Twixmas

Thursday 29th December... 

Linda - I have to admit that the last few weeks have been quite disorderly with our photos and blog write ups. Once all the holidaying and partying are over I intend to get myself back into some kind of organised fashion. Meanwhile, this mix up continues and I came across this photo of me playing darts recently in our small clubhouse in the marina. Dean and I had to play against each other as no-one else was about, and I'm afraid to say we were both useless! Good job there was no-one around to see our miserable attempts at getting a double. 

It's the taking part that counts 😂

Another Dean job that I have been meaning to mention was one that made us very happy. Our two inbuilt cockpit speakers had deteriorated in colour and turned into a horrible dirty creamy beige. Clever Mr C decided he would try and restore them with some white paint. He's got the painting bug at the moment. Well, you must agree that the finished job looks tremendous, and exceeded all our expectations by far. 

The newly painted speakers

Wow

It's been a bit of an odd jobs week, plus we made some lists of jobs for the New Year. I'm a little ahead of myself this year, so I decided to get our 'Grab Bag' out and check the contents. This is one of the yearly jobs, and it's just a matter of course really. The Grab Bag contains equipment we would need should we ever have to abandon ship, and it sits there in the aft cabin ready to just 'Grab' in an emergency. 

Dean has now used up his specifically non synthetic engine oil. A mineral oil. He bought an 18 litre can back in Gaeta and it has lasted for 3 yearly oil changes. After some research he found a place in town that sells the exact oil, so he went to buy another 18 litre can for the future. He likes to have spare everything, you never know when you will need it... and can't get it. The man in the shop actually gave him a lift back to the marina with it!

The special engine oil 15W-40

The weather has been very pleasant, sunny and warm in the daytime, around 19 degrees, but chilly at night, and in the mornings the north breeze blows off the snowy mountains. Thesee is facing south which means the breeze blows straight into our companion way, but we have a home-made cover to help keep the cold out.

Christmas morning arrived and Santa brought me a bottle of  my favourite. He's good to me. For Christmas Lunch it had been arranged for around 30 of us to dine in our clubhouse. Our friends Tina and Mark organised it and we were all allocated something to make. When we turned up at 1pm it was in full swing and we had to get another table as all the places were already taken. Two other friends organised a Secret Santa and those of us who took a present could choose a present. We picked numbers out of a hat and then went up one at a time in order. The twist was that when it was your turn you could either choose a wrapped present, or you could take one of the presents that anyone before you had opened. So basically, it was good to be last to choose! It's was very entertaining. The present that I opened was a DVD about sailing in New Zealand that our other friends Kay and Lane had in fact made themselves! It was a great afternoon, and Dean even went to fetch more wine from the boat as we were there for so long. 

Santa's been

Where the cold north breeze comes from

Christmas Morning.

Our social club ready for Christmas Lunch...

...before everyone arrived

Just getting started

My Secret Santa gift... not so secret

Having fun with little cutie Millie Moo and her Aunty Sarah

Well Dean has been on a mission. Now we have our new super duper new sails he's embarked on a project to wash, scrub, and condition all (and I mean ALL) of Thesee's sheet and halyard lines. He has also been re-arranging the lines as they came down inside the mast and through the deck into the cams. It's been a puzzle at times with the lines inside the mast, and has caused him to lose sleep, but we think that all is now OK and he's happy. There are still a few lines to be washed and softened, but he is nearly at the end of it. 

Starboard cams with lines clean, neat, and orderly

Port side

Well, we had a very unexpected visitor in the marina this week. A SEAL.....

We heard that he had been spotted, and the same day our friend's boat had a mysterious dark splash stain on the side of the hull. Nobody could work out what or where the stain came from but the marina has CCTV and when they reviewed it they found out that the stain was in fact caused by SQUID INK 😮.

It is only to be assumed that the seal was hunting a squid and in the kerfuffle the squid sprayed the ink and it ended up on our friends boat. Unfortunately so far the stain has been impossible to remove. 

Next day the seal (and we assume the same one) spent the day at the stern of Thesee. We were first made aware that it was around because we could hear it breathing when it surfaced for air. Both Dean and I took it in turns to lie on Thesee's sugar scoop and wait for the seal to surface underneath the pontoon. We got some good photos, and in fact the one time the seal was so close to me I could have touched it. It was so big and close that I couldn't get the whole seal on camera. 

The seal surfacing underneath the pontoon

Too big and close this time  for the camera

Slightly further away now

This one a good view

The tail end

And finally, this week brought a first for me since we bought Thesee 8 years ago......... 

I WENT UP THE MAST 

So, Dean went up first to untie the lazy bag lines and drop them down for washing. Then once he had finished I went up. I was eager to do the whole thing but afraid that untying the lazy lines knots would be too difficult, one handed as well.  

Dean on the second spreader releasing the lazy lines

And now my turn, on the first spreader. I wasn't scared at all, but didn't want to go any higher in case I couldn't get back down again. Maybe next time.

Me

Really

Last bits and bobs now for this year.... Finally I found a calendar for the New Year. Not quite the same choice that you get in the UK, in fact no choice at all. It's Ataturk or nothing.

