Marmaris III and Istanbul March 13 2011

Hi everybody.

No doubt your lives are totally boring since you have not received one of our witty travel notes in almost 2 months. Well, contain your excitement!!! Entertainment is at hand.

A quick check of my last letter revealed we have not yet reported on the camel wrestling outing. Actually, this was a pretty cool deal. It cost us about $180/person and included transportation, tickets to the various events, a professional Turkish tour guide and lunch and dinner the first day, breakfast the second as well as a really, really nice hotel. So they picked us up at about 7 AM in a minibus. The woman who puts these tours together lives on her boat in the other marina across the bay, and makes her living this way. Besides talking way too much on the morning radio net selling her stuff, I think she takes a little advantage. For instance, she crammed 17 people on a 16 person bus for this tour. That being said, everything else was very good--even the weather cooperated.

Our first stop was Ephesus, about 2 hours or 3 away. This is a very cool archeological site going back to pre-Roman times which was an important seaport before sea levels dropped--it's now 5 kilometers from the coast. During Roman times it grew to the third largest city in the ancient world with a population of up to 350,000. Had villas for the rich on the hills overlooking the sea, only a fraction of which have been excavated, with running water. There are even public toilets that sort of self-flush along with baths and broad avenues with many temples. It's still a huge site and we spent almost all day there.

Following Ephesus, we had a late lunch and then we hit the local museum and a famous mosque--I forget why it's famous--senior moment. Our last stop was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world--the Temple of Aphrodite. Unfortunately, most of the 60 or so columns had been dismantled long ago and used in other construction so there's just one remaining. Obviously, this was not a long stop. After, it was on to the hotel overlooking the sea which had great rooms and a terrific dinner buffet. It was just too bad, due to the timing of everything, that we'd eaten lunch so late as the food was great but appetites were small.

The main event, camel wrestling (hereafter called CW, not conventional wisdom), was the next day. After convening following breakfast and checkout, we were supposed to tour the little resort town, but one of our party got wind of a Starbucks so we scrapped plan A for a trip to get some decent coffee. We were due at CW at about 10, and it was a hoot. The event is held in a natural coliseum without seats. We knew this from talking to people who had done it before and took our own folding canvas chairs. The hillside was packed with 5-10,000 Turks enjoying their version of an American tailgate party complete with BBQs. Dave and I decided "when in Rome..." and bought a bottle of Rake, the local firewater that is like ouzo or anisette. The guys next to us watched us have a couple before handing over some BBQed chicken with an admonition that one does not drink rake on an empty stomach. Then, people from all around started offering us oranges, nuts and assorted other goodies. The CW itself took a backseat to the festivities, but just to be complete, they fight with their necks (and teeth if they hadn't been muzzled) and the idea is to put the other camel down. These are bulls, only, but they keep a couple of females in season around to stir up the hormones. They slobber all over the place and are riderless, but in full regalia with decorations, saddles, etc. We had been making fun of the whole thing beforehand, but it was one of those events that turned out to be something that shouldn't be missed.

After the wrestling, we grabbed some lunch and went to a specialty wine making village for a tasting which really wasn't necessary after all the rake. Touristy place, but quite interesting and fun. Hopped on the bus and were home by the evening, laughing about the day all the way home.

Back to the real world, I finally got the nerve to see if the new transformer--yes, more new stuff getting the boat ready to sell--would run the AC/Heating. I think it will, but the forward unit--the one we'd really use, wouldn't work. A visit from the AC guy gave us the bad news that we needed a new compressor. Just try getting one that uses 110 volts here in the Med. Fortunately, the manufacturer felt bad about it as I'd replaced both about 3 years ago and gave me a deal. Sent it to Lizzie who will work some magic on the invoice to put the price below Turkish customs' radar, and it will be on the way shortly. Could have used it the last few days when spring turned back into winter and 70's have made way for a freezing cold snap (it's warmed back up now, thank God). Our portable heaters seem to be keeping up, thank goodness. The other major expense we're now facing is redoing the counter tops. Had a hell of a time getting anyone to look--they're Corian--but finally someone from 2 hours away gave us a quote. Lots of money, but considering the labor involved getting the old ones off--21 tubes of Sikaflex that's like iron were used to glue it down--I think we getting a good deal. We thought it was important as first impressions can make or break a sale. The old counters just couldn't cope with all the flexing in some of the bad weather we've had and had cracked in several places. The new counters will be 50% thicker and we shouldn't be in those conditions anymore so I think they'll hold up just fine.

I just realized--it's now a few days later--what I thought would be a short letter may turn out to be a large volume. SO--you are forewarned. If you don't want to hear anymore about our recent adventures, delete this now.

