Oct 2010 SILENCE IN SOGUT

Here we are, at anchor in Karacasogut (Sogut).



View Larger Map


So sheltered and so quiet. None of that boom boom music that has ruined many a cruisers night at anchor in Bodrum, Marmaris and many other places. At the moment it is raining but calm. Fellow cruisers arrived here yesterday having dragged all over their previous anchorage and having their wind generator blades blown off in a gale - what gale we said.

There is not much here at Sogut. A restaurant/cafe/shop with jetty and another larger but rather ricketty town jetty with a store and cafe plus a local restaurant about 150 metres up the road. There is a small and pricey marina ("marinette") with a sailing school owned by Turkey's second circumnavigating yachtie. Apart from holiday homes (apparently for folks from Ankara) there are only farms. In winter when the gulets and cruisers do not come it will be very very silent indeed.

Gulet anchored in Karacasogut

It is about 25 kms by road to Marmaris and the dolmus (small bus) goes in a couple of times a day.  There are good opportunities for walking and cycling which we are loooking forward to now that Peter is mobile again (albeit with care).

WiFi is in love with the land - none of that Yacht Marina concrete here - grass, trees, insects, frogs - what more could a kedi want. She is demonstrating a remarkable ability to see off the local strays from the restaurant already, not surprising really as she is about twice the size of the average street cat.

Going Ashore

Returning to Musketelle

Out walking

We have been privileged to see (and smell) Badem the famous monk seal who is meant to be making his/her way in the world after being released back into the wild following rescue as a sick youngster.  Fortunately for us the dinghy Badem occupied in the bay for several days was not ours - the poor owner on returning to his boat has spent hours trying to clean out the evidence of seal occupation.

Badem the Monk seal having a dinghy nap

Aug 2010 ATHENS 4 MRI

AUGUST 2010

03 August
New Anchorage
We have motored further south down the Evia Channel and reached Porto Rafti on the mainland coast of Greece about 50km east of Athens by road. A month after faltering and still without a clear-cut diagnosis we are in the final throws of getting an MRI in Athens and also have my NZ doctor (fellow yachtie) in the loop too.

A month of no walking, absolute bloody pain that is still unresolved, that responds to rest but reappears on getting vertical. We are obviously now behind sched for 2010 and we will be reassessing things when we have a clear diagnosis. The jury is out on where we go if I need specialist attention, here in Greece, the UK or maybe back to NZ.

Have always lived by the adage you just don’t know what’s round the corner, which is why we are doing this circumnavigation thing. But it has to be done whilst the head, heart and body are still willing....looks like P has cut the corner with the body!!

05 August
MRI at Last
Yippee!! have had the MRI today at the swanky Athens Medical Centre (read expensive) and the preliminary diagnosis by the radiologist lass was obvious damage to the Lumbar Spine at L4/5 but a formal diagnosis must come from a consulting Orthopaedic specialist next week.

10 August
Definitive Diagnosis
We have consultation with the experts and they confirmed I have a herniated disc which surprisingly I am  relieved to learn because it confirms it’s an injury related condition only.  Recommended fix is a surgical procedure called a 'Microdiscectomy' that without complications will relieve pain immediately but require 6 week recuperation.

Immediate Invasive Solution Offered
I was introduced to an  Orthopaedic Surgeon who also diagnosed me and we discussed my lifestyle and he reaffirmed  the operation as the best way forward.
The cost is NZD16k+ if everything goes right and they can do it tomorrow... so we go away to think about it !!

We return to Musketelle at Porto Rafti to gather thoughts and needless to say Google the microdiscectomy procedure..... and this is where things start to unravel because for each successful story there are 10 negative reports by sufferers saying at all cost avoid the operation with numerous complications sighted.  After the delays of the previous month things are now moving at lightening pace.  We call to delay the procedure.

11 August
Skype Consultation with NZ doctor
Got back in touch with Dr Alex our NZ doctor and he gave me a balanced opinion for both the Invasive solution and also the non-invasive solution and naturally leaves the decision to me.  B and I talked it through and concluded that we were against the knife but that if things did at any time take a turn for the worse we would not hesitate to have the operation.

