A Farewell to Remember for our Visitors & The end of a Season - Oct 1 – Nov 4, 2013

We have had terrible weather here, in Gocek.  We think a small cyclone came through Tuesday night; it was a nightmare. The lightening was like a fireworks show, the seas were very high and choppy - shooting up through the docks ten feet in the air. It had come on in the late afternoon and raged for a while. We were anchored and planning to go in to meet BeBe for dinner on shore. We had decided not to go, but then around 7:30, it becalmed so we went in. After getting seated and chatting for a while the rain and wind came back but we were indoors and couldn't hear the howling. Apparently what we thought was the end of the storm was only the eye. The winds were now fiercer than before and coming from the other direction. After dinner, we walked out to a horror show. Boats were violently pitching and slamming at the wharf. Locals told us they had never seen this before in Gocek. Our dinghy was gone from the cleat we had tied to! We found it half deflated, slamming up against and under the little footbridge to Skopea Marina. BeBe was tossing up and down so much; their passerelle was pitching about 4 feet up into the air. A catamaran moored next to them was full of drunken Russians who were partying and singing, the girls looked as though they were pole dancing on the shrouds without a care in the world as they came perilously close to slamming into Bebe. Frank and Jaime got on board to help Judy & Bill get BeBe secured, but some other boats didn't fare so well sustaining stern damage and damage to their passerelles.

We were now stranded on shore with no means to get back to Destiny. We couldn’t even see if she was still where we had left her. Eventually the captain of one of the mega yachts deployed his dinghy (looked like a Navy seal tender) and jetted us out to our boat. Sure enough she was there but pitching like a mad bull making it extremely difficult and more than a little scary trying to get on board. The captain was kind enough to return to shore for our crippled dinghy, towing it back to us. Frank raised the prune-shriveled tender on the davit, and we all hunkered down inside trying to ride the rest of the storm out. None of us had seen this on the weather forecasts.

The next morning of course the skies were clear and the day beautiful. The dinghy was taken to the hospital with a rip (above the waterline) and some cracks in the fiberglass bottom. Jaime and Christine left on the 3^rd. They certainly had some adventures to write home about.

After the dinghy repair we leisurely returned to Yacht Classic in Fethiye, via the lovely islands on the way, to get Destiny ready for her long Winter’s nap.

We had gotten so lucky with our summer cruising here because it was quite mild and then our trip back up from Kas was one of the best sails we had here, which is amazing since we've heard that it is a bash coming back up. So I guess the odds were heading us toward a really bad day, eventually. The cold has settled in here as well, which makes nice sleeping weather. Today the winds are unmerciful but skies are clear and the temp is cool. I guess when the season starts it comes in with a bang!

September 14 – 26, 2013 – American Visitors, Some History Lessons, a Scare from the Turkish Navy, and a Dreadful Storm…

Two happy men at Wall Bay

Jaime and Christine Tate, formerly of s/v Morning Light, came for a visit. We covered quite a lot of ground during their short time here and packed away some precious memories.

Cleopatra's Baths by Wall Bay

Of course we spent several days in the Gocek/Skopea Limani area. Jaime wanted to float like Frank in his birthday photo, which pleased Frank immensely. 

While at Wall Bay we noticed several yachts shining huge spotlights onto the shore area the first night. The next morning we asked them what that was about. This bay is home to giant porcupines that come out at night, raid the rubbish of the restaurant and often abscond with their watermelons. A watermelon-stealing porcupine you ask? They must be massive! And they are. We sat vigil the following night, and eventually one of the spotlights illuminated a huge creature that in my mind resembled ALF from the TV series, at first I thought it was a large boulder on shore, but it soon began to amble about. I jumped up and pointed, “There’s one! My God, he’s enormous!” There were actually two of them, but the lights frightened them away, so I only got a quick glance. Frank, Chris and Jaime razzed me, saying I must’ve been either hallucinating or exaggerating. No porcupine can be that large. Well…we went hiking the next morning, and as we approached the area around Cleopatra’s Baths Jaime bent down to pick up something. It was a porcupine quill about a foot long. Now they believed!

Jaime's quill find

 Next stop was Amigos for wild boar casserole and fresh baked bread, and then Fethiye. There is so much rich Christian, Lycian, Byzantine and Roman history here it is mind-boggling.

