Living on a yacht requires much greater attention to the weather than when at home in Melbourne. At home, we wonder if the weather is going to be hot, cold, sunny or should we have an umbrella, which for Melbourne the answer is often yes, as we can get four seasons in one day. Living on SCII requires attention to the wind strength and direction. Is the anchorage going to be calm or protected or will the wind direction result in a swell and an uncomfortable night's sleep? The wind direction also determines whether we are going to have a good sail or not.

We left Gocek bay for Ciftlik with a favourable forecast. On leaving Gocek bay there did not appear to be enough wind but as we made our way into open waters the wind ranged from 2 to 18 knots on the beam. The five-hour sail required constant adjusting of the sails as the wind varied but thankfully the wind was averaging 10-15knots, which meant our sailing speed was about 6-7.5 knots per hour.

From Ciftlik we headed to the bay of Bozuk Buku. This is a big bay which is well protected from the prevailing wind. In the bay are three restaurants with jetties and the only way to access the restaurants is by boat - there is no road access. We tied up at the rustic jetty of the restaurant called Ali Barber's. The people who run the restaurant live here over the summer months, sleeping in hammocks or their fishing boats. All food used by the restaurant comes by boat. As we were tied up at the jetty a fishing boat arrives with a whole lamb carcass, which was butchered at the restaurant. We have been to Ali Barber's before and it never seems to disappoint. We had a wonderful meal, with zucchini fritters and yoghurt dip, calamari and yes, you guessed it, very fresh lamb shish all served with salad and chips. Despite the remote and rustic location, it was one the best meals consumed so far.







Each morning the restaurant bakes fresh bread for the restaurant and to sell to visiting yachts. It is cooked in a wood-fired oven at the back of the restaurant and is delicious.





Overnight the fishing boat next to SCII went out to check their nets and came back with a mixed haul of fish. As we ate breakfast of fresh bread and local honey, the fishermen untangled the fish from their nets. Many of the fish were very small, which we would have thrown back but here in Türkiye size never seems to be a consideration.

From Ali Barber's we motored to the town of Bozburun, as there was no wind. We decided to go into the town harbour, rather than anchor out, as very strong winds were predicted for the next day. The forecast suggested gusts of 42 knots, which would have been very uncomfortable. As we entered the harbour, Lynn and Osman (from Osman's Place restaurant) were waving at us as they recognised SCII. It was lovely to receive such a warm welcome. We spent two days in the harbour, which was very protected from the wind. Outside the harbour in Bozburun bay, there were strong gusts and white-caps. Our time in Bozburun enabled us to reprovision, get washing done and to enjoy some lovely meals cooked by Osman.



A couple of days after leaving Bozburun, more strong wind with gusts over 30 knots were predicted, so we decided to move up into the Hisaronu Korfezi (gulf) where it is more protected. We anchored in the bay of Kuyuly Buku, close in to the shore. This was a good move as the winds were not as strong at the head of the gulf (only about 20 knots) and most of the gusts went over the top of us. We had quite a comfortable day compared to what was predicted.

We decided to go for a swim, however before entering the water, Glenn tested the water temperature with his 'digitally calibrated toe' and declared the water temperature to be a pleasant 23 degrees. Requiring a slightly more accurate measure we resorted to the trusty meat thermometer, which recorded a temperature of 21.5 degrees. I think there might have been some calibration errors with that toe! Despite the calibration errors we still enjoyed a swim. While the water is still a bit chilly, we reflected that it will not be too long until it warms up considerably, with the start of summer in a couple of weeks.

From Kuyulu Buku we sailed to the bay of Kuruka Buku. The sail started off with very light winds but as we progressed the wind started to pick up. At one stage we were doing 8.5 knots in 20 knots of wind. We also had wind from the North, then South, then North again. During the 90-minute trip we seemed to be constantly trimming or reefing the sails in to reduce our sail area. Kuruka Buku is a protected bay from the prevailing winds (north to west), so we had two days at anchor. Despite westerly winds being predicted, on the second day the wind went around to the south, which was pushing a swell and waves into the bay. Just as we were thinking that we might have to move the wind stopped and returned to a light westerly, so we had a calm night.

We spent 2 nights in the larger harbour at the town of Datca. Datca is a typical Turkish seaside town, with restaurants lining the harbour and bay. This place is normally very busy and noisy in summer but at this time of year, it was a great spot to be, there were even spaces in the harbour. Lots of almost empty restaurants and all sorts of little shops to explore. Nerida even got a haircut and pedicure. Our fridge and freezer are now very well stocked to keep us going for the next 2 weeks!







Glen spent considerable time giving SCII a wash as we had access to plenty of water. However, just before we left there was a light shower of rain - just enough to turn all of the decks to a shade of brown again. A combination of dust and rain as happens here seems like it is "raining mud".

The weather is 25 degrees, sunny with almost no wind. The 'digitally calibrated toe' is still suggesting the water temperature is 23 degrees!