Stuck in my Gullet

I have to apologise. I recently rudely suggested that gullets never set their sails. Well, in 25kts of wind this chap (pictured) put up all he had and the result was stunning to look at and I imagine marvellous to be aboard. Sorry Mr gullet captain, I think you are wonderful.
Did I ever mention I am a qualified yacht mistress. I have a certificate ! It says I am competent. I think I got it cos I admired the examiners feet. He had the most amazingly prehensile toes. A halyard got stuck and he stepped out of what I imagine were once deck shoes, and climbed up the mast, gripping it with his toes. I just mentioned it cos I have taken two weeks to get from Marmaris to Bodrum which you might think suggests something lacking in the navigational department. Well actually it was intentional. We hopped across from gulf to island to gulf, then back again.
Ironically we didn’t do too much sailing. The wind always managed to contrive to be coming from exactly where we wanted to go, but not very strong. If we tried to be sneaky and go with it, it promptly packed up shop and went home.
The gulf of Hisaronu and particularly Orhaniye are amongst the most beautiful places I have visited . Anchoring behind the island under the stars doesn’t have an adjective that can describe it. Gokova gulf I thought was less stunning but lots of pretty coves and we found one with a holiday village. Hobie cats , water skiers and trainee wind surfers fell into the water with alarming frequency and occasionally had to be rounded up and returned back to the bay by a patient ‘speed dog’ boat .
The ‘village’ was strangely attractive. Hidden discretely amongst the trees, it had manicured lawns, signs everywhere and three, yes three restaurants. Turkish , International and Thematic. Before you look at Patrick Moores guide to the galaxies let me tell you that Thematic isn’t in the nebula Andromeda. It means ‘themed’ ( of course you knew that didn’t you ?) The night we went the theme was Indian. It was reeeally bland. More Kumars at no 35 than Bradford on a Friday night, but ok and lovely views.
And today on the way back. Well I’ve just had, well I am having, one of the nicest days of my life. We sailed up from Gokova to an island off Bodrum to stop for lunch. It was idyllic. Ok the gullets and ice cream vendors , and banana speed boats, wouldn’t figure in an ad for bounty bars, but after a swim in really crystal clear waters we had champagne and feta cheese and salad and crunchy bread. The we went below and relaxed. We had to stop relaxing cos the anchor dragged, but the 25 knot wind blew us to Bodrum at 7 kts on just the genoa. It was exhilarating and my hair will recover eventually. Now at anchor off Bodrum the sun is setting behind the castle and the colours of the hills and the gullets blend into the darkening to make the shore lights look boring.
A bottle of Fleurie, some bri and Bob Dylan’s latest cd will see off the disco’s that are about to assail our eardrums. I love sailing.

OOps, I thought you said 'yes'

I've just been sailing between Greece and Turkey, from Marmaris to Bodrum via Simi and Kos and the differences are quite remarkable. You can see Greece from the Turkish mainland, and Turkey from the Dodecanese islands, but they look and feel,very different places.
The Greek islands are mostly a brown, almost barren dryness, broken only by scrubby plants and grey olive trees. The towns though are a tumble of beautiful gleaming white houses, decorated with brilliant flowers, reds, yellows, blues and blue painted doors. Pretty white fishing boats bob on the blue sea, decorated with colours as bright as the flowers. The beaches tho' could do with a clean. Everywhere there are signs of their EU zoneness. New marinas, new roads,(not always finished ), lots of new cars and smart new shops. It's a lot more expensive than I remembered, and people seem a bit less interested in you, bored with tourists but happy to take the valuable euros, in the hours that suit them to open.
The Turkish coast, as you get nearer to Marmaris becomes greener and greener, pine forests reach down to the sea, and the mountains rear up in a blue haze. The Gullets that ply the sea on the 'blue cruise', look impressive but you rarely sea a sail actually set to grace the tall masts. The towns and villages, when you reach them, have an almost temporary look to them, lots of square concrete, and they don't begin to compete with nature.
It isnt so prosperous either, new cars do appear now, but there are still a lot of old ones, and most of the boats that offer trips , or are still used for fishing look a bit worn, less cared for, more used.
The shops though sell great fresh vegetables and meats, and a less international, more challenging, variety of food. Everyone is very friendly. In some places perhaps a bit too keen to entice you in, but its good natured and fun, and you feel very welcome.
The languages, given the physical closeness and the historical mixing, are surprisingly quite quite different. I couldn't even begin to pronounce fron the written greek. It really is all greek to me. Turkish letters I mostly recognise, though after five years I still pronounce them wrongly . Today Greeks vote for Turkish songs and Turks for Greek songs in the Eurovision song contest, so the ancient antagonism seems to be lessened but I realised in a flash of insight, that the language is and has long been, the cause of so much trouble. The greek for 'yes' is 'Nai', pronounced 'Nay', the turkish for ' what' is 'ne' . also pronounced 'Nay'. 3000 years ago the trojan wars were fought between Greeks and Trojans in what is now western Turkey. I bet it all happened because when Paris said ' I say Menelaus old chap. can I shag helen' Menelaus' response of ' NE!!!' meaning 'WHAAAT!!!', was taken as 'nai' meaning 'yes', The rest is history.

