Endless summer on SCII

We have finally arrived (24-28 April)

29 April 2022 | Gocek
Nerida Matthews | Fine and sunny, 22 degrees C, almost no wind
Thirty-four hours after leaving home in Lilydale we were standing on the deck of SCII. The trip all went well with very little queuing at airports and no real checking of documents apart from the standard passport checks for flights. The only time we were required to show our vaccination status was at Melbourne airport before departure. Our flight from Istanbul to Dalaman on the Turkish coast was over mountains still capped with their winter snow - very picturesque. It was great to finally arrive and to be greeted by Ahmet who drove us to the marina.

The first afternoon was catching up with Bram and Ahmet about all of the maintenance done on SCII and familiarising ourselves after nearly 3 years of absence. There were lots of thoughtful touches, such as all the sheets and towels on board has been recently washed and the water tanks had been flushed and refilling with fresh water - all things we thought we would have to do. It felt like being home straight away.

Glenn's birthday (the day of arrival) was a quiet celebration of dips, bread and pide with mince meat and cheese. We ordered a bottle of red wine that the restaurant owner proceeded to go to the store across the street to purchase. They clearly do not have much demand for wine in this restaurant, the choice was 'white or red' but it was delicious. Breakfast the next morning was a more grand affair, we treated ourselves to a Turkish breakfast. It consisted of tomatoes and cucumber with four different types of cheese, borek, Turkish sausage, boiled egg, fried potato (i.e. chips) olives, nuts, a ranges of jams, honey, tahini and fresh bread. (seethe photo in the gallery)

Gocek is a pretty town and walking distance from the marina. The waterfront is lined with restaurants and tourist boats, mostly the wooden Turkish gulets. The town is currently quiet but clearly winding up for the summer tourist season. There are a good range of shops for provisioning SCII. This includes several supermarkets, although they are small compared to Australian standards, a couple of butchers, a Turkish delight shop (see the video below) and a very well stocked deli. Provisioning is a relatively easy task, especially with the assistance of Google translate. Labels on packets can be scanned and translated from Turkish to English or for items that cannot be found communication with the helpful but non-English speaking shop assistants is possible.

As a result of our absence, our transit log (an essential Turkish document that registers the boat and crew) had expired. We used a local agent to assist us to get our documentation in order, which all went smoothly. We knew we would be fined but it turned out to only be €15 which was very surprising.

Today we left the marina and have anchored in a pretty spot not far from Gocek. On leaving the marina we passed the mega yacht Eclipse (see gallery). This was the worlds biggest privately-owned mega yacht until 2013 and is a massive 162.5 m in length. It is owned by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who owns the Chelsea football club and has had recent media attention. Eclipse has two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools, several hot tubs, and a disco hall. It is also equipped with three launch boats and a mini-submarine that is capable of submerging to 50 metres (160 ft). Approximately 70 crew members are needed to operate the yacht and serve the guests. It is also reported (according to Wikipedia) to have its own self-defence and missile detection systems. We suspect that Turkey is one of the few countries that would allow Russian mega yachts.

We have delayed our plan to go straight across to Rhodes. Our chart-plotter - along with a few other expensive items, has failed. We will pick up a new one in Rhodes in about two weeks' time so this has changed our plans a little.

The weather is fine with light winds, just a little cool at night. The seawater has some warming up to do for swimming! As Nerida can attested to after swimming ashore with mooring lines. There appears to be no COVID restrictions here and life is back to normal here.






Comments
Vessel Name: Southern Comfort II
Vessel Make/Model: Bavaria 47, 2009
Hailing Port: Melbourne, Australia
Crew: Glenn and Nerida Matthews
About: 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.
Southern Comfort II's Photos - Main
49 Photos
Created 9 June 2024
37 Photos
Created 12 April 2024
21 Photos
Created 13 August 2023
7 Photos
Created 5 August 2023
8 Photos
Created 25 July 2023
4 Photos
Created 18 July 2023
7 Photos
Created 9 July 2023
10 Photos
Created 28 June 2023
17 Photos
Created 24 June 2023
9 Photos
Created 16 June 2023
8 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 27 April 2023
30 Photos
Created 25 July 2022
94 Photos
Created 10 May 2022
7 Photos
Created 29 April 2022
3 Photos
Created 29 September 2019
30 Photos
Created 6 August 2019
58 Photos
Created 9 June 2019
22 Photos
Created 3 September 2018
60 Photos
Created 10 July 2018
Coast of Turkey
48 Photos
Created 1 June 2018
Our pride and joy!
16 Photos
Created 1 January 2018