I Never Needed Them Anyway

The Pergamon Altar was closed for viewing  in Berlin 
but the Ishtar Gate from Babylon made up for it!

December 19 - On the 89th day of my 90 day Turkish Visitor's Visa, we flew to Berlin for  a very short but wonderful visit to the museums to see Hellenistic treasures, do the Christmas Markets and, of course, visit the Reichstag building, Berlin's spectacular seat of parliament.

Berlin's Christmas Markets.  
Everyone complained it was too warm!

King and I then rode a train to Amsterdam and hopped an early morning Delta flight back to the states in prized Business Class seats using Delta Buddy Passes again.  Thank you "buddies" Bill & Claire!  We just managed to arrive back in Tallahassee in time to rent a car and drive to Hernando to spend Christmas Eve with my dad and brother and then drive back to Tallahassee Christmas day for a special dinner with children and grandchildren.  We collapsed that night and, except for some junk food foraging at the local Publix (Goldfish and pretzels), spent the next couple of days catching up on much needed sleep.  Once we could count to 10 without assistance we were off and the next month was spent being wined and dined by Tallahassee and Shell Point's finest, sharing our adventures with friends at ABYC, attending the Commodore's Ball (our first for quite a while), celebrating our 25th anniversary (I know, we were surprised too) and gaining 15 lbs!

ABYC presented us with the 

Kokopelli Achievement Award

.....for doing what we love!

Our usual time to return home is February so annual medical checkups had to wait till then. Physicals were scheduled first to give us plenty of time for any needed follow ups before the end of our anticipated departure date at the end of the month. I knew Dr. Vicki would ask me if I had been doing all the things necessary to be healthy so as usual I crammed for my test by deciding to do a breast self-examine that morning.  That's when I found the lump.  It was confirmed just a few hours later and our life, as we knew it, was suddenly catapulted into another reality.  From that point on I was surrounded physically and electronically by the most wonderful friends, family and professionals that anyone could ever wish for.  While I will never be able to thank all of you enough for taking such good care of us, let me just say I will never forget your kindness and you will always be in my heart.  While I'm in here, I really need to say something about my wonderful husband who was my rock, comforter, case manager, nurse and caretaker all rolled into one.  How lucky can I be.

I know everyone thinks that it was King who was in a rush to get back to Ostinato and Turkey but no....it was me.  I somehow got it in my head that if only I was able to get back to the boat, all would be OK again with my world.   So, without compromising my treatment, and with King's 24/7 help, I pushed my physical recuperation, delayed reconstruction and with the help of several miraculous tests was determine that, for now at least, to be cancer free and not in need further treatment with chemotherapy.  With promises to be medication compliant and return to for check-ups next winter, I was released to travel back to Ostinato on April 30. I can think about getting boobs another day........  I never needed them anyway.

Celebrating departure with a glass of bubbly!

Three days later we boarded a plane for Finike, Turkey. The return trip began at 4:15 a.m Saturday, May 2....even Ivor and Lynn's cats, CK and Truck (who were permitting us to be their substitute slaves while their permanent slaves were on vacation) thought it was too early to be up.  After  stumbling down the steps to see what the commotion was all about, they both promptly returned to bed without even a goodbye.  Flights from Tallahassee to Atlanta, then to Boston, Amsterdam, and Antalya followed by an 1 1/2 hr taxi from Antalya to Finike would get us back by midnight Sunday night....if all went well.  We were flying standby again!  Seats magically appeared in exit rows as we made our way to Atlanta and Boston.  King sprung for a day pass for the Delta Sky Lounge and Yes, I had a Bloody Mary at 7 a.m. in Atlanta.  Then, the coveted Business Class seat tickets appeared from Boston to Amsterdam.  Yes!!!  Lay back and "bring me the champagne please".  All was fab until we reached Amsterdam and had to transfer to Peagusus Air....aka  "Flying Pigs".  We rescued our four barely legal weight bags from Delta and dragged them and our exhausted bodies over to Peagusus check-in counter at 8:30 a.m.  We were booked on their 4:00 p.m. flight but hey, maybe they would let us on the earlier 10 a.m. flight......always the optimistic one.....so we stood in line for 1 1/2 hours only to arrive at the desk to be told "NO..... and you cannot check your bags early.  Must come back at 2:00".  So we sat for 4 hours more with our two baggage carts spilling over with luggage, taking turns passing out in uncomfortable chairs around people who had obviously had a good nights sleep.  At 2 pm, we crawled back to grab a place in line and slowly wove our way to finally arrive in front of the same women who had sent us away earlier that morning.  First question "Why didn't you check your bags through to Turkey?"  We explained the standby problem.  "OK...You have 2 bags each.  We only allow 1".  Response "We traveled international and were allowed 2  bags.....so what do people do with the 2nd bag?"   "Oh, right, international......OK".  "You're over the baggage limit by 60 lbs!"  Response:  "We purchased extra lbs but couldn't buy enough on line.  We would like to buy the rest from you."  " Oh it is not possible"....Response...."surely it is"....."Very expensive...it will cost you $160 U.S!"   We gave her the best forlorn look we could muster... but had expected the charge....however it didn't help knowing that the total contents, including the suitcase which we picked-up at Goodwill, did not total $160!  Through out the entire process she has been sharing the story with her co-workers on each side of her.  "Oh my, oh my" back and forth it went... One finally decided that it was just way too much to charge and looked over at me and asked "Do you like Christmas?"  "But of course!" I said and magically the excess baggage was reduced to $30.  We arrived back on Ostinato at midnight and stumbled into bed.