The Flowers that bloom in the Spring - Tra La

As I have just had a big moan about trying to get an insurance claim sorted out, I thought I should try to inject a more positive note into this edition. Lets face it, getting an insurance company to pay up , anywhere, is like getting blood out of a rock. In fact, as I recently donated some of my blood to a rock, I think its even harder.
So - Its warm and sunny, I shower in hot water from my solar panel . Summer is here !! Harika; woohooooooooo; at last. I felt really sorry for the eager yachties going out in their flotillas last Saturday, in cloud and rain, and spending the next 3 days in cloud, and rain. Imagine, you spend the winter in England or Germany or Wales even, in soggy coldness, dreaming of drifting across blue seas under blue skies in sunny Turkey, and then , what do you get – soggy coldness ! But Thursday it all changed. We drove over the peninsula to Selimiye, a beautiful little harbour on the Hisaronu gulf. Deep red poppies were everywhere, green fields had a sheen of red on them. All that rain has produced a wonderful display of wild flowers, and Osmans teeth were gleaming in the sunshine. Thats nothing to do with the rain. Harbour master/ restauranteur Osman has a full set of gold teeth, which he flashes frequently.
When I first came here, having often holidayed in Greece, I couldn’t believe the greenness. When you sail in from the west, as you leave the brown islands, barren apart from the grey of olive trees, you see the land get greener and greener as you head up the Turkish coast. The stunning combination of towering mountains, blue seas and green slopes is always breathtaking.
Right thats positive enough, I’m beginning to sound like a travel brochure. Won’t do at all.
The other signs of summer are also here of course. Signs saying ‘English breakfast served here’, cries of ‘ cheap as chips’, in the bazaar, smiling waiters trying to persuade you to eat in their restaurant , just by using their eyes. And Bar street. I like bar street. I can hear it from the boat, but it doesn’t keep me awake. In fact I often wake up when it stops. The repetitive deep base thud thud, must be like a heartbeat lulling me to sleep. Thats from half a mile away of course, I doubt anyone sleeps much closer by. But thats Marmaris, and Bar Street is a fun place to go and people watch . Chubby pink English girls in tops and skirts neither of which go down far enough to cover much, but no doubt go down quickly enough at some point in the evening. Glamorous glum Russians, tall bemused Dutch, and jolly round Germans. The handsome Turkish men who loll deciding whether to go for glam glum or chubby pink, give it all an air of slight , but safe, excitement.
The marina has changed too. Everything has been varnished at least 10 times and lots of the liveaboards have set off for other places. Now the summer lot are taking their place. They tend to be slightly more elegant, there isn’t much room for an extensive wardrobe if you are living on board a yacht, and of course many are the 1 or 2 weeks a year sailors eager to party and enjoy their holiday. New Crew Save clothes and deck shoes abound. And you can hear the sound of gin splashing into tonic as the sun goes down.
To get into the spirit I jumped in the sea off Turunc this week. Voluntarily and intentionally for a change. Well I was badgered into it by being called a wimp, but Iwasn’t pushed . It was surprisingly warm, and my heart didn’t stop with the shock. Good job , as I haven’t bothered with medical insurance either.