After our return from all the excitement of the CW, life continued at a leisurely pace with our next outing on Feb. 10 to Istanbul for the boat show and sightseeing. The marina pays to bus us all up there and walk around wearing marina jackets to promote themselves. More on this later, but, first, it was necessary to do a visa run to Rhodes. I wasn't going to make another mistake and have a 200€ fine. Since my visa would have run out while in Istanbul, we could have ridden over to the Bulgarian border, but figured that had to be time consuming and expensive. Also, due to poor planning on our part, Rose was departing for the UK for a doctor's visit, one miserable day beyond her visa. That was a costly miscalculation as they raised the ferry rate to 45€, and we had cabs, lunch, etc. The trip was complicated by the fact that the USS Enterprise was in port and security was up, so we got the rust bucket, slow ferry instead of the fast cat. This meant we had about an hour and a half to get to the store to buy pork products. Freebird came, too, with similar circumstances. Actually, that part was good since they brought their Kindles--Amazon's e-book reader--and it was so cool, I just got one myself. Just as an aside, the new ones are free 3G connections, and they've added a browser so you can even surf and check your email. Not as good as using a computer, but it saves toting along the heavy laptop or netbook for short trips. The trip turned out to be a bit humorous as someone said they spot check bags when returning to Turkey and won't allow pork--or any fresh products--in. So we, of course, were ignoring the restriction craving some good salami and ham, and we bought loads of the stuff plus some sausages--real polish and good hotdogs--not that chicken stuff you get here. The problem was to smuggle it back in so we stuffed Rose's loose top and around her waist with the flat packages and Istuffed the salami and other stuff in my inside jacket pocket. I was going to put the salami in my pants but there wasn't any room. As it turned out, Turkish officialdom didn't check anyone or even give us a second look. So we are now legal into early May and will be departing around then for Greece so we needn't suffer through that ordeal again. Next stop Istanbul. Unfortunately, all four of us picked up a bad cold with varying gestation periods and severity on the damn ferry which took the edge off the Istanbul trip. I was the first to be cursed.

As a result of my cold, I can't say I enjoyed the 16 hour bus ride north, the discomfort of which was compounded by a few unauthorized BS stops so someone could show off their knowledge of local conditions. In fact, the next day, I booked a return flight rather than facing another marathon bus ride to get home. We finally got to our room, which was quite pleasant, about midnight after an 8AM start. There were 60 or 70 of us and most everyone stayed in the one hotel right in the center of the old district. Next morning, it was a leisurely, if somewhat skimpy Turkish breakfast which consists of a hardboiled egg, olives, cheese, tomato and cucumber with fresh bread. At 10, we reboarded our busses for transport to a tour boat--again all at the marina's expense--for a 5 hour cruise up the Bosporus. This was a first class deal with a lovely ship, and tons of free food and booze as well as a live band and belly dancers, all in addition to the sights. Our friends from another marina farther east came up to visit us, and we managed to smuggle them in to all the events which added to the fun. I consumed mass quantities of vitamin C in the form of red wine, purely for medicinal purposes which actually seemed to work.

The next day was the boat show all day and, if you wanted, they would ply you with more free wine at their large display area. I decided not to push my luck. The owner of the marina was there who is allegedly a Turkish mafia guy, and it was kind of like watching the wedding scene in the Godfather's den with various people coming over to pay homage. The show itself was quite large, but mainly smaller power boats and really not too much gear. Well, that was it--Saturday--for the marina deal, and they were leaving early Sunday on the bus for the marina. We were staying 'til Wednesday with Rose flying out early to the UK and me in the evening back to Dalaman and Marmaris. Freebird by this time was in full flower with colds, but they stayed until Friday. Our other friends, on Katanne, left Tuesday, so we did some stuff together and cruised by ourselves part of the time.

As I said, the hotel was in a great location, within close walking distance of all the things you've read about in the city. In fact, we were only about 100 yards from the Blue Mosque. I actually downloaded the movie, Topkapi, which we watched before departing Marmaris, and it is truly amazing with all the stuff including the dagger they stole in the movie. It's huge but we got most of it in. We also went into the oldunderground Roman cisterns nearby which are an ancient engineering marvel. Tombs, mosques, basilicas--we did it all. Over the next few days we also went to the Grand Bazaar which was a big disappointment. We expected excellent, after negotiation of course, prices and all sorts of cool stuff in the 5-7,000 shop complex. What we found were blasé merchants unwilling to negotiate and prices higher than Marmaris. They wanted $60 for knock off Levis, and they were all 34 inch inseam requiring more money for tailoring. I needed a new cheap digital watch, and they were trying to get $40 for the local cheap brand which I ultimately bought here for $20. Big bummer as you always hear about the Istanbul bazaar. Not a disappointment was the much smaller spice bazaar where some good deals were to be had.

The weather was getting pretty cold by then. Early on the trip for the cruise, etc. it had been sunny and 50's. Changed to cloudy, drizzly and 32 late Sunday until departure. Overall, it was something we just had todo, but neither of us have much interest in returning. So, we got Rose off around 10 on Wed. and I had the rest of the morning and much of the afternoon to kill. I opted for a Turkish bath and massage to knock out the remnants of my cold. While it was a bit expensive, I went for a famous historical old bath near the bazaar which was built in 1300 or something, maybe earlier. About quadruple the $25 cost of the same deal in Alanya but includes the steam room (sort of--you really have to do it to understand), body scrub, soapy massage, shampoo and oil massage--about 2 hours for the whole deal. Finished that, had lunch, fruitlessly wandered the bazaar, and then it was the bus to the airport. The only glitch was the transport service to Marmaris at Dalaman was waiting at the International terminal. Panic stricken with no ride at 9PM and no phone number for them, I lucked out as one of the other drivers at domestic knew my guy and called him. Back on the boat, alone again, not even Charlie to greet me, by 10:30.

