July 21, 2013 - My arrival in Gocek and Destiny getting some TLC

I’m back with Frank and Destiny.

Sadly I spent the entire month away tending to my parents’ home and was hardly able to spend any time with my daughter and grandson. But at least I managed to get part of the house cleaned up and some repairs done. We will return in November and with Frank’s help I may complete the task and then spend a lot of time with them.

In Gocek we first stayed in the small apartment for a short while awaiting Destiny’s completed repairs and subsequent return to the water.

Frank in the apartment

On recommendations from Bill and Judy Rouse (s/v BeBe), Frank hooked up with Riza of Emek Marin for work on Destiny. Riza is actually the Amel rep in Turkey but they trust him, and so shall we. Frank has already established a wonderful relationship with Riza and his crew.

With Riza having a Turkish feast

Our first Turkish Pide in Gocek - the best we've ever had.

They are giving Destiny quite an overhaul. During transit the ship had encountered seriously bad weather at sea - waves coming up over the yachts! Sustaining two monsoons, the Clipper Aurora had to go in toward shore a few times during the passage to get out of the treacherous conditions. Destiny has some very large custom canvas pieces that enclose the gooseneck portion of the boom and mast, and pulpit at the helm. Both are shredded from the sandblasting of the desert storms the ship encountered when cruising close to shore. Right now we have more critical matters to address before replacing those.

Many, many workers are crawling all over inside and out getting us back in shape. I’m reminded of ants coming and going.

Although the boat is watertight we are finding a dusting of very fine sand, like talcum powder coating the entire interior. When we splash I’ll empty every locker and cabinet for a deep cleaning. A job no one enjoys!

It is very hot but Gocek is a wonderful little village with everything we need: great restaurants, good shopping and a fabulous Sunday fresh market with booths for home goods and DVD’s for 3 TL each. The USD is strong over here so we are getting a good conversion rate. Gocek is home to Skopea Marina, which is one of the mega yacht marinas in Turkey. We have seen some phenomenally massive yachts come in here.

During times that we were awaiting parts to arrive we would cruise the stunning 7-islands area where the water is crystal clear and swimming is great! There is probably no safer place to swim because these waters are nearly devoid of sea life but for the urchins attached to the shallows and wharfs. Nearly every bay or cove has a taverna/café where you can berth for free as long as you dine there. We sometimes do but the charter boats come en masse and just cover us up so we prefer the hook.  Our favorite anchorages were Wall Bay (an ancient wall comes right down to the bay), Tomb Bay (where you can see tombs carved right into the cliffs above), and 12-Fathoms cove where a little ship restaurant called Amigos serves the best darn home cooked casseroles we’ve ever tasted. They specialize in wild boar. 

Our biggest challenge is med-mooring to shore; we drop the hook or grab a mooring ball, and then back up toward shore taking stern lines to a bollard or boulder on shore to hold us in place. This is essential because the bays are too crowded to swing anchor, and are also often too deep to do so. Trying to do this with any wind or current at all is nearly impossible for us. We may never master this!

We managed to do a little sailing with Endangered Species, Bebe and Scallywag in the area, before they eventually moved on, as we would frequently return to Gocek when parts arrived.

Frank loves him some Efes Beer!!

Sundowners in Gocek with Judy, Bebe, Bill, Paul, Glor