Blog ~ LeeZe For Sale!

Jun, 2019

LeeZe’s June 2019 Dry-Docking

LeeZe’s 2019 Dry-Docking

The process of putting LeeZe on the hard for a 30-day maintenance period has begun.

2019-07-28

A whole lot of sanding is happening. Outside, the entire boat is to be painted so the painter is working hard to prep those surfaces that need it. In some places, “putty” is also being applied to make the sanded surface meet up nicely with the surrounding area. On the bow, putty is being used to erase a few of my mistakes when docking over the years ????
The doors have been removed repaired, sanded and the door sills sanded. The inside floors are also being sanded. All in prep for applying varnish. The amount of sanding dust is remarkable. It took the sanders longer to cover the surfaces with plastic than it did to sand.
Welders attached 15 zincs (each 3 kgs) to the bottom and these should last until the next haul out in 3-4 years.
I finished working on the mast and boom. I stripped nearly everything off of both so that there is no need for masking when they are repainted. I also added some cleats to help manage the lines on the mast and boom.
I had two covers made. One to go over the depth sounder hull opening so that when I pull the device out from the engine room, the amount of sea water that comes thru the hole until I can get a cover on it SHOULD be significantly less. I also built a cover for the cofferdam, to be used during the off season. I have found that Citric Acid (a powder) can quite effectually remove barnacles and other sea growth quite effectively. The cover will allow me to clean the entire sea water piping system including the stern tube and cofferdam, in one or two applications. Right now it is a cumbersome job to clean the entire sea water piping system.
More work to follow next week!

2019-07-21: There is a lot of boring stuff happening. Mainly sanding and grinding to prepare to paint. I have removed, with much difficulty, over 22 cleats, two winches, and numerous pulleys in preparation for the yard to paint. Many of the cleats had to be destroyed because the bolts bolt did not want to come out. Tried everything but heat. The cleats are black plastic and heat was not an option.

This got me on a quest to find EXACT replacements, as I would prefer NOT to fill holes, drill and tap. This quest lead me to two stores in Istanbul (by email), one in Çanakkale (by phone), and 7 stores in Izmir, by foot.
The Çanakkale store TOLD me that he had what I needed in stock, but in fact, it was shorter than what I needed. The catalog said it was 220 mm long, but in fact, it was ONLY 209. Got six (can use other places) but cancelled the remaining.

Back to the search.

As luck would have it and I do mean luck, I would one store in Izmir (last one visited, as usual) that had one only, AND his Istanbul supplier had no more in stock. (Since they were NOT hot items, they had no intention to get more, even for me!)
But this was a clue. This cleat had markings on it. It was made by Nuova Rede in Italy and it was marked 1341.

Thought I had a path forward but alas, Nuova Rede’s catalog showed a new part number for the item, labeled 220 mm long, but the technical drawing had it only 209 mm long.
Per Internet search, 1341 was last offered for sale in a 2011-12 catalog.
Further sleuthing found another brand that said it was 220 mm long. But could not find a tech drawing for it.
I did find a company in Finland that sold them so I sent an email with my request on Saturday.

Remarkably, the company responded Saturday night with the technical drawing, confirmed that they were actually 220 mm long and that they had enough to send to me.

Now I just need to get to LeeZe and verify dimensions.

Other work: The local Izmir company that installed my Nav Suite in 2010 came out last week to check the VHF comms suite. I thought that was needed BECAUSE it is much easier to replace antennae and wiring when the mast is down. To make a long story short, the antennae were still in great shape, with physically and electrically, the antennae were not, so 6 new ones were installed wrapped with what appears to be lots and lots of silicone stretch tape, and the coax cables, after being cut back some 2-3 centimeters, were also found to physically and electrically good. Two Ethernet connectors were replaced also.
That is it for right now!

On June 26, the radar cable was disconnected from the radar. All of the other cables in the mast were either disconnected or cut. The radar cable is the only cable in LeeZe’s mast that can never be cut. It is impossible to splice and next to impossible for a new cable connector to be installed. This is the first time the mast has been removed since new construction. The yard wants to paint it, and that is easier when it is down. I want to inspect hardware, electrical parts, and antennae for sun damage and wear. So, down it came.

June 27: LeeZe is taken to another berth when the mast, boom, sails, and tender are removed by crane. That afternoon, with the help of the Yard’s docking Captain, LeeZe is taken to the haul out area and motored onto the skid. It takes about 20 minutes to get LeeZe placed correctly before the engine is shutdown and responsibility for the haul out is passed to the yard. Having made the ride before, I elect to get off with the Captain and watch from solid land.

The motion is like a slow moving jerking motion. As LeeZe weighs close to 50 metric tons, the thick steel cable attached to the skid first stretches a little, then pulls on the skid, which moves, which relaxes the cable a little and repeat.

June 28. Today is spent putting LeeZe into its final resting place for the maintenance period, setting up the blocks so she does not fall over, and removing the skids.

The yard, Zehra, and I were amazed as to how clean the bottom was in total. Three years ago, this same yard sprayed on Jotun’s Seaforce 90 bottom paint. It seems like the combination of the paint and the application allowed me to go three years between haul outs. This year, after sandblasting, we will apply the same paint again.

Upon inspection, nearly all 22 zincs need to be replaced (a good sign). The amount of growth on the shaft and parts of the rudder suggests that I should consider bagging both during winter layup periods.

2019-06-27: That afternoon, with the help of the Yard's docking Captain, LeeZe is taken to the haul out area and motored onto the skid. It takes about 20 minutes to get LeeZe placed correctly before the engine is shutdown and responsibility for the haul out is passed to the yard. Having made the ride before, I elect to get off with the Captain and watch from solid land. — LeeZe being pulled out of the water on a wooden skid.

Standard

George Buehler, Steel trawler, Diesel Duck, Long range, RPH trawler, Raised Pilothouse, Trawler, Steel, Lloyds, Ocean Crossing.

Currently in the Med. Recent price reduction of USD 100k.

Med-Mooring

2018-12-09

I posted these two emails on New Years’ Eve last year. The process of “med mooring” might put you off buying LeeZe because the process might make you feel that it is way out of your potential boating skills.

Do not allow your mind to go there. If I can make this happen, then I am 100% convinced that with a few practice sessions, you can execute this mooring every time. Your first few efforts may attract undo attention from shore, but as your proficiency increases, the shore audience becomes smaller.

I of course will be there to teach you if you want, or if not close by, support in any way I can.

In the USA, I have never seen a place where boats have to med-moor. I believe this is the same in the Pacific rim area but cannot be certain.

It will take you far longer to read and digest these two emails than it would take to actually execute a med-moor.

The first email that started this exchange is at the bottom of this entry.

