Where is LeeZe? June 2014 Egri Liman Koyu > Candarli

2014-06-14: We anchored in a small cove called Egri Liman Koyu and just after sunset, a fishing boat all lit up comes way too close for my comfort level and then proceeds to stop maybe 100 m to the North of us. This sets off a small amount of paranoia in Zehra and she starts locking all doors. She believes that there are nefarious people all around us just waiting to pounce. I do not share this at all, and wonder wear it comes from. She reads the newspapers (and they only publish nice stories right?) and sees how many there are being reported, and believes that unless we take measures, we are next. The fact that the newspapers have not reported any boaters being attacked while anchored in small. out of the way coves is immaterial. The newspapers have not reported an attack in years, though they have reported break-ins and items stolen from boats at anchor, especially in the Bay of Marmaris. It is what it is.

2014-06-15: Underway after coffee for Karaburun. It takes about 3 hours to get there. Have to dodge many fish farms, a sailboat that could not seem to be able to make up its mind, and a motor yacht traveling 20+ knots that had no sense of what an appropriate distance between boats that are approaching each other should be. We anchor South of Buyuk Ada (Big Island)  in some 13 m of water. The weather is not suppose to get bad, but if the wind picks up, we will move to anchor in front of the city itself.


We are still "not in the country" officially so while there is a temptation to go ashore, we stifle it because if we are caught, have no clue what the authorities would do with us. We will try to check in at Eski Foca, our next stop.

2014-06-16: Arrived at Eski Foca. Back when we arrived in Cesme, we dropped anchor, only to be told by the Turkish Coast Guard that where we dropped the hook was not an authorized anchorage. So, in preparing to enter Eski Foca, I noted the paper charts had all types of notes about no anchorage and restricted areas. The electronic chart had similar notes, but in different areas. So, called up the Harbor Master and asked them where is the authorized anchorage. The lady that answered the phone did not know, did not know who to ask, and based on the tone in her voice, could not be  bothered to find out. Great! Called the Coast Guard (for those in Turkey their country wide phone # is 158) and asked them. They had not a clue either but offered to find out and get back to me. About 10 minutes later, their Izmir Operations Center called to tell me that I was authorized to anchor within 300 yards of  38° 40.380'N,  026° 44.880'E. So, I anchored within 194 yards of that point per my chart plotter in about 10 meters of water.


The little (Kucuk Deniz) harbor South and East of me is where the day charter gulets hang out. Dead South, in the bigger (Buyuk Deniz) harbor, there is pier space on both the East and West sides. We are hoping to move there after we complete the check-in process.

2014-06-17: We started the check-in process at 1300 yesterday and finished today at 1100. FOR THE RECORD, WE CANNOT EVEN REMOTELY RECOMMEND ESKI FOCA AS A PORT TO CHECK INTO OR OUT OF THE COUNTRY! There is one travel agency that can sell you a transit log and they may or may not have any on hand when you need it. To get one, either you, or they, have to travel to Izmir (64 km away) to buy one. There is no agent in town that you can off-load the check-in/out process to so you must do it your self.

We first show up at the Port Captain's office which is near to the dock where the ferry to the Karaburun Peninsular docks. He is on the Buyuk Deniz side of the bay. He is open from 09-1730, closed for lunch one hour, mid-day. If you have had a transit log before, you must present to him a new blank transit log AND the ORIGINAL of the check-out copy from your last transit log. FAILURE TO HAVE THIS WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RETURN TO THE PORT WHERE YOU LAST CHECKED OUT!!. (If you do not have a new blank transit log one, you have to get one from the travel agency so for those that are in Turkey, you may find it convenient to have a blank log on board just for situations like this.) After he fills in the new transit log (he did ours by hand, and his penmanship was terrible!) he sends you the the Health Police for the next step. They are located in Aliaga, some 42 km by road NW from him. (For those that care, they are at  38° 49.650'N,  26° 59.032'E.)

We had to take two minibuses and a taxi, plus a 3+ km walk to find this place. It took us 5+ hours to get there and back, and we cheated, we took a taxi from that office to the main intersection on the highway where the turnoff for Eski Foca is. (We were beat, dog tired, and really pissed off that the Port Captain had NOT been entirely up-front about the level of difficulty in getting this stamp.)

So, we get back to Eski Foca about 1900, to find Passport and Customs also closed. We go into the Police station right by Customs, and try as gently as possible for them to get permission from both entities if we could continue the process tomorrow. Nope. Nada. Not a chance.

The Passport Police Officer comes in and basically tells us that we had to do what we had to do to get that stamp, but for the entire trip, we were in the country illegally and if something would have happened… his voice trails off. He is quite sympathetic of our plight, and wrote to the government to explain what the Port Captain is having new comers do requires them to be illegal in the country for HOURS. No response. After that discussion, he stamps are passports and our transit log, but says we now have to wait for Customs. We suggest that we could come back tomorrow but again, nope, nada, not a chance, again! You see, we are legal. But LeeZe is still not. So, we wait for Customs, who shows up at about 2000, with her husband, and 6 month old baby. We apologize profusely but she says it is not a problem. Zehra finishes her dinner while I go in to handle the paperwork. She wants to see a copy of our old transit log, and then after a series of routine questions (all in Turkish mind you! She speaks NO English!), she stamps the transit log. Now LeeZe is legal. Then she tells me to go back to the Port Captain to complete the paperwork. But he is closed. She tries to get him to come in but fails. Then, she announces that she is going to hold on to the transit log until tomorrow morning. That is NOT going to happen. She is quite adamant but I tell her that if the Turkish Coast Guard comes by tonight, I need to show him these papers. She RELUCTANTLY agrees to return them to me, but if I had a new born son, she would have made me promise on his head that I will return tomorrow.

It is now after 2100, we are both are running in empty. I get some dinner, and we are back on board LeeZe by 2230, and asleep shortly after that.