We send a CD copy of the scan to him in NZ so he can look himself and get another opinion from a local specialist.  To speed the delivery B goes to Athens Airport which is between Rafti and Athens to send from an airport based courier but ends up being directed to the airport Post Office. They offer a range of options one of which was a trackable deal operated by Hellenic Post with a 5 day delivery to NZ......it ultimately took 3 weeks not helped by NZ Post acknowledging they had it mislaid in their system whilst back in Greece we were castigating the Greek PO service.

12 August
We Opt for Non-Invasive solution
At the expense of throwing our cruising plans in the air I made a decision opting for the Non-Invasive solution which Dr Alex suggested would require a minimum 3 months rest avoiding any stress and strain but requiring a simple exercise regime as the pain progressed from Acute to Chronic.
Being a yachtie Dr Alex recommended the first exercise involve patient being dangled into the tide over the stern of Musketelle in a harness around the abdomen allowing the body to relax and stretch to relieve pressure on the spine.

Whacko it started helping and progressively I became ever so slowly more comfortable with the pain changing profile but certainly not going away. I quickly learned what helped and what hurt. Surprisingly some of the worst pain now started to occur when horizontal with pain increasing at night and this went on for over a month night in night out. Not happy!!

The tedium of being restricted like this is really getting to me and providing an instant insight into ageing !! and I don’t like it !!

During this time we were neatly positioned at anchor in the bay at Porto Rafti with multiple swims each day the real lifesaver in the heat and it was here I started to get off Musketelle for brief visits ashore for other than hospital visits. Did not go far, normally just to the nearest taverna to relax as best I could but it was a start and each time I got more distance on the crutches. But also had some days when things went backwards so knew I was certainly not out of the woods and that the operation might still be required.

It was very much touch and go around this time and although the pain profile was clearly changing ever so slowly for the better I was loath to discuss it with B because this whole thing is really testing our resolve, absolutely destroying our cruising plans and schedule requiring us to make decisions that we really don’t want to make.  At times we were both silently assessing and mulling over all options, one of which was the unspoken prospect of having pull the plug on the circumnavigation altogether and put Musketelle on the block !!

But one decision has already been decided for us. Timing now dictates we will not be heading across the Atlantic this season. Which opens the door to numerous other options that do require Discussion and Decision making.....

Decisions Decisions Decisions

If the operation is required........
Do we have the operation in Greece, France,UK or return to NZ or even Australia ?

Where do we layup Musketelle for winter.....
Do we stay in Greece at Messolonghi Marina ?
Do we consider even crossing to Italy, if P is up to it ?
Do we return to Turkey where we know the ropes, and is P up to it ?

We don't want to stay on Musketelle for the winter and need somewhere to recuperate........
Do we go home to NZ for the summer ?
Do we go to France
Do we go to the UK
Do we rent a pension in Turkey

What do we do with WiFi ?
who is coming along nicely under tutilage of her new owners

16 August
On the Move
So with these options pending we departed Porto Rafti and headed south to round Cape Sounion a little over 6 weeks after we entered the Evia Channel a journey that should have taken 2/3 days.  We round the stunning Cape with prominent temple to spend a few pleasant nights anchored off the town of Vari before heading the short distance further west to Zea Marina near Piraeus the port area for Athens.

On arrival Zea Marina persevered with the crutches and got off the boat for a few meals at nearby restaurants then discovered riding the bike was easier than hobbling on the crutches so enjoyed exploring the marina precincts.

The reason we have come here is because we are en-route to Messolonghi Marina which is on the Gulf of Corinth to the west requiring us to transit the Corinth Canal to get there and Piraeus is on the way. Also we need to talk to Greek Customs who have a main office at Zea Marina about a  'Bi-Lateral Agreement'.
What Bi-Lateral Agreement?
We have issues about leaving Musketelle in Greece beyond 3 months just as there are for us with Greek Immigration. NZ has a bi-lateral agreement with Greece that overrides certain regulations under the 'Schengen Agreement' that would assist us but can you believe none of the border control and customs officials know anything about it and just shrug their shoulders. To make matters worse the NZ Embassy in Rome (that also covers Greece) was of no help when we phoned them. So now our plans for laying over in Greece really are up in the air and we are sitting at Zea Marina literally making a decision on whether it’s worth spending $600 going through the canal tomorrow to checkout Messolonghi or returning to Turkey !!
The Customs officials at Zea turn out to be no better than elsewhere with most staff more interested in 'social networking' on the office computers. 

