Sinop and heading back Toronto, Canada Aug. 29, 2003 Our fishermen friends left Caylioglu before us the morning of June 24th, and we set off into a light NW breeze at about 0830, to be visited by a pod of dolphins, including a juvenile. I was able to get some pictures of them frolicking around Veleda, including a couple of short 20 second videos which I can take on my digital camera. We motored the 28 miles up to anchor in the lovely bay of Hamsilos (42 03.6N, 035 02.7E) at the entrance to the inner cove, well sheltered from the open water. This idyllic bay is part of an attractive national park outside of Sinop, and has no buildings or lights around. We had hoped to go in for a skinny dip, but there were people enjoying the park and so we wore our bathing suits. We were the only boat in this verdant bay. Next morning we set off for Sinop, only 14 miles away, but were pounding into a steady force 4 wind and 1 metre swell from the northeast. We decided that going out around the tip of Sinop (Boztepe Burnu) would expose us to even worse swells and winds, and so after an hour and a half pounding into it, we reversed course to go to anchor in Akliman (42 03.2N, 035 02.7E), a large well sheltered bay on the opposite side of the park peninsula to where we anchored last night. We had traveled 6.4 nautical miles into the big bay and back over a two hour period to anchor only a half nautical mile direct line from last night's anchorage. This bay is much larger than Hamsilos, and has many fishing boats along the park shoreline. Just inside the north point we saw the fishing boat we met in Caylioglu, alongside the lighthouse dock with another boat rafted off. They waved us to come over after we were anchored. So we enjoyed another pleasant afternoon with them and the other boat and had another feast of the sea snail stew. We dinghied around the bay to see the large pleasant park area with many families having picnics. This anchorage and the one we were in last night are sometimes used by boaters visiting Sinop, as there is a bus service from the park into town. When we returned to Veleda I stayed in the dinghy to scrub the sides of Veleda, bringing up the shine of the new paint job we had done last year in Kemer. The dark blue hull shows the salt accumulation, but it washes off easily. I also noted the heavy slime and barnacle encrusted hull below the waterline. We will have to get hauled out, perhaps before the summer sailing is over , as that much bottom debris would knock our speed down 25 %, and since we are doing so much motoring that translates into more money for the expensive ($1.40 per litre Canadian) diesel over here. However, I was glad to have the chance to clean the topsides. Leaving at 0715 next day to avoid any late morning wind buildup, we motored the 12 miles around to Sinop on a flat windless sea. The eastern harbour is exposed to the predominant winds and had no boats sheltering in it. Upon entering the western harbour we saw the large shipyard and many fishing boats lining the outer and inner wharves, with no space for yachts available. However as we ventured further into the inner harbour we saw, rafted off a fishing boat and a gulet, another yacht, Eagle's Nest, a British boat we last saw at Poyraz. As we approached Eagle's Nest we hailed them but got no response. We prepared to go alongside them (42 01.4N, 035 08.9E), and were helped by a local gentleman, Habes, who was taking care of Eagle's Nest while Valerie and Jack were away in Istanbul renewing their visas. Habes, who speaks a bit of English, was most helpful and it was easy to see why Eagle's Nest would trust their boat to him while they were away for a few days. In the early afternoon Habes and his grandson Kori drove us across town to the farmers' market for supplies. Kori, a young man in his early 20's spoke German and English as well as Turkish, as he has been living in Germany for several years. Habes was so concerned for our getting the best prices that he suggested we wait until the afternoon when many of the prices are reduced, and actually embarrassed us by haggling with some of the vendors on our behalf. Prices in Turkish markets are cheap enough without trying to find a vendor charging a few Turkish lira less. An interesting section was the women's market, where individual ladies sat under an open pavilion, surrounded by their minimal market garden produce, cheese, honey, and crafts, gossiping away to each other, bedecked in multi-coloured scarves, baggy printed pants, and loose fitting cloth vests covering their shirts or sweaters. In making a purchase, sometimes the item would be weighed with a hand held scale, or the amount just guessed at and a price quoted. Upon paying, the ladies would fish a money purse from out of the copious folds of their loose fitting garments and give the necessary change. This market, held every Monday and Thursday, was very well stocked with abundant amounts of fresh local produce, as well as the usual flea market trinkets. It was the Thursday market we attended. After grocery shopping, I found an internet café and sent off some E-mail. Once I had lugged six jerry cans of water from the tap at the end of the jetty across the fishing boat, the gulet and Eagle's Nest inside of us, I enjoyed a walk to the end of the pier past the Coast Guard vessel moored alongside, and had a chance to examine the large fishing trawlers. They were in port as it was off-season for them. These were large Black Sea trawlers with one or two stern slots in their aft decks to accommodate smaller steel boats used to lay and haul in the big nets. I also wandered into town and over the ancient ramparts which protected the inner town, some dating back to the 8th century. Atop a couple of them were small bar/restaurants on the bastions, with fantastic views over the town