Today we stayed close to the marina, not by choice, but because the Turkish Coast Guard has restricted us from moving the boat until we pay our fine. They came by the boat yesterday because we were allegedly leaking diesel fuel into the marina, which is a “serious crime” in Turkey. Our choice was to either admit wrongdoing and pay a $300 fine, or the boat would be restricted to the dock for several months while they conduct an investigation. So we decided to pay and avoid the trouble (also because its true we were leaking the fuel). We also learned the generator needs to come out for a complete rebuild. It rained all day and I hit my head on the bimini cover again.
Today we took the boat out being careful to stay within our 2 mile imaginary boundary, and set the spinnaker for the first time. The spinnaker is a massive sail for light winds (less than 18 knots) that dwarfs the next biggest sail we have – this will be the primary sail we use for the big ocean crossings where the trade winds are on our backs. The sun was shining, the clouds were perfect for pics, and we almost forgot about all the crap that happened yesterday.
Tomorrow is a work day in the morning, then we’ll head out for a night sail and spend the night at anchor somewhere so we can practice everything in the dark – maybe in Turkey or might be Greece… That’s a decision for tomorrow