17 August
We Turn Back !!
Now to people who have an aversion to turning back this is a real conundrum but it’s looking like a no brainer. The cost of staying in Greece and Turkey might be similar, but the Turks give the impression they like us and welcome our contribution to their economy and their rules for staying are clear-cut.  In contrast the Greeks are negative on all counts and furthermore there is political uncertainty and unrest among the natives at the economic austerity measures being introduced that might mean we have trouble when come to leave Greece next year.
So Turkey it is !! and that’s one big decision sorted.

20 August
Back to Vari
From Piraeus we motored back to the anchorage at Vari halfway between Athens and Cape Sounion where we stayed for 10 days, relaxing in the sun with swimming the major activity for the invalid.  I made giant steps forward here with the multiple swims really doing me good although sometimes I overdid things much to B's chagrin. Shore visits were not successful.

31 August
End of the Summer Pain
Time to get going we have just 15 days on our visa to be out of Greece. So we hop down to Cape Sounion for an overnight stop on the last offical day of the Northern Summer anchoring under the floodlit temple atop the Cape and swim in the last rays of the official summer sun.

Tomorrow morning 1st day of a new month and a new season, we will start going back as we head East for winter with the Turks.

Jul 2010 WHAT'S GREEK FOR PAIN ?

JULY 2010

03 July 
Is this Ironic or What
The evening we anchored on terra firma mainland Europe for the first time was another milestone in our meandering, but the skipper did not need a sleepless night to celebrate the event, but thats what he got !!.

''WARNING''
Readers should stop now if, like most of us, you find other peoples medical stories tedious.

If that has not dissuaded you then......
It has been said that when hearing of others misfortune.....
50% of people don't care, or worse are pleased to learn of the misfortune
49% listen and profess to caring, but in reality are just being polite
1% really do care... without the details

If you are still reading you have had every opportunity to bail out, so you must be either family, true friend, sailing soulmate or have a penchant for 'schadenfreude'.

This story is included in our blog - 'our record of our voyaging' - because it has had a major impact on our cruising plans and effectively puts us a year behind sched.

03 July 
Skiathos headed for Rathes
After day sailing from the island of Skiathos in the Northern Sporades group of islands we entered the Evia Channel separating Evia Island from mainland Greece. On dusk we reached our selected anchorage for the night, off the town of Rahes on the northern mainland side of the channel. Our first anchorage on mainland Europe !!

We sat down to dinner with the prospect of spending the next 2 / 3 days sailing down the channel from north to south to reach Cape Sounion before making a decision on our passage plan thereafter.

Little did we know then that we would not pass Cape Sounion with a concrete passage plan for over another 2 months...not 2 days. And that eventual passage plan would see us sailing in the wrong direction !!

Pain Presents
Throughout the day sailing from Skiathos, Skipper has a niggling pain first presenting in the left buttock like pulled muscle tissue or possibly a chill in the kidney type pain, but eliminated the kidney when no bladder disorder. That evening when the pain started moving south he retired for the night to self-diagnose on-line with Bing and Google, concluding he had strained himself humping 2 x 30kg water jerry jugs at a time at Skiathos 01 July, recalling one bigger than normal step down onto a dock as the cause (according to B. acting as a 30yr old in a 59yr old frame)

04 July 
Dr Bing-Google
On waking this morning pain was more acute and now centered on the hip area and dramatically worse when moving around. So acting on the previous evenings on-line self diagnostic research decides to go with the recommended 'complete rest' option taking control of the queen size bunk in the aft cabin wreathing in the mid-summer heat with B banished to the fore cabin.
Spends the next 5 days resting with pain reduced when horizontal but instantly acute when hobbling to dining table or ablutions which is rather essential.

06 July 
Motoring South
B in command P semi-comatose, we motor down the Evia Channel to the ancient town of Khalkis where for centuries bridges have spanned the narrowest part of the channel where huge tides flow through a 70 metre gap requiring vessels to transit once a day when a small slack tide occurs and the vehicular bridge joining the town is raised.  With P dosed up on painkillers we went through at about midnight with a dozen other vessels, yachts, motor boats and a quite large coastal ship.