So, today, at 0915, we continue the process. We tender in, and stop by the Port Captain Office. In so many ways we describe our trip to the Health Police, how a boat of foreigners could not have done that at all, how he misled us as to the ease of getting to the place and back, and that while we were performing that mission, we were ILLEGALLY in Turkey per the Passport Police Office. The more we recounted our tale of woe, the further he tries to melt under his desk. I even presented to him Google Earth screen shots showing that is was some 42+ km by road to where we had to go, not 30 like he said, some 4 km from the center of town, not in town like he said, and some 2+ km North of his counterpart in Aliaga, not right next too. Zehra said he apologized, but I never heard  it. So, until the government changes the check-in process, and has the Health Police drive down from Aliaga to check-in or check-out transit boaters, we say again WE CANNOT EVEN REMOTELY RECOMMEND ESKI FOCA AS A PORT TO CHECK INTO OR OUT OF THE COUNTRY!

Now here is a trick we just learned. We had heard that we could add the names of family and friends that MIGHT come aboard for a ride or two at this point. So, before the Port Captain completes the paperwork, we ask him to add 12 names, and he does. He then signs the document again, and welcomes us into Turkey. (By this time he is slowly slinking out from under his desk.) We then stop by the Passport Police and give him his copy of the transit log, and then Customs. It turns out the the Passport Police Officer must have had a heart attack when he saw 12 names on the log and not just ours, because about 2 hours later Zehra receives a frantic call from him. She explained about friends and family coming to visit, but he asked her at least three times if we both were the only two that entered the country. After that call, we had a good laugh. I cannot imagine what he went thru initially when he saw the log with 12 names. (For the record, we had 21 names we wanted to add, but the Port Captain asked us to limit it to the 12 most likely!)

By the way, here is what a complete entry transit log looks like:


The left hand stamp is the Health Police, then the Passport Police, then Customs, and last, on the right, is the Port Captains stamp. LeeZe is registered at 35 tons net displacement and normally, I have to pay a "lighthouse" fee because I displace so much, though recreational yachts under 20 tons have this fee waived for them. This time, I was not asked to pay the fee. I do NOT know if the Port Captain overlooked it because of the hoops he made us go through to get the Health stamp, or he made a mistake and forgot to charge us. We shall see if this fee catches up with us in the future.

(This log is good for one year, to expire 16 June 2015. One can renew at that time for another year without having to leave the country. One can do this 4 more times but on the 5th renewal, the boat must leave Turkish Territorial waters. The boat does NOT have to stay out long, at most one day, but it does have to depart.)

It is 1100 on a Tuesday and we are now legally in Turkey, LeeZe et al.  We also learn today is the once-per-week "farmer's market" so after a light breakfast, we buy our fruits, veggies, cheese and nuts, and return to LeeZe at about 1530 for some R&R.  BTW, there is a GREAT family restaurant called "Na-Ne Cafe" at the end of 203 Sok. The place was crowded today, and the food was flying out from the kitchen. If you are in town, may be worth checking out.

Here is a picture of the bay as you enter.


The "Little Harbor" is dead ahead and then to starboard. The "Big Harbor" is immediately to starboard. Noonsite reports that the holding in the Big Harbor is not so good. I can neither confirm nor deny. What I do know that the holding where I anchored was superb. I was in 10 meters of water, had out over 60 meters of chain, snubbed.

Here is a picture of Lee with LeeZe at anchor in the background:


Over Lee's right shoulder is the entrance to a Turkish Army Base. On some nights, we could hear, but not see what must have been military helos practicing night maneuvers. We could also hear large artillery guns being fired, small arms fire, smallish explosions, popping sounds (mortars?) and soldiers shouting during morning exercises.

2014-06-20: The anchorage is rocky due to the sustained winds so we spent some time in the late morning and early afternoon ashore walking about and doing some shopping just to get off LeeZe. But we returned and while Zehra took a nap down below in the master cabin, I took one on the aft deck. I was awoken by what sounded to me to be an airplane, really close, but I discounted it as my mind playing tricks. But it was not.


Seems there was a forest fire ashore and this plane needed water to help fight it. By radar, the distance between me and the shore was about 300 meters so my guess is this pilot was coming to within 150 meters of me. Was he coming this close to allow me to get a good pic? Or, was he showing off? Somehow, given that the there is more than 2 kilometers of empty water on the other side of LeeZe, without any boat at anchor, leads me to lean toward showing off!

Here we are waiting for dinner.


This is "Kucuk Deniz" (Little Harbor). We found this small restaurant that had great food so we ate dinner there twice. In the background are the small fishing boats that go out to catch the fish we were eating that night, One can also hire these to give you a private tour of the area. The day charter gulets are docked about 50 meters to the right of where Lee is sitting.

On this our last night in town, the city put up a stage (just for us?) and a Turkish Band started playing all types of songs starting about 2130. We listened to the music for about an hour and then called it a night.


2014-06-21: We get up, have coffee, and depart toward the North for Çandarli, some 20-21 nm away. The trip is OK but the seas are not flat, not having time to calm down after the last two days of wind. Upon approaching Çandarli, Zehra calls the head of the fishing port who informs us there is a place for us to tie up.

By this time the wind is a steady 20 knots from the SW/W and he wants me to med moor to a small rusty "pier" close to some very LARGE rocks in less than 3 meters of water (LeeZe draft is 1.6 meters) just inside the harbor wall. Righhhhhhhhhhtttttttttttt………… So, having learned my lesson from Cesme, I drop my anchor some 60-80 meters from this "pier" upwind but I have a devil of a time getting LeeZe to get close enough to get lines over. The wind keeps pushing me east, and the anchor which normally helps line me up is just not cooperating.

After some 45 minutes, I get close enough to get one line over and then another (We have some locals on board so Zehra is trying to understand what they are doing, telling me how close I am to the rocks, me listening to them, etc etc. Get the picture?  Controlled Chaos!) After both lines are over, I am told to take a strain on the anchor and guess what? It comes all the way back to me. By this time, the guy-in-charge  has called a friend to help who also happens to Captain a big fishing trawler. But even though I tell them I want to leave and go anchor, they will have none of that. I am about ready to take my big knife and cut the aft lines when the Captain comes aboard, tells me this is salvageable, and tells me to retrieve my anchor.

