Sailing into Kusadasi Turkey is not going to work. Too much hassle with cruising petmits, etc. just to go to Ephesus. I left this morning from Chios but not early enough to make it to Pythagoras so I put into Mathakambos on Southern Samos. I put a third coat of Cetol on the trim this morning and that slowed my departure down.
It was a beautiful day with a mild Northerly. But it petered out and I set up my 3/4 ounce spinnaker but when I was ready to hoist the wind all but disappeared. Cranked on the engine but after a half hour motoring the wind came up from the SW and slowly hardened to the West and then NW. I started with full main and my 120 percent jib. The wind kept strengthening and I was averaging 6 knots. A great sail. But then I went to one reef, next a second reef and when I got to the channel between Samos and the island to the west of it it got really rough and the main went down. Still doing 6 knots on the 120 percent jib. I have not used my 120% jib much in the circumnavigation. Mostly I go from my 145% to the 90%. This 120 was also made by Garry Triplett in Bellingham. His sails have lasted me longer than any other sails. Great workmanship. These sails are 32 years old… I wonder what ever became of Triplett and Loren McGruer of Thunderbird sails in vancouver B.C. whose sails are also from 1980 and still being used.
It is now Sunday morning and after checking the distance to go to Crete and the places I’d like to stop on the way I decided to head south from here to Leros. I need a shower and fill my water tank and there is a marina on Leros. Next stop will most likely be Santorini. Pathmos is also on the way, where supposedly Saint John wrote Revelations but the anchorage does not look that appealing to me. I shall have some one push me in my wheelchair through Ephesus adn Pathmos when I am done sailing.
The above picture also shows the trademark of Hyde Sails in my main sail. This is the sail that was donated to me, when I was in Cebu, by Guus Bierman long time friend and owner of Contender Sail Cloth. Another, much braver circumnavigator, who just completed the incredible circumnavigation of the Americas (www.soloaroundtheamericas.org) by way of the N.W. Passage and Cape Horn in a 27 foot plastic boat, Matt Rutherford also used donated Hyde Sails. He also used the same wind vane as I have, the Monitor.