Marmaris

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.

Marmaris, Turkey