Generally the weather in Kaş harbour is kindly and bearable, even if there is some wind and/or rain. However, when the wind blows from the WSW direction, it whips up big waves that slam into and over the harbour wall. Along with this, the wind drives powerful waves onto the coast at the harbour entrance. These waves bounce off the coast and the ferocious fetch that enters the harbour can create very unstable and dangerous conditions for any boats moored there.
Making the journey to Party Central
So on Monday the 14th of January, when the harbour master kindly came around and told us that other boats along with the coast guard had already relocated to the marina, we decided to follow the advice and actions of those far more experienced than us. We worked quickly to prepare A B Sea and left the harbour for Kaş marina at 2.30pm. The sea state was calm and we had a pleasant trip around the promontory. We were met by the marineros and Jim, who was filming our approach, and shortly after our arrival were also greeted by Jens who had captured drone footage of Barry’s very accomplished mooring. I must say Barry looked like old pro – or maybe I should say old sea dog. (No comments please lol).
Both Jens and Jim are moored on their own yachts in the marina and it happily turned out that we were all moored close together on Pontoon B, which we quickly named the party pontoon!
Baz and I had decided to stay for a maximum of two nights at the marina, but were prepared to absorb the cost of another night if the weather or sea state didn’t improve. As it turned out, we bit the bullet on the extra night’s cost (AU$90.33 per night – not including power or water) once we reviewed the weather forecast. We spent our fourth and last night – Thursday – anchored in the bay near the marina and enjoyed calm waters in what had been our first home in Kaş. While we could have anchored there on the Wednesday evening, we chose not to, as memories of one windy night heeling and pirouetting around on the anchor were enough of a precautionary tale this time around.
Fond goodbyes and memorable gatherings
One of our good friends Mark, whose boat also normally berths on Pontoon B but was now wintering on the marina’s hard dock, was leaving on Wednesday for his South African winter home. Mark is a darling – a wise, gentle, fun-loving and generous soul – whom Barry and I had taken to immediately, so when Mark invited us to his leaving meal at Adana Kebab on Monday evening, we joined him with mixed feelings. Glad to spend another uplifting evening with friends, yet sad at the thought of possibly not seeing him again (at least for many months).
I had whole sea bass at Adana Kebab which was cooked beautifully. The service was great and the people who run the restaurant are warm and welcoming. We enjoyed künefe which is a Turkish dessert of cheese and shredded Kadayif dough that is soaked in sweet syrup. It’s comfort food at its best and every time I pass a local café that sells this, I think of Mark!
As is often the case after sharing a meal with our friends, we tend to stay around for drinks and chats, but Mark had recently had a nasty fall off his scooter and he was feeling very sore. He also had lots of prep work to do the following day to ensure his boat was secure on the hard, so we all walked to our respective homes, looking forward to a final gathering at Jim’s yacht the following afternoon.
On Tuesday, the wind picked up as predicted and we watched the water outside the marina jumping around, making the end of the pontoon dance up and down. Still, in the marina itself all was relatively smooth so Jim’s get together with drinks and nibbles still took place, and Mark managed to spend half an hour with us before catching a cab to the airport.
Filming the storm in the harbour
Just before dusk, I had a strong feeling to check out the harbour, so after everyone else decided to stay in the warm confines of Jim’s beautiful new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 44 DS, I made the 15 minute trip with Dagmar and Oliver over the hill to the Kaş harbour, armed only with my trusty Samsung Galaxy phone, which takes the best *night footage of all of our cameras.
Oliver and Dagmar left for their apartmet and as I walked down the main street towards the harbour, I did a double take as I looked at the road in front of Smileys. Well, it wasn’t exactly a road any more. It had turned into a rubble strewn river! Curious, I hurried down to see another massive wave thunder down over the harbour wall opposite Echo Bar and the ensuing body of water dragged rubble from the adjacent land, onto the road and whooshed down into the street! As the salty water flooded down the open drains it left large sandstone rocks in its wake! Smiley’s staff saw me trying to film and beckoned me over to where they stood, on a higher patch of land, and when the next wave slammed over the wall, I was there to capture it!
Smiley was out on the pavement and said this normally only happens about once in every three years. I must say, the flooded roads reminded me of Australian summer flooding, but this time, I was reminded that Barry and I had made a very wise decision to move to the marina!
I walked around the harbour finding various angles to film the magnificently frightening waves. I particularly love the footage of the waves flying up around the lighthouse marking the harbour entrance. I also love the water spilling down into the large round storm drains. Barry edited this footage and watching the large gulets and small fishing boats swaying and rising on the waves in slow motion is both beautiful and unnerving when you consider A B Sea would have been one of those boats. You can see all the amazing footage in this week’s (Saturday’s) YouTube video.
