I have to tell you, this is going to be a very short blog.
It was my birthday yesterday so the whole day was a work write-off! It was a fantastic 24 hours and I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who sent me birthday wishes and also to Kevlar and Flemming (my birthday buddy) who generously sent me donations so I could really enjoy celebrating. That I did with my best mate Baz, who I am so grateful is by my side. We had an excellent dinner at La Terezza, Kuşadası which I would highly recommend. I also have a fun photo from Luke via Facebook, which summarises him so well and made me grin, feel warm inside and of course miss, because we are on the other side of the world.
We are currently in Kuşadası at the Setur marina (which we get to stay at for free as part of our annual contract). The sun is shining and we’re experiencing a heat wave that is hitting most of Turkey and all of Greece. The temperature for the last couple of days here was 38oC (100oF) and the forecast predicts temps rising to the low 40s oC (107-115 oF). The morning wind is nice and cooling, and in the afternoon a hot wind blows keeping temps high into the night. One thing we’re grateful for is that, unlike a Queensland, Australian summer, there is no humidity.
So with listlessness from heat, birthday celebrations, and a 7-hour sail from Didim, I haven’t made the time to write to you. Barry has done a great job in his blog, so if you’d like more details of our journey from Gemiler to Göcek via Fethiye, check out his blog #190.
Two highlights from the passage to Göcek
1. As we approached Fethiye we passed the Migros floating supermarket which is a large boat set up as a supermarket. It has a tender and they advertise “free delivery” on the back of the boat. There’s also a floating black water pump out boat, a bakery, an ice cream man and a fruit and vegies boat. We think it’s pretty cool to be able to shop on board dedicated vessels and hope to be able to do so one day.
2. Most mooring at Göcek is tie back with a line ashore. We visited in the height of the sailing season and, as Göcek is one of the busiest sailing areas on the Turkish coast, finding a place where we on A B Sea and Kev on Barbara Ann could anchor together was like finding hen’s teeth. Also, we’ve only done a line ashore once, and Kev hadn’t had any practice. After a frustrating time visiting a couple of bays Baz pulled the pin on the idea of overnighting at Göcek. The next anchorage where we could both anchor and swing freely was at Ekincik and that is approximately 30 nautical miles from Göcek. This would mean a five hour journey and we wanted to leave enough time so that we could arrive and anchor in daylight.
So off we headed.
To watch the YouTube episode that will take you on our journey from Gemiler to Göcek via Fethiye – and the *ant invasion where I dubbed an ant conversation, as well as Baz singing a song - just c
Next week we head to Ekincik, where we are forced to stay longer than we want as the navy are conducting war games!
Until then, I wish you health, wealth and courage, as you take the actions to bring your dreams to life.
Now I’m off to snaffle a tasty piece of chocolate cake which the staff at Kuşadası marina kindly brought me yesterday. Thank you Zahra and team.
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