Meeting Friends 19 April. 2016

19 April 2016
Just look who we had lunch with today! We first met John and Mary Driver from sy Shazam in Finike Marina in 2012. We wintered together there for a couple of years.
It was wonderful to catch up with them again and to share our experiences and future cruising plans.
Thanks Guys for driving from Didim to Marmaris to see us and to visit the boating stores for a few essential supplies of course!

20 April 2016
Lucky us! Last night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the restaurant in Yacht Marine with Mary Driver and John Driver.
There was a lot of catching up to do and stories to tell! It was a fun night.😆
We were, however, a tad sad when they left as we are not sure just when we will see them again. We do know though that special cruising friends have a ways of meeting again.

Marmaris Turkey, 6 April, 2016

Tom and I are not overly impressed with our reception back to Turkey as we have both developed very bad colds and sure currently sneezing our heads off.
This is the first time ever we have both had the same cold at the same time!
We are currently not " happy campers!"

Sent from my iPad

Marmaris Turkey 31 March 2016

After 4 + months in Australia we are about to " wing our way" back to Marmaris in Turkey. We wish to say a big "Thank you " to all our wonderful family who have hosted us during that time.
So now it's goodbye to a beautiful "down under" Autumn and hello to a northern hemisphere Spring.😎😍😂🇦🇺✈️

Today 2 April, we travelled by overnight coach from Istanbul to Marmaris after our flight back to Turkey.

All in all this was our longest trip ever. 53 hours door to door! This included many modes of travel plus all the waiting times. Tonight we are thoroughly "pooped" but thrilled to be back on Hamamas with all our "new boat treasures" which we carried with us including some  very heavy ones which is why we took the bus in Turkey.

Marmaris Turkey. 16 April,2016

16 April

Sparks were flying here today as it was not the best day for us.
In fact it was a " no step forward and 1000 steps backwards day" as a technical guy here in Yacht Marine stuffed up the instructions he was given when working on our new anchor winch motor.
😡We were both furious and it took us all day to come to terms with this major " fu*****k up!"
We now have to send to NZ for replacement parts. Goodness knows how long that will take.

17 April

Further info on our " winch stuff up" for the technically minded.

Tom and I were doing all the installation work ourselves but because it was a "retro fit" of a part we needed heat to allow the two sections to fit snugly. We had tried to heat it over a flame but couldn't get it hot enough. 

So we took it to the workshop and as they were busy and almost lunch time Tom hesitantly left the part with them with very precise instruction of what to do and what not to do! But much to our horror the  guy just didn't take the care or time to do the job and ended up brutalising a section of it.

We had the original winch motor sent from NZ to Sydney and then we hauled this 10 kilo  piece of equipment from Sydney in our airline baggage all the while wondering if we could get it into Turkey safely. The replacement part will be a smaller part and not as heavy.

Thanks everyone for your supportive words.😀

Anchor winch update. The parts are on their way from NZ and should be in Rhodes within the week. Then it will be a quick ferry trip to Rhodes for us to pick them up.😊

Marmaris Turkey, April. 2016

We are now back in Yacht Marine  Turkey after our 4 month stay in Australia. Both of us are well and looking forward to the upcoming sailing season.  
Hamamas needs a good clean but otherwise she is almost ready to leave the dock.