Back on Jim’s boat, the fellas were pretty impressed with the footage and also surprised at how different the storm conditions were in the harbour compared to the marina. Baz and I went to bed that night – after very long, hot showers in the marina’s superb facilities – feeling very grateful to be tied to the pontoon.
In the middle of the night however, the lazy line stretched and we found ourselves thumping into the pontoon! Barry has written a great account of this in his blog, so do head over to that if you’re interested. Suffice it to say, the marineros helped us sort it all out and we slept well for the rest of the night.
Patreon, thanking our supporters just gets better!
Of course, we had editing to do, so Wednesday was well used! We also made our new *Patreon account public, and Jim became our first patron! As a second tier member, Jim gets to see all of our videos before they’re released on YouTube, as well as outtakes (which are tier one rewards) and he is also mentioned in our YouTube credits as an Executive Producer.
Actually when we were making the tiers for our patrons, we had great fun naming them. We’ve got “Meet and Greet Drinks”, “Onboard Activities”, “Poolside Party”, “Cocktails on Deck” and “Captain’s Table Dining”. Each tier’s rewards builds on the previous ones, and include for example a unique watercolour or acrylic sketch by moi!
That evening Jim – aka Patron One – invited us to a meal at one of the marina’s restaurants. Passarella is a delightful venue with a very tasteful Turkish theme and amazing views (by day) of the marina. We enjoyed a great meal, accompanied by good wine and very stimulating conversation. Thank you Jim Furness! You can find out more about Jim and his yacht, Acheron, at www.yachtacheron.com
As I write this blog, I’m blown away by the generous, warm-hearted friends that we’ve met along the way and while we will all part ways at some point – as is the way of travellers – we will always carry a part of them in our hearts. And hopefully our paths will meet some day.
On to Thursday’s fun …
Jens hadn’t been able to attend Mark’s leaving meal because of a nasty cold, so while Mark was already in the warmer climes of South Africa, Jens invited us to his yacht for dinner on Thursday. As we were anchored in the bay that evening, Jens and his friend Erkan came along and picked us up in Jens’ dinghy, then we sat on the deck of Dilly Dally together with Jim, watching the sunset, drinks in hand. A while later, Dagmar and Oliver and Lars arrived and we had another great evening!
Jens, as well as being an accomplished journalist, also happens to be a dab hand in the kitchen and made an absolutely delicious German meatloaf. OMG it was excellent, and with accompanying vegies, mashed potato and meatloaf jus, it ensured we all went back for second helpings! Dagmar brought one of her delicious chocolate cakes, so all in all, we rolled off the boat later that evening and were glad there were only three in the dinghy on the way back to A B Sea, as we may have sunk if four stuffed sailors had been on board
Friday’s return
Waking up to a beautiful sunny day, Baz and I unhooked from the anchorage, motored over to the fuel dock and refuelled as well as pumping out our black water tank. Jim met us on the dock and he joined us for a pleasant (motor) sail back to Kaş harbour. All didn’t exactly go quite as planned, which Barry also outlines well in his blog, but we eventually managed to get secured stern to in our mooring at Kaş town harbour.
Since we moored, we’ve had our share of rain and today are sitting out patches of gusty wind, rain and hail that has been predicted for a few days. We prepped A B Sea as best as we could, and as the wind was forecast to be coming mainly from the East, we feel pretty sure that we’ll be fine staying in the harbour.
Of course, Friday wouldn’t have been complete without attending a delightful evening gathering at Lars’ apartment. We met him through Dagmar and Oliver, overlanders, who are staying until Saturday in the same apartment block as Lars. At Lars’ function, we met some more delightful people, who I’m sure I’ll introduce you to in future blogs.
One more meal…
One beautiful and dear couple that we’ve met along the way are Dagmar and Oliver, who we will be extremely sad to say goodbye to on Saturday. We first met them on Jens’ yacht on Christmas Eve and absolutely love this gentle yet quietly adventurous couple. You can learn more about their overlander journey in their chunky mobile home, on their pictorial blog: https://www.goneforadrive.com/ We will be going to their apartment tonight for a goodbye meal, and also to help them drink the excess wine that was left over from their last gathering! I’ve just made a sugar/dairy/gluten free dessert: Chocolate chia with coconut cream and chocolate slithers – which I have to say is a yummy alternative for those on restrictive diets.
So now I’ve written my blog for you, I’m going to wash my hair – with water boiled in a kettle – and hope it dries before 7pm as I don’t have a hair dryer!
Until next week, I wish you the warmth of friendships.
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Just as a side note here, we have the goal of purchasing a dedicated night footage camera, and have opened a Patreon account to assist us in doing so. If you enjoy our blogs and YouTube videos and would like to see how you can easily help us, do head on over to www.patreon.com/SailingABSea . In Patreon, we’re also able to give back to our patrons as thanks, so we really love this platform.
