Mum's Email-2 Aydincik-Yesilovacik-Kum Kuyu Marina-Mersin Marina
Yachtforeverfreedom
Sun 18 Oct 2009 09:51
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Day 5 15th October.
Woken by the wailing call to prayer at around 0600.
Left Aydincik at 0750 going 30 nm further east along the coast. Fair
wind but, as usual, a head wind. The engine is running much better now
that Peter has cleaned the barnacles and crud from the underneath. Amazing
how much growth one gets so quickly. Wind increased to NE 5-6 gusting 7
testing skills that we have not used for a while Two reefs in the
main, still head winds and the short chop and swell one gets in the Med means
slow going. We decide to shorten our destination and head for the fishing
harbour called Yesilovacik. This is a very quiet spot and I actually did some
painting. I have not been painting for quite a while. We were
joined by other rally boats. A lovely quiet night at anchor.
Day 6 Friday 16th October.
Woken by call to prayer as usual. Yesilovacik to
Kum Kuyu marina. Mostly motor-sailed as very little wind. The
scenery is still stunning; plenty of castles in ruins but in good
condition. There are numerous hotels, apartment blocks and camp sites
along the coast. Some of them are owned by big companies and let out
to their employees. We came into the marina and moored alongside. We
were entertained going along by Flying Fish. When we had moored up we saw
a turtle swimming close by.
In Turkey the State builds the marinas and they are
then leased to private organisations for 30 years. The new
marinas are not complete. They are without facilities and nearly all
are empty.
Day 7 Saturday 17th October.
If you have looked at the Vasco da Gamma web site
you will see that we are about 2 days behind schedule. But that is the
nice thing about this rally it goes where we want to go and at a pace we
like. Short passage today of about 20 nm no wind still going
along the coast eastbound. I have never seen so many fishing boats; some
very small. We also saw many more flying fish. Fish must be
plentiful in this area and we have Bream, Bass, Bonito, Prawns, Mullet
to name a few. No sign of squid. We are moored in the new
Mersin Marina. It is built for 500 boats and room ashore for 200
boats. There are about 10 sailing boats and a few fishermen. The
Marina lies on the western side of the city.
We send this email via our Sat phone. We
are experiencing difficulty with sending photos. But Peter is
persevering with the challenge.
Mersin is the largest Med port in Turkey.
Ferries operate from here to Northern Cyprus. The Port has grown
very rapidly over the past few years and apartment blocks now dominate the
landscape and most of the historical areas have been built on. We have yet
to explore the old town which we may do this afternoon. There was a canal
here that went to the Tarsus mountain area. Cleopatra sailed her fleet up
the canal to meet Mark Anthony in 41 BC. Mark Anthony gave Cleopatra Alanya
and she is reputed to have made her naval fleet from the wood surrounding
this area. There is still evidence of logging today. It is also the
birth place of St Paul the Apostle.
Yesterday a local fisherman sold me 1 kg of huge
Tiger Prawns for about £ 6. These we enjoyed for lunch
and supper. The fish in Turkey has always been so fresh and
good.
We are due to leave Mersin tomorrow. The
Rally organiser has been told that the port in the Lebanon has no space for
us. This means that we can stay a little longer in Mersin and go
inland sight seeing. Then we will sail straight to Cyprus. We await
to see where next. I am quite happy to see more of Turkey as there is so
much to see. We have to leave by 27th October as our Visa expires
then. Will let you know when we have decided to leave.
Well week one is completed. We have met new
people who all have masses more experience than we have. We have relearnt
skills and have been challenged by the weather. We have a rest day today,
so we have cleaned the boat inside and out and done the washing. We feel
we have new energy, and we are thoroughly enjoying
ourselves. The sunshines every day and temps 24-34
degrees.
 This is us with a local Policeman in Aydincik,
about to go sight-seeing in his police car with the other couple who are also on
the Rally. They are German Swiss, Jeurg and Magrit, and they speak very
good English.
 This is Aydincik harbour. We are the yacht at
the right-hand end of the quay; four boats to the right of the one with a light
at the top of it's mast. The picture was taken from the top of the hill
where the policeman took us so we could see over the town and the
bay.
 You can just see us in the middle of this
picture. This is mersin marina and, as you can see, it is still rather
empty.
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