We did a lot of things this year. We did a lot of new things this year. New people, new experiences, new places and all that. One of the highlights, however, has to be sending Liz up into the sky to get a bird’s eye view of Esper under sail, with Mum and Dad helping to hoist some light wind sails.
Aerial Video Footage Of Esper Under Sail! Read Post »
A classic video clip of little Millie going for a dive in the warm waters of Boynuz Buku and proof that not only can cats swim but actually aren’t half bad at it either!
Who Says Cats Can’t Swim? Read Post »
Alanya is an odd place for yotties to visit. On the one hand it is full of German and Russian package holiday makers, basking on the most stunning of sandy beaches (a rarity in Turkey). It lacks local anchorages, suffers sloppy waters and rarely hosts ‘good’ sailing weather, located in the lull that is Antalya Bay. Oh and it doesn’t yet have a completed marina. On the other hand it boasts some stunning views of the Taurus mountains and the ‘old town’ and castle are well worth a visit. Annoyingly it also has a great brewery, which I missed. How the hell did that happen?
Dragging Anchors And Scraping Transoms Read Post »
More lazy days spent at anchor with nothing to do except swim, eat, drink, play games (Trish has every board game stashed away aboard ‘Dragon Song’) and explore. Concerned about getting their guest, Susie, back in time to catch her plane ‘Dragon Song’ left us, leaving Liz and myself on our own in the middle of nowhere. Not a building, road or person for miles. Not even a passing ship.
Having spent much of the winter aboard Rama producing The Porthole, and spending Christmas Day around the dinner table with 18 friends, it was only fitting that Liz and I were invited to help deliver Rama to Malta, along with Gordon, the chief engineer who we had befriended over the winter period. The deal was that we could come along for the ride providing we helped out with a bit of cooking and watching…
Now I wouldn’t want you to think that we’ve been up to nothing but do-gooding these past weeks… Those of you that know us will be relieved to hear that there has been the usual amount of getting-up-to-mischief and having fun too! Now, where to start?
Partying In Marmaris Yacht Marina Read Post »
After lashing the video camera and tripod to the granny bars we were able to capture some great shots of us tacking Esper. As it happened, after pressing the ‘record’ button we had to do two tacks in quick succession, both of which were caught on one six minute clip. Obviously we’ve edited this for you into a short 1 minute montage. Our fave sailing clip to date!
The great thing about Knidos is the lack of tourists. Because there is only one road leading to the headland very little road traffic bother to make the journey. Therefore the majority of tourists come by boat, and since the site Knidos sits on is so remote, nestled between a mountain and a hill at the end of the headland, there are very few people walking round the site.
Machu Piccu Eat Your Heart Out! Read Post »
Time for Ethan to get wet! Considering this was the first time Ethan and Chris had executed a manoeuvre like this they did really, really well. The great thing about these two was that they didn’t arse about. They listened and did as they were told until the boat was safe and secure. Proof that the best crew are not always the most qualified. In fact we executed our anchorage so well that another guy in a French-flagged boat who was having problems anchoring decided to copy us!
Discovering The Perfect Crew Read Post »
After lunch at a little restaurant by the shore we headed up to the hill on the other side of the bay, where we sat at the top and admired the beautiful views around the bay and across to Kos. We could see Esper anchored up with the other boats looking splendid. It was here that we each developed our “I like it up here” song with accompanying dance.
Billions Of Blue Blistering Barnacles! Read Post »
We took the dinghy to the end of the bay and up the creek. It might have been easier if we had figured out how the mediaeval sign system worked – it may have prevented us from going aground a few times! Anyway, we got ourselves to the end of the creek and carefully avoided feeding the crocodiles…
Sweet Smells And Scratchy Ankles Read Post »
We had a gentle sail, beam reach, to Kazıklı. This place, as Jamie promised me, was a picturesque, mostly unspoilt, little piece of paradise. We took a long walk around the shore and saw a small turtle in a stream and lots of very pretty views.
Paradise On Earth – For The Time Being Read Post »
Ahhh… back on Esper in lovely Bodrum. Boy was I looking forward to this break. I had already been counting down the days till I would be on board permanently and this would be a nice little taster.
So Good To Be Back! Read Post »
For someone who has been sailing for only two or so years, this really was a quantum leap. Don’t mind if I blow my own trumpet but how many people do you know are capable of taking a boat out
First Single-Handed Sail Read Post »
It was a perfect Bodrum morning. The sky was blue, the birds were singing and everyone was smiling. We had agreed to put Esper in the water after lunchtime, around 2ish, bearing in mind that in Turkey “around 2 o’clock” is a very elastic concept…
Launch And Naming Ceremony! Read Post »
