Pictures

We tried to leave Kastellorizo early but the neighbour had managed to put his anchor over ours so we were delayed a little in leaving the harbour. We started out motoring with no wind but that soon changed and for a short time we were able to motor sail but even that did not last long and we ended up with very strong winds on the nose (20+) and a very bumpy sea. So much so that we shortened the journey and stopped for the night in Cold Water Bay. Firstly we anchored in Karacaonen Bay but we changed to anchor behind St Nicolas island when the swell entered the bay and we were rolling like crazy. George came and greeted us having remembered us from our previous visit and we treated ourselves to some pancakes from the pancake boat. Just right to finish off dinner.

After checking the water pump axle and greasing the propeller axle Caryn swam ashore and released the land line. We motored out of the channel and starting making our way towards Marmaris. The swell was still very bad and with strong NW winds forecast we decided to put into Kizulkuyruk bay again to wait for a calmer sea. We anchored amongst the gullets that had a never ending dance of entering and leaving the bay with their different customers. It is a pity that one cannot impart the sense of smell in pictures, film or video as the day we have spent in the bay has been a bouquet of smells. The strongest has been the scent of pine that wafts over boat every time there is a strong gust of wind. There have been some very strong gusts into the bay so very glad that we were not fighting them at sea. It should be calmer tomorrow so we can continue on our way and reach Marmaris where we shall pick up the new sail and fill diesel as well as stocking up on the engine spares that we need.

We have had a change of plan. After checking the diesel we have decided to go into Gocek to fuel as we want to be sure that there is enough to get us to Marmaris with no problems. We had a dicey exit from the anchorage as Caryn had to raise the anchor whilst Svein was taking in the line ashore and then we had to store the dinghy in the davits whilst underway and all this during strong gusts of wind and anchored between big gullets. In fact we even thought that one had put his chain over ours but that was a false alarm. On arriving in Gocek we filled the tank and all the cans and then anchored for the night in Gocek bay and got it right after several attempts

Very bright and early Svein started the engine and weighed anchor (06h00) to get as far as possible before the strong NW winds hit us in the afternoon. We motored for a few hours and round the head and crossed the wide bay where there are military restrictions. We were able to unfurl the genoa for a time that increased our speed by nearly 1 knot but had to furl again on the approach to Marmaris. We finally anchored in the bay outside Pupa at 13h30 just before the winds started. We stayed on the boat in the afternoon as Svein took several naps to recover. We saw Alex from North Sails who sailed passed on a catamaran that was trying out their new genoa. We also saw Orion in the distance.

Before going into town to see North Sails we packed up the main sail in preparation for fitting the new one. Svein saw Ginny leaving the bay early. We went into town and arranged an appointment with North Sails. We did our shopping and then North Sails drove us back to Pupa and fitted the main sail. North Sails took back the staysail to adjust. This will  take a week. We went over to Orion for drinks in the evening

Our wedding anniversary today. We went into town to pay for the sail and declined the compressor. We visited every chandler looking for spinlocks without success and went to Yacht Marina to change books and have a swim in the afternoon.

We finished the evening with a very good dinner at Pupa to mark the occasion.

Today we took the boat out into the bay to try out the new sail. We had very little wind but managed to stay on the water 7 hours before coming back to anchor nearer to Yacht Marina.

A new day and we decided to go into Yacht Marina to get a good internet connection and to have a swim.  We are just filling in time now until we get the stay sail back and can check out of Turkey and back into Greece before Svein goes to Norway to visit his family.