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Late October

Went on one of Gwen’s trips to Cappadocia. A jolly good trip it was. There were 3 other sailing couples – 2 from Yat Marin and 1 from Netsel and 2 non sailing couples. We all got on really well.

Cappadocia is amazing – quite amazing. Its spectacular landscape unlike anything else we have ever see. So glad we did the trip.

Thurs 11 Nov.

We lifted out and laid SL up on the hard for the winter. Lift out was different. We were boat number 6 but it was 4pm when they came for us and after 5.30 when they started to lift us. It was dark. Then they left us in the slings overnight! Finally we got to the cradle at 8am next day!

Fly home on Monday 15 November – will be back late Feb.

Good Bye SL see you next year!

Wed 22 Sept – Sun 3 Oct

As Lydia had 10 days between physio appointments we decided that we have  a last sail of the year. Had a wonderful sail down to the Goceck bays. We had 20 – 25 k of wind on our aft quarter all the way and sailed with no engine until we arrived in the bays. Just had the engine on for the first hour and last half hour. Headed for our favourite buoy and were pleased to find it free – actually all 7 were free but 2 other boats came in after us.

Thurs – We spent a lazy day on our buoy and were delighted when Northern Light came in at teatime and took the buoy opposite.

Fri – we decided on a change of scenery and to lay the demon of the anchor windlass to rest. So we motored over to Wall Bay and dropped the anchor. Dug in no problems and we took long lines ashore. It was a bit gusty but Ok – of course the flat water was on the other side of the bay to the one we chose!

Sat – a helpful French charter boat released our shore lines for us as they were tie their own,  so it saved Lydia a swim. Neil retrieved and stowed the anchor without mishap – dropping it is one thing but Lydia doesn’t want to pick it up! We motored up to the buoys closer to Goceck but were plagued by wasps just berthing – so gave that up as a bad idea and went back to our favourite spot. But it was full so had to take a buoy round the corner. The French boat soon arrived and we swam over and chatted. As they left they came alongside and gave us tine of Pate de Foi Gras – what a treat – how nice of them!

Sun – had a lovely sail over to Yacht Classic. We waited until lunch time to leave the buoy and then sailed all the way. We expected to have to anchor off YC if it was windy but it wasn’t and there was space so we went straight onto the pontoon.

We enjoyed 4 easy days at Yacht Classic.

Fri – Fuelled up on the way past Ece – should be able to can it up back in Yat Marin for the winter – then back to the bays for a last look before the end of the year – again we sailed all the way. Its getting dark earlier now so either we have to use the battery power for lights – or go to bed early!

Sat – pone last lazy day swimming from our buoy.

Sun – early start back to Marmaris. And yet again we managed to sail nearly all the way. What a result – we have sailed every time we have moved the boat on this little trip out – way to go!

So back to Yat Marin and settling into winter life. Doing all the laying up jobs.

Having settled into our berth at Maramaris Yacht Marina and met many new friends we decided it was time to have a day sail out of the marina and find a mooring for lunch. Having already obtained our papers to leave the marina in the form of a document dated until mid november we were now free to leave after calling up when ever we wanted. Simply reload the credit for electric and water onto our smart credit card.

Friday 10 September a glourious sunny day with light winds and we decided to test the system, we  called up and were advised to see the mariinaros staff at the entrance to show our papers. We had already told our neighbour we would be returning that night and we also told the marinaros that we would be back later in the afternoon.

Turunc Buku lies just 2.5 miles from the marina and with only light winds we motored into the bay with a flotilla of gullets and tripper boats following behind.Surprisingly there were a number of free mooring buoys so we selected one and tied up for lunch.

Returning to the marina we wondered if our berth would still be free as promised, it was but only because the yacht next to us had reminded the marinaros who came looking for spaces that we would be returning. 

We are constantly surprised what a small world this really is, only yesterday Lydia was talking to a lady at the pool, and mentioned that our son and his wife had sailed to Australia last year. It turned out that Lesley and Trevor had meet Jonathan and Kate in Portugal. At happy hour I was talking to Rick who came from Blackpool,  he was a professional  skipper on a Moody 66 and had been into Cyprus this year. I mentioned that we had some friends with a boat in Latchie and he said bet your friends are called Carol and Steve and that have recently switched from a sailing yacht to a powerboat. 

Thursday 2 September and we decided much as we enjoy being at Yacht Classic it is time to move or else we never will. At 9.00 a.m. we cast off and motored in very light winds the 50 miles to Yacht Marin in Marmaris. 