and harbour areas. Below one wall was a wedding party, the bride dressed in a white wedding gown, and enjoying local music and dancing, not unlike the wedding receptions we have back home. Sinop is a very pleasant community with good stores, provisions, ancient but well preserved ruins, a large garrison wall encircling the old town, and a nautical history relating to the Crimean war. In 1853 the Ottoman Navy based in Sinop was annihilated by the Russian navy in a surprise attack, possibly the powder keg which ignited the Crimean War. Shortly thereafter Britain and France took over the fighting in alliance with the Ottoman Empire. There are trekking clubs, dolmuses, and local travel agencies providing interesting excursions inland and along this beautiful lush mountainside Black Sea coast. West of Sinop are white sand beaches, lagoons and bird sanctuaries, and 1350 m mountains with high pasture plateaus to the southwest where the traditional Turkish way of life for the farmers is untouched by tourism. Unfortunately that night (Thursday, June 26) we got a phone call from Ruth, Judy's mother telling us her cancer had recurred, and suggesting we consider coming back earlier in the fall rather than waiting until our Christmas trip over. Wow! Judy and I agonized over how urgent it was. We had a friend who was to meet us in Samsun in three days, my brother and sister-in-law who were to meet us in Bulgaria in August and some other friends who were to meet us in Istanbul in Sept. Could we meet our friend in Samsun then head back? To where? What would we do with Veleda? There are no marinas on the Black Sea. Our return to Canada would be for the rest of the year, and we would not be back to Veleda before next spring at the earliest. We would have to get back to an organized marina where we could leave Veleda securely. The closest marinas are in Istanbul, 325 miles away, but when we called them, we found out they were very expensive for an annual contract. The next closest would be Ayvalik on the northern Aegean coast of Turkey (nothing on the Sea of Marmara or in the Dardanelles), also quite expensive and 500 miles away. The most economical would be the new marina in Marmaris, 1000 miles away on the southwest coast of Turkey. Kusadasi, Bodrum and Kos were other alternatives, but more expensive and not that much closer than Marmaris. Kemer although economical was an additional 500 miles distant. Could Judy fly back from Istanbul and I take Veleda to Marmaris? Could I get a crew to help me? I didn't want Judy facing the situation at home without me. Should we start heading back now? Could we leave Veleda in the local shipyard? It would have a crane that could haul her out and put her on a cradle. However, there were no other yachts there, the cradles for the fishing boats were rickety, and there was no fence or security of any kind. We couldn't leave Veleda there for a year even though Habes would be able to look over her once in a while. He did suggest a harbour on the Bosphorus which could haul us and would be inexpensive. Maybe?!? None of the alternatives assuaged our concern for Ruth and Henry. An additional complicating factor was that Henry had an accident two weeks earlier and broke his left leg, his femur, just below the hip. He would be very limited in his ability to care for Ruth if her cancer deteriorated faster. He was at least at home, with a titanium rod in his leg, allowing him to get around a bit, using one of those four legged walkers (in a three story house!). By next day (Friday) we had decided we had better start heading back, possibly as far as Marmaris, and E-mailed and phoned our friends to cancel the sailing plans with them. The inner fishing boat had to shift its berth in the afternoon, and we needed to move until the other boats had finished their maneuvering. We anchored off the western beach just outside the harbour for an hour, during which we checked the engine to find it was leaking fuel oil into the drip pan below the engine. Where was it from? We identified the leak as coming from the fuel pump bleed valve. When we attempted to tighten the nut, it just rotated freely. The threads were sheared! When we returned to harbour, we had to Med moor at the end of the inner dock, hoping we wouldn't foul the other anchors of the local fishing boats around us. We epoxied the valve closed, hoping it would hold. Should we start a trip back to Istanbul, which would be the nearest place we could replace the fuel pump? Could we find a mechanic here in Sinop who could repair the valve? Possible, but how long would it take? Today was Friday, the Moslem Sabbath, and we would have to wait until tomorrow to see if Habes could find a mechanic who might be familiar with Yanmar diesels. Judy was becoming more distressed, the wind was a bit easterly which would be of help, and so we decided we would leave now. Habes took me by cab to a fuel station to top up three jerry cans; we thanked him and left late Friday afternoon to motor 12 miles to anchor back in Akliman before dark. The epoxy did not hold, and we were still leaking fuel. We then tried the old reliable, duct tape, to help seal the valve before we left at 0400 the next morning. En route we found it too did not stop the fuel leak. Was it getting worse? We would have to deal with it, or our motoring range would be severely limited, and, good old Murphy's Law, we were heading into light westerly winds. Where were they when we were making our way east and could have used them? We felt we had a few weeks in hand, and that we could nurse the engine to Istanbul, repair it there, then head for Marmaris. However later that day (Saturday) while under way, we got another phone call from Toronto, Judy's dad, very distraught at Ruth's rapid deterioration. We had no more time; we had to get home now! Next log