Ataturk calendar

This morning more scrubbing lines along the pontoon

Washed lines drying on the stern

More lines soaking in the bucket.

A sailor's work is never done.

From us on board we wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR celebration. 

May all your dreams come true

xxxxxxx

The next blog post will be called 'Angela's New Year Visit'

Rain, Floods, and NEW SAILS !!

Thursday 22nd December...

Linda -  Well, this week has brought quite a mixed bag of events. Dean spent a day repairing some worn areas on the snood and mainsail lazy bag. The sewing machine came in useful, once Dean had sorted out the right tension for the cotton. Some swearing required. He also waterproofed the sailbag, now it's rolled up and nicely packed away for next season's adventures. 

Sail bag repairs, notice you need a headtorch for this job 😂

One night the weather treated us to sustained torrential downpours with thunder and lightning. It was windy too, but the pouring rain drowned out the noise of the wind. Next morning we got up to find the water in the marina had unexpectedly turned brown! It was a bit surreal to see, but un-perturbed we walked into town for a spot of grocery shopping. 

We hadn't got very far, just outside the marina in fact, when we soon realised how bad the rain downpours had been. The roads were covered in mud and unpassable in places. We had to pick and choose where and which roads to cross. As we ventured further, it became obvious that the mud had been washed down off the mountains and through the roads into the town. On one of the roads the mud slide had washed away a large ditch all down the middle of the road, and the rubble had been washed down into the town. We took a look at the canal. It was running fast out to sea with muddy brown water and small whirlpools. One of the hotel swimming pools which had been empty was now completely full and overflowing with mud. I've never witnessed anything quite like it with my own eyes. Later that day we heard that our neighbouring town 'Kumluca' had been flooded even worse with cars floating down the streets!

Muddy marina water

Someone took this drone shot of the muddy marina water

Roads in the town

The muddy canal

Roads washed away here

Main road through town

The weather improved after that and it was time for painting. We recently bought some new safety floatation devices for the boat and they are both yellow. Dean decided to spray paint one of our other MOB devices (the Danbuoy) in yellow to match. The casing had faded and it needed some TLC. Now it looks fabulous after a coat of yellow paint. He also checked it was all connected up properly and he weighed the gas canister to see if it was still useable.

A little bit about this device.... should anyone fall overboard, this danbuoy can be thrown over the side of the boat, where it immediately inflates. It has a float that sticks high out of the water so the MOB can see it clearly above the waves and make their way towards it. It also has a light making it visible at night.

Painting the Danbuoy casing

Weighing the firing canister

Re-packing the goods

All set and ready to re-install

Well the BIGGEST and MOST VERY EXCITING news of the week was the delivery of our NEW MAINSAIL and NEW GENOA. They were supposed to be delivered on Thursday and we waited in especially, (even passing up the chance of a ramble) but they didn't turn up. The nice lady in the marina office called the delivery company at 5pm and we were told the sails would be delivered the next day, Friday. 

Dean eagerly looking to see if there's any sign of the sails delivery

Finally, the delivery van appears and Dean goes to help (take over!)

HIP HIP HOORAY, our new sails have arrived.

They also sent our old sails back too.

New mainsail and genoa on the quay ready to open

Dean can't believe they're really here, and peeks into the bag

Sails onboard now, Dean's hugging his new babies.

His face was just like a little boy on Christmas morning.

We got the new sails out on deck and unrolled them to have a quick look over.  But we waited until Sunday to get them out properly and put them up. All seems to be in order but we can't test them out properly until we go sailing next season. Once we had put them up we took them down again and rolled them away to store inside the aft cabin. We don't want them outside all winter. 

First look at the mainsail unfolded

Nice big Beneteau logos on the mainsail

Top attachment of the main sail

Now a look at the genoa

Pleated prettily

Made by Q Sails

Now my turn for a photo with the genoa

Just starting to raise the mainsail from the deck

Part way up the mast

Checking it over as we haul it up the mast

View from the pontoon

Here's the genoa nearly up

That's it 

Last few days now until Christmas begins, and Dean is still finding things to do. He changed the engine and gearbox oil (an annual winter job). He's been busy washing Thesee's halyards and sheets. Some of them he has turned around so that they don't wear out in the same places all of the time. 

Pouring the new oil into the engine

He cleverly uses this cut off bottle as a funnel

The old black oil now removed and awaiting disposal at the Yard

This is the 'pole up' halyard. 

You can see the difference where it has worn

And again, this time it's the 'spare spinnaker' halyard.

This is why the lines need to be turned around now and again.

Finally one job this morning...

maintaining the blocks on the main sheet traveller

Close up of the blocks

On Christmas Day we shall be getting together with about 20 other yachties here in the marina. We are going to have Christmas dinner in our small social club, all bringing food. We have been allocated the job of making roast potatoes and sprouts. Thesee is decorated with fairy lights both inside and out, and to make it even more cosy we have finally found and bought a new rug!

Do you like our new rug?

Even a little tree this year too

We wish you all a very Merry and Happy Christmas

Thanks for being 'Thesee Followers'

xxx