On my return to Mossy Joe we were keen to get out of Ekincik and back to the beauty and serenity of peaceful bays and to then take few weeks to explore new places further down the coast. For many years when chartering, the splendid area 40 miles south east of Fethiye had been in our sights but we always ran out of time to include it.

Now, with three weeks before our next guests’ arrival we could take a leisurely sail down to the towns of Kalkan and Kas (pronounced ‘Cash’) and with no other commitments the plan was to relax, explore and have some quiet time. Of course that was not to be!!

In the picture below, the red arrow is Ekincik where Mossy Joe was moored, the green X is Fethiye and the end of the pink route line is Kas. Ten hours in total so it seemed sensible to break up the journey in one of our favourite places along the way and certainly no need to go to either of the big towns i.e. Gocek or Fethiye. Of course that was not to be either!

First thing that happened was that on the morning we were leaving Ekincik it became apparent that our satellite dish was not working and we had no internet connection. I have joked in a previous blog that if Elon Musk spotted that we were in Turkey that he would switch us off! Starlink is not supported in Turkey so I had been genuinely surprised (even though we were so close to Greece) that we had maintained full access since our arrival and that there had been no disruption to service especially important when we had the football to watch!

It soon became clear that there had been a software update overnight which had triggered a location review and yes, Elon had found out we were not actually in Greece. A few choice words were used and the inevitable conclusion that we would have to forgo the serene bay for that night and head to town to buy a modem and some data! We walked in the scorching heat looking for a TurkCell shop that would sell us a modem not just a data dongle. The assumption was that we were tourists just there for a couple of weeks and why would we need a massive ‘SuperBox’ which was not at all portable!?

We managed to convince the shop assistant that it was exactly what we needed but then she discovered that the machine that added data on to a SIM card was not working! She advised us of another shop which was 20 minutes walk away but as it happened it was only five minutes taxi ride away! Too, too hot to make that walk along the main road! We asked the taxi driver to wait for us, we were far out of town and unlikely to find an empty taxi just passing. We said we would be ten minutes maximum…….

Nearly an hour later we left the shop (the most wonderful taxi driver still waiting!) with everything we needed but not before we had been embroiled in another long discussion about why we needed such a piece of equipment, proof of ID (of course we did not have our passports with us) completion of many forms, and to top it all when we went to pay with credit card to be told that the shop had been a victim of the global Microsoft incident and only cash would do! The Turkish equivalent of around £200 amounted to the required 8000 Lira, but with the highest note value being 200 Lira you can imagine I had not brought the prerequisite small suitcase needed for that amount of notes with me! Jacques was despatched to the cashpoint with a small sack to carry the wads of cash!

Back on board Jacques set the new system up and we were good to go execpt we were exhausted and it was late so another night at anchor in Fethiye Bay!

First thing next morning we set off on the 35 mile trip to Kalkan, we found a spot in the town harbour and looked forward to investigating a new place! Hooray! Kalkan was small but lively and very touristy with many bars and restaurants surrounding the harbour and beyond.

We had a wander, some drinks and dinner! Jacques had a traditional spicy beef adana and it was all very lovely!

Spot Mossy Joe!!

Next morning after a browse around the quaint shops and the purchasing of the crucial items like tomatoes and ice creams we headed off to what promised to be the jewel of the area, the town of Kas. Whilst preparing to go we were treated to a swim by of an enormous turtle! And when he popped up again on the other side of the boat he was with a friend and they had a little dance together!! Amazing!

I had phoned ahead to check with Kas Marina if they might have space for us for two or three days and what the cost would be. As expected, the cost was incredibly high – you could have a small suite in the Ritz for the cost of a couple of nights in Setur Marina! We decided to give the marina a miss and just anchor outside in the bay, our Navily app had shown that there was a place to dock the dinghy and from there a 20 minute walk into town. Some contributors were also saying that they had experienced robberies on their boats in the bay, which is awful to hear, but we did not let this put us off. Anchoring in the bay it would be! Except that was not to be the case!