I do and I learn why my anchor never held. In it was a concrete block the size of a carry-on airline bag. So, the Captain tells me this stuff happens (the word is "işte" in Turkish it is used a lot when things do not happen as you want. To tell you the truth, it is spoken quite quite frequently!) So, as I sit back and worry about being close to the rocks aft, and Zehra not looking too happy, a small fishing boat comes along, knocks the concrete block out, cleans off the mud, and then proceeds, with my help to put the anchor on his stern so he can motor out and drop it for me. I have seen this before 3 years ago when the yard launched LeeZe, but having not remembered the particulars too well, (and LeeZe was not ours yet so the Yard Owner became quite excited when this trick did not work for him either!) I knew this would not work but could not put my finger as to exactly why.

Then I saw the small boat just stop some 10 meters ahead. He was trying to motor with my 88 kg anchor on his stern and pulling my 12 mm chain along using his 1 cylinder little diesel. Not going to happen. There is more confusion and I tell the Captain that for this to work, call the boat back, and let me place both the anchor and the chain on the fishing boat, and then as his motors away, he can slowly let the chain into the water. The Captain thinks that should work and I am now back in charge. Call the boat back, and start putting 80 meters of chain onto the boat. The boat gets quite low into the water but it works, and he slowly motors upwind, while the chain is slowly being let out. That seems to do the trick, but I thought one or more of the fishermen on the boat was going for a swim as they tried to get the anchor off their stern. With the anchor upwind and in the water, I bring it in and now, it is holding. LeeZe's bow starts to come to starboard and we are becoming more aligned like we should be.

So, 90 minutes after first entering the harbor, we are moored. 

It was not a fun evolution. Little do I know that had I waited until the next morning, the wind and seas would be dead calm in the morning and coming in would have been less hectic and chaotic. But I also did not know that later this same day, Zehra would learn that a dear cousin who we hosted on board in April has died, and that the funeral was the next day. So, I am glad that they did not listen to me and let me go and anchor. God was looking out for us in his unique and not-quite-understanderable way.

Here are some pictures of our moor:


Lines are tied to what appear to be eyebolts driven into the concrete. I have been promised that they will hold!


The rocks the fisherman is on are part of the harbor wall, and LeeZe's stern is some meters away from them.

This is the harbor that we are in:


The rock wall is high enough that once LeeZe is tucked in, the southern and westerly wind blow over LeeZe and does not seem to push on her too much. But until one gets close to the wall, these winds work havoc on vessel control.

This the beachfront (and yes, that is a restored Ottoman castle in the background)


School is out and it is quite crowded for a Sunday. Next week starts the 30 day Ramazan / Ramadan  period so if past Ramazan / Ramadan summer periods hold, the number of people vacationing will seriously drop and will not pick up until it ends, when the "Sweet Holiday" is celebrated.

2014-06-23: Today we had sustained winds from the North and those winds pushed LeeZe's bow toward the South and LeeZe''s starboard stern came into contact with that rusty pier.

So far have not done a complete inspection but do have at least cosmetic damage to the boat name's stencil that will require changing. There is probably more but cannot see it. Stuffed three tires into the gap as a makeshift fender and put a long line from the port forward cleat to the rocks to help prevent the bow from twisting anymore. Waiting for the winds to die down to take in the line somewhat an get the stern away from the pier. The forecast has the wind dying down this evening but it seems an interminable wait. 

Lesson Learned: I should have installed that long line from the port bow to the rocks earlier when the wind was blowing from the south and west. If I had I would not be in this predicament.  Ugh!

That concludes this blog entry. Of course, comments and questions are warmly welcomed. If you receive the link to this blog via a personal email, and no longer wish to, just me me know and I will remove you from the list. No hard feelings, OK?

Thanks for taking the time

Lee and Zehra Aboard MV LeeZe

Where is LeeZe? May - June 2014 Cesme > Egri Liman Koyu

My last entry was on 25 May and we were at the City Wall in Cesme. I thought that there would be nothing "earth shattering" to report so I had not planned to write about our "dull" lives at the wall.

But, yesterday, 29 May, was anything but dull. The weather was forecasted to be OK during the day but toward evening, Southerly sustain winds of 20 knots with gusts forecasted to be over 30 were predicted. So, having had to move from our first location closer to the city, to a spot about 400 meters closer to the mouth of the harbor, it gave me a chance to set the anchor into the predicted wind direction and lay out additional lines. (The harbor is better protected from Northerly winds and offers little protection from Southernly ones.)

I laid out two 50 meter lines, one from each side of the bow to bollards ashore. (You might be able to see one of these lines (green) in the picture below.) I also added two additional lines from the stern to bollards ashore. These additional lines, plus my normal stern lines to wall's bollards crossed like an "X" should have been enough. I mean, it was in Symi (Simi) Greece, where the winds were stronger and the waves in the bay were nearly whitecaps.

By 2100, I noticed our Turkish Gulet Charter boat neighbors were getting underway and moving. Some were going to a wall at the very eastern tip of the harbor (saw a self unloading freighter there two days ago) and some seem to be anchoring in the middle of the bay. But still I was OK.

By 2300, the last Turkish Gulet next to me slipped her lines and got underway for a protected bay just south of the harbor. 

LeeZe by this time was rocking, rolling, water was being forcibly ejected upward thru the holes of the swim platform, and neither of us were happy. 

But I still did not want to get underway so I made a half-ass decision to slip my stern lines some 5-8 meters, take in some anchor chain, and ride out the night still attached to the wall, but some 8-9 meters from it.

In the morning, having not gotten any sleep at all, it seems my decision would work out. Zehra went to bed at about 2330 and woke up about 0830, having slept well. I did not sleep well, but we were OK. At about 0630, during a check, I noticed not ONE Turkish Gulet was at the wall. 


