Hope's and Howard's Sailing Adventures

With Howard’s back slowly improving, we set off for Knidos on August 12th.  It was a good sail some of the way but, again, the wind died behind the island of Kos.  This time we didn’t even go ashore in Knidos, just in case the anchor dragged in the somewhat variable and gusty winds that evening.  Instead we enjoyed great swimming off the boat and a quiet evening onboard. The.. Read More

Yes, it happened when we least expected it to.  While we were in Bodrum, we received a message from our Turkish broker, Birol, that an American couple living in Italy were interested in buying our boat so they could sail her back to the US and maybe beyond.  After much heartache, some serious soul-searching and some negotiation, we accepted their offer.  The next step in the process was to have.. Read More

Our last blog was a bit after the fact because we ran out of data on our Turkish SIM card, just at publishing time.  It took three more stops until we were able to find a Turkcell dealer and top up our minutes.  In the interim, the blog was published without photos using wifi from a bar.  The photos have since been added so, in case you have’t already seen.. Read More

From Bozuk Bükü, we anticipated stronger winds once past the first headland as there is just a 4-mile stretch of water between it and the Greek island of Symi.  A   reef in the main turned out to be prudent initially when sailing close-hauled in about 20 knots of wind but we soon shook it out as the wind dropped and we were reaching around the second headland and entering.. Read More

Our departure from Marmaris was delayed because we wanted to get our boat insurance sorted out before we left.  Our current insurance is with Pantaenius US but they, like several other companies, are getting out of the yacht insurance business (too many hurricanes?) so will not renew our policy that expires on August 10th. We have had difficulty finding alternative insurers. Some US companies were not keen on us being.. Read More

After chilling for about 5 days in various Kekova anchorages, enjoying a bit of hiking, paddle-boarding and cooling-off swims in the oft chilly spring-fed waters, we set off around the next set of headlands, passing closely to a couple of small Greek islands. One of those islands was Meyisti (home to Castellorizo) where we saw a large Greek war ship patrolling the waters.  Thankfully we hadn’t strayed into Greek waters.. Read More

After about 12 weeks of lockdown, at least for those aged 65 or older (Howard), the restrictions were lifted last week (between the hours of 10:00 to 20:00) and on June 16 we finally departed Finike marina. Our feelings were rather mixed, after over 8 months there, apart from interludes in the UK and US, we had become accustomed to life in this Turkish part of the Med; good friends,.. Read More

We find ourselves, at the end of March, still on ‘cell/dock #50’ in Finike marina, Turkey. Our plans, like many others, placed on hold due to the current pandemic. The boat is ready to go, with her bottom painted and essential maintenance tasks completed. There is just nowhere to go. The advice from the marina staff was too stay put, just in case the rules changed and we were not.. Read More

It’s the second week of November and we are still in shorts and sandals, although it does cool down at night and the days are becoming a lot shorter. The pace of life here is quite slow and, accordingly, quite pleasant. The tourist season is over and traveling to explore our local environs is without hassle. Many of the ‘boat people’ have also departed, returning to their cold northern homes,.. Read More