waterside bar, and decided to stay for an extra day. Or maybe two.
Destination: Skopea Limani in the Gulf of Fethiye, 40 miles to the east where hopefully, a vast selection of idyllic anchorages awaited us. We have been here 16 days and haven't had the sails up yet!
Within 10 minutes of departure, our third crew member, Otto Helm, decided to go on strike. Or, to be more accurate, he was on restricted duties, refusing to make any port-side course adjustments. Fortunately, hand steering for 40 miles in flat calm conditions is not particularly arduous, so we just took turns at the wheel and enjoyed the ride.
We sailed into the breathtaking scenery of the gulf of Fethiye at around 3 p.m. Even though it is mid-September and supposedly the sailing season is winding down, the anchorages are still busy, with gullets and charter boats lining the restaurant docks and shore. Fortunately, we were able to find a place in our chosen anchorage- Wall Bay. We opted not to tie up to the restaurant dock, as it was full on the outside. Instead, after much fretting by Rick (all the way from Marmaris!), we dropped our anchor off the wall on the south side. Then Rick rowed ashore and tied a long line to one of the orange bollards that have been installed along the shoreline (to prevent environmental damage).
This was our first experience performing this manoeuvre and although things seemed to go smoothly, we probably did not get it quite right. Rick fretted and paced, again, not confident that the anchor was properly set, but reluctant to untie the shore line and repeat the whole exercise. When we hauled up the anchor the next morning, it was pretty obvious that it hadn't dug in very well, but fortunately there had been almost no wind during the night.
Shortly after our arrival, we watched a skipper from the UK scout the anchorage . After getting his dinghy, anchor and lines ready, he motored out of the anchorage. We thought he was leaving but instead he stopped about half a kilometer out and then reversed into his spot at speed. He dropped the hook about 4 or 5 boat-lengths from shore and stopped the boat when it dug in. He then frantically jumped into his dinghy and rowed to shore with his lines. Next he pulled in more chain with the windlass (probably at this point he had about 200' out) and set the hook even tighter. Lastly he took a second line to shore and made the boat fast. His boat didn't budge and was well anchored. We, on the other hand , watched our bow swing with the breeze while Rick fretted. We think that next time we should drop further out and get more way on in reverse- but if anyone has experience with this technique please leave us a comment or email with some advice!
With dozens of boats keeping us company, we can't claim that the Wall Bay anchorage is remote or undiscovered, but it is a magical place. Dark green pine trees sit on steep red-coloured cliffs that plunge down to the water. The cliffs continue their dramatic descent underwater, and consequently even near the shoreline the depths exceed 20 meters. The faces of the cliffs are dotted with deep caves (although in Wall Bay there are none on the ancient tombs found in some areas, or at least we didn't see any). A path through the woods behind the wall leads to Ruin Bay.
We were content to sit on board and experience the beauty of our surroundings, but it was turning out to be one of those days when a lot of things go wrong. I went below to start dinner, smelled something funny in the galley, and discovered that several potatoes had gone rotten. I decided to boil and refrigerate the remaining potatoes, then fried up some garlic, proscuitto (brought from home) artichoke hearts, olives and feta for pasta. The pasta water was just coming to a boil when the butane died. Shouldn't have boiled those potatoes. As you may be guessing by now, the skipper has not been getting much chance to relax on this trip. By then it was fully dark, making the task of changing the butane bottle even more aggravating than usual (although, based on experience, that is when the butane always runs out). The fittings did not cooperate and it was a full 45 minutes before it all came together. In spite of the delay, the pasta was delicious, and we ended the evening with some star-gazing in the cockpit while listening to the various languages and laughter from the other boats. Others were having a good time also.
The gulf of Fethiye has the kind of beauty that is difficult to capture with a camera, but we tried anyway.
Yesterday morning, we sailed to Gocek, to get gas for the outboard and (hopefully) sort out the problem with the autopilot. After spending another hour in the aft locker, Rick was able to get the autopilot fixed -seems like it was just low on fluid. We'll see. Most unfairly, the first mate got to hide from the sun and read while he was hard at work.
The outboard ran much better with new fuel and the proper amount of oil in the mix. Will we run out of things to fix before our vacation ends? Probably not, but the list is getting shorter. This has seemed in many ways almost like a re-fit. I think Aisling is smiling. :-)
Gocek turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Although we knew only that it is the main base for the charter fleets, it is a lovely little town, in yet another spectacular setting. Although sailing-based tourism is clearly the town's main industry, there is less tacky commercialism than we saw in Marmaris.
The people-watching opportunities are equally as good here though....
One of the biggest advantages, in Rick's opinion, is that we can anchor and swing from the hook, although space is limited unless you want to anchor in 60' or more. The breeze is better , the wind generator is generating and it feels safer. There are smiles all around. Yesterday evening, we watched the shadows deepen from the dock of a little waterside bar, and decided to stay for an extra day. Or maybe two.
Comments
| Vessel Name: | Aisling I |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Slocum 43 |
| Hailing Port: | Halifax, NS, Canada |
| Crew: | Rick and Bonnie Salsman |
| About: | |
| Extra: | |
| Social: |
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Aisling I's Photos - Aisling I (Main)
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During the winter, we babysat Murphy Brown (a lovely poodle that belongs to our friends Wally and Martha) for 10 days. I had some fun capturing her in some of her favourite spots!
8 Photos
Created 16 May 2012
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Pics of Aisling at anchor, up top and down below.
23 Photos
Created 2 November 2008
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About Aisling 1
Who: Rick and Bonnie Salsman
Port: Halifax, NS, Canada
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