Now, as I think I've mentioned--we're on the home stretch, folks--I need to get some kind of EU residency. In their infinite wisdom, the Europeans limit many nationalities' stays, including Americans who bailed their asses out of 2 wars, to three months out of six ( I don’t think so !! from me, Rose. ). This makes staying in a marina for the entire winter illegal, and I am not comfortable staying with our friends for three months. Besides, most of them live in colder places than where we'll be‼! While many countries sort of ignore this rule, since I want to stay in Europe, I thought it best to be totally legal. Research has led us to Italy as a choice for several reasons. We both think we could live there; we're heading west this season and there is an exceedingly cheap deal for the winter at a new marina in Sicily, and Italy seems to be pretty receptive to granting residency. Hell, who knows, maybe I could supplement my income with some Mafia jobs. Anyway, I've been trying for 4 months to get somewhere on this only to be totally jerked around. Theembassy in DC says talk to Istanbul or the consulate of my permanent residence. Philly, which is the latter, said, sure they'd help. Just come on in. Istanbul referred me back to the states. The states referred me back to Istanbul. My plan had been to combine the boat show trip with getting the visa, but 25 emails later, nothing was happening. UNTIL, of course, I was already in Istanbul with no paperwork and got a call. So I, at least, discovered while there what is necessary. First, I need a long term visa prior to arrival which will allow me to apply for residency. To get the visa, I needed to present to the consulate certified financial docs showing I can support myself, proof of medical insurance and the boat papers proving I have a place to stay. Basically the same procedure is repeated on arrival in Italy to get a residence permit. Easy, peasy, Japanesy.

So the person who finally called was the head of the visa department in the Italian Istanbul consulate, and she was very helpful and cooperative. Unfortunately, this was going to require another trip to Istanbul. So I gathered the papers and back I went. The process only took about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, so I now have a one year multiple entry visa for Italy. The only glitch was getting there. The same yahoos who went to international on my last trip were meant to pick me up at the marina at 6:30 AM. Timing was critical as Turkish Air had some BS problem and wanted me at the service desk early--this turned out to be nothing at all, but I didn't know that at the time and had to make this flight as the Italian visa person was leaving on vacation. Well, the ride never did show up. The difference in cost between them and a cab is 9€ versus 60€--$12 versus $80+‼ Fortunately, at about 20 to the hour, a German guy drove through the gate and asked if I wanted a lift--turned out he was on the way to the airport, himself. Phew, this visa was expensive enough already what with fees, airfare, Istanbul cabs, etc. The transport company claimed they had a guy at the gate from 6:20 to 6:40 and refused me a refund which I wanted on principle. Damn liars‼‼ Big win there--when negotiations failed, and I finally called Citibank to bounce the charge, they just said okay, no problem. No affidavit, no letter, no nothing--just OK.

Since Rose returned 10 days ago, not much has been going on. We've hooked up with a nice crowd, and there've been a few parties; my bowling continues to improve and we're going to the other marina today for a lambroast lunch. Later today is rugby in the bar here with cheap eats--England v Scotland so it will be crowded with many fans on both sides. Really good sport to watch once you figure it out which is not rocket science like Cricket. Our departure is getting closer and we're both ready to go--pretty well sick of the marina cliques and politics--and anxious to move ahead.

The Rose report is good. She continues to be in fine form and got a 3 month cortisone shot in England. Very little pain now. The doc she had this time is pretty cooperative so she needn't return until the fall when, by the way, both of us will be in the UK for her son Nathan's longggggggggg overdue nuptials at the end of October.

Too long a letter I know. Cheers for now. Let us know how you are doing.

Tim & Rose

P.S. Joey continues to parlay his job into a love fest in Singapore, but work is beckoning as the boat is finally ready, and he departs Singapore and his love for Hong Kong later this week. Safe Sailing.

Marmaris Holidays 2010

I didn't realize it had been so long since we last reported to you. I'd like to get the sad news out of the way first. I'm still getting over it, but we had to put darling Charlie, the best cat ever, to sleep last week. He was only three. If you've been following our progress, you know he had been in and out the vet for the last few months. The last time, he had just come back from some infection, but his health only held for a few days before he stopped eating and drinking so back he went over New Year's. The vet really couldn't find anything wrong, but he was losing weight at an alarming rate. Rose suggested a test for Feline AIDS and Leukemia. He tested positive for AIDS, so it was normally non-problematic bacteria and viruses causing him the problems. A little research led us to conclude that the cat that beat him up in Ashkelon must have transmitted it to him. Everyone, even non-cat people, loved Charlie, and those of you who met him know what I'm talking about. Rose and I both cried like babies, but it had to be done as he was suffering. A couple of pictures below in his honor. We really miss the big furball.

Ok, I’ve dried my tears, so on to the main event: the rest of our lives for the last six weeks. Lots has happened but much of it mundane and of which I will not bore you.

The other marina near town had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, so we dodged the bullet and didn’t have to cook. We went with our friends, Dave and Judy, from Freebird and sat with them as well as two Finnish couples, one of whom got progressively more drunk and rowdy as the evening wore on. Took a lot of pressure off me, as both Judy and Rose cautioned me ahead of time to be on my best behavior, fearing the worst. I was an angel by comparison. I also met a guy from Chicago who knew a bunch of the same business people I did. Had a nice chat with him and we had similar views of some of those slime bags. Dinner was quite good.

