first 'crossing'

First Crossing!


We finally did it! For those of you following us, wondering if we were ever leaving Turkey, we made the jump! 


After 7 months here, we decided we were actually going to miss a lot of things about Turkey. The fresh bread available, EVERYWHERE! The doner kebaps, sandwiches sliced from a big drum of meat roasted on a skewer, fruit markets, pimento olives, aged cheeses and the friendliness and helpfulness of the people. We didn't think we were going to be here this long, but were glad of all the amazing sites we able to see and all the new friends we made. That is one huge drawback to this nomadic lifestyle, you make a lot of good friends quickly, but also have to say good bye soon after. 


We left on Tuesday afternoon, calculating that it would take us close to 48 hours to sail to Cyprus, averaging 3+ knots. We planned it for a stretch where there would be light winds and calm seas and that we had to motor a lot of the time, we would fit in that weather window. None of us wanted to fight waves and seasickness for the first one! Calm seas is exactly what we got, some sailing, but a lot of motoring as well. The boat has two Yanmar 18hp diesel engines and the mileage was great. We went some 150 nm on about 10 gallons of gas. 


Our boat was equipped with autopilot, but we hadn't been able to locate the 'controller' to make it work. The previous owners said it was on board, but after looking in every corner we could find, no luck. Well, as we were waiting in Finike, we looked at the sale board in the marina, and someone was selling the same brand of system, Auto helm. So, we met with him and  looked the unit over, verifying to see if it would mate up to our system. He assured us it would, having installed several on other boats, and we even managed to talk him in to installing it on ours. So, literally an hour after we installed it and got it working, we headed out towards Cyprus!

It was a strange feeling watching the sun sink low in the horizon, then crawling below the waterline, no land in sight in any direction, knowing the next thing to look for, is the sun coming back up the next dawn. Incredibly peaceful, just the waves lapping at the boat and a gentle breeze. The ocean calmed down to almost flat, just big rolling swells every now and then pushing us along. We took turns on night watch. Rachel and Levi had the 8:00-1:00 am shift and Erik, Emma, and Maggie had 1:00-6:00. We all took turns watching during the day, as the kids were on deck reading, listening to ipods, and Emma and my Yahtzee tournaments. What a lifesaver the autopilot turned out to be! I can't imagine having to sit there steering every mile, and even though we were working the kinks out of the new system, it was a huge time-saver. Now, we just had to basically be awake and be on the lookout for lights of any other boats. The only other boats we saw in the two days were huge oil tankers and both were a long way off. 


Slowly, the town of Paphos, Cyprus started to fill the horizon at dawn two days later and we made landfall around 10:00 am, even ahead of schedule! We were all a little 'jet lagged' afterwards and just cleaned up the boat, took short naps and tried to get our bearings. Erik did check-in processing, which included: port police, harbor master, customs, and health department! It was pretty painless and it all took just a couple of hours, just sitting and answering questions while they filled out the various forms, and STAMPS! Just like so many other countries we've visited, they love their stamps and they way they pound the forms, I think it's somehow therapeutic for them as well. So long as they get their frustrations out on the paper and not by adding to our fees, pound away!


We found a supermarket later in the afternoon, and with two British military bases on the island, it was very well stocked with all kinds of things we haven seen for months! Doughnuts! Sliced turkey lunch meat! We grabbed only a few things and they were quickly devoured by the troops. We took the next few days heading to Limassol on the bottom part of the island and our launching point for Israel.......see you then!


Hems.

Kas, Kastellorizo, Kekova, & Kale Koy....whew!

We moved on from Kas, and all it's charms, and on down the coast. Rachel and I were able to squeeze in a date night! We wandered the streets for a while as the sun was setting, having fun listening to the presentations from the different restaurants. They usually have a 'salesman' on the street to pull you in, go over the menu with you, then show you the mezes (appetizers), then the fresh fish, calamari, shrimp, and go through the whole pitch about the "free" bread, salad, chips, tea, etc. After two or three of those, you're starving! Our technique is to find the most crowded restaurant and the one with the most locals, and the price is better if you're a couple streets from the waterfront. We had a great meal and it was fun catching up without being surrounded by little ears.

