36:43.67N 28:56.12E

Well we were getting impatient sitting at anchor in Kerkova Rhodes.  While it is a very nice anchorage and has fantastic scenery it can be kinda dull after a few days.  Looking at the weather predictions there appeared a window of opportunity if you moved fast.  Kerkova is at the southern point of Turkey and tends to get higher winds as a result.  Since we could pound through bad weather if needed we chose that option.  Our friends from the US were also thinking about a departure but there is a significant difference.  That difference is length of the hull.  Simply put longer displacement type boats are faster than shorter ones.  Since the winds would not be helpful the engine would be required for most of the trip.  So pushing against a headwind and rougher seas the longer the boat the better.

At 06:30 we were up, well I politely woke Pat up.  We set about getting ready to weigh anchor.  Our friends agonized the night and decided beating into rough seas and head winds was not the right choice and correctly decided to wait for a better weather gap.  We said our goodbyes and headed out.  Once out of the protected harbor the seas were bigger, 1 – 2 meter waves (3 – 6 foot) and right against us.  What little wind there was also was against our progress.  So instead of the hoped for 7.5 knots of speed we slogged into the seas at 6 knots.  As we headed further around Kas, Turkey the seas were better but when we reached Kalkan they again grew against us.  Still we rolled and pounded forward until we turned the corner toward Göcek.  Seas dropped and the sun came out along with less wind and currents against us.  We made it to our mooring buoy in Göcek by late afternoon.  Another good mooring pick up without incident and we settled in for the night.

Along the way to Göcek we did see a lot of migrating birds.  Several Hoopi’s flew by.  Look it up on Google.  And a couple of warblers landed on the boat.  In fact one came into the cockpit right up to the windscreen.

So another successful transit, alas by motor again but this is the Med.

Wayne and his daughter Katie’s boat sitting peacefully in Kerkova Rhodes.  Fantastic boat in that Wayne built it in steel many years ago.  It has crossed the Atlantic and through the Med in the last two years.  Still going strong.

I normally am tired of all the sunset pictures but this is the only picture we have of the night at the mooring in Göcek.  Not a bad place and very secure moorings that can withstand any winds assuming you selected the right one by an island to protect you from the waves.