Lee A Licata

MV LeeZe

Üçkuyular, Izmir Turkey

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On Sun, Dec 31, 2017 at 1:24 AM, LAL wrote:

Cedric,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

What you saw was is called “med mooring” and I have only been in a handful of places in 7 years where I did not moor like this, but moored “side-to.”

The lines to the bow have a different name in every country that one visits but they all work the same. The generic name for these lines seems to be “lazy” lines but the term is not universal. In all cases, these lines sink. If there are truly manila lines, they last for years, they sink really really quick so fouling is NOT an issue, and they are marina supplied, usually. I had been to two marinas where the manila lines were purposely too short and those marinas required me to provide my lines to use their short lines.

There is usually huge anchor chain on the marina’s seabed and usually, manila lines (20-30 mm diameter ) are attached to it via a shackle. Some places that cannot afford this chain sink concrete blocks, but these deteriorate over the years requiring a new one be dropped. Pretty soon, it becomes a no-anchoring zone as the blocks can foul your anchor. The old blocks are never retrieved as that costs a lot.

Near to the end of the manila line is a very thin but also sinkable line that is attached to the bitter end of the manila line and the brought to a cleat on the dock.

Now here is where things get complicated, especially if there are only two people on board. (I chose not to address how a single handler would do this mooring.)

Some places, using an assist tender, will hand you the manila / thin line as one is med mooring with the hope that the person receiving the manila line can take the slack out and tie it off to a bow cleat tight. This takes a strain on the line.

The problem with the above is one, the person taking the manila line has to have the strength, speed and dexterity to do that work while the Captain is med mooring.

Now, if the boat is manned by two people, and the Captain is not mooring from an aft cockpit, then the line handler is preoccupied with getting the manila line aboard and tight, while the ship driver not only has to bring the boat astern, but also has to not hit his neighbors too hard and not hit the wall.

So, if done as described above, it makes the mooring process usually more excitable than it needs to.

The other way is that the Captain med moors the boat, gets stern lines ashore and tied off (if one is thinking about this in advance, the line ashore should be long enough so that thy come back aboard so the Captain can adjust lines as needed, the lines are doubled for added strength and shock absorbency, and no assistance from shore is needed when departing). Then, a dock worker hands your crew the thin line (while it is still attached to the cleat), the crew walks forward toward the bow hand over handing the thin line until the bitter end of the manila line appears, then takes the slack out of that line and takes it to a bow cleat tight.

The upside to this method is that your crew is at the Captain’s beck and call until lines astern are over.

The problem is that unless one has a gorilla on board, the crew can never takes out enough slack on the manila line to keep the stern off the dock wall in an appreciable weather.

So, if one uses the first method, and the weather is calm and nice, one person can get the manila line tied off, and then as the boat med moors, the line becomes quite tight and POWER is applied to get the stern lines over and fastened.

If one uses the second method, then the Captain has to handle the boat keeping it off the wall until the stern lines are over, then slack the lines, move forward in the berth with the manila line is brought aboard and tied off, then come back and apply POWER to take the slack out of the manila line while taking in the slack on the astern lines

If the manila line is too tight, then the crew has to release some of the line under load just enough to get closer to the wall but not hit the wall, all the time ensuring that one keeps their 10 fingers and toes. If one releases too much, then the stern can “touch” the wall. If one does not release enough, then there is a do-over.

If the stern lines are doubled and really long, then the captain can come forward in the berth, take the slack off the manila line, the crew can safely “slip” some amount of the line, and then the Captain can come astern.

If the Captain is in a pilot house, or in a center cockpit of a sailboat, things get more complicated if there are only two aboard. The crew is running around like a chicken without its head, trying to do all of the above.

So, you wonder how the hell do we do it.

If there is no assist boat, I ask where their “lazy line mooring chain” is with respect to the dock, and then I drop my anchor 30-50 meters on the far side of the chain and come in, picking up the manila lines after our stern lines are over. Little excitement here but this DOES REQUIRE that the marina understands your question about where the mooring chain is and grants you permission to drop your anchor on the far side. I can only do this when I am mooring to the outside of a wall. If mooring inside the wall or in a U shaped marina, this dos not work.

If this is the case, then I have learned to become quite patient and anchor out until the wind and seas have substantially subsided before mooring.

If these is an assist boat, we INVITE the helmsman on board to handle the manila line. If one does this, one gives up the luxury of the assist boat pushing you around to help you moor, unless there happens to be two people in the assist boat. That only happens when we are mooring at a very pricy ($$$) marina.

If there is no assist boat and the marina is enclosed or “u” shaped, the for sure we wait for calm weather before mooring. Then, after the manila lines are tied off, I use the capstan to take the slack out of the manila lines.

In nearly all med mooring cases, the dock master will insist that one POWERS up the engines taking a strain on the manila lines to make sure they are holding before concluding that you are safely in.

In my last 3-4 med moorings, the dock master had me power up to 2000 rpm astern for some 10-15 seconds to verify holding. This for me, is a huge pucker factor of a moment.

Most of the boats you saw have crew, so this process is far more of a elegant ballet than a cluster f__k but if one watches a bare boat charter do the ballet, one can see more of a CF and less of a ballet.

This email took me more time to write than to perform the actual mooring………

Any questions? Be glad to answer them.

For your info, it took us 3+ years to learn how to med moor without attracting undo attention☺

Lee

Izmir, Turkey

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cedric,

If the marina is quite crowded, and there is just inches between you and your neighbors, the process is actually less nail biting for a number of reasons:

The Captain ONLY has to get the stern between his neighbors and then gently reverses to get into the slip. It is like bumper pool.

The first mate can usually grab the neighbor’s handrails to hold one in place, but only if one is at dead slow.

Nearly always your neighbors are up and about to assist.

If necessary, you can ask if you can tie off a bow line from you to your neighbor while you work on the lazy line.

And, lastly, if it is a tight fit, one can get closer to the wall by just taking in the stern lines by hand, making a crash with the wall less likely.

Only in one marina, Kemer, Turkey, did I have to lift my fenders out of the way because with them in position, I would NOT have fit.

Cedic, where it becomes hairy is a place like Symi, Greece. No lazy lines here yet, and if and when they come, I will decide to anchor out. If you arrive in the morning when the wind is quite low, usually, there is no room at the wall because no one has left, yet.

The ones that do leave tend to leave between 1100 -1300 and by then, the wind is starting to pick up. Due to the nearby mountains, it roars down to the port toward the sea, usually above 20 knots

The harbor is quite narrow in places, and one needs to drop 70-80 meters + of chain because the bottom is deep and slopes up quickly toward the wall.