There is a unique little  island just 4 nm off the coast from Kas: It's actually a Greek island, the last in the string of the Dodacanese islands. It only has 200 full time residents and the law apparently states, that if the population drops below 100 full time residents, it automatically becomes the property of Turkey!
We, of course, had to see it so we sailed over there in an hour or so and after lunch in a bay, went in town to scout it out. It felt abandonded except for the main harbor, which is lined with fish restaurants and coffee bars. It has a very relaxed feeling to the place, and we decided to keep moving before we got sucked in and added to the population!


We sailed on to a long bay called Kekova Roads. It is littered with anchorages in it's craggy coast all tucked behind a four mile island just opposite. It is the ancient site of and just around the corner from Myra, where Paul the Apostle spent some time. The winds picked up over the afternoon and we had a steady sail getting the 20 or so nm. We anchored in 'Woodhouse Bay' and it was calm considering the 20+ knots out in the open.


The next day we sailed just down the bay to Kale Koy, a small hamlet in the shadow of a very intact mideveal castle. Levi and I took the girls, Lily Emma, & Zoe up to explore in the afternoon, and we able to see 360 degrees into the valley on the other side and the whole bay, pretty spectacular! The castle also had a small amphiteater cut, not built, into the rock and the girls took turns doing skits and shows. We met a family in a restaurant where we tied up who were raised here and it looks like the summer is busy with boats and people from all over the world. Pictures and flags from every corner of the globe are hanging all over the restaurant. Their high school daughter rides a fishing boat at 6:00 am with 10 other kids from the village to another village near here, where she rides a bus another 1/2 hour just to get to school! Definately a unique way to get to school.

On our way on to Finike, our last stop for Turkey, we stopped at a cave inside an island. It's a hangout for the local fishermen to cool off and hide out in the heat of the day, but here in spring, we had it to ourselves. It was amazing! We took our dinghy in.....it's a small entrance, and it opens up inside to a couple of huge rooms with ceilings soaring 50 feet above our heads. We felt like looking for the treasure from 'Count of Monte Cristo' and I can't imagine pirates haven't used it at some point. The only locals in the cave were a cluster of bats squeaking at us for intruding while we were there. We left amazed at God's diverse creation.......again!

wandering along....

We've been travelling with Time Warp and really enjoying it. It's the first time we've sailed with anyone and it's fun to meet up at anchor, analyze the day and the wind, have someone to call on the radio and hang out in town with.

We were anchored in Dalyan, first night from Marmaris, and took the dinghies up a fresh river, inland heading towards some rock tombs built high on the mountain. What we ended up doing....is going in circles looking for the main river between all the grass and cattails growing around. The grass was just tall enough to where we couldn't see the main river. It was still fun cruising around, half expecting to see an alligator any minute.

We left at noon and sailed down the coast and hooked in behind an island called Baba Adasi. Very calm anchorage and we slept sound! Speaking of which, since we'd left the marina, it must be the fresh air, or being outside all day, but we've all been extremely tired and hungry! We eat huge meals and an hour later, we're all hungry again. I think our bodies are burning some serious calories and we're trying to re-fill. Also, we're all exhausted by 8 or 8:30 at night. So we try to hold off until 9:00 and sleep until 8:00 the next morning. I guess it's healthy living, eh?

Thursday, we left there and sailed a long day down and into a large bay with dozens of small bays and anchorages around called Fethiye Korfezi. We went up to Gocek, a sleepy village in the north corner and anchored there. We had run out of propane, we have two 10 gallon bottles which last us about 3 months and were hoping to wait until Greece or Cyprus to fill because gas is SO expensive in Turkey, but no luck. So Friday we went in town and found someone to fill it for 75 Lira ($50) about $5 a gallon. Not the end of the world. We also found a great restaurant for lunch where we all ate home cooked food and bread for 25 Lira ($15) It's hard to feed 7 for $15 anywhere these days!

