Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week. We have been very busy swimming!
Dirsek and Keci Buku 4 July – 7 July
While there are not a lot of edible sized fish in the water there are large schools of tiny bait fish. What fish there are can be easily attracted to the back of the boat with a bit of stale bread. (see Gallery) We spend a bit of time on the back of the boat feeding the fish. It is just as well that at Dirsek bread is delivered fresh to our boat in the morning along with local honey. (see Gallery)
The weather forecast is for strong winds so we decided to go into the marina at Keci Buku. The wind turned out not to be as strong as forecast, however this provided us with the opportunity to stock up our food, water and fuel supplies as well as getting washing done. While we can do some washing on the boat, towels and sheets are much better washed and dried at a laundry. We did a long walk along the shore which is lined with restaurants and rustic holiday accommodation. It is hard to think they could ever fill all the tables and we suspect many are not making much money.
Knidos
8 July
We sailed into the harbour of Knidos. Knidos is the site of an ancient city dating back to 4th century BC. There is not a lot left except for the harbour, amphitheatre and what has been excavated of the main street. It would have been quite grand in its day with marble columns lining the paved main roads. This was the original site of the statue Aphrodite, reportedly the first Greek nude statue of a female. There is a good sheltered bay and jetty associated with the restaurant. As usual, there was good assistance on arrival and good food - dips, calamari and red mullet for us. We spent an hour or so wandering around the ruins in the late afternoon, it was good to have our swimming pool right next to us afterwards! (although the water here was quite chilly – 22 degrees according to the meat thermometer)
Knidos to Alakisla Buku
9 July
The weather forecast was for a moderate NW breeze so we headed off to the NE expecting good sailing conditions. Almost worked, we motored in calm conditions for about an hour. Then the breeze came up right in font of us before slowly swinging around to the NW by mid-morning. At one stage we were travelling along at 8 ½ knots before erring on the cautious side and reefing the sails in somewhat. We are now into the typical summer weather for here, there is a hot, fresh and sometimes gusty wind from the NW called the Meltemi blowing most days.
Sailing to Cokertme 10 July
Today’s travel
Having almost completed the charter yacht catalogue over the last 25 years, we are fulfilling our long term dream of living the endless summer. In April 2017 we purchased our yacht and plan to spend several months every year in the Med.