As Christmas approached, we spent our time on Turkish Lessons (Rose), bowling (Tim), and Monday quiz night as well as various other organized activities. We took an overnight road trip up to Izmir—a larger city—and shopped til we dropped. Some advance presents were given and received as the weather was starting to get chilly.

Up until the Charlie situation, we had one of the nicest holidays ever. There was Christmas caroling in the yard and a nice Christmas Eve dinner at the marina with live entertainment. Christmas day (we had special ordered a turkey earlier), we started out at ten with bloody’s and eggs benedict with Freebird. Tim had baked home made English muffins for the occasion. English muffins are a 19^th century AMERICAN invention from trying to make English Crumpets. They went home, and we watched Love Actually and rested. About 6, they returned for Tim’s homemade egg nog —yes I was a cooking fool—and turkey. It was great.

Not much happening then until New Year’s Eve with another gala at the marina. Big turnout and lots of fun. Some of us—not me—were over-served, but all was well the next day for the boules (like bocce ball)tournament in the yard. Rose and I did not fare too well and found out that our balls—given to me by a charter guest—are oversized. Big kahones, so to speak.

I do need to report that bowling started again, and I placed second this week. I had been embarrassingly bad the first several times, failing to break 100, but rocked to 146 and a second place finish this time. Yesterday, we won the quiz night, so we have to prepare the questions for next week with another couple. Hey, we won 6 lira, too.

Rose is doing extremely well and has a planned check-up trip to the UK in Mid February as we’ll be in Istanbul for the boat show at that time, anyway. She’s off steroids altogether which had been the only thing that seemed to work. She’s up to the clinical dose on the other stuff which is supposed to cure or, at least, stem the disease. She is feeling great with little pain and has even started working out and doing pilates. Into previously too small jeans already and committed to “babe” up. The captain is an overweight couch potato and definitely with no plans to change.

This weekend we take an overnight trip up to Ephesus for a bunch of stuff with the main event being Camel Wrestling. Hey, anything to relieve the boredom and get out of the marina. So far, the weather hasn’t been too bad, but we did have some pretty cold 40’s a few weeks back and some torrential rain. However, it is now quite beautiful with 60’s daytime and 50’s at night with brilliant sunshine and clear skies. Unfortunately, for the next couple of months the usual pattern is for rainy cold weather. We’ll see. I’ve bought a new transformer as my central air is 110 volt. Been too chicken to try it in case the breakers continue to blow—one of those things I just don’t want to know-- but we have very nice free standing 220 volt electric heaters keeping us toasty. Unfortunately, we don’t trust leaving them on all night, so it’s a bit frigid in the AM. Fortunately, one of my gifts was a really nice velour robe, so we’re managing all right. Rose just bought some flannel sheets if that gives you some idea of our expectations!!

So, that’s the latest and greatest from Turkey. We always appreciate hearing from all of you to find out what’s up in the real world.

Cheers

Tim and Rose

Marmaris II

Hello all.

Well, once again I screwed up my distribution list, but I hope I got everybody
on.

We've been here about one month, and Rose just returned last week from the UK.
Her trip was a nightmare getting there with late flights and broken luggage.
Worse yet, when she got there, the vaunted National Health, that people like
Hillary extol, was a joke. First, they simply put her back on the meds that she
started on in Penang, which the Malaysian doctor revised. NH refused to listen
to that. Or consider alternatives. Rose had been told by another doc that
there were some amazing new meds out there. Then they said they wouldn't treat
her unless she remained in England and made her wait another two weeks before
even starting them. On the bright side, the steroids they've given her have
made her pain free (but they are to be tapered off over a few more weeks) and
just when we had given up, they called, and she was at least able to get a free
prescription for the other stuff which is so evil one must get monthly blood
tests to check liver functions. So she is sorted and we can get the medication
here w/o a scrip or go over to Rhodes, Greece on the ferry and get free EU
treatment there. We had hoped for a newer gentler drug, but they wouldn't even
discuss it. On the asthma front, the news is a bit better. The asthma nurse
(the docs in the UK really don't do much themselves--great system, eh?) said the
heavy duty stuff prescribed in Alanya was over the top and reduced her back to
the good old ventalin inhaler which is working well. She was actually glad to
return to the boat as the UK weather was pretty awful, and ours has been great
with sunny days in the 80's and nights in the 60's. So, overall, Rose is feeling
pretty good, and we'll just have to see how it goes.

The captain, on the other hand, had something seriously wrong with his shoulder,
BUT, fortunately, we were able to find a German chiropractor who fixed me.
We're talking serious pain before treatment that even the heavy duty painkillers
we keep for emergencies didn't work. I also found a really good massage guy for
TL30--about $20, so even the old git is feeling pretty good. Even Charlie has
been plagued. Was "off' before Rose left so I took him to the vet who diagnosed
a liver problem. He needed daily IV's as he hadn't been drinking and spent 6
days at the vet before returning home. Was fine for about 10 days and then
started again. I think that was food poisoning and am happy to report he is
back to his old self and eating like a pig to regain the weight he lost.

While Rose was gone, I organized some repairs and other stuff. Turns out the
problem with my brand new inverter was just an internal fuse. But Nooooo, could
the manufacturer tell me to check that? About a five minute job to check and
replace. Spent hundreds with the local guys testing before Xantrex would let us
open the box. We have now received our new genoa sail which tore, you will
recall, in the gulf of Antalya. Got a pretty good deal from the local Doyle
sail guys avoiding a lot of shipping cost and hassles with customs. Other than
that, my time with Rose away was spent cleaning and minor repairs and organizing
work to be done on the boat. Right at the marina are some very qualified
(yahoo!!!!) for a change jack of all trades boat management and repair places.
The yard, itself, does nothing except haul you out when ready--we'll go in
April, so there are all these on site contactors. Very convenient and very good
so far.

