Today goes down in history as my most embarrassing moment. It’s a moment all sailors dread. A moment that happens to most of us but one that shouldn’t happen in front of fellow sailors. It should only happen in private when no one is watching.
Here’s a girl with a sense of adventure I thought, especially being a young Turkish girl. It was whilst Tim was visiting that Taç came down for her summer holiday and we decided to take Taç out on her first sailing trip, a few miles down the coast.
A Virgin Rides Out Read Post »
The wind continued to gust into the high twenties as we continued to race along, slashing through warm but very wet waves. Every boat we saw became an opponent and before we knew it we were racing another three yachts. We won of course, but not without a battle. The battle was with the elements though – the other yachts either reefed or tacked into various anchorages along the way.
Tim and I gorged ourselves on the mezzes and befriended the most beautiful white kitten. A few weeks later when I returned to this restaurant they informed me that the kitten went missing. They think he was taken by a visiting gullet.
Sailing The Scottish Lochs Read Post »
… since we were running with the wind we thought we’d have a bit of fun and pole out the jib to fly goosewing. The last time I’d done this was whilst crossing the Atlantic, and we had a Yachtmaster and first mate to do the complicated bit of setting the sail, but not ones to give up on a challenge we literally stood on foredeck, TomCunliffe’s ‘The Complete Yachtmaster’ in one hand, and a pole in the other!
Geese, Turtles and Unfeasibly Large Puppies! Read Post »
Over the summer I sailed 900 nautical miles in Esper. Aside from my Day Skipper course eight hundred of these were with people less experienced than myself. Enjoyable as they were, these miles were always a little stressful because of
Swimming With The Fish Bwoy Read Post »
The day started quite dramatically with a local gullet being launched right next to us. It was very exciting, with everyone watching. After the dust had settled and the waves had calmed down everyone went about their morning business… until someone noticed that the boat was getting lower in the water.
After a quiet night in the marina and the now obligatory thrashing of Liz at Backgammon we headed off to Ortakent where we were told we might be able to grab a buoy… no such luck. We anchored up instead. We were starting to feel confident about the anchoring by now.
Another Vodka Please! Read Post »
After our lovely time in Kazikli it was time to up anchor again and head back to Gümüslük. Sails were reefed to begin with, then full all the way. Unfortunately there was no space in which to anchor so we reluctantly left and went back to Yalikavak, broad reach all the way.
No Room At The Inn 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 »
I looked out from the cabin and watched as an enormous gullet in the next small bay seemed to be going backwards and forwards and round and round in circles. Later on Jamie identified the boat as belonging to Stuart, a friend of ours from Bodrum.
More Loud Cr@p Turkish Pop Read Post »
I mean black because it was pitch black when we began sailing: at 3am, after a restless and fitful sleep worrying about the anchor, Jamie’s worst nightmare came true as he realized we were drifting towards the rocks…
What Do You Mean It’s 3am & The Anchor’s Dragging? 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 »
Today was a simple day sail with me and a whole load of girls. Excellent! Always guaranteed to cause a stir in the marina, especially with it being such a hot day and much suntan lotion being applied to semi-naked bodies.
Bodrum, Ortakent, Bodrum Read Post »
After Jon did the rounds in the dinghy we went off to practice some man overboard under sail, before returning to Bodrum marina. We tried dropping the pasarelle to lay the warps on in order to assist the marina boys but all I managed to achieve whilst jack knifing Esper in reverse was to gently nudge the guardrail of the boat next door. Oooops! ‘Jon!!!!!’
Nice Bit Of Driving, Mate Read Post »
