Travel with Friends I – Sailing

 Our sailing forays were in preparation for the much anticipated visit of our friends from Australia, D & T.  Sadly each foray seemed to identify yet another problem to fix.  With a bit of running around the industrial area in Marmaris we were able to find an excellent electrical motor mechanic who provided us with new brushes and housing for the windlass motor.  We were also able to find a distributor for the water pump for the Northern Lights generator so we could run the refrigerator at anchor.  The distributor was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and able to get the pump to Athens within 36 hours.  We were hopeful we would get everything fixed before D & T’s arrival.  Sadly the pump sat in customs in Athens, stuck in the crazy bureaucracy that is Greece.

While we were waiting for the pump we decided to get a couple of blocks of ice for the fridge and take D & T on a two day sail south west to Çiftlik and back.  We had a lovely sail in light winds and arrived at the anchorage mid-afternoon in time for a swim and snorkel.  

T taking photos on deck

D enjoying being at the helm

Swimming off the side of the boat in crystal clear waters

In the early evening we took the dinghy ashore to support the local economy by having a few too many bottles of wine and a fantastic dinner.  The pontoons were packed with charter boats which turned out to be 120 Russian IT workers on holiday.  They all wore matching black and white striped jerseys and even before dinner looked like they had had plenty of vodka and were up for a fun night.  I love the serendipity of travel.  One never knows what craziness one will come across.

Charter boats on the wharfs

Bob chatting with the Russian IT employees

The Russians

D & T at the restaurant

Bob and D having a good time

An easy sail back to Marmaris the next day with the wind behind us.  Still no news on the pump for the generator so after a couple of days of land travel (next post) and still no pump we decided to bite the bullet, stock up on ice and head out for a 7 day sail east to Fethiye and back.  We provisioned up at the Migros Supermarket, stowed the gear and set sail.  First stop was Ekinçek.  There were more boats around then our last visit a few weeks ago but still relatively quiet.

Bob and D flaking the main sail

Another seaside restaurant

More swimming and snorkeling, eating at the great restaurants on shore and generally relaxing in a beautiful setting.  The next day when we tried to raise the anchor, the windlass was dead.  I’m sensing some déjà vu here.  Bob and D managed to get it working again but we just couldn’t risk continuing with an unreliable windlass.  So we spent the rest of the day swimming, reading and relaxing and set off the next morning.  We swung by Turtle Beach, a nesting site for loggerhead turtles.  One of these beauties had swum past our boat at anchor.  T, the marine biologist, jumped in the water to try to follow it but it swam away - Wonderful animals.

Songster in the early morning sun

Turtle Beach with the ruins of Dalyan in the background

The wind was on the nose the whole way back to Marmaris so we motored in order to get back early to do repairs and clean up.  Sadly our sailing was cut short but what we had was lovely and we were looking forward to exploring more on land

Our views while sailing