2 February 2009
Boat Business
First, here are the statistics for our travels during 2008. We travelled 1417 nautical miles, which is less than in most years, because we spent nearly 3 months in Australia in the middle of the summer. We spent 336 hours under way, 82 of them under sail (24%) and the remaining 254 under engine. The latter figure includes time spent getting in and out of harbour, and messing around with the anchor, but the sailing average is still pretty poor. Still, that's what it's like in the Med. As anyone will tell you, there's always either too much wind or too little.
The first priority on arriving in Marmaris, as it is at the start of every winter, was to get the boat cleaned up and stripped of all the equipment which we would not be using during the winter. That done, we got down to the routine maintenance which has to be done every winter, plus repairs to things which had broken or gone wrong during the season.
Then there are the projects for improving the boat to make it easier to live on, both at sea and in harbour. After four years away you would think we had run out of jobs, but things keep getting added to the list. It gets shorter each winter, but never quite disappears, then next year it starts to grow again! We hope that before we get back to England we'll have reduced the list to nothing, but we're not counting on it.
Apart from work and the business of living, about all we did during the five weeks before we returned to England was to participate in a few quizzes, one of which we won.
At the beginning of December we returned to England and spent the whole month visiting family and friends. As usual the weather was not too bad, though a bit colder than in Turkey.
New Year in Istanbul
When we were booking our flights to and from the UK for Christmas, the cheapest flights were from Istanbul, rather than from Dalaman, though the latter is much nearer to Marmaris. We therefore took the overnight coach from Marmaris to Istanbul, spent a night in a hotel there, and took the opportunity to wander round this fascinating city again. While wandering we bought 8 kilos of Turkish Delight for Christmas and for presents.
On the return journey, we flew into Istanbul on 31 December, taking advantage of a really cheap fare. It was very cold, and there was snow on the ground. It was only after we had booked the flight that we discovered there was no coach back to Marmaris until the following evening, so we were obliged to spend New Year's Eve in Istanbul. Having booked a room in a hostel, we found there was a party organised to celebrate the New Year, complete with a belly-dancer. We decided to go, but by 1030pm the party had become too noisy and smoky for our taste. We finished our dinner and went off to bed early, even missing the belly-dancing display (I've seen one before and didn't find it very arousing – P). We were awoken at midnight by a firework display outside our window, then were subjected to noise from various competing parties until we were finally able to get to sleep at around 4am. Fortunately we didn't have to get up too early next morning!
We wandered around the town a bit on New Year's Day. We visited a mosque at prayer time, which was a new and interesting experience, but after that we ran out of steam and repaired to the hostel café. We read and drank tea until it was time to have some dinner then catch the overnight coach back to Marmaris.
The coach companies seem to have been having something of an arms race since we arrived here. We first travelled with Pamukkale because we were told their coaches were the best. Then we noticed that some other companies were getting more luxurious coaches, but now Pamukkale seem to have caught up again. In spite of the long journey (about 13 hours), they are really not a bad way to travel. P in particular has no difficulty in sleeping for most of the overnight journey, though K is less fortunate. However, by the time you add up the cost of flights, coach fares, nights in hotels and airport transfers, we think we would have done better to fly through Dalaman. Of course, as we are leaving Turkey in March, we will not have a chance to use this hard-won wisdom.
More Marina Mis-management
One of the first pieces of news we heard when we returned to the marina was that a British couple who had been here for several years had been instructed to get out just before Christmas. The couple concerned were very active in the marina social scene, and did a lot of work communicating between the Management and the yachties. We don't know exactly why they were expelled, though the reason given was that they were luring people away from the marina restaurant, to the place in town where they work. This was ludicrous, as the Management had already chased people away with their inflated prices. Whatever the reason, it has created a lot of bad feeling towards the marina Management, and they have found that Brits, Germans, French, Dutch and the rest are not as easy to boss around as Turks. They are now trying to build bridges again, but there is no doubt they have irretrievably lost the goodwill of this winter's residents.
A Gift from Poseidon
On Sunday 4 January, we had run out of fresh meat and were going to make a vegetarian dish for dinner, but Fate intervened. During the night a good-sized tuna, no doubt engrossed in pursuing some of the multitude of small fish which inhabit the marina, jumped out of the water and landed on our pontoon near the back of the boat. By the time a passing Turkish yachtie pointed it out to us, it was good and dead, but still quite fresh. We decided to have it for dinner, which left P with the messy task of gutting and beheading it and cutting it into steaks (why me?). We ended up with about 2 lb of meat. That gave us 2 steaks each in the evening, and a tuna curry next day. We were glad it was no bigger, as it is strong-tasting and you can easily tire of it!
Brainy Bartletts?
At the marina, Monday night is quiz night, and we usually go along, and often do well. True to form, we came second on 7 January, and won the event on 12 January. This meant we had to set the following week's quiz. Most teams try to come second, so that they don't have to set the next quiz: it is very time-consuming, and most people have plenty to do on their boats, without added distractions. On this occasion we tied for first place, but the other team threw the tie-breaker, which we thought was rather unsporting. Last week (26 January) we were partnered by a French couple and their daughter. They helped to ensure that we didn't win, and in fact we came last, so we don't have to set this week's quiz.
A Lot of Boules
While we were away over December, a Boules tournament was organised, which was won, not surprisingly, by the French. Another competition was organised on Sunday 18 January, in which we took part. We were not very successful, being knocked out in the first round. We were beaten by 3 British couples, though we did manage one surprise win against a French couple. It really was a surprise, as our understanding of the rules was so poor that we thought we had lost! The event was held in the boat park, and people brought food to share. A good time was had, and this time a British couple won.
The Big Blow
On the night of 22/23 January, a south-easterly gale was forecast. The strongest winds were supposed to be approaching 40 knots, at around 0500 hours. For 2 days the marina staff went round checking the moorings of unoccupied boats, particularly those on the windward side of the pontoons. We are on the leeward (downwind) side of the pontoon, so we attached extra lines between the boat and the pontoon to save us if the main mooring lines should fail.
The wind gradually increased through the afternoon and evening, and at around 0300 hours it was strong enough to blow our boarding plank up against the back of the boat. The noise woke us, and we spent a few minutes getting the plank onto the boat, then went back to bed. The strongest winds were late coming, but when they did at about 0900 hours they were gusting up to around 70 knots, which is pretty strong. We rocked a bit but were otherwise fine, and so were most of the boats in this marina, apart from a few torn covers.
One boat was not so lucky. It was parked in the yard, next to a huge tent, a steel frame covered with fabric and polythene, in which large boats were being worked on under cover. The pressure of the wind caused part of the structure to collapse, and left the other part bent and lop-sided. The bit that collapsed fell against the boat and broke its mast in two. At the same time, huge waves were breaking on the shore outside, throwing stones through the windows of the marina restaurant, and sending torrents of water through the broken windows and in through the marina gate. In the morning the road, the marina entrance and a large area of the boatyard were flooded and covered with rocks and debris. By the evening a JCB had removed the rubble, the restaurant windows had been boarded up, and measurements had been taken for new windows. The Turks certainly know how to get things done when they have to! Clearing the wreckage of the tent will no doubt require a crane and a bit more time. If you want to see some video of the storm, go to this link.
The following week there was another gale, but less severe, and we are experiencing a period of wet weather, with occasional clear days. This has restricted our activities somewhat, but we never mind taking time off to relax, read, do puzzles and make music.
As we head into February, most of the important work on the boat has been done, except for those things which have to be done ashore. With luck we'll get the rest done in time to be able do a bit more exploring in Turkey before we leave Marmaris in March.
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