We decided to move into Mamaris marina on 11 October. We’d booked
into the marina for a few nights before we had arranged to be craned out onto
the hard and so it was a bit of a surprise when the marineros seemed reluctant
to give us a berth. They had radioed in but seemed to have got a ‘no’ answer which
was most bizarre because when we finall checked in at the office they had all
of our e-mails and were expecting us. Just as well that we had insisted that we
had a lift-out booked and so should be given a space in the marina. I hindsight
I guess that the yacht name had been misunderstood in the radio call, hence the
initial negative response.
It all worked out though and once moored up we began a
very busy few days preparing Blue Velvet for the winter. The sail loft came and
picked up our sails. They would wash them, repair where needed and then store
the sails for us over the winter. That allowed us to remove all of the running
rigging. The various halyards, sheets and other control lines were washed in
fresh water to remove the salt and then hung out to dry.
Whilst we still had some space down below we cleared
the aft cabin and Nicky set about varnishing. Our flagstaff was sanded down as
well as some patches in the aft cabin which needed some attention. The forward
heads provided enough height to hang the oars and so they were suspended there
in preparation for receiving a few extra coats.
It was our last chance to use this space because the
aft cabin particularly rapidly started to fill up with all of the safety kit we
normally have attached to the pushpit. Sail battens, the jocky pole, bowsprit
and the now dry ropes all migrated down below. So too did the empty jerry cans,
binmini and sprayhood, It started to look fairly chaotic. At the same time we
started to get a few quotes for some work we had planned to be done over the
winter.
The
lift out on 15 October went without a hitch. It’s still a concern because so much can go
wrong but after an uneventful couple of hours BV was sat on cradle and chocked
up for the winter. A big relief. With our planned lift in date being quite
early in the 2016 season BV was positioned all on her own but the yachts are
lifted here in quick succession and we knew that before long we’d be surrounded.
With
the lift out finished we could get on and complete the last of the cleaning and
other pre-winter chores. Also, now that we didn’t need the engine we could
tackle some steel work we knew we needed to have made.
Pleasingly the stainless steel fabricators were as
efficent as they were during our last stay. The swan necks and transom exhaust
outlets for our main engine and the generator were starting to look a little
tired with some corrosion and strong indications of pinholes around the welds.
Rather than patch weld the seams we decided to replace them completely with
slightly heavier weight new versions.
Despite the swan necks being completely hidden from
view when fitted, the chaps insited on polishing them as well as the exhausts
to a gleaming shine. The almost exact replicas of the originals, in thicker
polished stainless, were made in under 48 hours.
The saloon remained an area of chaos with cushions and
matresses lifted to air and the cleaned lockers left ajar, also for ventilation
over the winter months.
The busy days were matched by equally busy evenings. With BV
out of the water our water-cooled fridge doesn’t work; a fine excuse to eat at
the resaurant each night we thought. The marina had started filling with a
lively bunch of crews and there was quite a buzz about the place. Lots of
people we have met whilst sailing, or when we were last at Marmaris, had also
returned and so the evening get togethers were very sociable. The Marina also
ran an end of season party with local entertainment and so we got the chance to
see Whirling Dervishes again.
Our time at Marmaris passed in something of a blur but on 19 October we headed off
in a taxi to the airport happy that we had left everything in order on board.
Winter back home would also keep us busy but, even as we were heading away from
Marmaris, we were also already formulating a plan for the 2016 sailing season.
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Marmaris, Turkey |
