4th September 2010 Back in Marmaris, Turkey

4th September 2010 Back in Marmaris, Turkey
Apart from 2 weeks at Easter, Andy and I have been based in Falmouth, Cornwall for nearly 1 year but now, after a frantic week getting ready, we have re-let the house and flown to Dalaman Airport to rejoin Deep Blue in Marmaris. We didn’t get a moment to catch our breathe. Our lovely friends Sabina and Wilfred from Wisa were expecting us - there was a card at the companion way welcoming us back, and we kept on bumping into people we know as well a making new friends with our neighbours. We were not alone all evening and fell straight into life back on the good ship Deep Blue.
In the past year back on dry land our son Piers has graduated and now works in London and Fay has returned from her travels to train to be a nurse in Bristol. They both seem happy and settled so we feel able to return to our itinerant way of life. We have really loved being back in Falmouth and seeing our friends, Piers and Fay and the rest of our family so regularly and will miss everyone. However Deep Blue calls!
All is good on DB but there is a surprising amount to do to get her ready to sail - unpacking the sails, remembering where we put things, discovering a battery is faulty and having to find a replacement .... and so on. Also her bottom - even though newly anti-fouled in March - is caked with crustatians and seaweed so I have had to spend an exhausting (it is extremely hot here) day cleaning those off the best I can from our tender. I guess it is not surprising given the temperature of the water but it is none-the-less disappointing that our expensive and hard work antifouling has been a waste of time.
We have made two new very interesting Turkish friends - the customs officer here (Deria) and his brother (Bora), a skipper of a 35m motor yacht. Last night we spent the evening talking politics with them and tonight we have been invited to spend the evening with Deria and his wife. I will report back in my first Blog!
We are off to Crete either tomorrow or the next day (depending on how much Raki is consumed) - a 30 hour or so sail. Then we will island hop back to the Datca Peninsula and then to Marmaris towards the end of October. We have decided to get her lifted and stored on shore for the winter so when we return in 2011 she will be free of weed.
Just a quick note to get everyone in the picture!