Telltale 99

Turkey and damn captains, and what a child can teach us all


I left you by telling that I would sail into Kos. My sister, Marjon, would fly in for two weeks of holiday. So, I docked the boat in Kos old harbor a day early, knowing it would be blowing a bit the following day. I left two meters of space to the downwind side between me and the gullet parked there, a 100 meters of anchor chain would keep Sylphe in place, no worry.
Later that afternoon another gullet parked on my other side, upwind, leaving again some two meters between us. A side spring would make sure he would stay away from me. Well it didn't.
An hour before my sister would arrive, the wind picked up and send some swell into the port. The gullet started moving and slipped from his anchor. And due to the side spring the boat could not move sideways with the bow, but the stern could and did. And smashed into me. Serious. Only after I told the captain to engage the engine and power forward -while leaving all the lines attached, of course- he came clear from me again. He could have avoided the whole damage, if he would have done it a bit earlier. Anyway, Sylphe sustained another serious damage, again from a Turkish boat -the fourth in 3 years- and again the captain denies all responsibility. First he blames it on the wind, than he blames me for sailing solo -which would be illegal??-, than he claims that I banged into him (upwind??). Anyway, hope my insurance company does not get too freaked out, but my premium does.
A cosmetic damage of 8.000 euros is not gonna stop me from enjoying this last part of the summer, the boat is not at danger after all.





Marjon and me sailed out of Kos the next morning, after all the reports at the Port Police had been made and the Turkish captain once again blamed me for the accident. Ahh, well, as I said, I am not gonna have my season ruined by something as trivial as a cosmetic damage to the boat

At the end of the afternoon we sailed into Symi and I was excited. First of all, I had not been there for three months. Secondly how would the Port Police in Symi react to me re-appearance. Well, it turned out that Lefteri has "retired". And the Port Police did not bother me at all. Things do work, if you stir up things.

Andre (one-of best friend) and his girlfriend Fiona (sister of ex-girlfriend) and their 2-year old son Seeger were waiting in a Turkish bay a few hours further on their own boat, a Baltic 42. Not to mention that Rob was on board that boat as well. And Rob is sacred with me, as he keeps me and my computer alive and makes sure that I can stay in touch with you all, update my website, and many more other technical stuff, of which he is convinced that I can not do them. And I must admit, adding a YOU TUBE video of Kenan and the boys onto my website is not something I am good at, or would know how to do at all. On top of that, Rob works too much and needs a break, but he never claims that for himself, so I was happy we tricked him into coming.
Marjon and I had a great diner on the Symi quay and sailed out at midnight, to join Andre at 5 in the morning in Turkey. Night sails remain magical, especially if there is NO moon around and the starts are SOOO bright. Manolo sailed us around all the capes while Marjon and me were standing next to the boom on deck, watching the sky and land pass by (and a few dolphins).

And from this moment on, the next ten days are a big BLUR, be it a happy BLUR. We sailed into the Gocek area, too many bays to choose from, completely protected waters, no wind and a moon slowly growing bigger every night. And five adults completely obsessed with the happiness of a 2 year old boy. How simple can life be?? Well, take a 2-year old and see life through his eyes, THAT is how beautiful and simple life can be. And that is how we lived life as well. Just eating fresh shrimps for diner on deck, cooked by Andre (!!!). or having the Turkish staff of the restaurant completely being charmed by a 2-year old boy, resulting in us getting away with really unacceptable behavior...Ahh well, Turkey has his upsides as well, as family life and values are highly worshiped in this country (so it is NOT their captains that charm us to come back).



Seeger, we all enjoyed you soo much, that there are no words to describe those moments of utter happiness. Five adults with nothing else on their mind as the happiness of a 2-year old. He must have had some great times. And with Seeger slowly capable of speaking, things became funny.
Imagine the following scene: 5 adults sitting around a table in a gorgeous setting on the beach, having a bottle of wine and a serious conversation. Than Seeger decides to have a walk to discover the world around him, but he does not wanna go alone. So he goes around the table, sticking his hand out and saying: "come". His blond curly hair, bright eyes and eternal smile make it already difficult to say NO, But if you do, he simply turns to the next adult on the table to ask the same question. He never had to ask more than three times.



Seeger had his 2nd birthday on the beach of Tomb Bay in Gocek and that is where all the friends and family called to congratulate the parents. Seeger had just learned the words "miss you". And to hear Seeger say that into the portable telephone to a grandpa or aunt at 2000 miles distance is a heart-stopper, and utterly hilarious, as Seeger does not realize what he is saying, But it sure does well on the other side of the telephone line.



Or to see his proud father standing waist deep in luke warm mediterrenean sea water, and slowly lowering his son into the sea. To finally reach the stage where Seeger is no longer afraid of NOT feeling any earth under his feet and floating freely. Without being afraid, experiencing new things and enjoying them. Now THAT is how we all should learn how to swim.



In 14 days of sailing with the gang, we were able to raise the sails one after noon and Rob jumped ship and joined Marjon and me on Sylphe. Resulting in some childlike smiles on some faces. See the proof.