Well we eventually managed to tear ourselves away from the security of Marmaris Yacht Marina and make our way out into the bay. We left Matt in the capable hands(!) of Ian, the skipper on Stormvogel where he will be working as a deck hand for the next month or so before he heads off to be with his girl friend in Sydney, Australia. What a life the youngsters lead these days!
We managed to find a good sheltered anchorage in Marmaris Bay where we met up with our Kiwi friends on Cuttyhunk and the Australians off Midi. We were about to anchor and take a line ashore when a massive gullet appeared out of nowhere and nicked our spot – they were very kind in helping us to get our line ashore though. We spent the evening aboard Midi , with Bruce and Lesley, their friends from Australia and Chris and Irene off Cuttyhunk. A great way to start the adventure!
The following day we were up early and prepared for our first real passage of the season, heading East along the coast to Gocek Bay. The forecast was for light winds but they got it very wrong with winds of up to 32 knots right on the nose! What a great way to shake down the boat! Two reefs and a bit of genoa and we were flying! We joined our friends Brian and Carol off ‘Endeavour’ in ‘Laundry Bay’ just South of Gocek. We were also joined by Cuttyhunk and some other friends from Marmaris, John, Derek and Desmond off a beautiful Hanse 53 ‘Awatea’. We stayed for three nights and then made our way to Gocek town to provision up and prepare to join the Eastern Med Yacht Rally (EMYR) on the Saturday. We were joined in the bay by fellow EMYR Yacht ‘Enya’ with Rosi and Ottie, also from Yacht Marin in Marmaris. Big winds were forecast for the Friday night so we decided to leave Gocek and find shelter amongst the many islands to the South. We managed to pick up a large mooring buoy and were again joined by Cuttyhunk and Awatea. The high winds didn’t really materialise (thankfully!) so we managed a final night of entertaining aboard Belle Helene before saying our goodbyes the following morning and heading for Marin Turk Exclusive Marina to join the EMYR. ….
See you soon Cuttyhunk!!…….Thanks for a brilliant winter!
No comments:
Post a Comment