So, what we have done is drop 80 meters of chain (leaving 50 for reserve) and motor back, trying to get in before 1000. We once DID get in at 1500 with a 45 knot cross wind and between two french catamarans (rented so from experience we know they carry maybe 50-60 meters of chain, which means that they are not being held off the wall by a strong anchor moor). We had people on the cats to help but in the wind, one has to line up your stern on the nose of the up-wind boat in order to allow for you to slip in between the boats. This of course gives your neighbor a big scare and there is a lot of frantic yelling and waving of hands etc etc etc. Admiral use to get upset by this but knows now what will happen so she just gives them all her Queen Eliz II hand wave.

Once the anchor has grabbed, if you placed it correctly, the stern will naturally slip downwind and when it does, some power will get you in between the boats. Usually by the, the neighbors had either collapsed, been taken to the hospital for suffering a heart attack, or has calmed down.

If one is patient and waits for the wind to die down and for an opening to come available, one waits around the corner in a bay the Brits call “Teflon Bay” because it takes 5-6 times to get one’s anchor to hold. This bay is also where a HUGE water ship comes in every other day to fill the island’s reservoir. He med moors quite gracefully and I learned after he left that his “lane” has been cleared of every patch of weed, grass and rocks for at least 300 meters off the wall some 20 meters wide.

Now, in Symi, as well as a few other places, if one is NOT leaving, you have to be on board at the bow if you came in after your neighbors and they are leaving before you. Fouled anchors is a daily event, and usually quite entertaining, because MOST are renters, have not had to deal with a fouled anchor before, and are leaving when the wind is picking up so they can go sailing, not realizing that first they have to get clear of the wall.

Being a steel boat and not a “plastic” one means I do not care if they hit me, but if they do, I will not use ANY body part to keep them off of me, because I do not want the medical attention.

Also, my chain is 12mm by 130 m with an 88 kg anchor, all worked by a 3 kw anchor windlass with a wildcat. Most of these charters have flimsy windlasses which cannot lift my chain, let alone my anchor. But IF my chain is over theirs, then I am obliged to help, which necessities me getting into my tender with my pole and some line to assist them at their bow in getting untangled.

If we are able to communicate and if they keep their heads, I need only about 10 minutes to free them.

If they are hostile, belligerent, or just plain nasty, I leave them to their own devices until the harbor master comes by and together, we go out to get them untangle. He has the power to shut them up, fine them, make them return to the dock, and seize their boat soooooooo they usually cooperate.

If I am leaving and tangled, my windlass is not even breathing hard in getting their chain up to by bow, but the Captain has to let out chain or rope so that I have some slack to get my chain up without pulling up his anchor. If the Captain is not there, or, more likely, does not have enough chain in the locker to let out, then if they are nice, I will pick up their anchor, clear my chain, stow my anchor, and then while the Admiral slowly goes forward, I walk their anchor back toward the stern and drop it.

If they are not nice, I clear my chain and drop their’s immediately, which usually necessitates them getting underway to reset their anchor.

I learned this all by watching others, talking with professional charter captains, other captains and harbor masters.

Most harbor masters keep a list of which boats they will not allow to moor at their dock. Being naughty gets you on this list.

If a storm is coming, being steel, 50 tons, and anchored well, harbor masters like me because they can usually tie off a bunch of boats to me to keep them more protected from the winds. In one case, in Thassos, Greece, I had 4 stern lines out doubled, two mid-ship breast lines to the wall, and on port and starboard, doubled bow lines running to the wall. The winds were expected to peak above 70 knots, with 50-60 sustained predicted. My bow was tied off to two 25 meter “plastic” yachts on either side because they had such a high freeboard, they knew they were going to be knocked about a lot. In this particular case I took a long line from my bow to a fishing trawler trawler off to starboard to help keep my bow into the predicted direction of the wind, and to help stabilize the rats’ nest that I was in. In turn, I helped him from banging too much into the wall. (Yes, real fishing trawlers are always side too, never med moor, and have priority over us recreational boaters. Only cruise ships and warships out rank them.)

(I must carry more than 1000 meters of 16, 18, 22, and 26 mm rope, in total, plus small stuff.)

Never a dull moment around here.

And I have yet to talk about how does on anchor in a place like Mykonos, when the harbor is full of private mooring buoys, one needs to anchor between them and the $$$$$$$$$$$ yachts tied to them, and close to shore because the depth is mostly >>20 meters. And, the harbor is so crowed that when the wind shifts, if done right, you will swing past your neighbor with meters to spare. Oh and for a guy like me, I refuse to go to the wall because the charge can be 100+ dollars a night, plus line handling fees and security fees.

Even with all of the above, there are tens of thousands that charter here each sailing season med mooring so it is a skill that everyone can learn.………

Lee

Levent Marina, Izmir Turkey

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 10:26 PM, Cedric Walker wrote:

Lee,

I’ve followed your interesting postings on T&T for years, and I hope I can impose on you to answer a question that seems (to me) a bit beyond the “general interest” mission of T&T.

We were in Palma de Mallorca recently on vacation. I noted that all the the boats in the harbor were tied stern-to-dock, and they all had two (identical) lines running from the bow, down into the water, all at about the same angle. And none had their anchors deployed. And there were no visible mooring balls.

In your travels around the Mediterranean, have you seen an arrangement like this? Were these permanent bow ties, supplied by the marina? How in the heck did the skippers pick them up, without fouling, as they backed into the narrow slit between two other boats?

I can figure out the process for a stern tie-up when an anchor goes in front, and I could do it. But this has me stumped. I’ve got to be overlooking the obvious answer, and I’m hoping that you’ll take a minute to help me out. My wife wants to charter a trawler in the Med, but right now I’m feeling too stupid to try it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 6:26 PM, Cedric Walker wrote:

THANK YOU! Your answer is wonderfully complete. You should consider publishing it on T&T. This sounds like it’s a white-knuckle process in a crowded marina, and I’m re-thinking the bareboat charter idea.

Our Great Harbour N37 (same as Joe Pica’s) is a wallowing pig in reverse because the bottom is essentially flat. I’ve wondered why there aren’t any in the Med. Now I know the answer.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond so thoughtfully and thoroughly, and best wishes for 2018.

| Cedric F. Walker Ph.D. P.E.

| Professor Emeritus, Department of Biomedical Engineering

| Project Director, Tulane MakerSpace

| Tulane University

| New Orleans LA 70118

The door has given to me a challenge

George Buehler, Steel trawler, Diesel Duck, Long range, RPH trawler, Raised Pilothouse, Trawler, Steel, Lloyds, Ocean Crossing,

2018-02-01 1930

Been having nice weather so today, tackled one of the PH doors. Been years so I thought I would take it off, clean up, and re-install. Maybe, 30 minutes + the time to remove the ladder that goes up on the port side from the main deck to the boat deck. The ladder, which I anticipated I would have the most trouble with, had the least. With it out of the way, I can get great access to areas that need paint.

