Just recently I've been watching some intriguing documentaries on a YouTube channel called 'Fall of Civilizations'. It started out as a podcast delving into the collapse of civilizations throughout history and asked questions like why do civilizations collapse? What happens afterwards? What did it feel like to be there and living through the process?
The guy is first and foremost a storyteller, he's also a very in depth researcher and he combines snippets of information from many historical sources to weave together a rich picture of what was going on at the time.
In particular I've been very interested in learning about the Byzantium era, the Sumerians and the collapse of the bronze age in the Mediterranean area. It's been eye opening as to how much trade was going on between empires, big and small and also how much reliance there was on keeping the trade going to ensure the stability of the various regions.
His storytelling was brought to life recently when we visited the castle at Bodrum. As well as being a 15th century castle it is also home to the underwater archaeological museum housing amazing finds from shipwrecks found off the Turkish coast.
The thing that stood out for me was the amount of fine glassware that was being traded and also that, even way back then, there was evidence of glass recycling going on.
If you ever find yourself in Bodrum a visit to the castle will not disappoint and it's only 90 TL (AU$14.50) to get in, or free if you've purchased an annual museum pass card.
Headsail furling line
You might think that getting the headsail in and out is a simple procedure and the same every time. Well it is and it isn't.
When we pull on the sheet and ease the furling line the headsail begins to unfurl and at the bottom of the sail is the furling drum which the furling line winds around as the sail comes out. The drum only has a certain amount of space for the line to occupy and in this week's video you'll see that our sail does not unfurl all the way because there is no more room on the drum for any more line. The fix is easy and I explain how it's done in the video.
If you ever find yourself around yachts that are berthed at a marina or out at anchor. Have a look at the furled away headsails. You'll see some sails that are completely wrapped and the sheets have been wrapped around the sail too. Sometimes one turn, sometimes two turns.
You'll also see some headsails with a small triangle of sail sticking out. That's a bad thing for at least two reasons. Firstly the sail is exposed to UV damage from the sun's rays. Secondly if a big wind picks up it will grab hold of that small triangle and eventually rip the sail. I've seen it happen right in the marina at Kaş after a particularly strong winter storm.
So why don't they put all of the sail away properly?
As I explained about the line on the drum getting to capacity, the opposite is true when furling the headsail away. The sheet is eased and the furling line is pulled out and off the drum. Sometimes you get to the end of the line on the drum and a bit of sail is left sticking out. The fix again is easy and is the opposite of what I explain in the video. It's a 2 minute job and is a lot less costly than buying a new headsail.
Fellow YouTubers
We spent a lazy week anchored at Bodrum and it felt good to do not much at all. Then we discovered that another YouTube sailing couple were in the general area and we arranged to meet up with them.
An anchorage that was nearby for both of us was Kissebükü Koyu and it was while we were on the way there that we came across our headsail line and drum issue.
Arriving at the anchorage I managed to get A B Sea anchored right next to Kejstral and we invited Kevin & Dee over. Some drinks and food ensued and we shared some bloody good stories.
They've been in Turkey for many years and as well as living on their boat they also have an apartment near Didim, so we also got some useful tips about Turkey in general.
The next day we said goodbye as they were heading back to Didim and we still had some other anchorages we wanted to visit in the area. You can check out their YouTube channel Sailing Kejstral Adventures by clicking here.
That's it for this week's musing, until next time stay safe and healthy.
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