They had all left. My conclusion… I should have left also. It probably was a dumb and stupid decision to hang off the wall, but by morning, having made it and lived thru it, I am none the worse for wear less sleep, and LeeZe is not damaged, saved for two parted mooring lines. 

So, it is now 30 May, and the winds are slowly dying down, and coming from the West now. My bow lines throughout the night seem to work magic in keeping LeeZe from not yawing too much, and my stern cross lines did the same. The other stern lines straight to the pier and the anchor chain kept the fore and aft motion pretty much also in check. So now we just waited most of the day and into the evening for the waves crashing against the wall to simmer down. 

One charter boat, a big steel, party boat type, came back at 0900, and our neighbors returned about 1300. The ones at the eastern end of the bay


were still there at sunset; my guess is they too are waiting for the crashing waves along the wall to dissipate. (One of them did try coming back to the wall, but apparently gave up, and went back.)

We have not moved back either. There is no rush. We are rocking and roll, but we are safe. We are not hitting the wall, nor bottom, nor violently lurching about so we elect to stay like this until calmer waters prevail. 

Zehra and I are QUITE INTERESTED in picking the brains of a charter boat Captain that we go to know as to what guides him in making a decision to get underway, or not. I had an experience early in my sub career. We were moored to a anchored barge in a bay in a Northern African port , when the weather turned from good to bad in hours. The sub was crashing against the barge and we were afraid we would either sink it or it would put a hole in us. The CO and XO were ashore (pre cell phone days) and were not available to be consulted. Got the sub underway and cruised the night outside the harbor in deeper, but safer water. We came back and retrieved the CO/XO, found out we were not in trouble, but if I remember correctly, we were told a more prudent course of action might have been to anchor, given the diplomatically and politically sensitive nature of our port visit (which of course we were clueless about because, heck!, we are only engineers!!!).

We moved LeeZe back to the city wall this morning, 31 May, after coffee. We then did a few chores, and then went to talk to the Charter Boat Captains. We came to learn that they leave because some years ago, they did what we did but as they are bunched closer together, some lines broke, some boats hit each other, there was some damage, so the prudent course of action came to be is the leave and go anchor either at the concrete dock, or around the "corner" in the next bay.

We walk about town and learn these is a concert tonight in the main square at 2030. We will check it out, and then resume our "dull" lives along the wall.

6 June: We are still in Cesme. We were to get some fuel today but the delivery was canceled for some reason. So, it may not be until next week that we will get our fuel delivery.  We are med moored to the wall opposite to Kordon Pizza, a small restaurant run by a husband (Mehmet) and wife (Melek) with 3 kids. It has not been sunny all the time, and in fact, a rain storm that lasted about 36 hours, with cloudy days on either side, forced us to run the generator. Well, Mehmet came over while it was on and told us it was too noisy as it was driving away customers and could we turn it off. It was mid-morning, and I apologized but said it needed to run for about another hour. He was NOT happy. After securing it, went over to have a talk, and he was quite adamant that we should move to the marina as the wall is not for "people like us." But Melek appeared to be more reasonable. That night, on our walk about, we talked to some of the charter gulet owners, shared with them the story, and came to learn that the Mehmet had no leg to stand on. The city IS working on bringing shore power and water to the pier, but it is weeks away. 

So, not to be completely unsympathetic, we decided to eat at Mehmet's restaurant the next night. To make a long story short, his menu is quite limited, but the food that he serves is quite delicious and reasonably priced. We talked with him and worked out a time in the morning when TYPICALLY he is not open so we can run the generator. So, all in all, an agreeable truce has been reached. We have eaten there a few times, and have yet to be disappointed. The name of the place is called "Kordon Pizza" but there is no name on the restaurant. It sits along the waterfront (duh!!) between a Turkish Defense Ministry and a Jandarma Building by the Post Office. He serves pizza, sandwiches fish, grilled meat balls, stuffed macaroni  and breakfast, but no alcohol. He does not take credit cards either. Service is NOT speedy, so if you need a quick bite to eat, Burger King is a few hundred meters away. But with a little bit of patience, you will be rewarded with a very tasty meal at a very reasonable price. 

12 June: It has been nearly a week since my last entry and really, life has been "boring" along the wall. Or, so we thought. Sometime during our visit, I had to deploy our mooring springs. These are made from 13 mm galvanized steel, rated for 20,000 kgs, and are not small. I have no clue why I did not do that on day 1 but I did not. Getting them on is a dance. I attached the spring to a piece of chain which gets wrapped around a bollard. Then on the end end of the spring is a shackle, which I undo and put it around the still quite taut stern line. I do this to both stern lines. Then, Zehra and I switch places and when there is a short pause and everything is calm, I loosen the stern line, Zehra takes it off the bollard and it gets captured by the shackle, and I take a strong tug to it. It actually goes smoother than I expected, and the ride improves noticeably. So of course, last night they had to come off because today, we are shifting berths to load fuel. So, basically, we reverse the process, and have to tolerate a less than pleasant motion for the evening. We do eat at Mehmet's tell him we are going, and he seems genuinely sad we are leaving. We had a great meal and take a short walk ad call it a night.

We visited the local castle yesterday and here is Zehra at the wall

me sitting in the court yard,

and LeeZe at the city wall.

13 June. Underway day, even just for a short hop from the wall to the pier. Our agent, Omur has done all the paperwork for the the fuel load and the check out. Our transit log (the Turkish Government document that authorizes LeeZe to be in Turkey) expired yesterday so Omur says we will have to pay a fine for not having a current log, It is about $33. (The cost of new one is about $125 and to have a new one for just being one day late did not seem financially prudent to do.) We prepare for the short move to the fuel dock and get the word at about 1130 to be there at 1300. While it is less than 1 nautical mile away, I need the time because the bottom of Cesme Harbor is mud, more mud, and mud. It takes me about 30 minutes to coax LeeZe's anchor out of it. This anchor has been in this mud for 2+ weeks, holding us off the pier in winds gusting to 30-40 knots It is dug in well, and while I do not have a picture of it, when it does come out, there is probably another 100 kgs of mud and stuff stuck to it. We try to get it over by rinsing, dragging it thru the water, dunking it up and down and it will not come off. We eventually get it off using a pole to poke at it, and water, and 45 minutes of work. But  digress. Underway, choppy day, into the fuel dock, have to turn around as the boat there decides to leave, realign, and come in starboard side too. 