Friday afternoon, we headed towards Fethiye and had wind right on our nose, so we ducked into a little bay and anchored for the night. The wind in the Med is very sporadic we've heard from people who have sailed a lot of other places. We don't have a lot to compare it to but it always seems to be shifting and not where you want it from. The saying goes: "There's 3 kinds of wind in the Med, too much, too little, on the nose" After almost 1 year of sailing here, I'd say that's spot on.

Saturday, we caught up to Time Warp and found two other boats from Marmaris anchored in the bay in Fethiye. It was like a little reunion! Fethiye is a big town that stretches all around the bay and has a lot of cool ancient ruins that the town has molded around. The antiquities are lit up at night, so it's really dramatic sitting at anchor looking at the hills of thousands of years of history.

Sunday, we all went exploring to a gorge, and as most exploring goes, ended up with an adventure. We took a "normal" dolmus, the little buses, towards a place called Saklikent, and as we went, Peter and I chatted with the driver. As it ended up, for a little extra Lira......he took us from the first stop to 3 more spots not on the dolmus route, and we basically ended up with a private tour guide! He owned 6 dolmus routes and had his route covered and explained casually that he owned a restaurant, and 8 olive groves, which he manages in his spare time! He took us to his restaurant, for a pause and of course lots of free tea, and there we were, sitting on the floor in a mass of pillows, amazed at how things unfold as you venture out and go with the flow.

We saw some amazing sites......get this......a 4000 year old city called TLOS. 4000 years! I think that's the oldest site we've seen and it surreal to think it had been there since Abraham. We also went to a big spring out of a mountain where they've build streams and waterfalls in and through a maze of tables and hammocks.

It was very peaceful with all the rushing water and we couldn't look out over the valley of farms and villages and not thank God for His amazing creation. And His Grace by which He allows us to enjoy it and each other!!

Sorry such a long post........Hems.

....over the wall!

Last week started with a "Boat Jumble" It's a bi-annual event in the marina where everyone digs out their "treasures of the bilge" and has a big swap meet, I think the idea is to sell more than you buy and we almost succeeded. We sold an extra small outboard that came with the boat when we bought it. (We've since up-graded to a bigger dinghy and motor) and only bought some original charts for where were heading for only 3Lira ($2).

Maggie did some baking and made some banana bread and cinnamon rolls to sell at the jumble and ended up with 30 Lira ($20) for her efforts. She'll definitely be making baked goods for customers if we're in a marina again.

Levi found a pair of flippers for his snorkeling adventures this Summer, and bought them with money he's earned in the marina. He figured out, towards the end of the Winter, that people in the marina pay well for odd jobs they don't want to do. So he made some good money in a short time crawling in hard to reach chain lockers, cleaning barnacles off dinghies and lending a hand to an electrician working and running wires in boats. IF we wind up in a marina, I fully expect Levi to be handing out business cards the first day we're there and be busy the whole Winter!

The jumble was followed by a bar-b-que, grilled meatballs and chicken shish kabaps. Our group of 25 stayed and had a great afternoon in the sun, telling lies and stories and it was a fun way to say good-bye to the marina.

Monday, we finally left the marina. For those of you following us, I'm sure it was getting a bit boring hearing all about Marmaris! Of course, it went faster than we thought, and it ended up being a mad rush to get things finished on the boat, doing the last loads of laundry, and filling the fridge and freezer and making our way out. Monday morning Rachel and I were in town for a last minute doctor appointment, buying groceries, and a few things for the boat. Maggie and Levi were an incredible help and had the boat clean and packed by the time we got back. We left in Hemingway style as some of our laundry was still hanging on the clothes lines on the boat as we motored out of the marina! We certainly felt loved as a lot of our friends came out on their decks and waved us off, very cool feeling!