But enough about the ladder. The sliding door was dismantled (not hard) and slides aft to take off. Would not slide off. Maybe I forgot something but nope, did not.

Inspection with a flashlight and mirror was inconclusive. Finally, using a rubber mallet, “gently” got the ladder off.

The cause? A plastic / rubber (?) door seal that just would not give, break, nor stretch. But it was broken in many places. And I do not think I did it. But I could have.

Now, the Admiral was always complaining that in the cold winter winds, this door let in too much air. I would like to apologize to her. I always thought she was just being picky.

Turns out there are suppose to be three gaskets sealing this door.

The was one, obviously broken.

The other two? No where to be found!! No remnants. No parts. No pieces. Not, Nada NOTHING!

So, in 2016, I had bought some spare door seals “just in case.” The admiral thought I was foolish. Glad I had them because have not a clue where to get the seal in Izmir, today. Well, today, I used 4 of the 10 meters I had.

The I looked at the trolley wheels, thought they could look better but for now, good enough, applied some silicone to them, and went to put the door back on its rail. (2018-02-03: I found the source where the SY bought them. Bought 6, not cheap at all, but hope to send the old ones back to the manufacture so can be rebuild. This is a constant in boating. If one can track down to source, and rebuild the broken item, usually, one is left with an item that is near 100% in function for 50% of the “as new cost.” Tracking down these “small” but $$$$ parts requires patience the like of which maybe only Job has seen.)

Two hours LATER, I am mesmerized on this door because in my mind, I did not change anything.

But in fact, while away from the door, one trolley had rotated 180 degrees, therefore the door’s alignment with the rail was no longer right. When I realized that, I tried again and now, the door went in ½ way.

What’s the problem now I said to myself (all NSFW words omitted, but there were a slew of them!)?

The new seals were the problem. They were brand new! Standing proudly their chests puffed out, ready for their job!

But first one has to get the door past the new seals. So, with some silicon spray, a chopstick (boy those chopsticks are sure handy for all types of maintenance, not just eating food!) more cursing, and a whole bucket of luck, the door is now closed. Plan not to open it for a couple of days so the seals can get a set.

Started the job at 1120. With one 10+ minute coffee break, the door was closed at 1710. Some clean up was required (Thank you honey for not being here because…………!!!) but have plans to do the other door tomorrow, maybe, if there is no rain, and I feel like it, and (fill in the blank with your best excuse).

Lee

Levent Marina, Izmir Turkey
leezerphtrawlerforsale@gmail.com
More blog posts can be found here: https://whereisleeze.blogspot.com/

What is all this about Med Mooring?

I received the following question from a person, and spent some time in thought on how to respond. After the exchange, the person asking thought that others probably have the question, but never thought to ask. So, I am publishing the exchange but am editing out any identifying info. Hopefully I got it all. Here was the question:

***********************************************

I’ve followed your interesting postings on T&T for years, and I hope I can impose on you to answer a question that seems (to me) a bit beyond the “general interest” mission of T&T. We were in Palma de Mallorca recently on vacation. I noted that all the the boats in the harbor were tied stern-to-dock, and they all had two (identical) lines running from the bow, down into the water, all at about the same angle. And none had their anchors deployed. And there were no visible mooring balls. In your travels around the Mediterranean, have you seen an arrangement like this? Were these permanent bow ties, supplied by the marina? How in the heck did the skippers pick them up, without fouling, as they backed into the narrow slit between two other boats? I can figure out the process for a stern tie-up when an anchor goes in front, and I could do it. But this has me stumped. I’ve got to be overlooking the obvious answer, and I’m hoping that you’ll take a minute to help me out. My wife wants to charter a trawler in the Med, but right now I’m feeling too stupid to try it. Thanks

