Test 1: Unexpected Weather

This is Bryan posting for Katie...

Leaving Kekova Rhodes wasn’t too bad. The anchor was super stuck because we had been pulling on it so much the past couple of days and when we pulled it up it got dark mud all over the bow of the boat. We had gotten really good at pulling the dingy and outboard up, but this morning we just weren’t “on” and it took about 10 minutes longer than it should have.

I laid down for a nap because we had gotten such an early start and woke up to a pretty bouncy swell and realized the sea sickness patch I had reapplied (we were planning on leaving a few days before and instead of waste the patch I was going to try and use it again) wasn’t doing a darn thing. I got a little green and hurried down below to take a Dramamine. I think the baggie I was storing the half used patch in got most of the remaining medicine. Dad suggested I just put the baggie over my head and that would solve any problems I was having.

Once the pill kicked in I didn’t mind the swell and it was a pretty normal day. The sun went down and it got cold, as it normally does when that happens, and I did the first watch. Dad had made dinner and I was supposed to do the dishes but we really didn't worry about it much which was a mistake. When it was my turn to sleep Dad decided to conserve gas, and to slow down since we were due in Marmaris at around 2:30am at the pace we were going so he turned off the engine. Well there wasn’t much wind then, but a nice sized swell coming at us from the side. It was rolley polly downstairs. I was in the big bed because there is generally less bounce there, but when it comes from the side, it doesn’t matter where you are. Dad had the boom off of the tabernacle and whenever there was a change in the wind it would swing out and almost snap like a wet towel and I could hear it and feel the boat lurch to the side. The auto pilot was trying to steer the boat without much wind so it was screatching like the creepy monkey from Toy Story 3 and I was right on top of it. I managed to sleep some, but not a whole lot. I heard the wind picking up and by the time my watch was on again it was cold and we were sailing.

I probably should’ve put more clothes on, but I had quite a few layers on already and felt ok at first so didn’t. I’d say the waves were about 3-4 feet at the highest points, but like I said they were coming from the side so one side of the boat would go up while the other would plunge down making it very difficult being on the high side. The wind picked way up, of course not something we had seen in the forecast, and we were clocking 20+ knots. When Marmaris was in sight we went to take down the main sail and I turned the boat into the wind clocking 26 knots and riding the waves straight on. Dad gets a gold star for staying harnessed to the deck and not falling overboard while taking the sail down. On a positive note, there was no rain or water coming into the cockpit. It was very cold and water would’ve made the whole equation 10x worse.

My second watch was up and I got about 2 hours of sleep down below and Dad motored in circles, like a waiting airplane, until the sun came up. We had never been to Marmaris and weren’t sure what would be waiting for us at night so we just hung out in the open sea until we could see where we were going. I woke up to more wind and the approach into Maramaris. We were heading for the marina and I was putting out fenders in 36 knots of wind which was difficult. I could feel the wind pushing me and held on while the gusts passed. We wanted to dock at the marina because we were both beat, but nobody was there yet.

The Maramaris Yacht Marina advertises 24 hours, but that really means that the office and tower open at 9:30am. It was probably for the better because the idea of docking half awake with 30 knot gusts didn’t really appeal to Dad and I.

So we anchored at a place right outside without any trouble and decided we were in need of a rest. I cleaned up the dishes that had been randomly stowed because of the bouncing the night before and made sure we didn’t go anywhere while Dad passed out. I soon followed his lead and we slept until we were woken up at around 1:00pm to a nice downpour outside. At around 5:00pm the sun came out and we felt comfortable going into the marina.

The marina staff wasn’t a whole lot of help docking, so it gave Dad and I practice at docking essentially alone. We have been spoiled at some of the other marinas in Turkey and were welcomed back to reality when the man in the dingy simply pointed with his cigarette and floated by nudging us away from one of the other boats.
Once we were in things began to turn around and we ended up having a great night. We touched base with Persevere and Three Rivers (who were next to us in Kemer) and got a nice hot shower. The marina restaurant was very nice and Dad got the first really good steak he has had since we’ve been in Turkey. Our waiter could’ve sworn that we were Turkish and had a lot of trouble accepting the fact that we were from America. It took all of our energy to stay awake during dinner and slept really well that night in the safety of the marina.