As for Marmaris, the marina is pretty nice, but not as upscale as the
double-the-price marina right in town. All in all, there are probably about
2,000 boats wintering here between the two places, about 2/3 out of the water.
With so many people around, there is a very active radio net at the civilized
hour of 9 AM each morning with the usual announcements of social events, stuff
for sale and help wanted or provided for all around advice about how to get
things done. As I said the weather has been stunning but we are told it turns
windy, cold and rainy after the first of the year. There are tons of things to
do with group trips overnight to see various sights--we're especially looking
forward to the one to Istanbul in Feb for the boat show--although not to the 12
or 15 hour bus ride. There was a Halloween party and there is a big
Thanksgiving do at the other marina on Thursday. There's yoga, Turkish lessons,
bowling, walking tours, picnics, etc., etc., etc.

The town, itself, a tourist destination, has wound down now and has changed
quite a bit from my one day trip eight years ago. There is a special ferry
terminal now outside of town, the Grand Bazaar is now all organized and under
roof and prices have shot up. The Turks seem to be pretty friendly though and
we are enjoying it.

The one bummer was my "visa run" on the ferry over to Rhodes. You get 90 days
and then have to leave--not even overnight--and get a new 90 when you return.
It should be a piece of cake with a 2 hour run over there and a nice day
shopping, like getting reasonably priced pork products, and 2 hours back.
Leaves at 9 AM. Fortunately, I checked, and the daily schedule had been
curtailed to twice a week. No problem. I booked a ticket on the phone 3 days
in advance of visa expiration. Schlep down to the ferry only to be told I could
get there, but the return had been overbooked and couldn't get back for five
days. You would think immigration would be understanding, but nooooo, since the
next ferry was 2 days after expiration, I got hit with a $150 fine and there was
no talking them out of it. To make matters worse, it was a Sunday so no
shopping. None!!! We even had trouble finding a restaurant that was open.
I'll book a week or so in advance next time in February.

On a final note, now that we know the "program" for marinas in the Med, it may
be economical enough to winter next year in Italy. We'll see as I've written to
several marinas for their rates with no replies yet. We could, me really, sort
out getting Italian residency without the hassle of travelling over from
Tunisia. Besides, although Turkey is pretty secular, we're tired of Muslim
countries for long term stays.

Cheers for now. Happy Thanksgiving to all you Yanks.

Tim & Rose

Put to bed in Marmaris Yacht Marina Oct 21, 2010

Hello all.

We left you in Alanya with repairs up in the air, and I'm happy to report
that all is now well. Well, it's never "all", but the engines work, and we
have electricity!!! Unlucky for me, Rose is heading out for the UK again
for her appointment with the rheumatism specialist. Lucky for us we were
able to use air miles from Istanbul. Some quirkiness in the internet
booking from here to Istanbul--all the fares on the internet search sites
were about $600 return or more. Fortunately, Never-say-die Tim checked with
Turkish air direct and they have a one-way fare of TL95--about $65!!!! She
did have another asthma attack in Alanya, so we're hoping to get her asthma
sorted as well when she's there. Nothing much to report on Alanya since our
last letter except Rose got a nice surprise when Nathan, her son, and family
decide they needed a warm getaway and, coincidentally, there were great
deals to Alanya. Nice visit, quality family time. We also took Charlie
(the cat) to the vet for a general check and booster shot of some sort.
He's been a bit under the weather and losing weight so even though the vet
there gave him a clean bill of health, we (really "I" since Rose is
deserting me again) plan to get him in for a look-see here in Marmaris.

So we did the sea trials--successful--about 2 weeks ago in Alanya and left
for Kemer, 65 miles across the Gulf of Antalya. I must have checked about
ten weather forecasts, all in varying degrees calling for light winds.
Right!!! Don't believe Turkish weather reports! About an hour or two after
departure the wind and waves just built up and built up and pretty soon we
were getting 35 knots with 10-15 seas on the starboard bow. Rose was ready
to turn around but we were half way there so we altered course to the south
to another bay and hunkered down. For the first time in twelve years and a
lot of poor conditions, we actually had a wave roll over the entire boat
including the rigid bimini top. All sorts of crap fell on the floor inside,
etc., etc.. Needless to say the boat was a mess. Broke a bunch of slides
on the tramp as well. It's never easy!!!!

The next day we scooted around the corner, only about 30 miles in good
conditions, to Finike where some friends are wintering. Daily rates at
these marinas are prohibitively expensive--as much as $150/day--so we
anchored out. That was a week ago Saturday and there was an SPCA benefit
BBQ that night so we dropped the dinghy in, which miraculously is finally
fixed (or was it?), and motored in for drinks on Katanne and the steaks on
the barbie with Efes beers. About 10, the party broke up so we walked back
to Katanne to dinghy back out to the boat. Yep, dinghy wouldn't start.
Fortunately, we were just outside the harbor entrance, and I had just
reconditioned our old wooden paddles as they nicked the nice aluminum ones
accidentally when they fixed the dinghy in Ashkelon. We paddled out, and
you wouldn't believe the old rheumatoid girl out paddling the old man. Only
took about 10 minutes.

