Marina Life Part 2 March 29, 2003 In spite of the Iraq war, life goes on here much as before. There are people getting their boats ready for another season sailing the Med., or preparing to go further abroad such as down the Red Sea, or heading west to reach Gibraltar for a winter passage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Sails are spread out on the concrete dock being scrubbed to rid the previous year’s soil; dinghies are being uncovered, cleaned and prepared for launching after a winter on shore. Cruisers are re-stitching their dodgers and biminis, inspecting and cleaning their hulls, varnishing their brightwork, lubricating blocks, winches, windlasses, and most moveable parts and rigging. Sails are flogging on boats still secured to the docks as they unfurl them for the first time in months to check for mildew, split seams, or other defects. Tarps are being removed and cockpits cleared from their winter clutter. On nice days, sheets, mattresses and cockpit cushions are being aired out. Some national and courtesy flags worn from the winter gales are being replaced with fresh new ones. The pace of activities in the boat yard is increasing as vessels are given their final coats of bottom paint prior to launch. Many of the boats on the “hard” are grinding out gouges in the hulls, or sanding their bottoms down to the gelcoat preparatory to osmosis treatments. Propellers are being changed or installed (feathering props are increasing in popularity), and anchor chains hang down from bowsprits awaiting regalvanized or new anchors (the “bugle” anchor is the popular and economical choice over here). The breakwater on the far side of the boat yard accommodates many boats for the winter. These have to be hauled on a low slung boat transporter around the marina docks over to the travel lift in the yard for launching or re-mounted on cradles for last minute repairs before returning to the water for another season. The several maintenance shops are extremely busy fabricating and repairing equipment to get the boats ready for launching. There are electrical, woodworking, metal, painting, and engine repair shops with modern equipment and skilled craftsmen ready to help the boaters get ready for launching. Oktay, the technical manager, is in great demand to be consulted and employ his staff to meet the many demands of dozens of boats to get ready for sea. On the far side of the boatyard are the larger, graceful, wooden gulets getting ready for another season chartering. Kemer is home to a large fleet of over 30 gulets. Some older ones are having structural revisions made such as enlarged aft platforms, new or refurbished masts, and in some cases planking replaced, and seams re-caulked. The dry smell of sawdust, and the acrylic sweet scent of varnish combine with the visual spectacle of these classic prowed wooden vessels with their towering masts to create a warm sense of a bygone era of sailing ships (even though few of these gulets use their sails nowadays). On Veleda, we have many tasks completed, but at least five more major ones before we are ready to set off. We have the wire on board to replace our lifelines. However, to do so requires us to cut and swage the ends, and mount them fore and aft adjusting the proper tension with turnbuckles. These need to be mounted before we get the outboard motor and Sprite operational and hoisted on our dinghy-tow. We need to set up the bimini once it is returned from having a new window stitched in it. I have just started removing and sanding all the woodwork on the upper deck prior to at least three coats of Cetol, a varnish-like wood finish. This includes four dorade boxes, two five foot lengths of handrails, a new wooden door for the propane locker, and support slats for the cockpit cushion platforms. Then will come the final scouring and cleaning of the entire upper deck, and using metal polish to get rid of rust on the stanchions and bow and stern pulpits. Then we should be ready for sea. However, we would like to become familiar with new navigational software we bought back from Toronto while we are still here and have some expertise available to us from other cruisers. We also want to try out our new network connection with our laptop at a local internet café as we will no longer have the luxury of a phone line from which to send E-mail after we leave Kemer. In addition, there is a final Kemer barbecue on April 5th that we don’t want to miss. So, April 6th I hope is our departure date. I originally wanted to leave by April 1st. The slightly later date may also bring better weather. Today we are having another gale, with steady winds at 35 knots gusting to 45, and very cold weather. We even saw a few snow flurries this morning for a few minutes! Oh well, warmer weather is on the way. March 29, 2003 We move our clocks ahead one hour tonight. Work is proceeding well. We got the wire for our lifelines, but the plugs for the swage fittings which we had made for over $70.00 Cdn were defective and we were unable to mount the last three parts of the lifelines. Additional plugs have been ordered from Holland Marine in Toronto for 1/10th the price and will be brought over by David Mulholland who will be joining us on April 21 in Kos. Nothing is ever simple! The weather has been improving and during sunny days the temperature is up to 21 C, shorts weather. The painting and varnishing has gone well. Our bimini is now back and installed, and I have sprayed a water repellant on our dodger and bimini. Unfortunately, Trish, a Canadian/American lady on Rhumb Line who was sewing in our new window, fell and broke her sternum last week, putting her out of commission for a while. She is healing well, staying with friends ashore, and expects to be back on her boat in a few days. We live with these risks of accidents or injuries which can really restrict our sailing plans. However, most of us are quite healthy while sailing, and accept bruises and scratches as part of the price of doing our own maintenance to keep us safely afloat. Judy and I have been on the Atkins diet for the past three weeks, Judy losing about 5 kilo (11 pounds) and myself about 8 kilo (18 pounds), and several inches in various places. We will stay on it until we are at our goal weights, then moderate to a regular but less copious diet. This is the first time we have really gone on a diet, and we have reduced our food intake dramatically; but are comfortable with it, and are pleased with the results. We are aware there is some controversy about the low carbohydrate approach, and we miss breads and fruits, but we will stick with it until reaching goal weights. We were both overweight when we came back from Canada, and needed to get rid of the excess. I had a dental bridge replaced and a molar pulled last week for less than 20% of what it would have cost in Canada. The dentist did a good job, overseen and approved by Judy (who is a retired dentist). We still have a busy social calendar. I have never been to more symphonies in my life than I have here. We have attended and helped out in cruising seminars on the Adriatic and the Western Mediterranean, and will be assisting in a seminar on “man overboard procedures”. We had a delicious “pot luck” supper tonight with “barbecued” chicken provided by the Navigator out on the breakwater dock/patio. I say “barbecued” chicken, as their way of cutting up and cooking chicken is quite different from what we expect of barbecued chicken in North America. We were advised that we would have chicken quarters, but the butchering here in Turkey is different from what we expect in Canada. Quartered chicken just seems to mean chicken pieces chopped into sixths or eighths, not breasts, thighs, wings and legs as we are accustomed to. We have had several enjoyable Sunday walks up in the mountains, wandering around the hills and valleys, though local towns and enjoying remote restaurants serving local fare, especially at the trout farms. The winter season is coming to a close, most of the maintenance is done, and we are looking forward to getting back to sea, exploring the remote anchorages of Turkey and the Aegean on our way up to the Black Sea. Next Log I will talk about the touring we have done here in Turkey, and hopefully, our departure.
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