Carol and Jim on Napenthe fed us our first day back...which is a good thing because we could barely carry on a conversation much less think about getting in groceries.  We lived on the hard for the next 11 days putting Ostinato back together again.  My first chore was to hose off the inch of the reddish brown "dirty rain" that covered her decks from bow to stern.  While King kept my chores to a minimum, even I was allowed to use the hose.  This was actually a treat considering it was 90+ degrees!  While we were gone, King arranged for the waterline to be raised...yes, once again.....He also purchased a laser level from Home Depot the day before we left so following our fabulous dinner with Jim and Carol, King is out with the laser level re taping where the water line should be.  The painters took it surprisingly well.  What are you gonna say?  They liked the laser level so much that King sold it to them!  In return, he hired out the bottom painting.  Sweet.  And we have a really, really straight waterline for the first time ever!

The heat continued; hot, hot, hot.  I slowly refilled the refrigerator through multiple hikes to the grocery stores, dragging my hot pick cart behind me.  On one of my early escapes from the boat yard, I strolled down to the Carrefore Supermarket. It is one of the few places that I can find non Turkish coffee, which as hard as I try, I have yet to acquire a taste for.  Today, I also stopped by the meat market and saw a few items that looked worth trying.....mmmm those look like little lamb chops....I pointed, the butcher smiled.  I suddenly realized I had forgotten every word of Turkish I had struggled to learn.  With embarrassment, I held up 3 fingers.  The butcher smiled, took them out of the display and immediately began beating them.... pound, pound, pound, until they were unrecognizable.  He then wrapped them up with great flourish....and smiled as he presented them to me.  I smiled back.... wondering what in the hell was I going to do with them.  Lamb picatta?

King hard at work ....while I play!

While I was traipsing about town, King did both the heavy thinking and lifting, including replacing the rudder bearings.  I continued to be on "limited duty" so thankfully, Tom on Hamamas jumped in and lent his expertise, and his strong back, to help get the rudder reattached.  I was finally allowed to paint the props once King replaced the sail drive seals and magically put them back together again.  Amazingly, we finished all our jobs with 1 day to spar on our marina contract.  We were splashed back into the water with no drama.  These guys are so good....especially considering there is only about 1/2 ft on each side of the lifting area.

May 15 - Oh, at last!  We both immediately felt better back in the water....and ready to go.  Only one problem, we have no sails.  Q Sails which we ordered a new jib and main from last December have still not completed them!  King calls, he talks, they hedge about the date they will be completed. And so it goes, King calls again, they hedge some more and we become more frustrated.  We extended our contract another week and decide to go on a short road trip to Antalya to keep our minds occupied

