Hong Kong reunion, sailing to Malta

Around the world with the Aqualunies
Jonathan & Gabrielle Lyne
Wed 23 Sep 2015 14:49
It has been awhile since my last blog.  We had huge fun with old HK friends exploring the area of the coast of Turkey having met up with Mike and Debbie Gray and Jo and Simon Davies who were chartering a yacht out of Marti Marina.  It really is a beautiful area of the coast with long inlets and lots of coves much of it wooded to the water.  The water was crystal clear and blue and turquoise.  Now there were ten of us on two yachts.  I don’t believe I have drunk and eaten so much in a week and had huge fun.  We started our first night at a restaurant called ‘Il Riccio’ in a very upmarket area a hotel and what appeared to be a private bay as we had guys coming out in dinghies and telling us where we could anchor and were we could not.  Dinner was excellent with some of the best home made pasta I have ever had and a ‘dessert room called a ‘Temptation room’ where it was impossible not to eat so many delicious delicacies. The following morning a chap appeared in a rib from the hotel with a basket of fresh bread of various types ‘compliments of the hotel’  plus a file on the facilities of the hotel, a great place to stay to relax if you have a lot of money.  Everyday we visited different bays, villages and ancient Phoenician sites.  We swam, paddle boarded, sunbathed and ate and drank and one evening of celebrating the birth of Gilly and Sam’s first Granddaughter, another of the longest reign of HM the Queen and another to celebrate Mike Gray’s 60th.

Then it was time to say ‘Goodbye’ to them all.  The Grays are from New Zealand, the Sellmeyers South Africa and Davies Hong Kong plus McBrides who have just moved back to Scotland.  We are all so spread out, but the best thing about old friends is that you just carry on where you left off and we all lead great and interesting lives.  Once everybody had departed it was time for big clean up of laundry, hoovering and making up bunks.  We sailed back to Bodrum where we were having some more things done for the yacht and to pick up old ‘Blue Water Rally’ friends who are helping us sail Aqualuna to Malta.   Katrin left us to get back to work from there but her husband Steve has stayed on board to help us take her to Gibraltar.  We have had some very strong Norwesterly winds blowing at about 35 knots and very big seas as it has been blowing for quite a few days.  Things calmed down on the 2nd day and we caught a 10 lb Tuna much to everybody’s delight, we were beginning to think the Med’ was dead.  We spent from Friday - Tuesday in Malta waiting for the NWest winds to die down a bit.  We met up with friends of David Saunders to whom he had introduced us last time, Simon and Lydia Bonello,  we were in Malta and went for a great Italian dinner on Monday night with them.  

We set sail on Tuesday still with NW blowing and a pretty rough sea, not pleasant with the yacht slamming into it every now and again.  Night watches were three on and six off.  Today we have just past Pantelleria 2 miles away and can see the coast of Tunisia the sun is out and all much calmer.  It is supposed to be blowing up again later tonight by which time we hope to be around the cape and heading west to Gib.