We've met some great friends in the marina and it was bittersweet leaving after 3+ months there. One of the newer families is the Drinkalds from Australia, Steve, Cheryl, and their kids Chelsea (11) and Nick (8). Fantastic family. We found out later that they were involved with Growing Families, a Christian parenting program that we'd done in the US. Small world indeed. They recently moved aboard a big catamaran called "Connect 4" and are excited about heading out in about a month. After we left the marina late in the day on Monday, they came out to where we were anchored and had dinner. We played games and had a great time until after midnight. It was sad to say good bye, but we're hoping to hook up with them, maybe in Israel.

On Tuesday, we headed out of Marmaris bay and were travelling with another family we'd met, Peter, Ruth and Will (12) on "Time Warp" They are Americans and were wanting to have a "trial run" going East before they turn around and head West through the Med in preparation for crossing the Atlantic in November. We made it as far as Dalyan some 18nm and anchored in a bay. It was a fantastic sail, calm seas and gentle breezes. Just the kind of day you wait all year for! We were thrilled to get some wind in the sails and water under the keel. We're making our way to Fethiye with Time Warp and we'll write more next week.........

Bye for now........Hems.

Marmaris Photo Update

Mehari sitting at anchor in the city dock, right downtown!

"Blue Moon" New Years' Eve

Maggie taking Zoe for a ride around the marina

Cool Coastline from Turkey

Mehari - safe and sound in Yat Marine

Lily and her new friend from France - Tahaa

Rachel and her new 'friend' Levi

Emma's friend Jordin at a tea party

Downtown Marmaris - lots of shops to explore

Lily and Zoe, always grandma magnets!

Happy New Year!!

Hello from Marmaris,

We've had a few busy weeks, thinking we were going to be sitting around in the marina., however, we realized the season is fast approaching and with a visit from John and Rosie, we only have a few weeks to get the boat ready for season. After talking to a lot of other experienced cruisers in the marina, apparently the lists never get done!

So...we're doing the best we can. There is an area in town called 'Sanai' which is a large industrial area where you can get almost anything machined, welded, fabricated, repaired, milled, etc. You just head in there with what you're looking for and they send you to someone in the area who deals with that area. Very nice to have it all together, every city should have one! It would sure cut down on running around!
We've had a winch rebuilt and some wood cut for pieces on the back deck and are waiting for a water tank to be repaired.

Last night was New Years' and we got together with two other families here in the marina for a potluck and cards. One family from South Africa/America on their way to complete a 3 year circumnavigation, and their mast broke here in Turkey!! They started in Boston area and have been traveling West, through the Panama canal, across the Pacific and through Asia. So, the wife is back in the States (US) earning some money so they can finish. He's here in the marina with two young boys waiting for Spring.
The other family is a husband/wife and a 13 year old boy from Seattle. He bought and refit the boat in New Hampshire this Spring and they came across the Atlantic in June, and have been through the Med since then. Their plan is to go back across the Med and then back to the Carribbean next December.

Our plan, for the moment, is to head up through Greece in early March, weather permitting, and into either Italy or Albania, Monte Negro, Croatia through the Summer. We haven't figured out wintering next year, just know that we want to be warmer than we have been this year! We were not set up for winter at all and have been buying sweatshirts and more clothes. One thought is North Africa, Tunisia perhaps. We've heard good things from those who have spent some time there, so we'll see. It's hard to plan too far ahead.

That's it for now, talk soon!

Hems

Turkey photos

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crystal Clear Anchorage


Zoe's (Sarah's) Birthday. Happy 3 pooch!

At a cool anchorage all by ourselves!

Our line tied to these rocks. Mooring mediterannean style.

Emma drinking Turkish Tea, it's drank almost non-stop here!

Maggie, Levi and Emma in 'Eski-Datca' Old town.

Old town Datca, quaint village.

Zoe, the grandma magnet.

Moonrise over Mediterranean

Marmaris, Yacht Marine

Hello All!

We've had a busy few weeks, even though we haven't sailed anywhere.

