Friday 11 September 2015

Thursday 10 September 2015 - Sogut, Turkey

We have agreed to meet Jonnie and Marion Lurie just around the corner in Sogut.  As they are not arriving until after lunch, we have a leisurely morning.  I do a bit of shopping so we have a few lunches on board.  We have a coffee at Osmans to catch up on e-mails and download the Times.  We get away a bit later than we hoped at about11:30am.  As ever I am a bit concerned that the anchor will come up and not be fouled, although we know we put it down where instructed well out of the way of others.

So off we go and from the start I am not happy about the windlass.  I seem to have to push very hard on the foot button to get the upward pull going at all and then it is quite slow.  After only a minute or two it stops altogether.  I hoped it had just tripped.  So I go below to check and find that it is still on.  That means the windlass has packed up!  So what shall we do.  We have two choices.  The first is to go back to the berth and get someone here to fix it.  The alternative is to try to get the thing up and meet the Luries.  We have a berth reserved at the Octopus Restaurant pontoon which has pick up lines.  There might be someone there to look at it.  Alternatively we could go back to Marmaris tomorrow to get it fixed.

So with that in mind, I start pulling on the anchor chain and to my relief and delight it comes up quite easily.  I manage to get most of the chain up and Richard comes forward to get the anchor itself up, leaving me to steer in crowded surroundings!  I manage OK.

So we are off.  We only have 6-8 miles to go, so we take it very gently and even sail for about half an hour, just on the genoa because we know that around the next headland the wind will die.  We arrive in Sogut at 1pm and it is very very hot.  So after being nicely assisted into our berth, first stop is to go swimming.  We are a bit surprised to find how shallow the water is on the other side of the pontoon, where there is a swimming ladder.  It is all very lovely and peaceful. I manage to make a light lunch out of bits in the fridge and an avocado bought nearly a week ago, which has just ripened.  At about 3pm the Luries arrive and are berthed right next to us.  Then their other friends, Terry and Sue come into the next berth.  All very friendly.


We have a quiet afternoon sitting in the sun and going in to swim frequently.  Before dinner we have everyone on board for a drink, making my Caribbean rum punch, which goes down well.  Then dinner at the restaurant, where the portions are small (gratefully) but very tasty.  More yakking and swapping sailing tales and then late to bed!

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