The fuel truck is there. So is Customs. I ordered and therefore committed to taking 3200 liters. So, we begin with the aft tank, fill it to just over 90%, than the forward tank, which we fill to over 90% and when the noise of the air rushing out starts to change, i change to the aft tank and put the last 110 liters into it, all without spilling a drop. (When we loaded fuel at this same dock some 2+ years ago, I got a diesel shower when the fuel rushed out the fill nozzle because the speed of the fill was way too high. This time, we filled using gravity flow, and I did not get another shower.) Ok, that is done, and I pay the fuel company by credit card $1.27/liter of low sulfur diesel fuel for the delivery.

Next on the agenda is to get the black water tank discharged. The tank can hold about 800 liters, and it has about 700 so I am trying to do the environmentally appropriate action by dumping it ashore. The marina agrees to take it (for a fee, of course!) but then comes to tell me that their pump is broken and do I mind waiting. I say no, as  I am using this time to purify the new fuel in the aft tank and that will take hours. At about 1600, come to learn that the marina cannot get their pump fixed that day, but they have called for an outside contractor to come in and take the waste water. 

Now, before we moved from the city wall, we called this same contractor, and he wanted about $71 to empty our tank. We thought that was way too much $$$ so we asked the marina what they wanted and they said $24. Better. The contractor came, and sucked the waste water out and now, all of our chores were done. But is is also close to 1700. Omur comes back with an itemized bill for the rest of the services, including the $200 tanker delivery fee, and we pay him $714. We are now no longer officially in country. Our passports have the check out stamp, and the transit log is "closed out." It appears that the late fee Omur said we would have to pay was waived. Not sure but there is no annotation anywhere about it being assessed.

Thank the Lord as Zehra learns that the new Marina Manager is Jon, who was here when we stayed here in 2011-12. For some reason he liked us then, so Zehra asks me to try to sweet talk him into allowing us to spend the night at the fuel dock. So, I try. I of course ask, and throw in the fact that the marina itself charged me $250 for the privilege of coming to their fuel dock to load the tax-free fuel from a truck I had to pay for to come here, and he thought I was pulling his leg. So I show him and the dock master Omur's bill, and they are so astonished they ask if they can make a copy (of course) and said while I cannot stay at the fuel dock, they will slide me in stern too just opposite it. So, underway for a really short move from one dock to another, and settle in.

Remember when I said life along the wall was "boring," we were FLAT ASS wrong. Here we are in a marina, stern too, surrounded by boats that all but one is empty, nobody walking by, temperatures 5 degrees hotter than at the wall due to the congestion and we realize we had it really good at the wall, even with the boat's crazy motion. But a least we are here for the night, the wind is blowing some 30-40 knots, and the ONLY excitement was watching a 165' yacht named Misbehaving come in to the fuel dock, spend a few hours loading taxed fuel, and then moving to another pier nearby to stay a few days. 

14 June. After coffee, we depart Cesme at about 1000 for a 3+ hour run to Egri Liman Koyu, passing thru Greek Territorial waters. There is not much around, a few LARGE fish farms at the entrance and along the coast, some homes ashore, a beach, and a shelter cove

We anchor in some 10+ meters of water off of a deserted beach. I do some chores, take a shower, and finish this blog.

That concludes this blog entry. Of course, comments and questions are warmly welcomed. If you receive the link to this blog via a personal email, and no longer wish to, just me me know and I will remove you from the list. No hard feelings, OK? 

Thanks for taking the time

Lee and Zehra Aboard MV LeeZe

Where is LeeZe? May 2014 Kusadasi > Cesme

It is time to start the blog up again as we are getting ready to depart our winter over "hole" for other places. So, I need to begin, and I will with the preps needed for a sea trial.

Actually, Zehra's Mom was with us for about 30 days, and departed 8 May. Lovely lady, no bother to having on board, low low low maintenance. After she departs, we have a few get togethers to attend and I have so sea trial prep work that I really did not want to do in front of Mom…

One of the FUN activities is placing back in the hole at the bottom of the boat the transducer that was pulled at the end of last season. Since LeeZe's draft is a 1.5 meters, my GUESS is this hole is about .75 meters below the water line. So, with Zehra to help minimize the water inflow, I pull the plug that is in place and attempt to insert the transducer. All does not go well, water is coming in, Zehra is freaking out, and I stop and put the plug in to think about what I am doing. Ah ha! The light bulb goes on! The transducer has an arrow on it and you can guess that I was not placing it correctly in the hold. Zehra is NOT too enthused to me pulling that plug out again, but she is a trooper. I do, she covers the hole with a towel and I get the transducer seated. She and I are dripping wet from the waist up, my dry bilge is no longer, but success. (Had a diver over to clean the hull, why did I not think to have him cover the hole while in the water? Duh????)

Our marina contract ends on 18 May, so if all was to go to plan, I wanted to do a sea trial on 14-15 May, work out the kinks, verify things work as designed, and of course, fix the stuff that doesn't.

But, the weather is not cooperative and the winds from the North blow steady and fast on those two days. NOAA GRIB data indicates Friday will be OK, but now getting antsy as this does not leave much time post sea trials to resolve whatever issues arise. So Friday it is.

Friday, 16 May. Up a little early, engine running, Navigation system up, radio checks complete and waiting on the marina for assistance in getting underway. Ahhhhhhh, what is that noise??? Look up from the salon toward the helm and note the autopilot is alarming, the plotter also, the Navtex unit, and both radios are dead. I also come to learn my tank level indicators (TLI) are also. Hummmmm.

I call the marina to cancel my request for assistance and start to trouble shoot.

Check circuit breakers. None are popped. Reset what I think are the appropriate ones and nope, nada, no life / juice. Place a call to my electronics guy to get on his calendar for the day and he can be by "after lunch."  He suggests looking for a blown fuse, so I start.

