Cowrie of Cowes

Well so much has happened since the last update.  It was too sad to write about really.  We left Cowrie to her new owners on 24th October.  It was so difficult to leave we couldn't look behind us.  Lots of friends waved us off and it was imposible to believe that we wouldn't be back.  It feels as though we've only come home for a visit.  But time moves on and the kids need to go to school so the choice was made.

Thank you to all our friends who have sent us christmas messages from Turkey and a far our thoughts are with you daily.  We'll be back....

 

Here in the Uk we've relocated to Suffolk and everything is coming together.  After a stressful school appeal we have Tom into one of the best state secondary schools in the country and George in a local primary school.  we are renting a brand new house: 5 Library Mews, Rendlesham, Suffolk, IP12 2BF for anyone who's lost touch with us.  We have also (nearly) bought a house in Woodbridge which is a Barton special i.e. a bit of a wreck that needs doing up.

It's lovely to be by the sea and to be able to see the tide come and go and to watch the wading birds feeding at low water.  Last night we went into town to an open air carol service.  There must have been over 500 people round the christmas tree.  Next year we'll be able to walk down from the new house.

It won't be long before we are afloat again. A new boat, a new name but for now I'll sign off.

September has been eventful.  When I last wrote we had sold Cowrie to a lovely couple from the UK who we knew would look after her well.  This was not however to be as due to ill health the sale could not continue.  We contacted a broker to get the sale up and running again and were amazed to receive a call the next morning to ask if we could do a viewing.  The long and short is that Cowrie was sold again, this time to a German man called Heinz.  Sadly for us this means that we have to leave Turkey in October and head back to the sunny UK.

 

After we’d recovered from the unaccustomed stress we set off for a final cruise.

We planned to visit two anchorages on the Turkish coast but once out of the heads we decided to change our plans and sail to Rhodes.  Up with the Greek flag and onto a much better sailing angle.

Mandraki harbour was the usual chaos.  Yacht groups tying off berths which they wanted to keep for paying super yachts who will pay a 100 euro back hander for the privilege.  We managed to squeeze into the last remaining space.  Our reason for being here was that we’d had little success in finding a way to ship our belongings home from Turkey.  Amazingly the Greek post office is the cheapest way to do it despite quotes from shipping companies.  We gathered together boxes from skips and fumigated them for cockroaches.  120 kilos of books, saucepans, lego and K-nex were posted to Macclesfield.  We’d sold our RIB but a neighbourly boat let us use their tender to take the parcels across to the other quay and to the post office.  After a stock up of wine and beer we sailed back to Turkey.  Another flag change. 

 

We spent the night in Bozuk Buku with a yacht called Concerto who did the EMYR with us.  It’s rare to find yourself in an anchorage with someone you don’t know!

A forecast for high winds sent us into the sheltered harbour of Bozburun where we met back up with our friends from Full Flight who we began the season with.  The wind didn’t quite materialise so we sailed down to Ohaniye (this was where we joined the EMYR last May) and spent three pleasant nights at anchor, barbecuing, doing school and sailing the Optimist.  We had borrowed a foldable dinghy from a Frenchman called Alain.  It was a strange, wobbly, coracle.  I think he got the better deal with our RIB.  The sea is still warm but as the air in now slightly cooler we didn’t swim.  Mark went underneath the boat to scrape a few barnacles off the bottom but the cross wind was quite chilly.  We heard that another Yacht Marine boat were in this anchorage a couple of weeks ago and a mini tornado blew through, knocking the boat flat and ripping off their solar panels.

Roam II arrived and we all sailed to Greek Symi (yes, another flag change).  It was lovely to see the town again.  In the harbour was Hannah from the EMYR and Freya and Simba from Yacht marine.  Great to catch up and a good crowd for drinks.  Simba have two dogs and they drive out to Turkey each season.  They very kindly offered to take some of our stuff back.  We quickly filled two large holdalls and passed them over with Tom’s guitar and George’s keyboard.  This was fantastic as we now should make it home within our baggage allowance.

We ate lots of pork chops, ham pizzas and stocked up on salami before our final voyage to Marmaris.