The townsfolk were out in force looking at the spectacle even at that hour, so it’s clearly a local attraction even for them. There was a full moon and many of the townsfolk spied WiFi the wonder cat sitting on deck totally bewildered by the interruption to her nights sleep. We don't normally have crowds looking down on us from above into our floating home so with mountain bikes on deck and other cruising kit we must have looked like a floating menagerie compared with the pristine charter yachts. Were they laughing at us? Or just being friendly?

We anchor in the large open tidal basin on the south side of the bridge, like a sort of hospital ship with not hundreds of patients but just one increasingly grumpy beached whale like skipper prostate on his bunk for the next 3 weeks unable to move without great remonstrations.

B was required to hold ship and everything else together including a ships cat that was now showing signs that she felt ignored and questioning why her regular walks ahore had been curtailed and why the skipper was now hogging all attention ?  Thereafter to keep the peace whenever B had a spare moment she started taking WiFi ashore for walks and the world of WiFi settled.

During those forays ashore B noticed that the towns small marina might just be able to take Musketelle....at a pinch, because it was mostly inhabited by local boats of the smaller pedigree. However there can be issues with being tied to the land....... like vermin that can wreak havoc. An experience our friend David, aka 'Sahula of the Sudan' on 'SY Sahula' had a visiting rat turn his life inside out for a month or three back in Alanya 2009.  Nevertheless Barbara sussed out a couple of options on a new marina finger that she thought were ok so we have this as an option if and when required. In the meantime all was as well as it could be on Musketelle the hospital ship at anchor out in the basin with cooling breeze wafting through the hatches.

10 July 
Initial Diagnosis
With no signs of improvement P hobbles ashore to make taxi tracks to Khalkis Hospital and is directed to radiology for some x-rays.  Overstressed duty doc quickly examines patient, looks at the x-rays and declares Osteoarthritis!!  Prescribes a few pills, suggests a walking stick, avoid steps (very difficult on a yacht), and get used to the pain!!
This diagnosis obviously stopped us in our tracks as you can imagine.

13 July 
Second Opinion
B finds another doctor for a second opinion. He assesses the problem as tendon and nerve tissue damage in the buttock area and prescribes more pills suggesting complete rest and improvement within 5 days.

17 July 
Ride in Greek Ambo
Things are getting worse, with pain now excruciating, radiating down the leg into the thigh and calf muscle and shin, so B goes ashore to find an Orthopaedic specialist.  He decides a  'Boat Call'  is necessary and immediately comes to Musketelle which we had moved the day before into the tiny Khalkis Marina  that B had sussed out the previous week.  He examines and looks at the x-rays. Then insists I be evacuated by the ambos who came in numbers and strap me onto a banana board stretcher and hump me up through the main hatchway on to the aft deck then lower me down onto the dock and into an ambulance to the same hospital.
Exhibit 'A'
10 x-rays later and diagnosis by a collection 5 doctors I was feeling like 'exhibit item A' and entertainment for them. A jab to release tension in the affected area and manipulation of the hip and leg and they also now conclude tissue damage as opposed to a hip problem. But I could tell they were guessing. They prescribe another selection of pills, suggest I forfeit the walking stick to buy crutches and rest, but attempt to exercise with the crutches and come back 25 July.

25 July 
Out for the Strike
So come 25 July back we go, albeit without any exercises under the belt as just too painful and can you guess the hospital doctors are on strike and to come back in another 3 days.  At this point we decided to move towards Athens with the prospect of doctors with better command of English and hopefully an MRI scan.

Jun 2010 HOW A TURKISH KEDI ACQUIRES A SEA BERTH ABOARD CIRCUMNAVIGATING KIWI YACHT SY MUSKTELLE

After having to put to sleep our dear loyal 19 year old NZ cat “Murphy” before we left NZ we have spent the last three years sailing through Asia and the Middle East avoiding the plight of the countless cats that ply the waterfronts casting their pitiful looks our way for, at the least, kindly eye contact or ,at the most, a morsel of food. There are literally so many that even animal friendly people like us have to bite the lip and walk on.

That was until 10 December 2009 when one of the numerous dock cats (or “Kedi” in Turkish) at Marmaris Yacht Marina decided to board Musketelle uninvited through a small open porthole while we were out and help herself to a bread roll and then settle down on our bed.