We'd planned on a few days there so there wasn't an undue holdup, and the
marina graciously and for free, towed us into the repair shop the next
morning. I stopped in about noon, and the guy said it was fixed but needed
the plugs cleaned and fuel. Oh, oh. I had put about 15 liters in the night
before. Turned out there was a hole in the integral aluminum tank,
basically impossible to repair cheaply so we threw a plastic tanks in.
Cleaned the carburetor as well and it's running fine once again. Fabulous
and cheap dinner that night after happy hour, and we set off on Monday for
Kastellorizon, a small Greek island about 45 miles away and only 1 mile off
the Turkish coast. The Greeks and Turks have an agreement that if the
population drops below 80, they'll cede it to Turkey. Why the Turks didn't
invade and take it over when they invaded Cyprus is a mystery to us. We
just anchored out in a nice bay and stayed on the boat as we were leaving
early the next morning.

Next day, we were crossing Fethiye Bay and while the forecast was iffy, it
was uneventful until we arrived at our planned destination, Ragged Bay.
Looked like a good anchorage, and the book showed a nice picture of all
these boats anchored behind a little islet in the bay. Many of the
anchorages here require you, for varying reasons, to anchor and then put out
a stern line to the shore. This is a real hassle so we picked places where
this wasn't necessary. The problem here was the depths were too great for
our measly 220 feet of chain so we left in search of a better spot. Just
down the coast was a popular spot, and we lucked out in that the local tour
boats (gullets), large junk-like boats were just leaving to go back to port.
While there was plenty of room, it was one of those stern line places. BUT,
Rose got the English guys next to us to swim in our lines. We did a good
job the next morning with the dinghy getting the lines backs and dropped a
bottle of wine off with them as a thank you.

Finally, the last leg to Marmaris had an even worse forecast, but Rose could
smell a nice dock and wifi so we took off anyway. The weather actually
cooperated, and we got to Marmaris about two. I called ahead to ask about
fenders, and they said not required. Of course, when we arrived, the
"pilot" boat said "where's your fenders?" A bit of a fire drill later we
were secured and will remain for the winter. Turns out we're just across
the dock from our friends on Freebird, and there are a few other familiar
faces here as well. We've had a few welcome drinks and dinners since our
arrival last week, but most of our time has been sorting out the place and
getting a car for the winter.

On line, the car rates are ridiculous especially considering it is off
season. Fortunately there is a well organized and large cruisers' radio net
in the morning. There are probably about 3,000 boats around including all
the ones on the hard in the boatyards, and some people have been here for
years!! A Scottish guy replied to my car inquiry and gave me a number
explaining the guy would start at about TL650/month but I should be able to
get him down to TL550. Lucky us, the car guy volunteered TL600/month pay as
you go or TL500/pay in advance. Since we're splitting the car with
Freebird, we opted for the advance deal and have a pretty nice Hyundai for
about $175/month each. We're about 8 miles out of town, so, while there is
good bus service, a car is a must for we that are spoiled.

Internet has been poor here at the marina, but there is a Turkcell deal via
cell that is cheap. Waiting to see what the service ends up here longer
term before doing that, but I'm anxiously awaiting a return of service as
the sail makers have sent in quotes for a new jib. I forgot to mention that
the hellish time on the Gulf of Antalya put a tear in the jib and, at twelve
years old, it just isn't worth repairing. Oh well, what's another few
thousand. After all, BOAT stands for Bring Out Another Thousand.

So we are nicely tucked in for six months with transportation. The weather
here has been pretty awful with thunderstorms and rain, but fortunately we
are no longer the biggest stick in the harbor so a third lightning strike is
fairly unlikely. We have out our winter stuff--Rose is getting more in
England--and the electric heaters are plugged in. All in all, seems like a
good spot with superb services and parts availability, so we're happy right
now except for bad wifi which we can remedy. Rose takes off on another
marathon trip tomorrow and her return is open as we don't know how long all
the docs will take, so poor Tim is baching it again.

Cheers to everyone.

Tim & Rose

Turkey w/o Rose Sept. 19,2010

Hello everyone.

No, the subject does not refer to me but to the country--Alanya, Turkey to be precise, where I have been ensconced whilst Rose lived it up with family and friends in the UK for almost 4 weeks. She has now returned to the blissful environment here on Rendezvous Cay. Much has transpired in her absence!! I should note without further adieu that Joe Stonich is now officially captain of the 57 foot Grand Banks "ID" which he is readying for delivery to Hong Kong. We are now to refer to him as "Popeye" even though he hates spinach--something, he claims, that has to do with being a captain, and, yes, he can help you. He is also in love again, this time with a very nice girl in Singapore (rich, too). Lizzie, in the meantime, while keeping her part-time job with FedEx (YES!!!!) has also taken another part-time job with Best Buy (double yes!!!!!). She and Ben have also moved--hence my new address that none of you pay any attention to--and is renting with an option to buy in Winston Salem. Way to go, kids!!! Jobs and houses without the old man's help!!!!!

Back to the business at hand. Well, with Rose's departure the shit really started flowing downhill on Rendezvous Cay. You'll just have to pardon the whynging!!

