Summer 2005 Intro
Whilst Liz worked her notice (yes, she finally handed it in but she had to serve 6 months, poor girl) myself and a number of guests sailed over 900 miles on Esper this summer and they are all documented in these pages!
Log
The Ship’s Log covers journeys undertaken by sail or canal boat, and includes general posts not covered by the Travel category.
The First Night At Anchor Together
I had arrived in Bodrum the night before and Jamie decided that we had to get out to sea as soon as possible. I agreed, albeit in a kind of travel stupor… I was slightly dazed from the usual heinous
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The Esper Photographs
Some pics taken in 2005 of Esper under sail, plus early video footage taken on the same day too!
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Anchoring Off Bitez
When I first took Esper out with a couple of skippers on board, my anchoring techniques left a lot to be desired. I was determined to make the effort to try and anchor the next few times I went out for a sail.
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Around Kara Ada
This second trip from Bodrum was a trip around Kara Ada itself, this time with just Salih and Bilge. For me this was an important moment as it was the first time I had ever sailed a boat as the most experienced person aboard. Even on the Aquarium trip I accompanied by three qualified skippers, two of whom were Yachtmasters, so this was a great mental leap forward for me.
Bodrum And Across The Top Of Kara Ada
Having got quite pally with my neighbour Mustafa it was only natural that I should invite him along on my next trip, which was to be a simple sail across the top of Kara Ada. We were to be joined
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Checking out the fish in the Aquarium
It had been two weeks since I touched down in Bodrum with the intention of getting Esper ready for a season of sailing. In that time we had managed to take her out once, a quick motor from Yat Lift to the marina, a grand total of two kilometres! After getting her into the marina I had been itching to get her back out for a proper sail but the weather just hadn’t allowed it.
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Sailing In And Around Bodrum
The “Bodrum Files” is a short collection of log entries that highlight the first few ‘proper’ sailing trips in and around Bodrum. There will be many more trips in this area in the near future but these just document the early trips undertaken in April, 2005. It was a time to get to grips with Esper and also offer up some fun for a few friends.
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Boat Stereo Entertainment System
We had more fun and games sourcing a solution for our entertainment system than any other issue with the boat! Whilst there are expert marine electricians, carpenters, rigging experts and so on there appears to be a lack of information on marine stereo solutions.
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Boat Plumbing
There were two major plumbing jobs that we left to Yat Lift: the replacement of the holding tank and converting the electric toilet pump back to a manual one.
Boat Electrics and Electronics
With the addition of stereo, new VHF and various switches and monitors the left and lower dashs in the nav table area had to be redesigned. We decided to take out some of the old electronic equipment, either because they weren’t working or because they were dated and would one day be replaced with new kit.
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Boat Power Sources
After reading the yacht-owner’s bible (Nigel Calder’s ‘Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual’, published by Adlard Coles Nautical) we had a serious rethink about our power sources. Eventually we will be looking to install solar panels but in the short term we had to make an educated guess at what our daily power consumption would be and put that within the context of buying new batteries and battery charger.
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Running & Standing Rigging
A common problem on Oyster 435s (apparently) is leaking chain plates. We left Yat Lift to look at this and upon our return they had recaulked the fittings.
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The Deck
The initial survey report had indicated that a few of the deck planks required replacing and recaulking, whilst we were aware that some of the stanchion bases had come loose. Indeed two of the stanchion bases were leaking slightly, so we got eleven of the twelve bases replaced, and replaced two of the planks.
Hull, Epoxy, Gel Coat & Other Things
One of the biggest jobs we left Yat Lift to complete was applying a new gelcoat. These additional few layers of epoxy (300 microns, to be precise) help strengthen the integrity of the hull. If you can afford it, it’s money well spent.
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