Telltale 93
Spring Works and more exciting plans
It is that beautiful spring time of the year. Well
actually, here in Turkey, the weather changes from winter to spring
without a spring at all. Suddenly temperatures are high enough to be
working without shirts and one has to be carefully that it does not
already get TOO hot for varnish and paint work. So, all sun tents were
dug out and put up, to make some shade on the deck.
Hatches were dissembled, sanded thoroughly and the annual extra 4 to 5
coats of varnish are applied. Thank God, Sylphe had just enough
varnish-work on deck, that it can all be done in one day. Meaning; one
day is spent sanding (till one has no fingerprints left) and the next
day everything is coated with a fresh layer of varnish. Dust remains a
problem here in the marina, so I guess I will do the last coat of
varnish at full open sea, where there is no dust. Experience counts
everywhere.
So, after sanding,
everything looks gloomy and dusty.
The next day everything looks shiny and great........till the next day,
when the sanding starts again
It will keep me busy for a few more days.
I have a few more jobs to do here, before I leave the marina in 2 weeks
time. Matrasses for the new guest cabin, one more stainless steel part
for the mast-step and a few hundred other small jobs. I still keep
track -in a spreadsheet- of all my jobs to do, as I do every winter,
and strangely that list never gets smaller. But at least Sylphe is
maintained to great standards.
AND EXCITING NEW PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:
I will go to Ayvalik next week (rememebr we wintered there in 2005/6),
to visit "Gisela" again and get her going and look forward to that. On
top of that, Ayvalik (opposite of Lesbos in Turkey) is the place, where
I start a small shipyard this autumn. YES, exciting new plans. I have
sailed Sylphe for 8 years and enjoyed it thoroughly. But time to move
on, as they say. The boat-building/repairing is still the thing that I
like best and is my joy, as I noticed this winter when I had to repair
the collision damage on Sylphe. Turkey is a great place, as I have
experienced myself over the years. Everything can be fixed or arranged,
and prices are still low compared to Europe (in some places only
though, as it turns out).
Most boat owners, though, are afraid to leave the works on their yachts
to Turks, who do (sometimes) make a mess of it. By being there myself,
I hope to be able to offer European standards against Turkish prices,
for people who are interested. I will be responsible for the job, and I
know that my quality is excellent....just take a look at Sylphe. If one
can do a classic yacht in Turkey, one can certainly do work on GRP or
steel boats. I hope to be able to find some nice projects to take care
of, be it a classic boat or a modern one.
And yes...there is a huge boat-repair society right here in Marmaris
already. The biggest marinas in Europe are here on the South Turkey
coast, and plenty of work around. A dazzling amount of European boats
take advantage of it. But I must honestly say that prices here have
been raised to European levels already, and works have become far too
expensive. Simply because there is a lot of demand. But the quality and
price have suffered from that.
So, I opt for Ayavlik, where craftmanship and facilities are present,
but no masses, guaranteeing a smile, good quality and low prices. A
great marina (part of Setur-group), with all facilities for wintering,
lifting, works etc. A friendly village, which flourishes as a TURKISH
tourist resort. Where Turkish hospitality and friendliness is still
experienced at full heights
Close enough to Izmir for international flight connections (same as
dalaman to marmaris i.e 1,5 hour), so I just need to convince a few
people to bring their yachts there for the winter- or refit-works.
Spread the word and help me. After all, all boats coming from Europe
and Greek simply have a choice: either go a little bit more North and
end up in personal-Ayvalik or go South and end up in Marmaris in the
masses. No extra miles, just a choice.
And Ayavlik is close enough to Istanbul to visit that town with your
own boat. Sailing up the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara in early
spring (when the Meltemi is not yet blowing), and allowing you to sail
downwind back into the Aegean Sea. A historic trip and one that (from a
sailing-point of view) I enjoyed the most, as it offers the best
sailing ever. The winds in the med are unpredictable after all and most
of the time not favorable, except in this part of the med, sailing
downwind and stopping at all these majestic places and islands. It does
not get better.
So, spread the word and tell friends, business partners and relatives
about this.........
And thus, Sylphe is for sale, I will sail her one more season and hope
to find a happy new owner for her, who will enjoy her just as much as I
did and who takes advantage of the extensive works I have done on
Sylphe over the years.
Spread that word as well.
AHOY,
Roland
www.sail-in-style.com