The Hercules statute returned to
Turkey from Boston was from Perge

while we wait.  We drove through Antalya on to Perge ("pur-ga")the first day, arriving at about 2 in the afternoon.  Perge is a 3rd century BC city with some lovely preserved ruins.  There are still ruts worn by chariots in the streets.  St. Paul spent time in Perge preaching at its basilica.  Just makes my head hurt.  We wondered around till we came close to heat stroke.  Who in their right mind would wander the ruins in 90 degree heat at midday?  Apparently, us.  Finally, we could do no more so we fell into the car and cranked the air conditioner on high.  The cool air and water revived us so both agreed to a quick peek into the stadium...billed as the best preserved in Turkey....A SNAKE!!!  I reached the car in two giant steps.  King said he was amazed.  He didn't think a 65 year old could move that fast and that he finally understood how I walked on water when we encountered a shark in the BVIs (several lifetimes ago).  We spent the night in a great little hotel in the Old Town in Antalya.  The room was cool and we cranked it down to low freeze as we slowly came back to life.  A restaurant, with 4 small tables and 2 cats, that somehow jutted off the walls of the city overlooking the bay was our choice for dinner.  The cats ate very well.  They had me at the first "meow". The next morning King decided to go a round with a Turkish Carpet dealer.  He did quite well....we think.  Ostinato now sports 3 Turkish rugs!

Carpets for Ostinato

The newest colors....
hot pink florescent chain!

After a quick run through of the Antalya museum, where all of the beautiful statues from Perge are in safe keeping, we did a quick provisioning run through the grocery and headed for Finike.  As we arrived at the marina, a truck was unloading the 75 meters of chain that we had ordered and that was expected..... tomorrow.....could we be so lucky with the sails?  Nope.  We waited all the next day....nothing.  In the meantime, King prepared the new chain by painting sections of it day glow pink and yellow.  No way we won't know how much chain we have out!  The following day the sails were delivered at 8 p.m.  The jib was installed before dark but the main would have to wait until tomorrow.  It was not a happy night.  Some of the stitching looks like something I would do....I'm no seamstress so that is no compliment.  Over all, dealing with Q Sails has been one of the worst experiences we have had in Turkey and unfortunately, we are not alone, Carol and Jim on Napenthe was also a most unhappy customer.

Finally! Sails!  Only took 5 months to make!  There's a lesson here. 

May 22 - 36.12.09N 29.53.93E   The main was finally on by 1:00 and after a quick hose down with "Little Bill", we departed Finike and headed for Gukkaya Limani in Kekova Roads, a beautiful, protected anchorage just 20 miles up the coast.  Ahaaaaa.  At last.  The smiles stayed on our faces for days.  We swam, drank champagne, and explored ruins by dingy.  Can life get any better?

We took the dinghy to explore the Sunken City off Kekova Adasi

A surprise from Smiley's found in the cockpit...still warm!

May 25 -  36.12.3N 29.37.4E   Departed the quiet Polemos Buku anchorage and motored the short distance to Kas where we tied up at the city quay.  The small tourist town has a Hellenistic amphitheater and a sarcophagi that sits in the middle of town.  Smiley, a local restaurateur, helped us med moor as the harbour master was missing in action, which I believe is quite often and Smiley's restaurant is just at the end of the quay.  It works well.  He helps you; you then stop for a bite or something to drink in his restaurant.  In this case, the food was actually pretty good.  Lucky us.   We left early the next morning and were delighted to find a bag of warm rolls already sitting in our cockpit with Smiley's card.


May 27 - Kalkan 36.15.66N 29.24.87E  - Winds were light but on the nose so we motored.  The hope was that by noon the winds would change direction and we might actually get a bit of sailing in on our way to Fethiye.  It was not to be.  Just as we passed Kalkan, we were hailed by a Turkish War Ship.....no other name given.....and he kept using it with each transmission so we paid attention.  Could they possibly know I had just done 2 loads of laundry without dumping the water into our gray water tank?  Well, no.  They were having "shooting practice" so we could go no further...."Can we go out around the area?  There is a storm coming.".  "No, there is no way around.  In other words.....No, you may not pass Go or Collect $200.....  You must go to Kalkan."   They had apparently been funneling yachts into Kalkan all morning so we had to wait our turn to humiliate ourselves with the med more dance.  Since nobody is particularly good at it, it's OK.  While it is seldom pretty, King now has a handy dandy remote control thingy (technical term) that lets him drop the anchor AND back up Ostinato.  All I have to do is tell him the day-glow color of the chain as it pays out.  the spot where we were directed to med moor was at a part on the quay where it turned at an angled into us about 15 degrees but there wasn't much choice in accommodations.  While we had our obligatory drink at the the closest restaurant that we could get their wifi password, a 100 ft Yacht

Even the big boys came in to the harbor

slid into the marina, another casualty of the Turkish War Ship .....NO WAY she was going to fit....but the captain somehow managed to squeeze in and promptly laid his anchor atop our anchor, which by the way was atop our neighbor's anchor. We spent the rest of the evening preparing for the storm.  This included taking in the passerelle, laying on more lines, deploying more fenders and pulling ourselves away from the quay using the anchor.  King then put on a relief line for windlass so it would not be over stressed.