My idea was to clean the boat thoroughly since I really didn’t have anything more to do. So that actually worked out pretty good. I broke my head's shower sprayer, but the spare I've had for years was a lot better. Smaller holes so the spray was stronger. So while doing all this cleaning, the office stopped by. For the first time since buying the boat, someone actually wanted to see the corporation papers to be sure I was the owner. The Harbor Master wanted to see them since the boat is owned by PRI Inc in an IBC, and I, in turn, own that. No problem, so I did some other stuff and then went to look for the boat IBC papers. This was not good. Found the corporate seal, found some other stuff but no stock certificates and what I remember was a nice binder with all the stuff in it. Looked in my cabin in the bag of papers I keep under my shirts, looked in the regular boat papers, looked in the cap'ns cabin and had to pull a bunch of crap out there to get to old files. Looked in the file box I keep under there in a locker. No dice, nada, nothing. Found the boat bill of sale which says it's to PRI-Tim Stonich and I figured that will do, but who knows, so I emailed the BVI lawyers to send me a replacement or a cc of the original as they might have the stuff. Anyway, before giving up and doing that, I figured it must be in the forward pod, where we store a lot of "stuff", because it USED TO BE the driest place on the boat. Hassle pulling everything out, but I needed my winter stuff and had to stow the empty jugs anyway. Oh, oh!! What a mess!!!!!!!!! Just enough water had gotten in there to dampen everything and rot all the paper --boxes, books, etc. No standing water, but mildew everywhere. I think it must have happened when we were crossing the Gulf of Mannar on the way to India, when we just got the crap kicked out of us. But that's not all. The good news is I found a missing gallon of Semco teak sealer--$100. The bad news is when I moved it, the rusty bottom gave way, and about half a gallon spilled before I could get another container. This in turn managed to run down in the very bottom of the pod where the jugs go. Between the 100 plus temp and humidity and the solvent fumes, I almost croaked down there in the bowels of the boat. I guess there was a bit of a silver lining in that it needed cleaning out anyway, and I threw a bunch of stuff out, including, unfortunately, all my CD's which were damaged. All backed up on the hard drive so not too great a loss. Also took out the old props and metal detector for "eBaying". Sold the detector, but no dice on the props. Looking to get rid of them and my sea anchor here in Turkey via a flyer. Speaking of eBay, Rose brought back my 7 inch monochrome displays, I had bought in England, so I put the 10 inch color up for auction. Should have gotten close to $1,000 for it judging by past sales but no luck there--got about $500--still better than a kick in the teeth.

But the shit really hit the fan when the boys went to fix the starter motor on the starboard engine. This, you will recall, was the NEW, in Cyprus, replacement for the one I paid $800 to get fixed in Israel. But it gets worse. The entire engine is somehow crap. Nobody knows why but major salt water damage everywhere. The quote started off at $5,000!!!!! However, eliminating some niceties, self ordering to reduce or eliminate tax, knocking off the duplicate pistons, and bringing some stuff in from the states, we've about halved that. They didn't have the right pistons here in Turkey, and normal delivery is 8 weeks--express delivery from Holland was going to be €450--about $600--for $500 worth of parts that weight less than 10 pounds. Hah!!! No way, Jose. Got Lizzie (thanks even though she is now my PAID US agent) to send them for about $100, and the price was much better for the parts too. While this was going on, the plumber fixed the leaking kitchen faucet(needed a new one) and deck shower, too. Galley sprayer was bad as well, but in the course of cleaning, I found a couple of spares I forgotten about, so that was good.

But that's not all!! (sounds like an infomercial) A few days after Rose's return last week, I awoke to no fan on in our cabin. No biggie, I figured; probably kicked out the plug--it's happened before. No luck. All the 110 volt power was off. Shouldn't be the inverter which was new after the lightning strike, but probably a cooked wire from the lightning. The boat gets all its AC current through the inverter. When on shore power it simply passes through; when not, it is generated from the batteries via the inverting process. To make a long story short, the electricians didn't believe me. So first they spent hours checking the transformer and shore connections. Then they brought in the heavy duty outside guys who concluded the inverter was bad, and all the while I'm telling them it's a bad cable past the inverter as it simply passes AC current through. Nope. Off they go with the inverter. While being without shore power or AC is mainly an inconvenience--no TV, no toaster, no microwave--without it, I need to crank up the engine for a couple of hours a day to run the freezer. Don't like that at $8/gallon for diesel, but I could if need be. But wait, I've got the old inverter, mistakenly replaced 4 years ago in the Cook Islands (I'm sure you ALL remember that story). Nope, they try that and claim, surprise, surprise, that it's not working either but they can at least get it to charge the batteries. Ok, I'll use the engine to run the freezer. Of course, you guessed it; that crapped too. Anyway, now, five days later, the engine driven compressor is working and, lo and behold, when they brought in another outside electrician yesterday, they found some really crappy melted short circuited wires going into the grounding bus bar. So now the new inverter is off somewhere, 'til Monday anyway, but the old one is working fine--might try to sell that too. Nice to be vindicated as I am pretty much an idiot when it comes to electricity, but I look like a genius now--pays to know your boat. I have no idea what all this will cost me, but you can rest assured I will remind them, I diagnosed the problem before they wasted all that time on the other stuff.