We then sailed down to Kas where Bill and Judy had recommended that we rent a car and drive south one day then north the next day to the ancient towns and villages of the Lycian way; 1) Myra/Demre, home of the church of St Nicholas and ornate tombs built into massive cliffs, the once the capital of Roman Lycia, and a well preserved Roman Theater, 2) Patara the alleged birthplace of Apollo and St. Nicholas also home of a beautiful sand beach where St. Paul boarded the ship for Rome (I think to attend his trial), 3) Xanthos and Letoon a UNESCO archeological site that is astoundingly large and intact. Great advice! We spent two full days touring these areas and enjoying the scenic drives after spending a day discovering lovely Kas with its ancient winding streets, markets and cafes.

J & C in Kas

Stones at Myra

Myra Tombs

Emperor Frankin Myra Amphitheater

Dome at St. Nicholas Church

Walking Patara Beach where St. Paul walked

Patara Beach from the road above

Tombs at Xanthos

Xanthos

We then sailed down to Kekova Roads where the water is crystal clear and you can see an underwater city. The surrounding hills are peppered with sarcophagi. It was wonderful except for three things that nearly dented our fun.  We were swimming around, marveling that there were no dangerous sea creatures in these waters when Jaime shouted, “OUCH!” A small fish had bitten his nipple! It really did hurt him and his nipple swelled up but we couldn’t stop laughing long enough to feel sorry for him. After that we were wary of the wicked Nipple Biter Fish! Not long afterward an intense windstorm suddenly came along nearly ripping our canvas awning to shreds before we could get it taken in and move the boat into a safe cove that was so overcrowded with yachts rushing for shelter we nearly met with catastrophe. Then to top it off, poor Jaime got stung on his finger by a bee, causing it to turn black and swell up.

Relaxing at a Kekova Roads cafe

Poor Jaime!

We departed Kekova roads early two days later for another day in Kas. On September 23^rd, I made the following notes in my journal:

“Turkish Navy Monday, Sept 23, 2013

We had some big excitement this morning - we left Kas for Kalkan hoping the winds and seas would be kind for the trip back up and actually picked up some fantastic sailing wind and were flying! As we passed Kalkan, Frank decided we should go for it and get as far as the good weather would allow when all of a sudden a Turkish warship started heading toward us. Our cockpit mic is out so we didn't hear them hailing us at first "sailing yacht on our starboard side, this is Turkish Warship calling" they got more urgent until we realized they were calling us! I ran down to the VHF and answered them. They told us to turn immediately to 180 degrees for 10 miles and then we could turn to 270. They are clearing the area for live fire exercises. They diverted all traffic up and down the coast from Kalkan to ??? We heard them talking to lots and lots of yachts. Several were asking permission to go into Fethiye or Gocek and permission was denied because of the exercises, so we know it went at least as far as Gocek for 10 miles off the coast. Frank is angry and insisting that we must at least get into one of those ports because we had guests on board who needed to catch a flight tomorrow. They couldn’t believe we were arguing with them and we couldn’t believe our rotten luck. Having no choice we diverted, and can hear the booms of weapons fire from time to time.

At least we caught a good angle and now are sailing again - amazing to be sailing back up the coast! It's awesome!!! At 2 PM they finished the exercises so we are all heading back toward shore. We can see at least 5 warships out here. We are wondering what they are preparing for…is something going on here we should prepare for?”

 

The Warship that hailed us

We never found out whether that was just a standard exercise or an emergency drill. We did make it to tiny Gemiler Island. On arrival a man and woman came along in a little boat offering to help us stern-tie to shore. Afterward they cooked up some golzeme pancakes for us for a few TL each. We relaxed a bit and then wet exploring. During the Byzantine period the island housed 4 churches, one dedicated to St. Nicholas who was rumored to have lived here, ruins of tombs, houses and hostels for weary travelers. It’s really beautiful. We hiked all over this little island that rises straight up out of the water to a high peak that gives magnificent 360° views of the bay and beyond.