 

Our last passage was not without incident.  It was forecast to be SE2 which meant motoring to windward in a gentle breeze.  When we got out there it was blowing ESE 6 with a constant wind speed of 25 plus knots and gusts over 35 knots.  We tried to sail as close to the wind as we could but even with two reefs in the foresail we had the lee rail under and items were launching themselves over the tops of the cupboard fiddles.  The kids weren’t impressed.  It began to rain and the sea was bouncy.  Mark shouted over the wind, ‘Are you sure you want to sail round the UK?’

We swung into Bozuk Buku to regroup.  A quick lunch and a call to mum for the latest forecast.  Tom and I took stugeron and we headed back out.  After an hour the wind decreased and we continued to Marmaris.  We were glad to arrive and got a good berth on Charlie pontoon in the old harbour.  It was lovely to have the boat still and have no motion after such a bouncy day.  Pork ribs and red wine were greatly enjoyed.

We are now spending time waiting for the boat survey on the 14^th and keeping up with school.  Each day more of the winter live a boards arrive and we are able to see old friends.

Breaking news!

 

We’ve had a busy few weeks aboard. As we entered our second year afloat we began to think of how we would like to spend our final year. After ruling out the Atlantic Crossing due to time constraints we decided to put Cowrie on the market as it might take a year to sell her. Our thoughts were that we’d like to sail the French canals and Cowrie is too big also she’s a Med boat and would sell better out here. If we sold Cowrie we’d buy a smaller boat and sail home.

A Moroccan man was coming to look at her and Mark was busy cleaning (I was in the UK) when an English couple who were chartering a boat came down the pontoon and asked to have a look having seen the For Sale sign which Mark had put up. One week later we were looking at homelessness!

However, Bob and Jacqueline are a lovely couple and Cowrie will take good care of them. We remain aboard her until December where we are putting phase 2 of our cruising plan into operation.

We are coming home to sort out houses etc and will buy a new boat. In the spring we set off for a circumnavigation……….of the UK. Yes we miss the tides and the rain. If you fancy doing a leg with us or eating fish and chips on a quayside near you, let us know.

 

Other News

Becky (niece) has been out for a visit. Tom and George were captured for a hair cut. Tom and George met Charlie and Rosaline from the uk and built a wigwam.

We sailed to Ekincik (known as Egg and Chips) and then on the Yacht Marine. We have met up with old friends and are resting up for a few days before heading to Simi due to a white wine crisis.

 

As England gears up for the bank holiday weekend we remain in Gocek bay. The temperature is still near to 40 each day and nights are sticky. After my sister Sarah came out to visit I flew home for a cool down. It was great to wear jeans and a sweat shirt and to see Mum and Dad. I flew back out with my niece Becky and we are showing her the familiar sights. In a week or two we will be back on the move heading north through Turkey into Greece. Mark would have moved sooner but his crew rebelled. The winds are stronger in the north of the area and there are more Katabatic winds at night. The Meltemi season will soon be ending and with that hopefully the temperatures will decrease and school will begin.

For the next few weeks we are enjoying going nowhere fast. The bay is about 15 miles long and is enclosed by many islands. Fethiye is at one end, we go here once a week to water up and top up the batteries at Hotel Plaza. Internet and pool also.  Gocek is 10 miles across the bay and we can stock up with food every 3 days or so which is as long as the fridge can store fresh meat. Solar panels would solve this. Maybe next time? Boynuz Buku is the next bay down. Very sheltered and nice for a swim and a peaceful, safe anchorage. The kids have built stone jetty there. (Still under construction. Due for completion 2009.  Planning permission not granted.) At the bottom are a series of popular bays and good snorkelling. We have discovered ‘Water bay’. The water boats and the Gullets water up here. After very precarious mooring we went on the make shift water boat jetty (bashed together steel and floor boards) and used the 3 inch wide fresh water hose. Photos show us showering and bathing the kids in the anchor locker. Great for washing towels too.

A friend or Mark’s has been out to see us and sister Sarah is due in 4 days, followed by niece Becky. Tom can’t wait for his X box to arrive with Sarah. It was so hot yesterday that on the way back from the shop I went into the marina hairdresser and had my hair chopped off. Much cooler but not sure it was such a good idea. No pictures yet, sorry