When we returned in the dark B entered the aft cabin and thought she heard the floorboard make a funny squeak but on turning on the light found instead that the squeak was a ”hello” from a quite unconcerned and comfortable cat. Said cat was not at all phased at being sprung and gave the distinct impression she was pleased with herself. We were impressed by the fact that this visitor had used some nous to get in and make herself at home. She eventually departed and we laughed at her cheek but thought nothing more of it.

Later however said cat returned and started making the usual feline overtures that we interpret as friendly but we sent her on her way. However she persisted with more visits of variable duration, sitting on the deck and amusing us with her meercat impressions as she peered over the cockpit coaming to watch goings-on on the dock.

We then made the fatal mistake of giving her a name – a sure sign we had been twisted round her (not so little) paw. At the time we were having difficulty with the internet wifi signal at the marina being very unstable and, like the cat, coming and going. So we named her WiFi.

Thus far we had a visiting and named cat. However feline domestic bliss was not assured for this is really a wild cat that had been fending for itself around the marina for several years. At times she showed her real self – difficult to handle, untrusting and with a lightning left hook with claw advanced usually when least expected and when we thought we were only being friendly. Still she manages to amuse and winter and Xmas are both coming up fast…

No sooner is she installed on board and sleeping under the dodger than we start getting visits from other dock cats seeking to dislodge her from this board and lodging. The siege continued and one night B observed WiFi walking down the dock towards Musketelle when another cat shoulder barged her in a good rugby style tackle straight into the tide. Proving that cats can swim WiFi hauled herself out soaked through and very shaken. Of course she got the big dry towel rub down and much fussing over. Maybe it was all a set up as this event now had us protecting WiFi in her patch.

Next problem was that we were about to depart for France and London for three weeks for Christmas – what to do with WiFi ? Other cruisers rightly noted that we could just leave her to look after herself but guess what, we weakened. At vast expense, we put a stray dock cat, perfectly capable of fending for itself, into the cattery at the Vets.

The die was cast. WiFi now had all the appearance of an official crewmember of SY Musketelle and whilst in residence at the Vets she had all necessary vaccinations and treatments to allow her to sail to the EU and beyond, a microchip inserted in her neck and “pet passport” (ie health papers) issued. At this stage as far as we know she has not a single sea mile under her collar but the prognosis is good for at least getting around the Med and across the Atlantic to America. Not a bad turnaround for a homeless Turkish Kedi.



Wi Fi takes up the story

Mid January 2010 my new friends collected me from “the cat prison” and I was bundled in a new fancy cat bag back to my regular haunts at Marmaris Yacht Marina where we stayed until May which allowed me to get back into my old routines on Hotel Pier. This is the pier that I was introduced to after my birth somewhere in the marina back in 2007. It’s the place where I have survived nicely thank you for over 3 years befriending hundreds of cruisers from all over the world. I’m an expert at getting my way with most of them and as a result more food than I can eat has been available most of the time particularly during spring, summer and autumn. Winter is the big problem so I have to really work hard on finding a safe haven for this harsh time for vagrant cats.

              Here I am on 'my' dock at Marmaris Yacht Marina

Would you believe I have been taken on board a number of yachts on a semi permanent basis and some have even named me. I have been variously named “Arabella”, “Cleopatra” and then a lovely Swiss couple Trudi and Jurg got all regal and called me “Princess India” because at that time I was doing a stint on India Pier. Next Jeanette and Charles from the Dutch yacht Happy Days befriended me and called me “MiMi”.

Now I have fallen in with this lot aboard Musketelle who call themselves “Kiwis”. I have established that a Kiwi is a bird that cannot fly and, as a cat, that certainly interests me but these guys don’t look like birds and he even has fur on his face. She goes by the name of B and he P and they are not bad if a little pushy with me to settle into their routines aboard their yacht. They seem to forget that I know more than a little about yachts and theirs is by no means the best and biggest that I had the choice of selecting. So I keep up my guard that has served me well in my survival to date in the tough world of wild life at Marmaris Yacht Marina.

But let me tell you not all the cruisers have been cat friendly and some have downright mean, probably due to the ablution habits of us wild Kedi and particularly those dirty old tomcats that spray everywhere. Would you believe one Canadian cruiser gave me major grief by throwing me into the water one day in front of other cruisers. I sure gave that boat a wide berth thereafter.