But of course, the following does not IMMEDIATELY pop out to me but after about 15-20 minutes checking some fuses, come to realize that it has to be a BIG blankety blankety fuse for all the stuff that is suppose to be working but is not.

So, I turn my focus to the 24 to 12V DC power converter. An initial cursory check seems to show that it is fine, but what I am actually measuring in the accessory adapter's voltage. Need to get to the main terminals and after some minutes of disassembly, I can get to them, and sure enough, the power supply is working.

Right above this power supply are 12 circuit breakers to the 24 and 12V DC Pilothouse systems. So, I want to measure the voltage output of each breaker to help me narrow my search. As I check each one, all are fine until #9, and when I go to measure the voltage, the radios pop to life. Now, I did NOT cycle that circuit breaker, nor touch it in any way before this but now, the radios are working. Hummmmm. Turn off and then on  the c/b and the radios are dead. Measure the voltage and they come back to life. Now a little bit confused. Recycle the breaker again and the radios come back to life.

It has taken me more than 2 hours to get to this point, so I bike ride over to my electronics guy, tell him my story, and to get confirmation that circuit breakers can fail this way. He says they can, though not frequently. Go to town, get some spares, come back, have lunch, (weather is windy now so underway today is not a go…) and my electronics guy is there on the pasarelle. He comes aboard, quickly confirms that what I am seeing is what is actually is, shows me how to replace the c/b (believe it or not, did not know. Probably could have learned but most probably would have broken something while learning).

Ok, power up the 24 VDC PH systems and everything is working. Decide to leave everything on to see what fails overnight.

It is now Saturday. Weather is fine so we do depart, go to the nearest bay, anchor and retrieve (all does not go smoothly as my trip line gets caught in the chain, but will get it (more) right next time. Steam around for an hour or so, and return to port. (The engine had been run under idle load at the dock for just over two hours while Mom was here so if there was to be a problem, it would have to be while under higher load than dockside load.)

We go out to dinner Saturday night, come back watch some TV and go to bed. Sunday will be a long day.

18 May: Sunday morning comes and it takes longer to disassemble and put away the shore side gear, load water, clean topsides, say our goodbyes, etc etc. We finally break the marina bonds and depart of Sagacik, Teos, some 33 nm toward the NW. Weather is fine and we arrive about 1700, tired but thankful for a smooth first day. Teos is one of the 12 Ionian cities so it has been around for awhile. We lived in this area while LeeZe was being built so we have explored it.

19 May: Monday morning, with light winds, we launch the tender from our boat deck into the water with little fanfare. (If you would have observed this evolution in 2011, you would have thought that either we are going to get divorced, or we are selling LeeZe tomorrow!) Now, I wanted to test the tender and outboard while on sea trials, which meant launching it then,  but the winds started to blow and I elected to return to port. So, having fogged the 2 cycle o/b last season, it should start. Of course it does not. Multiple pulls, multiple tries… nope no life. Then I remember I took the plugs out to fog the engine and probably did NOT reconnect them. Off comes the engine cover, and there they are, two wires flapping in the breeze. Connect, pull, and engine comes to life. Go for a quick spin and that afternoon, go into Sagacik for a walk about and dinner.

20 May: The weather is good so we get underway for Alacati. Alacati is the wind surfing capital and we get in and anchor in 4 meters of water in 20+ knots of wind. Little did we know this was to be the norm. We go ashore on 21 May, but the town is some 7+km from the anchorage so we are lucky that a man with his dog offers us a ride.

Alicata is a VERY picturesque town and while it is early in the tourist season, from the looks of things, they are expecting a crowd this summer. We walk around, buy some supplies, and return to LeeZe by way of a "Dolmus" (which is a minivan that as many as 12-16 people can use to get from one place to another. A check of the weather indicates that maybe SATURDAY, the wind and the seas in the Chios/Cesme Channel will be small enough to allow us safe passage to Cesme, Until then, we are in Alicata, experiencing sustain 20-30 knots of winds, gusts to 40+, with LeeZe dancing around the end of a 60 meter anchor and chain rode.

However, some are enjoying the wind:





24 May. Finally!!!!!! A day where the wind and waves will cooperate and we finally depart for Cesme!. Cesme was our FIRST port of call after taking possession of LeeZe in 2011 so returning here is like returning to the place where it all started. Back then, we were exhausted both mentally and physically from the new construction and the sea trials, and our first trip was no picnic either and that was icing on the cake! (The weather was so bad that we took blue water over the bow and white water spray above the pilot house. We dragged anchor threes times in five days, and … well, why were were out there is a very long story but, we were, and we did NOT like it.)

So, after an very un-eventful trip we arrive at Cesme


and anchor.


About 4 hours later, the Turkish Coast Guard shows up to tell us we are anchored in a forbidden zone. No zone is listed on the Turkish charts, and he cannot point to me where such a zone is published. He also tells us to change our Turkish Flag ( the winds in Alicata had all but shredded it) inspects our Turkish Transit Log and notes an error, which we negotiate with him some time to get fixed. He suggests a place to anchor, but it is open to the north and north west wind, which around here, can really blow. He says that the weather will be good for the next few days so we will be safe there. We instead chose to come ashore, get the error fixed (which there was none… he was confused) and talk to the people on the city wall if we can come along the wall. The "man-in-charge" says yes, and helps us in.  Again, I need two tries to get it right (just like Symi from last year) so guess I am slow to learn.) This is a med moor, with the anchor chain out some 80 meters in 4 meters of water, nearly tight as a drum, with our stern tied to the wall. There is no electricity, but there is water (from a tanker I come to learn), and with our solar panels, we are fine.

So, at about 1800, we are in and happy, and at 2000, go for dinner


and a walk around town


before returning "home."


