We spent one week at the Sarsala Koyu anchorage in Göcek where we celebrated Laura’s birthday and had a short visit with Dick and Lynn of “Wind Pony” and their granddaughter Annie and her parents. We started off at the only mooring at the northeast corner of the bay. It promised the best views of the mountains in the distance and a good breeze but it had one drawback that chased us away after a couple of nights — bees. The bees came out about 6 pm and did not leave until almost 9 pm. We had to stay below to escape them one night and the next evening they came in even greater number with seemingly aggressive intent. I got bit on the arm and it really stung. We jumped in the dinghy and zoomed away to escape them until dark. The next morning we found a mooring on the opposite shore where bees were not a problem. Strong winds came up and our 60 meters of polypropylene webbing that we use to tie Sabbatical III to a bollard ashore snapped in a 38 knot gust on the beam. That was an expensive piece of webbing that came on a beautiful stainless steel reel but it is clearly insufficient for a boat our size in gusty conditions.
The plan on Laura’s birthday was to have our friend Gürol pick us up with his skiff and take us to dinner at his family’s restaurant (Amigos), where Dick and Lynn would be waiting. But he had engine trouble and we sat on our boat waiting for him as the sun set. The full moon was so bright and the winds were so calm that we decided that making the 1.5 nautical mile trip in our dinghy was sufficiently safe, so we went off in the dark. It was a great meal that ended with a small birthday cake for Laura.
Back in KaÅŸ we have been exploring areas around town and swimming at the marina “beach.” Here are some photos of the KaÅŸ area so we do not forget the lay of the land some years down the line.
M.
Laura at amphitheatre
M.