***********************************************

On Sun, Dec 31, 2017 at 1:24 AM, LAL <lazilicata@gmail.com> wrote: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. What you saw was is called “med mooring” and I have only been in a handful of places in 7 years where I did not moor like this, but moored “side-to.” The lines to the bow have a different name in every country that one visits but they all work the same. The generic name for these lines seems to be “lazy” lines but the term is not universal. In all cases, these lines sink. If there are truly manila lines, they last for years, they sink really really quick so fouling is NOT an issue, and they are marina supplied, usually. I have been to two marinas where the lazy lines were purposely too short and those marinas required me to provide my lines to use their short lines. There is a huge anchor chain (or more) on the marina’s seabed and usually, lazy lines (20-30 mm diameter ) are attached to it via a shackle. The chain is USUALLY anchored to either the concrete dock wall or to a concrete mooring block buried in the harbor / marina. Near to the end of the lazy line is a very thin but also sinkable line that is attached to the bitter end of the lazy line and that is also attached to a cleat on the dock. Now here is where things get complicated, especially if there are only two people on board. (I chose not to address how a single handler would do this mooring.) Some places, using an assist tender, will hand you the lazy /thin line as one is med mooring with the hope that the person receiving the lazy line can take the slack out and tie it off to a bow cleat tight. This takes a strain on the line. The problem with the above is one, the person taking the lazy line has to have the strength, speed and dexterity to do that work while the Captain is med mooring from a position at the aft end of the boat and also handledling the mooring lines. Trying VERY hard not to be sexist here but usually the lady of the yacht (The Admiral) is struggling to handle this lazy line. On a boat where the Admiral is driving, the process goes a little smoother. If a group is chartering without a professional crew on board, I usually sit back with a glass of wine in my hand, enjoying the show, waiting for them to get close enough to me so I can help. I will not do that with a couple because that is just not right. Next, if the boat is manned by two people, and the Captain is not mooring from an aft cockpit (think center cockpit, fly bridge or pilot house) , then the line handler is preoccupied with getting the lazy line aboard and tight, the Captain not only has to bring the boat astern, but also has to not hit his neighbors too hard and not hit the wall while also not being able to get the mooring lines across. So, if done as described above, it makes the mooring usually more excitable than it needs to. The other way is that the Captain med moors the boat, gets stern lines ashore FIRST and tied off (if one is thinking about this in advance, the mooring line should be long enough so that it can come back aboard so the Captain can adjust lines as needed, the lines are doubled for added strength and shock absorbency, and no assistance from shore is needed when departing). Then, a dock worker hands one of you the thin line (while it is still attached to the cleat), that person walks forward toward the bow hand over handing the thin line until the bitter end of the lazy line appears, then (tries) takes the slack out of that line and to a bow cleat. The upside to this method is that second person is available to the Captain until lines astern are over. The downside of the above is that unless one has a gorilla on board, the other person can never take out enough slack on the lazy line to keep the stern off the dock wall in an appreciable weather. So, if one uses the first method, and the weather is calm and nice, if the one person can get the lazy line tied off tight, and then as the boat med moors, the line becomes quite tight and POWER is applied to get the stern lines over and fastened. If one uses the second method, then the Captain has to handle the boat keeping it off the wall until the stern lines are over, then slack the lines, move forward in the berth where the lazy line is brought aboard and tied off tight, then come back and apply POWER to take the slack out of the lazy line while taking in the slack on the astern lines If the lazy line is too tight, then the other person has to release some of the line under load just enough to get closer to the wall but not hit the wall, all the time ensuring that one keeps their 10 fingers and toes. If one releases too much, then the stern can “touch” the wall. If one does not please enough, then there is a do over. If the stern lines are doubled and really long, then the captain can come forward in the berth, take the slack off the lazy line, the crew can safely “slip” some amount of the line, and then the Captain can come astern. If the Captain is in a pilot house, or in a center cockpit of a sailboat, things get more complicated if there are only two aboard. The person NOT driving is running around like a chicken without its head, trying to do all of the above. So, you wonder how the hell do we do it. If there is no assist boat, I ask where their “lazy line mooring chain” is with respect to the dock, and then I drop my anchor 30-50 meters on the far side of the chain and come in, picking up the lazy lines after our stern lines are over. Little excitement here but this DOES REQUIRE that the marina understands your question about where the mooring chain is and grants you permission to drop your anchor on the far side. (Language barrier comes into play here!) I can only do this when I am mooring to the outside of a wall. If mooring inside the wall or in a U shaped marina, this dos not work. If this is the case, then I have learned to become quite patient and anchor out until the wind and seas have substantially subsided (read nearly dead calm) before mooring. (I use to not wait. Divorce / abandonment was in the wind!) If these is an assist boat, The Admiral INVITES the helmsman on board to handle the lazy line. If one does this, one gives up the luxury of the assist boat pushing you around to help you moor, unless there happens to be two people in the assist boat. That only happens when we are mooring at a very pricy ($$$$$) marina. If there is no assist boat and the marina is enclosed or “u” shaped, then for sure we wait for calm weather before mooring. First we get to the wall and get the aft mooring lines over and doubled. Them I get one of the two lazy lines to the bow cleat as tight as possible but usually never enough. Then I drift forward letting out some slack in the mooring lines. I then take the slack out of the lazy line and motor back, hopefully taking the slack out of the lazy line but not hitting the wall. If all is right with the world, we are in. Then, I use the capstan on my anchor windlass to take the slack out of the second lazy line. In nearly all med mooring cases, the dock master will insist that one POWERS up the engines taking a strain on the lazy lines to make sure they are holding before concluding that you are safely in. In my last 3-4 med moorings, the dock master had me power up to 2000 rpm astern for some 10-15 seconds to verify holding. This for me, is a huge pucker factor of a moment. (If you are worried about disturbing the bottom and damaging your prop, do not be. You are probably the hundredth boat to more here so the material that could damage the prop is just not there.) Most of the boats you saw have crew, so this process is far more of a elegant ballet than a cluster f__k but if one watches a bare boat charter do the ballet, one can see more of a CF and less of a ballet. This email took me more time to write than to perform the actual mooring……… Any questions? Be glad to answer them. And, BTW, you really think this is not worthy of a T&T post? For your info, it took us 3+ years to learn how to med moor without attracting undo attention☺. Lee

***********************************************

On Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 6:26 PM, the questioner wrote: THANK YOU! Your answer is wonderfully complete. You should consider publishing it on T&T. This sounds like it’s a white-knuckle process in a crowded marina, and I’m re-thinking the bareboat charter idea. Our [names the type of boat] is a wallowing pig in reverse because the bottom is essentially flat. I’ve wondered why there aren’t any in the Med. Now I know the answer. Thanks again for taking the time to respond so thoughtfully and thoroughly, and best wishes for 2018.

***********************************************

(My last reply) If the marina is quite crowded, and there is just inches between you and your neighbors, the process is actually less nail biting for a number of reasons: The Captain ONLY has to get the stern between his neighbors and then gently reverses to get into the slip. It is like bumper pool. The first mate can usually grab the neighbor’s handrails to hold one in place, but only if one is at dead slow. Nearly always your neighbors are up and about to assist. If necessary, you can ask if you can tie off a bow line from you to your neighbor while you work on the lazy line. And, lastly, if it is a tight fit, one can get closer to the wall by just taking in the stern lines by hand, making a crash with the wall less likely. Only in one marina, Kemer, did I have to lift my fenders out of the way because with them in position, I would NOT have fit. Yes it was that crowded! Where it becomes hairy is a place like Simi (Symi), Greece. No lazy lines here yet, and if and when they come, I will decide to anchor out. If you arrive in the morning in high season when the wind is quite low, usually, there is no room at the wall because no one has left, yet. The ones that do leave tend to leave between 1100 -1300 and by then, the wind is starting to pick up, and due to the local mountains, it roars down to the port toward the sea, usually above 20 knots The harbor is quite narrow in places, and one needs to drop 70-80 meters + of chain because the bottom is deep and slopes up quickly toward the city wall. So, what we have done is drop 80 meters of chain (leaving 50 for reserve) and motor back, trying to get in before 1000. We once DID get in at 1500 with a 45 knot cross wind and between two french catamarans (rented so from experience we know they carry maybe 50-60 meters of chain, which means that they are not being held off the wall by a strong anchor moor). We had people on the cats to help but in the wind, one has to line up your stern on the nose of the up wind boat in order to allow for you to slip in between the boats. This of course gives your neighbor a big scare and there is a lot of frantic yelling and waving of hands etc etc etc. Admiral use to get upset by this but knows knows what will happen and she just gives them all her Queen Elizabeth II hand wave. Once the anchor has grabbed, if you placed it correctly, the stern will naturally slip downwind and when it does, some power will get you in between the boats. Usually by the, the neighbors had either collapsed, been taken to the hospital for suffering a heart attack, or has calmed down. If one is patient and waits for the wind to die down and for an opening to come available, one waits around the corner in a bay the Brits call “Teflon Bay” because it takes 5-6 times to get one’s anchor to hold. This bay is also where a HUGE water ship comes in every other day to fill the island’s reservoir. He med moors quite gracefully and I learned after he left that his “lane” has been cleared of every patch of weed, grass and rocks for at least 300 meters off the wall some 20 meters wide. Now, in Symi, as well as a few other places, if one is NOT leaving, you have to be on board at the bow if you came in after your neighbors and they are leaving before you. Fouled anchors is a daily event, and usually quite entertaining, because MOST are renters, have not had to deal with a fouled anchor before, and are leaving when the wind is picking up so they can go sailing, not realizing that first they have to get clear of the wall. Being a steel boat and not a “plastic” one means I do not care if they hit me, but they do. I will not use ANY body part to keep them off of me, because I do not want the medical attention. Also, my chain is 12mm by 130 m with an 88 kg anchor, all worked by a 3 kW anchor windlass with a capstan. Most of these charters have flimsy windlasses with no capstan which cannot lift my chain, let alone my anchor. But IF my chain is over theirs, then I am obliged to help, which necessities me getting into my tender with my pole and some line to assist them at their bow in getting untangled. If we are able to communicate and if they keep their heads, I need only about 10 minutes to free them. If they are hostile, belligerent, or just plain nasty, I leave them to their own devices until the harbor master comes by and together, we go out to get them untangle. He has the power to shut them up, fine them, make them return to the dock, and seize their boat soooooooo they usually cooperate. If I am leaving and tangled, my windlass is not even breathing hard in getting their chain up to ny bow, but the Captain has to let out chain or rope so that I have some slack to get my chain up without pulling up his anchor. If the Captain is not there, or, more likely, does not have enough chain in the locker to let out, then if they are nice, I will pick up their anchor, clear my chain, stow my anchor, and then while the Admiral slowly goes forward, I walk their anchor back toward our stern and drop it. If they are not nice, I clear my chain and drop their’s immediately, which usually necessitates them getting underway to reset their anchor. I learned this all by watching others, talking with professional charter captains, other captains and harbor masters. Most harbor masters keep a list of which boats they will not allow to moor at their dock. Being naughty gets you on this list. If a storm is coming, being steel, 50 tons, and anchored well, harbor masters like me because they can usually tie off a bunch of boats to me to keep them more protected from the winds. In one case, in Thassos, Greece, I had 4 stern lines out doubled, two mid-ship breast lines to the wall, and long port and starboard doubled bow lines running to the wall. The winds were expected to peak above 70 knots, with 50-60 sustained predicted. My bow was tied off to two 25 meter “plastic” motor yachts on either side because they had such a high freeboard, they knew they were going to be knocked about a lot. In this particular case I took a another long line from my bow to a fishing trawler trawler off to starboard to help hold my bow into the predicted direction of the wind, and to help stabilize the rats’ nest that I was in. In turn, I helped keeping him from banging too much into the wall. (Yes, real fishing trawlers are always side too, never med moor, and have priority over us recreational boaters. Only cruise ships and warships out rank them.) (I must carry more than 1000 meters of 16, 18, 22, and 26 mm rope, in total, plus small stuff.) Never a dull moment around here. And I have yet to talk about how does on anchor in a place like Mykonos, when the harbor is full of private mooring buoys, one needs to anchor between them and the $$$$$$$$$$$ yachts tied to them, and close to shore because the depth is mostly >>20 meters. And, the harbor is so crowed that when the wind shifts, if done right, you will swing past your neighbor with meters to spare. Oh and for a guy like me, I refuse to go to the wall because the charge can be 100+ dollars a night, plus line handling fees and security fees. Even with all of the above, there are tens of thousands that charter here in the Med each sailing season………