On the 25^th we returned to Gocek, sliding in on the toes of a nasty looking weather system. Bill and Judy had BeBe berthed there on the wharf at Skopea Marina and had made a reservation for the 6 of us at Blue. Tonight was two-for-one dinner night. We dinghyed into the Skopea dinghy wharf, and all looked fine and good, weather-wise. We wore our foul weather gear just in case. While at dinner, however, the storm we had hoped to avoid hit Gocek with massive intensity. We watched as yachts slammed against the town quay, praying that Destiny was ok out there on the hook, not giving any thought to the safety of our dinghy. The storm was not showing signs of letting up any time soon so we bundled up and headed out to check on the yachts. We arrived to utter chaos. The dinghy wharf was in splinters and our dinghy had been slammed up under a small bridge and was repeatedly pierced by jutting nails sticking out of he concrete. We felt physically ill watching it deflate to nothing, the motor barely above water. Frank managed to fish the painter out and walk it to shore but there was no way we could use it to get back to Destiny. Bebe was getting bumped by yachts on both sides, and her stern was slamming up and down violently. Judy and Bill managed to board her and to get the lines secured while trying to fend off the Russian catamaran that was wildly tossing about on Bebe’s stern side with the crew and passengers drinking and partying not worried a bit about damage. They were pretty far-gone, stoned or drunk and could care less. It was a hellish scene. The temperature had dropped several degrees, and there we stood freezing and in shock. The night was pitch black and we couldn’t lay eyes on Destiny, nor did we have a way to get back to her. Eventually the captain of one of the super yachts offered to give us a lift to our boat when it was safe to deploy his tender. Getting into his tender took monumental effort in slamming waves that drenched everyone. We found Destiny still afloat but furiously bucking the anchor chain. We nearly broke our necks trying to board her but did manage to get aboard safely. No one slept well that night until the storm finally abated in the early morning hours. Gocek’s wharf looked like pick up sticks the next morning, and our dinghy was a mess. But the skies were clear and the day was beautiful for Christine and Jaime’s departure. They got a cab to the airport and we sent Destiny to the dinghy hospital.

The little bridge that ate our dinghy. looking closely you can see nails sticking out of the bottom.

August 2 – Sept 13, 2013 – Happy 65th to Frank and exploring Gocek to Fethiye

Wall Bay is the perfect setting for relaxing in the crystal clear, cool water. This is exactly what Frank did for his 65^th birthday, floating on his inflatable lounge chair with cigar and beer in hand tethered to the stern. The weather is glorious! 

In the afternoon we sailed – yes! We actually sailed into Fethiye, berthed at the Yacht Classic Marina, and gathered Bebe, Scallywag and our friend Riza together to celebrate Frank’s birthday dinner in YC’s rather famous dockside restaurant. Bill and Judy prepared a doozie of a gift pack for Frank. They presented him with “Entitlement wine”, an official certificate of entitlement (welcome to the Old Fart’s club!), a disc of their favorite movies and a gourmet birthday cake. I wish I had a photo of the certificate but took it home to Texas, so I can’t show it here. I brought some tacky noisemakers, a sparkly hat for Frank to wear, and treated everyone to dinner. We had a grand old time roasting the Captain. Bill and Judy’s granddaughter Elizabeth was with us, probably wondering what she did to deserve the company of this wacky, childish bunch of adults.

Bill Rouse reading Frank's certificate to Riza

Elizabeth and Judy

Paul and Glor (catamaran Scallywag)

We took Bill and Judy’s advice to book Yacht Classic marina for our winter berth. The price is great and we really like Fethiye. Their market is by far my favorite of anywhere we’ve been and the town has everything we need. Although larger than Marmaris, it feels homey and much less touristy. 

A few days later we took off to explore the coastal anchorages of this gorgeous area, and to do some recon because guests would be arriving soon.  We sailed down to Kas, visited with Laura and Mark Pitt (s/v Sabbatical III). It is just beautiful with a lovely town and nice marina but too far from any airports for us to have considered wintering there. We spent the majority of our time in the Gocek/Skopea Limani  and Fethiye areas because the anchorages around there are just perfect for hiking, swimming and eating. Nearly every bay provides homemade fresh “village bread” and olive oil or honey for sale. In many anchorages a small boat will putter up beside you to cook made-to-order golzeme (sweet or savory). There is even a market boat that makes daily trips out of Gocek, selling a little bit of everything from fresh fruits and veggies to alcoholic beverages. Speedboats in the area offer parasailing, kayaking, skiing; you name it! It is Utopia.

Fethiye waterfront

Lunch on our boat
Love all the fresh fruits and veggies here! 

Destiny with her tent up and Scallywag at Gemlier Island

market boat in Ruin Bay

Ekincek

Just to the NW of Gocek  is “My Marina” at Ekincik. Great swimming area; med moor to the wharf, which is free if you eat in the very pricey restaurant.

Gemlier Bay on the way to Kas from Fethiye, with the island full of ruins of churches and a monastery that is said to be the home of St. Nicholas. There is nothing there but good hiking through the dilapidated monastery and the tombs. We med-moored to shore, backing up over sunken homes. Around the corner are several good restaurants.

The downside – great hiking but the trails are basically goat trails with sharp rocks in many places. I blew out my good New Zealand trekking sandals.

Med mooring is very stressful because the wind invariably catches you abeam making it nearly impossible to back up with our full keel. Watch for sea urchins when mooring to shore or coming into shallows.  

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