25 May. Uneventful day. We learn from the "man-in-charge" that he will want us to move to a different spot tomorrow morning because some charter boats are coming in and they like the spot we are in. No problem. Another opportunity to practice this mooring technique. Today is "Pazar" Day and the local Farmers' Market is in town. So, after breakfast, we take our shopping carts and go off to buy fruits, veggies and some cheese. Prices in Cesme are 30-50% higher than Kusadasi, but we come back with about 15-18 kilos of fruits, veggies and cheese, having spent about $22. (We know that is cheap by what Americans are paying in the USA, but just to counter, unleaded gasoline here is approaching about $10/gallon.)

There was a lot of phone calls today from family. There was a 6+ earthquake in the Northern Aegean, a hospital was damaged in Canakkale, and the callers wanted to know if we felt it. We may have, who knows, but there is not a chance we would have known the movement as an earthquake and not a wave….. But for the record, we did not feel it, and of course we said we were fine……

That is it for right now. Will post and start another chapter in the next few days.

Zehra and Lee

MV LeeZe

Currently Med Moored Cesme, Turkey

Solar Panels

March 2014 Kusadasi

Solar Panels

We are here in the marina in Kusadasi Marina and decided to install solar panels when we learned that the marina was going to start charging 40 euro cents for one kilowatt of electricity. (BTW, that works out to be about 6 times MORE than what a person ashore in their apartment is paying.) We thought that the marina was ripping us off, and as it turned out, so did many boaters who wintered over here, and at Netsel’s Marina in Marmaris. Both marinas are owned by SETUR, and SETUR has about 10 marinas all around Turkey. All but one is now charging what most of us consider to be an outrageous amount for electricity, so many are getting panels, and many more, even long term boaters (10+ years) are looking for someplace new to moor next winter.

Most of us are upset by the failure of the company to talk to us straight, to explain why they are charging in euros and not the local currency (but the municipality bills them monthly in local currency!!) and to justify the 6+ times cost. Kusadasi held a manager’s meeting with those of us wintering over in January, 2014 and FAIL to mention that come February 1, we would have to pay for electricity and water. (BTW, water is 5 euros per 1000 liters, which is about 7+ times more than what the marina pays for water. Greedy people are they not???)

A formal letter hand delivered to the marina requesting explanations has yet to be answered, and some people believe that the company never will answer it, as whatever their excuse (oops, sorry, reasons ….???) they offer we will see right thru it

So too make a longish story shorter, due to the marina / company’s ineptitude, inability to plan, unreasonable expectations about how quick the changeover would take, etc etc, it took them to March 17 to get their ducks in a row ENOUGH to start charging. In the meantime, many of us pressures the marina to lower their price toward something more realistic and they did, ultimately, by 10% (10% ARE U KIDDING??????) 

So, the plan to install solar panels, which we half heartily started last November was now in high gear.

So, first, have to think how many watts I need. Since this project was to help offset shore power costs, and we run electric heaters in the winter, it turned out that to be 100% shore power independent was just not practical. So, then I turned to space available, and I did have room on top of the pilot house to install some number.

Researching panel availability in country, attending the Istanbul Boat Show, asking questions from venders there and getting answers that were so confusing that I could not make heads or tails from them, I determine that 250-300 watt panels would be what I want. With the panels’ dimensions, I come to learn I can fit 4 of the 300 watt panels or 6 of the 250 watt panels in the space available and not destroy the lines that George Buehler has so ADAMANTLY defended when trying to design LeeZe and meeting my requests/ demands…

So, 6 it is. I find them on the net and go get the data sheets from the merchants who are selling them. (That was not easy. In one case, it took a call to China to get a data sheet!!)  It was NOT apparent to me that I was comparing apples with oranges, as some were poly crystal and some were mono. Some further research and discussion with some other boaters made me see that mono crystal panels are what I wanted. OK! (Turns out all the 300 watt panels I could find were poly, though one distributer in Izmir told me he could get 300 watt mono panels from China “in or about 6-8 weeks.” Nope…. Not going to fall down that rabbit hole again!! Boat spares that I ordered from an Istanbul in December that he said would be here in January are STILL not here……)

Contract with a local marina repair shop to install a DC cable from the DC power panels in the engine room up to the top of the pilot house. (Should have had this cable run by the yard 3 years ago but forgot to ask…. dumb dumb dumb.) I ask them based of the size of the panels how big of a cable I need and they come back with a recommendation of about 2 AWG or 33 square mm. Did NOT sound right so off to the tables I go, and determine for a marginal 3% voltage drop, I would need at least a 0 AWG cable (53 square mm). Ask around and find that locally available power cable suitable for the marine environment is either 37 or 55 or 95 square mm. I told them to use 95 square mm and they first are aghast, and then rolling on the floor laughing. I knew from THAT reaction that 95 square mm WAS the correct size. They really did try to talk me into something smaller, but I healed firm, and they agreed. BTW, 95 square mm is between 000 and 0000 AWG.

They give to me an estimate (which I knew was way too low because they have to drill thru three 6mm steel bulkheads, none of them easy to get at, seal the holes, and then perform whatever additional work that needs to be done after I pressure test the engine room to  ~3 psig to comply with my Lloyds certificate of construction. (For completely sake, Lloyds pressure tested the engine room for tightness at 0.3 bar (new construction) but my “rulebook” says I only need to test to  0.2 bar after any maintenance that breeches the engine room bulkhead, and that the allowed pressure drop in 15 minutes has to be less than 0.1 bar for the room to pass. Since I had not opened the engine room maintenance hatch in the floor of salon, that seal was still intact, and a visual inspection showed that it appeared to be good. The box that allows the passage of the transmission controls is sealed itself from the engine room and those seals were also good. Shore power penetration cables were also fine (can see quite easily in the lazarette) and to install this cable, I had to pull of the refrigerator so inspection of the engine exhaust pipe seals was easy to accomplish.))