We have now signed a 12 month contract and arranged for lift out on the 11 November and lift in on the 25 Febreury 2012. The marina does not assign you a fixed berth which takes a little getting used  to , although you do tend to meet more people this way and can still ask for a berth on your favourite pontoon if they have one available.

After discussions with other friends who winter at Marmaris Yacht Marina we were pleased to discover that they once again offering Cruising Association members a 10% discount which will help to fund many visits to happy hour where we have already met many other members of the live aboard community. They also have a morning radio net and arrange events and trips to places of interest.

The large swimming pool is a little cool after the one at yacht classic but it encourages you to swim rather than just stand around and talk. A terrace and platform are also provided if you want to swim in the harbour which is very clean.

Lydia has a number of visits back to Izmir to the EMOT hospital so our cruising plans will now be based on short trips returning to Marmaris for the Monday hospital trips. The good news is the bandage is now just between the knuckle and the finger nail although it still has to be kept dry which is preventing any swimming at present. They are hopefully that it will be posssible to remove the wires holding the bones in place next week so hopefully swimming may be back on the agenda soon. 

Lydia left the Hospital on Monday 10 August with he right arm in a banage with a cast under her arm to stop her bending the elbow or wrist.

Tuesday 11 August as arranged we left Port Goeche and motored to Yacht Classic in Fethiye. Banuhan had kindly arranged for us to use her berth which is along side to make it easy to berth and also for Lydia to get on and off Silver Lady using the boarding gates for the first few days.

Sunday the 16 August and during a visit to Calis market we called at the local public hospital to enquire if they could change the dressing on Lydia’s right arm. Yes no problem but they were unable to confirm the cost until they had changed the dressing as they did not know how much bandage would be required. Having enquired at a private clinic in Fethiye and been told it would cost between 100 and 150 TL we feared the worst. However they refused the 50 TL note as too much and asked for just 4.20 TL even more surprising was it all took less than 30 minutes from walking in to walking out.

Monday 23 August and we returned to Izmir to see Dr Kaplin the surgeon who had operated on Lydia’s finger. We had hoped he would reduce the bandage to just the wrist, but he decided that he could remove it all and just leave a bandage on the damaged index finger which he said was making good progress. He told us that we must return again in one week to have the dressing changed. The trip to Izmir is 6 hours so we tried to pursude him to let us have it dressed in Fethiye, but he said no we must return to see him.

Monday 30 August we got picked up at the hotel at 5 a.m. and then changed to the long distance coach to Izmir. Lydia then checked her appointment card and discovered that it was for the following day. Even worse Monday was a public holiday. Not holding out much hope we phoned the hospital and were told to come to reception when we arrived and they would do there best to see us as soon as possible. We certainly did not expect to see Dr Kaplin.

Within 10 minutes of arriving at the reception desk Dr Kaplin appeared and asked Lydia to go into a cubical where he removed the dressing and the stiches, then took her for an X ray and then to Physio to start getting some movement back. He then personally redressed just the end of the finger and we left the hospital just 45 minutes after arriving and in time to get the 13.30 coach back to Fethiye. The only downside he wants Lydia back again next week to check on progress. Hopefully the pins will come out in two weeks.

We are now planning to move to Marmaris in the next few days as it will reduce the travelling time to the hospital by two hours.

Yacht Classic has been a superb place for Lydia to recover from this accident and we have both managed just fine on Silver Lady, making lots of new friends and getting into a routine of walking into town and visiting the twice weekly market for fruit and vegetables.

It’s now been a week since Lydia’s accident and they have told here that she will be leaving the hospital on Monday 9 August.

As our visitor visa was running out we sought help from the local British Consular Office in Izmir. I was advised to go to see the Passport Police and explain our problem and that they would be able to help. To cut a long story short they can’t issue a new tourist visa and after 5 hours of getting photocopies of passports, photographs etc and filling forms we now have a 3 month residency visa at a cost of 748 TL for two persons.

As Lydia was unable to visit the office to sign her application so they arranged for a member of staff visit the hospital and took her thumb print instead of a signature. The staff were all very helpful and explained that they would need to keep our passports until Monday to complete the application for the residency visa.

The EMOT hospital in Izmir is excellent and the Surgeon Dr Kaplin has done an excellent micro surgery job of putting her finger back together. The nurses and staff have taken great care and the facilities are among the best in Europe with 24 hour care in private en suite rooms fully equipped with TV, Fridge and even a bed so that I could stay with her. They have made regular checks day and night to ensure that the injury is healing correctly and nothing has been too much trouble. 

