Hope's and Howard's Sailing Adventures

I am happily writing this onboard Lady M at anchor in the beautiful, calm bay of Kas, Turkey. It has been quite a long road to get here but we are thankful to be enjoying the freedom of cruising in beautiful waters again.

Although back issues still have not been resolved, we opted to try for at least one more season before trying surgery. As a result I, Hope, am becoming quite adept at various tasks that would usually fall to Howard but I do need his guidance and occasional extra muscle. We had a short trip back to the boat in Cyprus in December to check up on her, a worthwhile trip. Then we returned on April 8th after spending a few days in Istanbul. Since we plan on leaving Turkiye this summer, we thought we had better see something of the city while we could.

Back in Karpas Gate Marina, we found we had more to do to ready the boat for the season than we had thought. Lots of cleaning to do (including removing a LOT of bird poo). The first task was to replace 4 lead acid batteries that had died. Some sewing repairs were needed, replacing a couple of zips and some webbing for the canvas.

We had the boat hauled and were pleased to see the slime fall off easily using a hose. Clearly the Coppercoat that we applied last year is working. However, somehow Howard managed to contract pneumonia so he lay low for several days to let the antibiotics plus other meds work, which they did, thankfully. So, the boat was out of the water longer than expected while Hope did the majority of the work (primarily sanding and re-varnishing the teak toe rails and handrails).

A couple of weeks later and we were back in the water. Then it was time to clean the boat (again), bend on the sails, stock up, check that all systems were working, etc. Not much time for sight-seeing this time, just saw a little more of the old city in Famagusta.

Karpas Gate Marina served us very well. The facilities (showers, indoor and outdoor pools, beach club, gym, club room) were probably the best we have encountered. However, one does need a car to get around as it is too far from the local village. Also, obtaining parts is a challenge. The marina has recently been bought by a N. Cyprus group, Arkin, who already have a number of hotels and casinos. They have great plans to build a much larger marina, targeted primarily at mega yachts, in the same bay as the current one plus a large hotel, casino and lots of villas. A major benefit at this point from our perspective is that the technical services are improving with a new manager who is much more knowledgeable and considerate of his clients. I’m sure we wouldn’t recognise it if we returned in 5-10 years!

We departed AKGM shortly after 09:00 am on Friday May 16 after checking out of N. Cyprus. Since the Türkish Republic of N. Cyprus isn’t recognised by most countries, it is necessary to enter and depart the country from Türkiye. Phil (NZ) on s/v ”37 Rocks”, a similar sized boat to us, departed at the same time. We kept in touch via VHF along the way and checked into Finike together. At €335, it is becoming expensive to check in and check out of Türkiye. We opted to stay at anchor outside the marina, which over the years we have lived in for about 18 months, as the costs there have gone up significantly (now €200/night for us). We had a rolly couple of nights as there was little wind to keep us head to the swell. We did manage to have a few drinks with some old friends there. Most Europeans and Antipodeans have left the marina. It is now occupied primarily by eastern Europeans and more Turks. Not quite the same atmosphere.

Next stop was Kekova, our favourite quiet anchorage in the inner basin off the village of Uğaciz. A meal ashore where the server remembered us brought back happy memories. Not much has changed there, maybe a few more gullets and day tripper boats and more shops catering to the tourist industry. It is still beautiful, though we do worry that a new Setur marina in Demre nearby that is due to open this summer will bring charter fleets, etc.

From Kekova it was 3-hour passage to Kas, where we again anchored off the marina. Another very pleasant, quiet evening and night, this time remaining onboard as we tried to figure out why the watermaker stopped abruptly. Hopefully passing cleaning solutions through the system when we have time will resolve the issue. A good nights sleep meant we were ready to head off to our next stop, Karacaoren, early this morning. We aim to be in Marmaris at the weekend so we can seek technical help with a couple of minor issues.