Away at last, Marmaris to Kusadasi.

As a Marine Engineer I can vouch for the fact that there is little in this world that is more challenging than bringing a ship out of a long maintenance period; or so I thought until I came to try to extract Kurukulla from the grip of the yacht maintenance contractor I had employed in Marmaris. The work list had been with them for 6 months, albeit some items were subject to approval of the estimates. On my arrival, late at night, the first thing I discovered was that Kurukulla had been moved. She was not where I had left her and no one had deigned to warn me.

Chaos on deck, the day we were supposed to launch!

Now in a small boat yard this would not represent a problem but in Marmaris Yacht Marina, at close on midnight, it leaves you with 1500 yacht parking spaces to choose from! Fortunately she was only 60m from where I had left her but even that, on a dark night, in a boat park crowded with a myriad of boats all propped up or on stands, represented a challenge that took 20 minutes to overcome. When I found her the ladder was propped against the side, the cover tucked back to give access, all looked good so far; the only 'minor' problem, evident once I was onboard, was that half of the work had yet to be started and we were only five working days from launching!

By a combination of cajoling, berating and bribing (or at least paying inflated prices) we edged slowly towards completion, two days late and with a significantly lighter wallet than planned, but then who expects running a boat to be painless!

And I thought I had too much onboard Kurukulla!

The upside was that the weather was good, sun with light winds, and the restaurant inside the marina is excellent both in terms of quality and value.

The planned departure date was the 3^rd of May however this was delayed until 5^th May to allow the contractor to finish the majority of the tasks in hand, others we either cancelled, put off for another occasion, or added to my DIY work-list (by far the cheapest way of maintaining a boat), less stressful but far from restful. The problem now was to catch up with a programme that has me arriving in Kusadasi on the 12^th of May, i.e. in time to fly back to UK for my nephew's wedding.

Ready to launch

Departure from Marmaris Yacht Marina at 0700 on Tuesday 5^th of May was painless. All the paperwork had been done the previous day and all that remained was to disconnect and go, not forgetting to pass your departure document to the Marina Staff as you pass their pontoon at the entrance. The wind was light to non existent and so we (Kurukulla and I) motored until outside the entrance to Marmaris Limani before putting the mainsail up, more in hope than expectation! In the event the wind slowly built from the South West (where-else, we were heading in that direction) and so two hours later I unfurled the No 1 Genoa and set Kurukulla on the wind for the first beat to windward of the season. The plan was to get as far west as possible on day one and in the event this proved to be a small bay called Parmak Buku, on the Turkish Coast, just to the north west of the Greek Island of Symi. A delightful bay with pine trees all around and a closed but not deserted hotel on the beach; it had obviously not traded for a while. The bay was open to the south but calm nonetheless and here I anchored in the centre of the bay, in 7m of water, and settled down for the night.

The bay at Parmak Buku

Wednesday dawned sunny and still, it remained this way until 1500 and so I decided that the only way I was going to make it to Knidos today was under engine, and so it was. Knidos is only 12 miles along the coast and for the majority of those 12 miles the wind was non existent, for the last hour the wind built from ahead but at that stage I declined the offer of a beat to windward and continued under motor. In the event the wind peaked at W,16kts, but not for long. By 1700 I was anchored in Buyuk Limani, the harbour at Knidos, looking at the ruins of the ancient city; and again enjoying a flat calm!

The view to wake up to at Knidos

It is quite something to wake up in an anchorage which is in the midst of an ancient Dorian city and then, as your eyes focus, you look across the anchorage where the first thing you see is a 4^th century BC amphitheatre. The night in Knidos had been uneventful. Before sunset I had taken a brief swim to check the anchor, which was well set dug in. During the night the wind had filled in from the north, un-forecast, but had not caused any problems, in fact I departed at 0830 on the last of this N wind. By 1000 it had gone round to NE and I was scudding across the gap between Knodos and the Greek island of Kos at a good pace; for the first half of the transit anyway! It was not to last, as I approached the eastern end of Kos the wind died and for half an hour there was verging on a flat calm, again! When it did return it was fickle, anything between N and W and varying between 4 and 15 kts; these things are sent to try us but it would be nice to be on the right side of at least one wind shift, in a day, when beating to windward! By 1515 I was anchored off the beach on the east coast of Catalada Adasi. This is a good anchorage which affords shelter from all westerly directions. As I anchored the last two tripper boats departed, thus my timing was ideal. From my last visit here I remember the fabulous sunsets visible through the low lying gap between what are almost two separate islands.

The sunset at Catalada Adasi, looking across the beach

Friday 8^th of May dawned, as most of the previous days of this week had, with a very light breeze and a wisp of cloud. The only thing to mark it out as a day of special consequence was the BBC Radio 4 News broadcast (via the internet) announcing the latest results in the UK General Election. The Conservative party looked to be heading for an overall majority or close to it. By 1000 I had heard enough and decided to set off for Cukurcuk, approximately 21 miles north, perforce under engine. An hour later the wind filled in from the W and we had a splendid close reach for the rest of the passage there, topping 7 kts at times. On arrival we sailed into the NW arm of Cukurcuk bay; this inlet hosts a small fishing community but is no longer obstructed by a fish farm. For the first time this year we sailed onto the anchor and settled in 3.5m of water; all in time for a relaxing lunch! The afternoon was spent catching up on some winch maintenance and other chores, all things I had not managed to get done before departure from Marmaris.

The following morning it was a pleasure to wake to the sound of wind whistling through the rigging. A brisk 15 knots of wind was blowing from the N, promising a good beat to windward to the next anchorage, Port St Paul. Apparently during his travels St Paul took shelter here to give his oarsmen a rest, or so it is believed. Once out of the anchorage I set a single reefed main and No 1 Genoa with 4 rolls in, enough for heading to windward in 20 kts relative. As ever in this area it was not to last. The beat started on stbd tack, heading NW and ended on port tack heading ….. you've guessed it NW. In between was half an hour of frustration whilst the wind veered and backed at random and gusted from 5 to 25 kts! Another example of the joys of sailing in the Med! Having said that it was a relatively quick passage and the majority was at better than 6 kts. Wanting to tuck myself in as far into the bay as the shallows would allow I entered Port St Paul under engine and anchored in 4m in the centre of the inlet; the only boat there. Time for a slightly late lunch and a relaxing afternoon.

Being now only 20 miles from Kusadasi, the pick up point for my first guest of the year and the marina where I am due to leave Kurukulla for three days for a flying (literally) visit back to UK to attend the wedding of my nephew, the pressure is now off and so the plan is to stay here for a pair of days before heading into Kusadasi Marina.

Port St Paul, about as far in as you can anchor

In the three nights in Port St Paul I saw only one other boat. A yacht came in on the second night and spent the night at anchor 100m astern of me. Beyond that I did not see another soul. After the chaos of my time in Marmaris Marina it was bliss! Peace and solitude and a chance to get things straight. My timing was not bad either, a near gale, F7, blew through in the time that I was anchored there and, notwithstanding the warning in the Heikell Pilot, the holding was good. In fact it was quite an effort to get the anchor to break out on departure!

Kurukulla nestled in at Kusadasi Marina

On Tuesday morning I set off for Kusadasi Marina, the wind was very light and contrary and so notwithstanding the F7 of the days previous it was necessary to motor. Three and a half hours later I arrived, berthed where told and checked in at the marina office. Kusadasi is a very smart marina; much smaller and less busy than Marmaris! All of this was just in time, for the rest of the day was to be spoilt by a torrential downpour and intermittent thunder. I retired below to read my book!

More when we depart.