On Monday we will return to Silver Lady in Goeck and have arranged to move on Tuesday 10 August back to Yacht Classic in Fethiye for some rest and good food whilst we decide what to do next. 

The doctor has explained that Lydia will have to have her dressing changed weekly for the next four weeks as well as stitches taken out in a week or two.

Our plans for the rest of the summer are therefore somewhat on hold as we wait to see how we manage on Silver Lady in the coming days.

We had got into a nice routine of spending mid weeks in Fethiye visiting the local market on Tuesday and travelling around on the local buses and then just heading into Fethiye town and the spending long weekends in the bays

The food and facilities at Yacht Classic are excellent and we have enjoyed many evenings in the company of fellow sailors eating by the water side.

Thursday 29 July to Monday 2 August

We anchored in Tomb Bay with two long lines ashore and relaxed reading and swimming in the warm waters against a back drop of the Lycian Tombs.

Monday 2 August to Thursday 5 August

We got up early to sail back to Fethiye for another few days at Yacht Classic.

Lydia released the two stern lines whilst I held Silver Lady in position against a light cross wind. After pulling Lydia back in the dinghy she went to lift the anchor as I motored slowly forwards. The anchor came up fine and then everything went horribly wrong as her hand got caught in the windlass. I carefully unlocked the brake and released her hand there was very little blood but as she was wearing gloves we could not see the fully extent of the injury but we both knew it was serious.

We motored as fast as possible towards Gocek and looking at the pilot book decided that as we would need help to berth Silver Lady and a taxi or ambulance. Port Gocek would be the best option as they were most likely to have English speaking staff that we could telephone and advise of our very urgent problem.

The Marina staff were great and put a man on board whilst another held up the lazy line ready to take our mooring line. A taxi was waiting and took us to the local clinic who carefully removed the glove and told us that we needed to see a specialist and instructed the taxi driver to take us to the Yucelen Hospital in Ortaca about half an hour away.

The Yucelen Hospital was only opened in 2009 and is the new regional hospital for the local area with all the very latest equipment. The surgeon however felt that the injury required very specialised micro surgery and advised that he would apply a saline dressing to keep the right index finger stable whilst we travelled by ambulance the 400 kms to Izmir.

The EMOT hospital is the best in Turkey and has a highly specialised hand unit where the surgeon spent 3.5 hours repairing the damage including a vein transplant from her wrist to the index finger. Lydia is at present confined to bed and has her right arm bandaged from finger tips to the top of her arm. Not that moving would be much of an option as she is attached to 3 drips. The hospital is excellent and the private rooms are all en suite twins just 9 rooms to a floor and you can stay overnight in the room. The only thing we are both missing is sleep as they come around every hour or so during the night and turn all the lights on to inspect the fingers and check all is OK.

When we arrived at the hospital on Monday 2 August they said at least 5 days may be 7 days so we laid up so to speak, whilst Silver Lady is in Port Gocek awaiting our return.

Friday 16 to Monday 19 July

Away by 9.00 a.m but not enough wind to sail so we went to Yassica Adalari a group of five small islands in Skopea Limani. The pilot book has little mention except to warn of a serious error on the charts which gives a deep water channel where in fact there is a reef  covered by just 1m of water.

The bays around the island have now have new mooring bouys which have been laid to protect the seabed from all the anchors and metal posts ashore strong enough to hold a large gullet.

We found a nice spot and enjoyed a swim and watched a lovely sunset.

Saturday we decided to have a look around the corner at some of the other bays and found a spot between two small islands. The first one we tried looked a bit exposed to the afternoon breeze so we moved quickly when a super yacht opposite moved and tucked in a a very protected mooring between two small gullet’s which would act as wave breakers if any swell wored its way into the mooring. In the late afternoon the usual breaze  pick up stronger than the previous day as a result of a gale which was blowing in a sea area to the north. Only a little swell entered the mooring how ever our wave breaking small private gulet on our port side kindly deflected it around us and we sat in still water.

The mooring was so good we stayed until Tuesday when once again the lack of fresh food and bottled drinks made a move necessary.

Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 July

Returned to our favourite pontoon in Fethiye and not our best approach to a pontoon. The late morning breaze had just kicked in and gusted at just the wrong moment blowing the bows off just as I knocked the power off as we approached a space between two other yachts. Fortunately the staff were great and helped us sort ourselves out with no damage done. Lesson to self always expect the unexpected even when berthing in a familiar spot.