Winter has passed, it’s now March, spring is in the air and surprisingly this stay aboard Musketelle has turned into one of my longer visitations for a number of reasons. Firstly they relented on my access to and around Musketelle and in no time at all I had the run of the ship with the exception a few no go areas like the dining table and the navigation station. But they at least dedicated a few sleeping spots for me which is a nice touch and if it was really cold I was even allowed on their bed.

The one difficulty was they started locking me in at night which was a real hassle to begin with. The other major hassle was that they put a plastic tag on my collar with a message in English which of course being a Turkish Kedi I could not read. But the long and short of it was my multiple feeding opportunities which I had perfected with the cruisers disappeared and in no time the only food I was getting was from the owners on Musketelle. I immediately smelt a rat and concluded they had betrayed me with a “please do not feed me” message. So to supplement my diet I made it my business to stay out on full moon and very still nights which is the best time for felines to pickup miscellaneous fodder and supplement the Whiskas diet they persist with.

The other nights I hankered for were when the men that keep the waters clear of debris with their big nets were on the Pier and they would throw me little fish, the absolute best meal on the pier. I would often take a sample back to Musketelle and liberate it alive and kicking in the cockpit which always got them going I can tell you. B obviously dislikes fish but P is with me on this even if he does not share my catch with me.

Early on we got the necessary ablution issues sorted out and they provided a dedicated cat potty with high tech crystals that mean no smells, so that was appreciated and I now use it all the time rather than going on other boats and in dinghies like all the other wild life around the marina. There is talk of another Kedi from the marina that goes to the loo on the ship’s human toilet but they have another thing coming if they think they are going to get me to perch on the porcelain, a parrot I am not.

P and B kept talking to me about sailing to America and New Zealand. Well I have been to India Pier so thought that America Pier and New Zealand Pier sounded fine. However it seems that this was not what they had in mind.

On the last day of Spring 31 May the owners played a trick on me that I was least expecting, and they cast off from Marmaris Yacht Marina as I was awakening from my afternoon snooze and now I am on the way to who knows where. As usual the owners are fussing around making life as comfortable for me as they can but even with four legs this continual slip slopping around at sea does take some getting used to.

Over the last three weeks we have sailed to some neat spots in Turkey visiting Bozburan and Bodrum and we even had a taste of Greece with visits to the Aegean Islands of Kos, Leros and Lesvos, my first foreign country. I could easily have got off at the fuel dock in Kos and had a walk around and even done a runner, but did not think it looked anything special.

I am making it my business to keep an eye and ear on everything that is going on around me aboard Musketelle and there is a pattern developing. Each morning we get up, we all have breakfast, they turn on the noisy generator to power us up, cool the freezer etc then they listen to the MedNet on the SSB (Single Sideband Radio) with other cruisers all over the Mediterranean and then listen to the weather forecast in Turkish and Greek, eeks !!

Then we up anchor and sail away to then drop the anchor at a new spot in the afternoon to relax and watch the sunset and then we all have dinner. At least I don’t get locked in at night now and can use the porthole next to my bunk to wander round the decks at night if I wish.

Initially I was upset at the main engine starting up when I was “below” (that’s a nautical term for downstairs you know). Now I am pretty relaxed about it especially if I can sit on the back deck and watch the water shooting out the exhaust at the transom (back of the boat). The only thing that really gets my hackles up is the water making machine that sounds like a jet engine and freaked me out when they first started it. Cat-astrophe! I accidently bit B’s hand and she had to go ashore to a local hospital for a Tetanus shot. Luckily I had a Rabies injection in January and the owners have been vaccinated to. I was very embarrassed by that outburst but it was only because I was really scared.

I am a little concerned we are leaving my homeland Turkey but I am now legally allowed to travel with the owners as evidenced by the official release documents issued by the Turkish Authorities in Ankara and Marmaris with the all important stamps and signatures. But can you believe under the heading Breed they have had the cheek to called me a “Cross Breed”. That hits a nerve let me tell you.

Currently we at Ayvalik near the Dardenelles not far from Gallipoli and we are sailing to Limnos Island in Greece on Sunday 20 June.......I will let you know how we get on.

Ships Cat WiFi