I can get nervous with guests on board because I really want them to feel at home and enjoy themselves, and I always hope I’m doing my best to make that come about. With Michel, our first patron guest to stay with us for a week, I didn’t feel anxious at all. Michel fitted so well into our routine, loved food and wine as much as we do and we spent many relaxed hours having interesting conversations about all topics, not just sailing.
Gypsy Handbrake test
While he was with us in Kekova the weather was warm enough for us to swim off the back of the boat, and we took the dinghy to explore the castle and around to one of the restaurants at Kaleköy for coffee. We also made the most of the calm water to test our newly freed-up gypsy brake and release the anchor and chain using the manual handle. That went well, although I took the handle out of the hole in the gypsy so it was a bit tricky getting it back in to put the brake back on and stop the chain.
The other test was to deploy the anchor marker buoy and check that worked as we imagined. That was also a good job well done, although in future, instead of sitting the buoy onto the anchor blade and releasing them together (with the buoy line getting caught up on the pulpit), I will throw the buoy in first, then release the anchor immediately after.
Sailing to Smuggler’s Cove (Gökkaya Liman)
The wind picked up to a ‘lively’ 10 knots (‘lively’ is a bit of an overstatement lol!) when we headed out of Üçağız Bay and made our way to Smugglers cove which is opposite the eastern end of Kekova Island. Determined to sail despite being on the lower threshold of our sailing capacity of wind, we got the head sail out and, with it acting more like a kite than a wing, we sailed all the way there at between 2.7 and 3.5 knots. It was very gratifying because so often on longer passages, in an attempt to reach an anchorage before nightfall, we’ve used the motor when the wind has been too low for A B Sea to make much headway under sail.
Gökkaya Liman consists of a few sheltered anchorages, protected by a number of small islands and it’s a delightful place to drop the hook. We’d visited a couple of weeks earlier and it had been too full for us to anchor with our two buddy boats. This time though, there were only a quarter of the number of yachts anchored and we were able to pick a great spot with a wonderful view of the surrounding islands and mainland hills.
Swimming to check the anchor, I noticed how there were streams of cold water (coming in off the mainland) and as I swam, the water changed from balmy warm to refreshing cold several times.
Back to Kaş
Our few days at Kekova with Michel passed very quickly and it was time to return to Kaş marina. Michel took the helm as we left Gökkaya Liman and did a great job.
The day of his departure came along too fast and we were having a lively chat over coffee when I realised it was 11.05am and he’d planned to leave by 11am so he would make it to Antalya airport in time to catch his flight back to Germany. Michel said he’d had a wonderful time and looked as sad as we felt when it was time for him to leave. We’re looking forward to seeing him again when he returns with his wife next year.
No more jumping gypsy
Remember our buddy boat friend Kev?
He’s a solo sailor and had problems with his anchor chain jumping off the gypsy, so he had mechanical whiz Aydin make him a stainless steel addition to the windlass and basically prevents the chain from jumping off the gypsy. It is simple and extremely effective as we saw when he called us over for its first test. One of these is on our list too – after we rebuild the engine and add a reconditioned turbo … but more on that next time!
Before I finish this week, I’d like to welcome our newest patrons on board, Kellie and Jeff. Welcome aboard to A B Sea’s Patron family you two, it’s great to have you with us!
If you’d like to see the video that accompanies this blog, just click here.
Before you go ...
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So until next week, I wish you a very pleasant week, taking action to bring your dreams to life.