Lee Levent Marina, Izmir Turkey
leezerphtrawlerforsale@gmail.com
More blog posts can be found here: https://whereisleeze.blogspot.com/

Diesel Duck Trawler LeeZe visits Izmir Sunday Farmer’s Market

Yesterday, LeeZe visits Izmir Sunday farmer’s market. It is located underneath a high speed freeway bridge about 2 km from me. It is just under 3 acres and it happens every Sunday. Nearly all the food for sale is produced in country and is seasonal. Just recently “Iranian” pistachios came on to the market but I am not yet convinced they really are from Iran.

In Turkish, it is called a “pazar” which meaning shopping. What is for sale includes is seasonal fresh fruit and veggies, cheese, eggs, bread and butter, recently caught fresh fish, spices, nuts, and sweets. Chicken (Some are still walking around as well as the parts and pieces one sees in a supermarket) is also for sale but not beef. Of course pork is no where to be found, though the country dos have about 880,000 hogs in country, if you believe the newspapers.

On one side of the shopping area are people that sell clothing, shoes, hardware, housewares and tobacco products.

In 2 places, there are people who will shine your shoes, sharpen your knives, and repair your appliances.

Lastly, there are two areas where locally prepared food is available. If you want something fresh, there is a thin, round bread stuffed, in my case, with two eggs and melting cheese, cooked over a gas fired hot plate, and serve on recycle newsprint paper. Yum Yum! (BTW this is called a gozleme.) Other stuffings included greens, potatoes, and white (aka “feta”) cheese.

The most popular appears to be the one stuffed with greens, followed by the potato version. It is not unusual to have someone buy 6 or more remade ones to take home to have later.

So, the following pictures are a feeble attempt to give someone a “taste” of the pazar.

For an idea of what the currency rate is, see

https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/USDTRY:CUR

If you have any questions, please ask!

Lee and Zehra Licata

MV LeeZe @ Levent Marina

Haydar Aliyev Bulvarı No:4 / R6

Bahçelerarasi Mah.

35140 Fahrettinaltay / Balçova

Izmir Turkey

LeeZe visits Izmir Sunday farmer’s market

Home made pastry mostly stuffed with greens, though some have potato inside. These are ready to eat now or take home.

The lady is making my breakfast using two eggs and some white melting cheese.

The stuffed dough is place on this gas fired hot plate and is cooked for about 3 minutes.

Beans and tomatoes

Nuts and popcorn with citrus in the background.

Eggs. These are commercially produced but they are not refrigerated and were probably picked in the last day or two. They have been inspected, and one can keep them out of the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Sold USUALLY in lots of 15. Some also sell local eggs, which have not been inspected and are bought individually. Have had both and the local ones are always smaller, but tend to last the longest. Since eggs on the Greek islands are so expensive, we tend to take 30 of the commercial ones and 15 of the local ones.

Banans, Kiwis, and citrus. Peppers, eggplants and cucumbers in the background.

All types of olives!

Various made breads made in the local villages next to a potato seller.

Citrus sellers

Here the celery root is highly prized and not the stalks.

Cheese, Cheese, Cheese! And “homemade” butter!

Greens for sale!

“Homemade” butter next to cheese with a sweet called Helva behind the cheese.

Diesel Duck Trawler LeeZe in Mordoğan > Yassica Ada > Izmir

We have decided to sell our beloved Diesel Duck Trawler, LeeZe. The blog posts on this site are some of our adventures during our time cruising and meant to shed some light on the cruising life. Enjoy our posts and please contact us for more information on the places we have been or information on our Diesel Duck Trawler for sale, LeeZe. The complete collection of our travel blogs can be found here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com

It is now 3 Sept and we depart Mordoğan for an island in the lower part of the Izmir bay called Yassica Ada.