So, after the cable was run and the cable penetrations sealed, and sending Zehra off to someplace or another for a few hours, I pressurized the engine room with a borrowed industrial vacuum cleaner after first taking a suction on the engine room to a slight, very slight, negative vacuum. (The guys that pressure tested the room in the yard say if you bring the room under a small vacuum, and run around to all potential air paths, you should hear a noise which will help you identify which one to fix,) So, after a hour of blowing, the engine room was at .21 bar (picture with newspaper), closed the bulkhead valve. removed the vacuum (it was quite hot!!) and installed a second seal on the pipe. Waited 15 minutes. Took another picture (0.18 bar) and declared victory. Bled off the air while SLOWLY drinking a cup of coffee.

Ok, that is done. Now on to the panels. Order them and when they get here, each box is broken, panels are loose, etc etc. Take pictures, refuse shipment, call the merchant, share with him the pictures, and he says send them back and will ship new. Two days later, new panels arrive, packed BRILLIANTLY, but they are poly, not mono. Call the merchant, he is now pissed off (in his defense, he is in Bursa, and the shipper is in Istanbul)) and tells me to refuse.

Three days later, 6 new mono panels are delivered, packed BRILLIANTLY, and that part of the process is done. Bring back the same company and ask their thoughts about how to install. The co-owners look at the panels, take measurements, go topside, and do NOT come down for an hour. I have seem this before in other jobs, usually not so long, and what is taking so long is their thinking how best to install. Now, I have my idea on how best, but as it turns out, my idea was CRAP compared to theirs. 

Their proposal: Take 4 long pieces of 5 mm angle iron painted, attach them with screws to the portion of the Pilothouse where there is an overhang (no holes where water can drip into the Pilothouse) put small legs on each, mount the panels to the angle iron and lay them flat running fore and aft lengthwise on the Pilothouse overhead deck. There would be a walk way in the middle so I still do my maintenance, the legs would be tall enough to keep the heat from the panels off the Pilothouse  and removal of a panel would be tedious, but not overly complicated.

My CRAPPY idea was nowhere near as elegant as theirs, so after agreeing on a price, they head off. It was Tuesday morning and over a period of days, installation was completed. Problems: Most revolved around the paint on the angle iron refused to dry, though there was a smallish problem connecting the cables to the DC distribution box. You see, there was 26 VDC live in the boxes at one place. This was after killing shore power, turning off the battery chargers, removing both the positive and negative battery cables from the house battery bank, removing the same cables from the starter battery bank, killing the inverters and opening every main DC circuit breaker and switch I could find. BUT still there was this pesky 26 VDC, and in the end, they worked around it because the boat was dead dead electrically. (And no dear readers, I do NOT have a battery at the bow thruster, and even if I did, that switch was open also!) So, I have a great mystery to solve. Power to the boat was off for over 3+ hours and the voltage measurement remained steady every time I checked. I am searching my brain for a possible source, and I am drawing a HUGE BLANK!!!

So, it was 1630 on Friday that the panels were online and I saw no output. The sun was still up but nada… Went to bed that night thinking of possible problems and solutions. (Zehra says I worry way to much…)

Saturday, up and at 0830, panels are not producing, or so it seemed. So, the first thing I do is turn off the battery chargers and normally, I see a voltage drop. Nope, not this time, Steady…. A ray of hope appears. At 0930, battery voltage is up to 27+ (equalizing voltage is 30.62 for this bank) and by noon, it is approaching 30. We do laundry and wash dishes with the dishwasher and with the battery chargers still off, we will see how well we do thru the night.

So for those who are interested here are two pictures:

From the dock or the sea, the panels are not visible so that is a good thing. (George! Think of you babe!! )

There is less than a 1 VDC voltage drop from the farthest panel to the DC distribution boxes in the engine room. The panels at no load put out 36 VDC but a 2 amps, per the curves, the voltage is below 30 VDC. I currently am not using a regulator (a 70 amp solar panel regulator rated for the marine environment, installed in the engine room is $$$$$)  but there is a switch in the engine room to isolate the panels from the rest of the boat, and in that whitish box below the starboard side panels, each panel is attached to the buss bar with its own 15 amp fuse. 

It what I think is true, I may have to watch overcharging the batteries in the summer when the days are long, but I can live with that. In the winter, I do not think I need to be quite so worried. I will need shore power in the winter for some portion of every day, more so when the days are rainy or cloudy. I do know that I will still have to perform equalizing battery charges at least monthly, and periodic boost charges if the days are not sunny, More to follow as I learn.

Lee

Kusadasi, Turkey

Camel Wrestling Selcuk 19 Jan 2014

A bunch of us went to this festival on 19 Jan 2014. It isa traditional festival where male camel wrestle their opponents  off their feet. The animals do not appear to ever be hurt, and for the winner, he gets the use of a female camel. The owner seems to get a rug and a gold coin. This is the 32nd annual event, and it occurs in a stadium built in pre-Roman times. 

The announcement

Waiting to get in 

Colorful

On the ground for a pack adjustment,

Then back up on his feet

They bite, therefore, the mask

These boys came prepared. Bbq, food, drink, table and chairs, and even a table cloth!

Some of us from the Marina

Ataturk, the Father of Turkey, watches over the crowd

The crowd is mostly men with a smothering of women

The ruins of the stadium. Much has not changed here since the last time I came to this festival in the mid-1990s

There is a parade before the event

Here venders are selling camel+beef sausages. Guess we now know what happens to the losers!

The area in front of the ruins and behind the sausage sellers seems to be reserved for the "big boys!"

The crowd. Note the smoke from the numerous BBQs.

Camels on parade

65 camels are entered

Parade

Parade

Up close with a biggie!

Need to take a sand bath before entering the area during the parade

And the other side

needs a little more cleaning to become purdy!

(By the way, these pictures do not do justice to the way they smell!!!!)

A big boy waiting his turn. Note, no mask! Must not be a biter!

Camel and beef (mixed together) sausage for sale. 

Waiting for his turn.

The female also waits!

Colorful, no?

The arena 

More of it

Well, here the camels are done and the men try to pull them apart. 

Some wrestling

Some more

and, some more

Here, Zehra is checking out a camel

while the camel checks her out!

A staring contest.... I loose. The smell just is too much!

Fooling around

Must get that cover shot for the 2015 Mr Camel calendar!