The market was busy as usual and has over 60 stalls just selling fruit and vegetables plus all the other goods such as genuine fake designer goods as well as pots and pans. The local Carrifour super market we had been using because it offered free delivery has now closed so we went in search of another. The Migros is much larger and is very much like a Morrisons selling almost everthing from food to electrical goods. Unfortunately its further away and does not offer delivery so we could only buy what we could carry to the local Dolmus ( mini bus)  stop.

Tuesday evening and the hotel has a wedding which is apparently one of their first. The couple comprise of an English Girl and a Turkish Man with guests from each side of the family and an open air reception using the restaurant tables which had been rearranged specially for the evening. The dancing in the covered area was most entertaining with a mix of traditional English including everthing from the Gay Gordons to heavy metal disco and then traditional Turkish music and dancing in a large circle. The hotel had sensibly decided to prepare a fixed menu of chicken casseroles for their other guests at a reduced price. As you might expect the music was some what louder than usual but at midnight it was turned off and the function ended.

Wednesday went to have another look at villas in Calis and have some very interesting options to consider, but not made any firm decisions just yet.

Thursday a day sightseeing and Lydia fancies a trip to the old Haman (Turkish Bath) which is over 200 years old and located in the town centre. The Haman was an experience which started with lying on a marble slab called a navel stone in the centre of a warm room. A man then rubbed you over with an abrasive mit to remove the dead skin and built up sun cream etc.. Next you went to the other side of the marble slab where another man rubbed and massaged you with soap which was contained in a large bag rather like a pillow case. Then came a shampoo and a shower with cool water. Leaving the wet area you relaxed in a foyer area where you could then decide on further treatments. Lydia loving a back massage opted for a twenty minute rose oil treatment which left her fully chilled out and floating on air.

Friday although the hotel say we can stay we have decided to return to the islands and explore another of the bays for a few days.

Tuesday 6 to Thursday 15 July

Returned to Fethiye and our 5 star hotel pontoon, complete with wifi, electric, water, swimming pool and sun loungers.

The charter yachts add extra entertainment except when they try to berth next to us when we rush to defend ourselves. On a quite Sunday morning with a slight cross wind one of them started to blow sideways when leaving his berth. The Sunsail leader shouted no engine but he ignored him and managed to wrap the lazy line of another yacht around his propeller.  No sooner had they cut him free  (unfortunately loosing the lazy line ) but a catamaran arriving on another berth got the shore tail around his propeller.

We have made lots of new friends as well as renewing old ones meeting up again with Paul and Lorraine from Pwllheli for dinner at the hotel. 

Two other Moody yachts from Pwlhelli who over wintered at the Cleopatra yard are also here Endeavour and More Fortune.

Friday 2 July

As it was Charter boat change over day we left having seen one “Qulified skipper” bounce a yacht of two others in his attempt to leave. 

Great sail back to Pilloried cove but a motor boat was in our place so had to anchor on the side which is  a good position for the sunset. This afternoon what had been a quit cove was plagued by idiots in ribs and water skiers bussing back and forth like demented wasps.

Local boats come past selling Ice Cream, Pancakes and Fish.

Saturday 3 Monday 5 July

Lazy start, late breakfast and decided to motor just around the corner into 22 Fathom Cove and Seagull Bay.

Seagull Bay so called because of the large seagull painted on the shore was a bit bleak with a pontoon lazy lines and a restaurant which looked like a ruin but undoubtedly was operating illegally.

We anchored in 22 Fathom cove in 20 m but need a couple of attempts because the anchor did not hold first time. Around 2.00 p.m a French yacht next but one suddenly sprang to life as their anchor started to drag and were side on very close to the rocks. Luckily for them the restaurant boat had a powerful dinghy and managed to pull them clear just in time. They appeared to have some engine problems and were pushed by the restaurant dinghy to their safe pontoon and tied up so that they could sort the problem.

Managed to get rid of our rubbish to the garbage collection boat which now tours each of the bays and collects from shore pick up points and also yachts. They also have a pump out boat which empties holding tanks which all goes to help keep away rats and the water Crystal clear.

After being buzzed twice by yet another idiot in a professional ski boat we decided to leave and headed to tomb bay under head sail at 5 knots.

Found a relatively quiet and sheltered spot and took the shore line to one of the new metal  orange posts that you are now encouraged to use. Tying to trees is now an offence and you can be fined so its a choice of rocks or posts.

Sunday  and Monday decided that this is such a lovely spot that we would have  lazy days with a swim before breakfast and a look across the bay in the afternoon.