Moods of the Sea

Sunset at Marmaris Bay


Moods of the Sea April 14, 2011

We are now anchoring in a beautiful bay just off the Yacht Marina, in Marmaris, Turkey. It’s a quiet anchorage, surrounded by green hills on three sides, with a nice view of distant mountains. Six other sailboats are also anchoring in the bay, all quietly swinging on their anchor in tandem under the light breeze. We took our dinghy for the 10 minute ride to visit the marina, saw some friends and had a great lunch. We are now sitting in the cockpit, enjoying the sunset and the perfect weather of about 20C. This is far more enjoyable than staying at the huge marina, despite the loss of conveniences like washroom and resturants. Tomorrow we will set sail towards the Aegean Sea.


Eliza - back from our dinghy ride to the marina


Riggers doing serious work - replacing the forestay (the big long wire at the front)


Yes, we finally escaped the boat yard and the last boat project was completed. We were here mainly to get some boat work done, particularly replacing some running and standing riggings. But work took longer than planned, as they always tend to. We had intended to depart three days ago, but as boatwork dragged on, it was getting frustrating. However, it turned out that the delay was a blessing in disguise: Two days ago a depression went through, bringing rain and wind. The forecast had called for moderate winds, which was why we had planned to set sail to take advantage of the favorite wind direction. But the south wind turned into a gale. We had gusts of 40 knots inside the marina. A gale warning was issued by weather agencies, but only when the storm was already at its full fury! Forecasts are indeed accurate, except for the timing. Two boats we knew were sailing through the night towards Marmaris, and had a very wild ride. It blew for about 15 hours, and then the sun came out, and the wind dwindled to a murmur. Such is the mood of the Mediterranean seas.