The claim to fame of this island is that there are ferry boats that service this island in the summer so that Izmir people can come to the beach. It was a Sunday that we were here, near to the end of the 10-day holiday period and there are maybe 300+ people at the beach. It was also near to the end of the season so concession stands were not stocked up very well and were out of mostly everything.

We had a very hard time finding a good holding spot of the anchor and after trying 4 times, decided that based on the weather prediction. I would live with an anchor that was not holding very well. When I went to look at the anchor, it was laying on a small piece of sandy bottom, surrounded by grassy clumps of seaweed. Had I chosen to anchor in far shallower water, I would have found a sandy bottom, but I also would have been among very small day boats.

By sunset, the ferry boats had taken the day trippers back home and there were just 3 of us at anchor. There were some nocturnal visitors to the island, a few quite noisy, but by midnight, there was calm seas and a quiet night. The city lights hid many of the stars. We did go ashore to the beach for a few hours, and then came back, cleaned up, and has a BBQ for dinner.

Today is 3 September. It is a Monday, and the last day of the 10-day holiday period. We motor toward Levent marina. There are two dog legs to the marina, and one must stay between the buoys because just outside the buoys is shallow water punctuated by rocky outcrops.

LeeZe is a steel boat and as we approach, Izmir Traffic Control (ITC) hails us in Channel 16. I kind of knew this would happen, ever since our days in the Istanbul area, where that traffic control authority called so often that it bordered on harassment.

ITC hails us, and wants to know our particulars, why we have AIS not on, etc etc etc. I tell them what we are, and that w are not required to have AIS on board. ITC thinks, based on radar return that we are a small freighter. It is not until we get near to one of their long range camera stations on the shore that they can see what we are. By then, I had answered all of their questions and they left us alone.

Now, I think it must have been a boring day for them as I saw no ships underway, only ferry boats. They needed a distraction and I provided one.

Well, we get to Levent marina and we anchor just outside. We need to lower the fenders, bring the tend up to the starboard side from astern, get lines ready, etc etc. By then, a craft from the marina comes out. It is our good friend from the last time we were here. We tell him what we are doing, and ask him to take the tender in.

About 30 minutes later, we up anchor, cruise slowing in the marina, and with the help of this lone marina person, we med-moor in a place that Zehra had already negotiated with the manager, and with two bow lines on, we are in.

That is all for now folks!
If you have any questions, please ask.
Lee and Zehra
MV LeeZe
You can find older blog posts here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com

Diesel Duck Trawler LeeZe in Kusadasi > Sağacik > Sapere> Cesme > Eğri Liman > Mordoğan

The anchor windlass was repaired in Kusadasi and with family on board as guests, we depart for a leisurely cruise around the Çesme peninsular toward the marina w have chosen to winter over in. Our policy for the guests is that we IMPLORE them to sit and enjoy the ride, and not try to prevent any damage to LeeZe as LeeZe is ~50 tons and while I can fix LeeZe, I cannot fix humans. But on of our guests is the brother to Zehra, and he has bought a new 10 meter boat for delivery in 2018. So, since he is a neophyte at this boating life, he wants to learn. Now, I believe that there is not much I can teach and show him. His boat is no more than 6 tons, a day boat, that does 15-20 knots. But, he still wants to learn so I do let him do a lot, but always under my direct supervision. I try to point out where and how one might get hurt and h comments that he never would have thought of this or that.

So, on 17 Aug, we depart Kusadasi, conduct an anchor test in the bay, verify all is well and make our way to Sağacik.

The NE wind is above 20 knots for nearly the entire trip but since we stay relatively close to the coast, there is not enough distance for the wind to build the waves. We anchor In the bay close to where we had anchored in 2014. Sağacik is a very cute town, with a somewhat restored coastal /fort on the bay where on Sundays, a superb local food farmers market is held which attract buyers and people from many miles around.

There is a marina here called Teos where we stayed one night when we were on the East-Med Yacht Rally in 2012. We stay here two nights, going ashore both days. One of our guests was last here about 35 years ago and while he notes that much has changed, a lot more has not.

On 19 August, we depart for Sarpdere Bay. This is not a long run but the wind has had some distance to cause some waves as we cross the open bay.

As the crow flies this area is close to Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city, so there are MANY fish farms, some so long that they are more than a nautical mile long. There is one that is so long and wide that it blocks the direct path into Sarpdere bay. One ends to see the huge red buoys that denote a passage between the fish nets. We find one, but the width of the gap may be at most 50 meters, and the fish farm hardware is appears to be quite strong and visually imposing. A loss of propulsion or a loss of the rudder would have one in extremis quite quickly and with the depth more than 100 meters in most places, dropping the anchor is not an option.

So thankfully, LeeZe has no problems and we proceed safely thru the farm to the bay.

Our plan is to stay one night because the GRIB forecast predicts a good day tomorrow to go to Çesme. We had a BBQ, a swim, and talk quite a lot before retiring for the night.

On 20 August, we depart for Çesme.

The wind is 20+ knots as we go around the peninsular, and we arrive at about 1400 or so in the bay. Now, we have stayed here before, so we know that we have to get directions from the day trip boat Captains as to what mooring spot we can use. It turns out some of them remember us so they tell us to moor in front of the local post office.

This bay is mostly open, and from experience, can be quite rocky and rolly at the wall. I also now that this is a bay where one really must have more than 100 meters of chain out, angled at about 20-30 degrees off the starboard bow. That means for this particular case we I drop the anchor to the north of the post office, and then med moor.

The wind is blowing 20+ knots so after I get the anchor down and confirm it is holding, I go aft to ask our guests to sit down and enjoy the ride, as Zehra and I know what we are doing.

I go forward to the helm and we get LeeZe close enough to get one line over. This is a great sign as it means that it is just a matter of time until we are along side.

20 minutes later, we are at the wall.

We also had a visit from a couple who we use to hang out with a lot while will lived in Chicago 15-20 years ago. It was fun to note how all of us had changed, or not changed, and to catch up.

Finally, we catch a break and on 29 August, we depart Çesme for Eğri Liman Koyu, a long and narrow bay that offers protection from early very direction.

Now, per the port guide and the chart, there is good anchorage deep into the southern part of the bay, and also at the western beach area. The chart also reports that the bottom depth by the beach rapidly becomes shallow.

Knowing all this and having been here before in 2014, I elect to anchor in front of the beach at the southern end. But first, we took a quick tour with LeeZe in the beach area and did confirm, by nearly running around, that the bottom does rapidly and un-expectantly shoals. That got my hart racing a little.

After anchoring, and verifying that we are in fact holding, there is a wind shift and now we are about 50 meters from a small cliff and a rocky outcrop. Ugh!

The wind picks up some more and by nightfall, it looks like we are getting very close to the cliff. I know it is an illusion because it being night time, but it is still quite unsettling.