First, we were all set to celebrate Thanksgiving a few weeks ago when we all got sick with some terrible chest congestion deal. On a small boat there's nowhere to go and we all ended up with some variation of it. Erik ended up with Bronchitis and Sarah threw up. I will say a boat is NOT the place to be sick. We were at anchor and it was cold! We moved to the city dock so we could get some electricity (for a small heater) and started the road to recovery.

As soon as we were on the mend, a big storm was coming, December 1......the harbor master for Marmaris came over and suggested we find another spot. All the boats on the dock we were tied up at at were big steel tour boats and we were on the end and would have caught the worst of it. So, after a quick decision, we made our way across the bay at night and went back to Yacht Marina for what looks like the month of December. At the moment, we're getting plugged in to a group of close to 100 people all waiting out the winter as well. We're all excited about showers, electricity, wi-fi internet, the basics. The marina is huge, over 1000 boats in and out of the water.

We ended up having Thanksgiving a week later in the marina and Rachel did an amazing job building a feast with a two burner stove. Maggie made an apple pie and it was a fun day, eating, watching movies, eating, etc. You get the idea!!

There is a cool library here where Maggie and Levi are under strict orders to catch up/get ahead in school. So, they have a system now, taking their backpacks everyday to 'scchool' Levi is trying to find some work here helping out on other boats, learning what he can. There is also a 'kid's club' where Rachel and the girls can get off the boat and hang out doing crafts and playing. There are a few friends here for the littler ones. Emma met Jordan from England, Lily met Emil and Peter originally from South Africa. They're on a circumnavigation, starting in the East Coast of the US and have been through Panama, across the Pacific, through Asia and here in Turkey.

So.....lots of interesting people here, and we're getting some things fixed on the boat while we wait between rainstorms. We're looking forward to a visit from Erik's parents in January for over a month. It will be fantastic to see some family!


Talk to you soon!

Hems

Marmaris

Hello all,

Well, storms came more and more frequently. Thing sure changed a lot weather-wise in November. It seemed lıke every 3 days another storm was blown through. We were kept safe, of the last two storms, one came while we were in a city harbor in Bozburun and the last storm we sailed through, Levi and I. It was very cool watching the clouds gather over the mountains and then they slowly wandered over and dumped on us. Then we'd watch them head East and start to break up. Very dramatic.
We had three seperate squalls, and were cold and drentched by the end of the day. I think it was the quickest anchor we'd set and then we jumped inside the boat, got on dry clothes and quickly downed two bowls of stew Rachel had made. Really hit the spot. We melted into the couches and watched movies.

So, we're now in Marmaris, a huge bay very protected, and trying to prioritize the next three months until we can head out in early Spring. They're are a few things we'd like to do on the boat, projects we've been putting off while sailing. The kids are going to buckle down with school and try to catch up/get ahead for next year.
The town is big, but 3/4 of it is literally shut down for winter. Shops and hotels closed. I hear in the summer, you can't find a bed, but you'd never know it now. So, we're finding the cheapest grocery stores, parks for the little ones (also a great place to meet people) and the best Döner Kebaps (chicken and beef sandwiches).

Well post again soon, and try for more pictures.

Hems

Storm at anchor......

Hello all!

We had a huge storm come through here (Datça, Turkey) last night. It blew and rained for 8-10 hours straight, up to 48 knots! Plenty rolly for sure! We were at anchor and the weather info said the storm wasn't to hit until Wednesday day, so we certainly got caught off guard. Levi and Maggie and I put out a second anchor (we weren't in a marina, just sitting at anchor) which itself was a challenge. We were rolling around in the dinghy in 6-7 foot waves in the rain (sorry, mom) getting it set and tightened down. Maggie was collecting stuff from below, electronics, etc. that you don't want to leave on a boat in case of lightning. Rachel and the little ones had already spent time on the boat and Levi had taken them to a hotel.

We ended up in a hotel across the street where I sat up all night watching to see if the anchor would drag. It held tight all night! We half expected the boat to wind up parked on the beach....curbside pick-up as it were. Our friend Julie posted this on a Facebook page and it's a great verse:

O Lord God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the reaging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them. (Ps. 89:8-9)

Thanks everyone, for your prayers!

