Definitely the last few days in Marmaris

We finally escaped from Marmaris on Sunday 10 April. We’d got the washing done on Thursday and just thought that we’d need to fill the fridge before leaving on Friday, however, the wind blew up and we decided to stay put in the marina. Perhaps a little over cautious but given the amount of work that had been done linked to the engine and drive chain we wanted more benign conditions to check that all was well in the engine room.

Marmaris seafront   

That gave us an excuse to head off into Marmaris on Friday. Just before we left Nicky put on the last coats of varnish and then we jumped onto the dolmuş bus into town. We stopped by the chandleries to get a few metres of rope to make up a new anchor snubber and then headed into the old part of Marmaris for lunch. We went back to the tiny restaurant by the mosque we’d visited on our last trip but this time ordered the barbequed chicken that the chap had recommended.

The lunchtime feast   

It turned out to be a feast with a lovely mezze to start. Salad, tzatziki and a tomato relish was accompanied by a spicy bread before a platter of barbeque chicken, bulgur wheat and mint salad arrived. As this is the equivalent of a Turkish fast food joint there was even a sprinkling of chips on top; not sure that they were really necessary. It was delicious and all for the price of a couple of packs of sandwiches in the UK.

Our new cushion covers   

Octoplait splices    

After lunch we looked for cushion covers or suitable material to make some. Our kapok cushions for the cockpit are looking very scruffy and so the plan had been to replace then. Sadly, we hadn’t found anything similar and we didn’t want to order any to be made as this would have delayed our departure even more. The solution was some very lively Turkish cushion covers which certainly brighten up the cockpit. I’m sure we paid well over the odds for them but they look very nice and I didn’t have to spend any time making them.

Back on board BV we fitted the cushion covers and then I had a go at splicing soft eyes into octoplait rope; not something we’ve done before. It took the rest of the afternoon but the new anchor snubber is now finished and ready for action.

North African dust    

Overnight it rained heavily and we woke to find that BV was covered in a fine layer of red dust and the wind was still blowing strongly. This coating of North African sand provided the perfect excuse for me not having polished the stainless steel. Even better, with more rain forecast I could turn my had to other ‘much more important’ jobs.

Whilst updating our servicing records the previous afternoon [Ed: slaving over a hot computer in the saloon whilst Reg was enjoying the sunshine and splicing rope!] Nicky had spotted that the engine gearbox transmission fluid was about due a change. With time on our hands we replaced the transmission fluid and restocked our stores with more fluid from the marina chandlery.

Nicky in ‘The Office’   

The Wi-Fi aerial mount   

Nicky then set up the office because we needed to sign a legal document, scan it and to send it back to the UK. Meanwhile I fitted the Wi-Fi aerial to the pushpit. The angled ‘leprechaun’s loo-seat’ works to get the aerial vertical and it seems pretty secure so we’ll see how the height of the aerial works out.

I was part way through repacking the lazarette which had had the glassfibre repair in it when Nicky discovered a problem; the scanner didn’t work. It turns out that it is not compatible with our new laptops’ operating system; most irritating as it would mean another trip into Marmaris.

So, we got the bus into Marmaris and then a taxi to a computer centre where we found the new version of our scanner. Paying proved to be problematical because the computerised till wanted to charge much more than the advertised price. Head office was very slow at resolving the issue and in the end we bought a new printer with integral scanner and headed back to BV. So, we are now a 2 printer yacht! We’re not quite sure where we are going to stow it yet but it solved the immediate problem of getting a copy of the document back to the UK.

As a ‘last supper’ we arranged to meet up with Tony and Helen from Iolanthe for drinks and then dinner. They had just had their yacht re-rigged, which only took a day, but still have several other jobs outstanding before they can head off from the marina.

Marmaris,Turkey