A day at the seaside

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Fri 17 Jul 2009 19:06
Friday 16th July
Slightly disturbed night mainly because around 3.30am the rudder hit the
bottom, so we had to jump up and ease Serafina further offshore as the wind
had come up and backed slightly to push us sideways. Got back to sleep just
after this morning's dawn call to prayer from the minaret.

Hot sunny day with an un-forecast breeze from the south (the only direction
we have no protection from here!) but nevertheless a relaxing day watching
all the fun at the seaside. We had a very pleasant surprise at lunchtime
when one of the crew of the large fishing boat moored next to us, who have
been hard at work for the past days mending nets etc. came over with the
young lad who is with them who acted as translator to welcome us to Turkey
and Kumbag (pronounced Kumbaa) and presented us with a plate wrapped in
newspaper. This turned out to contain freshly prepared and cooked whitebait
which were absolutely delicious. (Local lemons are something else as well.)

Had a stroll around the town this afternoon and enjoyed the whole experience
of being here. Although it is a low budget resort for Turks, they are so
welcoming and fascinated by our presence. Goodness knows how many people
have walked around the quayside to come a look at Serafina and so many want
to know where are from and where we are going. I think that if we had got
the folding Brompton bike out, we could have brought the place to a
standstill doing demonstrations!

Very hot once the wind died in the evening and we plan to get away around
6.00am tomorrow as we have roughly 70 miles to sail down the Dardanelles to
Canakkale.