We're heading towards Bozburun and then to Marmaris, hopefully uneventfully. (storm wise)

Hems

Knidos...'Neat-O'

Hello!

We've been out of touch for a couple of weeks, traveling through a huge bay. It's called Korfezı Gorkova, and has lots of remote anchorages. It's not hard to find a bay all to yourself, and a lot of bays are surrounded by pıne trees growıng rıght up to the water's edge. Very beautıful, and quıet. We fınally wrapped around to the next bay '??', 'Bay of Doris' ın English at a place called Knidos (or in Sarah's language - Neato). Here's us sitting on the jetty there:


The place has had a lot of prominence ın antiquity. Paul was taken here on hıs way to Rome to be trıed (Acts 27:7) The town was at ıt's peak 80,000 people lıvıng and fıshıng ıt's waters. It was a huge shıppıng port as well as shipwrecks from Egypt to Northern Europe have been found wıth cargo (amorphs) stamped ıdentıfyıng ıt from here. The bıg exports were: wıne, olıves, fıgs, drıed fısh. Now there are only 2!! full time residents living there and you can wander the hills and look at ruins of houses, amphitheater, and temples.

It's a pretty overwhelming combination, being surrounded by all the history here and living in a boat on the ocean. Do you know how you feel looking at the stars on a clear night? How you can almost feel yourself shrink? I guess that's a similar feeling...I know we're small in the world, but this is humbling! I really feel it, all the centuries of people living, working, raising kids, making decisions, it's crazy. We really are specks aren't we? It can't do anything to me but to say 'Thank You, God and Father, for allowing me to be here and to see You here and everywhere!, You are Amazing and Awesome'

The Hems

Ephesus

Hello from Turkey......

We took a detour for a couple of days and rented a car and drove up to Ephesus. We figured we were as close as we would get, as we're heading south and were ready for a break from the boat. It was an amazing experience and really incredible being in a place we've only read about, but I think the thing that will remain with all of us is the lesson we learned while we were there.

We set out on a Friday morning from the hotel and got to Ephesus, and literally as we were walking into the entrance, our camera died. Changed batteries, nothing. Once in a lifetime and we were going to miss getting any pictures! We all started blaming each other on whose fault it must be, frustrated and basically, failed. So, we went back to the entrance and bought two disposable cameras so we'd at least have evidence we were there. İ even drove back to town looking for another digital camera, armed with a credit card.......nothing.

So, we finally decided to make the best of the situation and go for it. Halfway through Ephesus, we met a professional photographer who has worked there for 12 years. We told him our situation, and he called another friend who had a great Nikon camera that accepted our camera card, and he became our tour guide and private photgrapher. Of course, he knew all the best spots for photos and all the background of everything we saw! How crazy is that!

I know nothing's for free and was counting on the big pitch when we left, private tour, camera rental, etc. etc., but none of it! I tried to pay him and he wouldn't take it. He was really glad to help and hoped we'd enjoyed it. Thanks Charles!!

What a great lesson learned about how God works things out better than we can imagine and how we are so quick to put HIM in a box! Shame on us for missing out on all HE wants to do for us when things don't go like we think they should! Thanks, LORD for a great memory......

Until next.........

Hems

Bodrum

We're now in Bodrum, Turkey heading east toward the next bay over called Aspat Koyu.

Yesterday we went to a very cool cave on an Island called Kataraada (black island) where you can swim into the cave and take a mud bath. The mud is exported to Europe and supposedly, Cleopatra stayed on this Island for three years. We had a rough sail back to Bodrum straight into the wind and are anchored back in the bay.

There are night clubs here on the water and they play music until EXACTLY 5:00 am. Just in time for the first Muslim call to prayer! So, we'll be glad to get to a quieter anchorage for sure!

Kids are doing good. Tomorrow is the big outdoor fruit and vegatable market where farmers from all around the area flood in and sell every kind of produce imaginable. It's pretty overwhelming! We'll post some photos as soon as we figure out the new blog.

Take care all!

Hems