But is the crap over yet. Nope. Rose's asthma has been kicking up since we hit the Red Sea and her occasional wheezing, which had abated for the previous four years, was well under control with a pop or two from her inhaler. She caught a bad cold in the UK, and, on her return, kept getting worse and worse so we figured to see the doctor a few days ago. No good news there. The doc wasn't sure what had exacerbated her condition but he actually wanted to admit her for 3-7 days at $1,200 per day. She (no insurance) negotiated a half day admittance with a bunch of treatment and meds. Still expensive, but manageable, and Rose is much better already. Return trip to the doc next week. Hopefully for full recovery.

As if anything else could go wrong, when they were cleaning out the engine room they discovered a leak in the water intake seacock for the generator. Hopefully, the 5200 I gave them to use will work wet and fix the problem. You may recall that's the compartment where the bilge pump wasn't working, but I think they've fixed that now too. Too much to keep track of. I have been put on suicide watch, and my already sparse hair has all been torn out. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

On the positive side (FINALLY, if you've even bothered to read this far, you are all saying), Alanya is really nice and there was a great group here for most of the time Rose was gone. It's been blazing hot so the A/C's been on--cooled off some now. There's a good happy hour with reasonably priced drinks, and the same pub has decent and cheap food. I was reminiscing with Rose that we thought Robinson Crusoe island was cheap at $10 for a big dinner. All in perspective--that was coming off super-expensive French Poly. Here a pretty good meal is about $6-8. The only problem is somehow the "pub" has not broken the code on hamburgers. Looks great coming out of the kitchen---fries (good ones), a bit of salad, bun loaded up with everything--everything that is except a hamburger. I'm not kidding you. The burger is smaller than McD's--about the thickness of a Heineken coaster, but smaller diameter. I have offered to consult with them on improving this pathetic attempt, and they agreed, but have yet to invite me into the kitchen. The rest of the food is good and plentiful. There is also a really nice restaurant across the harbor and Rose and I ate there before her departure. It was simply superb. And, if you didn't drink, the cost was quite reasonable. When she's back feeling herself, we'll return there for sure.

The usual suspects here were pretty interesting. There was Dave the retired car dealer who had what looked to be some commercial affection with him. Of late, however, he's had some problems getting women to come out here as he keeps asking their dress size beforehand. Seems the one after the bimbo had porked up a bit since he'd seen her last, and he didn't want any further fatties on board. Then there was Rob the retired North Sea chemical freighter captain. He was pretty interesting--on his fourth wife and couldn't get her to cut back spending even though he was retired. She was a bit over the top, but, fortunately, was in the UK most of the time before they left. There was Ian and Pat, he a retired oil rig guy and she a bitch. He spends a lot of time away from home even though he's retired. Delivering a drilling ship from Malta to Venezuela. She bought 17 pairs of shoes in one trip. Then there was Val and Steve who have just returned after a bit of cruising. Don't know what he used to do but she was widowed, but previously married to an MI6 spy, and, according to my last suspect, Neal, is totally connected. They are very nice and not so strange. Neal, on the other hand, if that is his name, is a 64 year old retired SAS and black ops guys. Awarded the Queen's medal (just down from the Victoria Cross) guarded royalty, John Majors (PM after Maggie), involved in the Irish Bloody Sunday thing and the deal in Gibraltar 20 years ago. He was here to help Ian deliver the boat, but it needed unexpected repairs so he was just hanging out single and took me under his wing--I think he was just looking for a mate to hang with. After a few beers, he bared his soul but swore me to secrecy at the marina. Believe me, there is even weirder stuff going on with him, and I think he said he had to change his name as his father was a gangster, etc., etc., etc. This was not BS as the rest all knew him and said it was true. Did a few outings with Neal whose approach to women reminds me of Tom Petrone. Highly amusing was a road trip, via bus, to a place called Side--about 60 k from Alanya. It's the site of some really cool Romanesque ruins including a 15,000 seat, pretty much intact, coliseum. So, anyway, we did that but I also wanted a massage and we both needed haircuts, so the two queens find a "coifuree" and get started. Neal also wanted a pedicure. So I swished into the back to the massage table. Unfortunately, Mustafa, the masseur should not have been working on men. I had to remind him on several occasions that I liked women and to please remove his thumb from where the sun don't shine. Neal, upon hearing this was somewhat leery and refused to fully disrobe for his massage. BUT, maybe it wasn't Mustafa's sexual preference. Resting at a shopping mall, I took the opportunity to use one of those massage chairs. While I know it didn't have a thumb, it was certainly shoving something up there. Maybe, just maybe, it's a Turkish massage thing. Anyway, beware of those chairs. They sort of lock your legs in there so you can't escape no matter what it's doing to you.

Unfortunately, about a week before Rose's return, everyone took off to cruise or deliver drilling rigs or whatever, and the incoming crowd was a bunch of Germans--need I say more.

So our mechanical and health problems have delayed our departure for Marmaris. It's not far, but there are some nice cruising grounds we wanted to explore before tucking in for the winter. If the weather holds and the parts arrive and Rose stays out of the hospital, I'm hoping we can depart in about 10 days. Nathan. Rose's son, had planned, just by luck, to come out to a resort only 10 k away, but changed his mind when he heard there was a mosque right there. You've heard my stories about the 4:30 AM call to prayer before, but they’re pretty minimalistic about that stuff here.

So that's the latest and, unfortunately, not so greatest update.

Cheers from us both. Wish us luck!!
Tim & Rose