Towards Turkey Day 6
St Barbara's Web Diary
Peter & Sue Goldsmith
Tue 6 May 2008 09:40
36:41.04N 27:34.40E
12.00 6th May
Another day and another beautiful bay to ourselves with just a few fishing
boats and a couple of restaurants for company. But in between
.................?
We left early yesterday morning with the intention of making it to our
destination at D-Marin without a stop. The wind gods had other ideas. It
began well enough and the forecast was for the wind to get lighter and move
to the north, giving us a good sail past Rhodes. Instead it remained firmly
in the west and increased through the evening and night, reaching 25 knots
for a time. We kept going as we had little choice of places to run for
shelter and by morning we were both feeling tired.
Heading for a sheltered bay we found ourselves in a different world. Calm
seas and a light breeze we anchored in the middle of this sheltered bay
called Kalabashi, again in crystal clear water.
As I write Sam is still asleep and the place is coming to life. Fisherman
working on their boats and restaurants waiting expectantly for their
lunchtime customers. It is early in the season and a good time to be here.
The right decision yesterday? Who knows. If we had had fair winds we would
have gone straight past this delightful place. That would have been a pity.
This should not reallly be entitled Towards Turkey as yesterday afternoon we
sailed into a beautiful bay close to a town called Kas. Surrounded by hills,
almost mountains, it reminded me of a lake scene. We anchored in a nearby
bay off a small resort that was waiting for the season to begin. One other
yacht and water crystal clear to the bottom more than 10 metres down. We
have arrived in Turkey.
Sam snorkelled to check on the anchor and then made a great dinner of
chicken and chips. It was so peacefiul. Further up the bay a gulet had
anchored for the night but they were far enough away not to be heard. Suset
turned the rocks to pink. Perfect.
We had stopped because the forecast had predicted strong winds but today
dawned with clear skies and not a breath. We decided to take a chance and
get going. Coming out of the bay we came across the distinctive sails of
Blue Jay, people we had known from Phuket and seen again in Aden and Suez. A
quick chat and we agreed to meet at an anchorage some 40 miles up the coast
towards Fetihye but on the way the plan changed again. The breeze was up
from the north west and we took the chance to head for the northern tip of
Rhodes and a direct passage. Find out tomorrow if we made the right
decision.