The engine roared to life on the boat next to us at 5:45.  They had planned to depart at 4 a.m.!  All seemed ok but we decided we should crawl out of the bunk anyway to see how they would do getting off the quay with all the lines crocheted across the marina.  No sooner did we reach the cockpit when we got slammed by the first of a long, stressful day of high gusty winds.  It  was like someone turned on a switch.  The wind shifted to the south east and started to howl. Kalkan is surrounded by mountains and the wind whipsawed though the harbor - first south east and then north. No one left the marina that morning, however, a few more somehow found their way in.  

People fell out into their cockpits on each side of us.  As all of us raced from one side of our

A 50 knot winds gusts stole my glasses

The poor sugar scoops.
My glasses weren't the only casualty

decks to the other stuffing fenders here and there, adjusting lines and keeping an eye on the wind meter, a Turkish man strolled up and down the quay hawking pies..."Fresh pies, apple pie, spice pies, cinnamon pies.  Fresh pies...."  Really?  Needless to say, he sold no pies this morning.  The wind increased throughout the day, 20k, 30k, 40k, 45k!  It was amazing to see how much the monohulls were healing over and rotating into us.  We all were well fender of course but it put a larger strain on our lines and anchor.  At one point as I was sitting at the wheel, a 50 knot gust barreled down on us, ripping my glasses off my face!   They literally vanished into thin air leaving only the stem with a tiny piece of glass in the middle of the cockpit floor a a testament that they ever existed.  I really liked those glasses.......

Kingsley's shared his notes on the day:
That morning, gusts reached 50 knots. The first thing that happened was that the boat on our starboard side leaned into us and we rotated to port.  This put the port sugar scoop in harm's way.  It collided with the quay and handed me a piece of gel coat about the size a silver dollar. Easy to repair.

By 0900 time seemed to move very slowly.  Then in middle of a very high gust from the southeast, I went forward and found the anchor relief had snapped,.  The windlass appears to be built to handle only so much pressure and then it lets out more chain. This is probably to prevent damage but also allowed the Ostinato to slip back toward the quay.  As I was trying to deal with the windlass, the wind shifted north, and we rotated to port.  Sue came forward to let me know the starboard sugar scoop had taken a substantial hit.  And it had.  Without a way to stop the windlass from letting out chain, I went back to the cockpit, turned on the engines, put them in forward and revved them up to 2400 rpm to keep us off the quay.  They remained on until about 15:00 that afternoon when the winds finally began to calm. 

At 1800 the wind was suddenly switched off again.  The mooring lines of the big gulets stretching from one side of the town dock quay to the other remained in place overnight.  Who knows how long that will take to unwind.   As much as King would like, an early departure to Fethiye, to beat the afternoon winds from the NW, is highly unlikely..........We shall see.

Berlin's seat of government

3 more tenors....entertained holiday visitors at one of Berlin's many Christmas Markets

The Finike Support Team....
Carol & Barbie (along with Jim & Vince) kept an eye on Ostinato and provided daily emails to keep spirits high.

King enlisted Tom from SY Hamamas to put Ostinato back together again.

Oooooo!  Driving the narrow streets in Old Town, Antalya......
Not for the faint of heart.  A plus....you could shop from the car. 

Ataturk Day at our hotel in Antalya's Old City.  Even the boat lift in Finike flew the Turkish flag.

Perge was really special and no crowds....but watch out for fleeing old ladies running from snakes!

Kokova Roads sunken city

Footnote:  This blog is dedicated to my dad who passed away the day I was given medical clearance to return to Ostinato.  He had just reached his 90th birthday in March and after a good, long life he was suddenly gone. It was an extremely sad note to end a long, tough winter.  I have learned more about my dad while on this trip than during my entire life.  He followed our journey closely on his Atlas from home.   Our Skype calls to report our latest port would prompt him to share stories of his time on Navy ships during WWII near that particular location.  Stories I had never heard.  Unfortunately, as with me, he shared the sea sickness curse, and while he had no interest in returning to sea, he looked forward to hearing about our latest adventure.

.......Dad, you'll be glad to know we are, at last, moving west.