We found a great place to anchor, hardly any wind and when Jacques give me the nod I hit the windlass remote control to drop the anchor but after two seconds with the anchor hanging just above the water line everything stopped! The anchor would not go down or come up!!! Jacques checked some of the obvious sources of the issue but nothing was working. We had to give up and go into the marina!! Bugger and bugger!!

We ended up in Kas for two nights, which was less than we had planned to be at anchor but more than we had hoped for in the marina! On our arrival Jacques took the windlass apart to work out what the problem was. Whilst doing this two things happened 1) Jacques worked out what needed replacing and 2) Jacques dropped a small but vital part into the sea!

We then had to organise a diver to go down the 25 meters onto the mud seabed and retrieve the small but vital part! At first he thought it would not be possible – everything of any weight just sinks buried into the mud, however, he spotted a dent in the mud and after thrusting his arm up to his shoulder into the mud he felt the edges of something non organic, he dislodged the small but vital part and with a big smile surfaced and handed it to us! Hooray!

In the meantime, Jacques had found a distributor in Istanbul for the part that needed replacing, a sensor, and they would send it to a retail outlet near to us on the next day. Kas or Kalkan we hoped? No of course not, 50 miles away Gocek here we come (back, again!)

We were sad to leave Kas so soon, our two nights there were fabulous, the layout of the town with winding roads and a small climb to the main area had almost a Greek Hora feel to it.

We had an aperitif at a French restaurant – guess what Jacques is having?? And my cocktail of choice was a Bardot!

We took advantage of the supermarket at the marina the day before setting off back to Gocek and bought the most incredible avocados – none of your ‘ripe and ready’ for them to be rock hard still a week later! Breakfast – yummy!

The bar at the marina had a very cool vibe and so strange to see a poster for Pink Floyd at Knebworth!! Look at the ticket prices!!!

I have often said that part of the beauty of having your own boat and working to your own timetable is that if the weather is bad we just won’t go! The forecast that day was for some wind and waves but nothing terrible and we had to go to Gocek and get the anchor fixed and not spend more nights and money in the marina.

The weather was as predicted and it was not an issue until a terrible moment happened en route.

We left Kas at 8.30 planning to get to Gocek for 16.30 to get the spare part to fix the anchor. The waves became horrid, really choppy so Jacques put up the main sail to help stabilise the boat and then 10 miles from Gocek disaster struck!

The bag which the sail folds into came apart which meant we had to lower the massive and heavy sail onto the deck, with wind and waves rocking the boat and us, and then lash the sail to the boom.

I had to crawl under the sail, catch the rope that Jacques threw over to me and then pass it back without being able to see him! It was so scary but we had no choice.

After we finished this, land was in sight and when I had stopped shaking I went to get a drink and wash my hands. That was a fail so I checked a few possible causes but decided now was not the right time to tell Jacques we had no water!

On arrival in Skopea Marina, the marina guys pointed out our berth and they were on the quay to take our lines and hand me the two mooring lines to attach at the front of the outside hulls. When I got back to the stern of the boat to help with the other lines I noticed another mooring line just behind our middle hull, just behind the engine, just behind the propeller and I noticed it getting tighter and tighter and before I had the chance to shout to Jacques the line went bang and that could only mean one thing – it was caught in the propeller which renders it completely useless! Thankfully we were in place and safe otherwise we would have been stuck not being able to move forward or backward!!! So that called for another diver……..

When at last I broke the news to Jacques about the lack of water his investigation found that one of the toilets was leaking and all 600 litres of water had found its way back into the sea!!

Gocek is awash with restaurants and bars but we only had the energy to go get take away pide (Turkish boat shaped pizza) from the Kebap Hospital restaurant and after eating collapsing with fatigue into our bed!

The next few days were full of more drama trying to fix the windlass which involved Jacques, the nice man at the shop where we picked up the part , his daughter who translated for us, a chap to fit the part when Jacques gave up and then the electrician when we worked out it had been fitted incorrectly…..

That is all I have to say about this episode!

The following week was calm and relaxing at last and included Jacques’ home made bread, Jacques’ home made pizza and a close sighting of the magnificent Maltese Falcon yacht!!

More soon once I’ve recovered from the emotional turmoil!!

Take care, sail safe and be kind

Tracey xx