So, the next day, we pickup anchor and move a few hundred meters toward keeping water and again anchor. The weather this day dos NOT support us moving on.

A friend also told us that there are two large red buoys in the middle of the bay that we can tie up to. When we arrived, we saw a fishing boat tied to th one closest to the entrance and the other one deep in the bay empty. We did “toy” with the idea of tying up to it but in the end, it was occupied most of the day by various fishing boats.

On 1 Sept, we lifted anchor and got underway. We poked our nose out and found 20-30 knots of wind from the NW and just under 1 meter high waves and whitecaps. Decided to come back and anchor again, and the Admiral was not happy. But it has been like this all summer. The wind has been quite uncooperative.

We try again on 2 Sept and the seas are a little rolly but th wind is low, so off we go to Mordoğan. In all of the times we have boated in Izmir Bay, we had never been to Mordoğan.

Mordoğan Has an old harbor which the port guide says not to enter without local knowledge. There is also a marina to the south of the old harbor that has never been finished. What we see when we arrive is a fast ferry moored inside the old harbor that goes to Izmir as well as a dredging ship. We continued south and anchor close to the mouth of the “new” marina.

Weather in the bay is very different than in the Aegean, and we luck out because for the next few days, it appears that the seas will be absolutely flat.

Today though is part of a 10 day holiday that the government created because Tourism has been deeply affected by the current geo-political climate. It was thought that by creating tis long holiday, Turks would take to the roads and go on holiday. Later, thru the newspapers, we learned that th tourism industry did NOT get the boost that was expected because this current geo-political climate has also affected imports and exports, the economy, and unemployment. The 5-star all-inclusive resorts were charging over $1000 for two to holiday with them, and the turns out to be way too much money for way too many people. By the time this was known, much of the holiday period had already come and gone so there were no real winners, and many losers.

We saw this in Mordoğan who we went ashore. There were many visitors to Mordoğan, but nearly all had Izmir license plates on there cars. We did eat shore that night in the old harbor area and the meal was quite good and “normal” Turkish prices.

That is all for now folks!
If you have any questions, please ask.
Lee and Zehra
MV LeeZe
You can find older blog posts here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com

Diesel Duck Trawler LeeZe in Katapola > Naxos > Paros > Mykonos > Ikaria > Pythagorio > Kusadasi

We have decided to sell our beloved Diesel Duck Trawler LeeZe. The blog posts on this site are some of our adventures during our time cruising and meant to shed some light on the cruising life. Enjoy our posts and please contact us for more information on the places we have been or information on our Diesel Duck Trawler for sale LeeZe. The complete collection of our travel blogs can be found here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com

On 7 August, we are underway to Pythagorio where this time we moored along the wall.

Pythagorio’s daily rate for motor yachts is 36 € /day water and electricity included. We came in late so we paid for an extra day. Pythagorio is an active town with lots of people walking after the sun goes down. Took a day trip to Vathy where we had been last year to shop at Lee’s favorite butcher on the island and Zehra’s favorite fruit and veggie guy.
Our 90 day visa clock runs out on 12 August, so Zehra wants to check out the day before just in case there are problems. So, on 11 August, we trek over to the Passport Police who is so nice and full of useful info that we nearly fall over. He said that Greece allows us to stay as much as 24 hours after your passport is stamped and if one asks nicely to the Port Police, they can extend that one extra day. The we go to the Port Police and tell him we want to depart the next day and he says “then, come back tomorrow.”
So, we are officially out of the country, but LeeZe is not. So, on 12 August, we go to the Port Police who have seem to have lost out arrival paperwork, so we sit they while they recreate it. Then out come the stamps, and with numerous chunks, our arrival paperwork is stamped and so it our transit log. Then after taking photos of the now completed transit log (just in case) and paying a €5 exit fee (this is new), we walk next store to the Customs Office and she takes the transit log, looks at it for all of 5 seconds, and says goodbye!!
So, we depart for an anchorage at the tip of Samos called Poseidonio. It is a 5 nm run and when we turn into the bay, there we se what we believe is MV Castalio, a 1968 wood yacht that was built in Scotland, and owned by a very good Turkish friend who last we heard was very very sick.
It is Castalio, and our friend with part of his family is on board. We try to anchor near to them, but there was not enough room if the weather went bad, so we went and anchored just a little further away. Now, at this time, the anchor windlass was acting “funny” but it functioned and I did not give it another thought. Our friend came by and invited us over later when they return from their shore side trip. We catch up then, and learn that he is about 60% better after falling some 5-6 meters off of a scaffold onto the concrete while doing some repairs to Castalio. He suffered significant neck injuries that took weeks to diagnose. As he is not a spring chicken, the healing process is quite slow and he is still on the mend. But we are so happy that is better that we are both overjoyed.
He invited us ashore for dinner, but as we were officially out of Greece, we did not want to poke at the immigration Gods by going ashore. So we decline. It is now 13 August and our PLAN was depart the anchorage and go to Teos, north of Kusadasi. Up at 0800 and notice that Castalio is gone. We kind of expected that as the owner is an early riser. We decided to go to Kusadasi, instead of Teos, and see some of our friends.

We are off to the Kusadasi Marina some 15-16 nm later, we are at marina.
We met some of our old friends from 2015, told them about the adventures of our summer. Cahit from the boat Castelio invited us out one night. We went to our favorite restaurant “Ketchup” and had a great meal. Marina staff tried to convince us to stay there for the winter, but we already made our minds to go to Izmir.

That is all for now folks!
If you have any questions, please ask.
Lee and Zehra
MV LeeZe
You can find older blog posts here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com

Diesel Duck LeeZe Trawler in Turgutreis> Bodrum> Kos

We have decided to sell our beloved George Buehler Trawler Diesel Duck LeeZe. The blog posts on this site are some of our adventures during our time cruising and meant to shed some light on the cruising life. Enjoy our posts and please contact us for more information on the places we have been or information on our George Buehler Trawler for sale, LeeZe. The complete collection of our travel blogs can be found here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com

It has taken a while to get this going as I have been quite busy.
Over the winter, we stayed in Turgutreis, near to Bodrum. It is a large, very impersonal marina that I could not recommend to anyone. Out of all the marinas that we have stayed in on both sides of the Aegean, this one will stick in our minds as one of the worst, if not the worst.

Over the winter, the required maintenance was accomplished in a timely, but not rushed scheduled. I changed out our mooring lines yet again for 12 strand ropes, and they seem to be doing MUCH better than the braid I used the last two years. It is really difficult to “give away” used rope, because one always thinks that one can find a use for it after its expiration date for the given function has passed. But I did bite the bullet and gave away my FIRST set of ropes to the Bodrum City marina staff who were quite appreciative, but not so much as to offer us a place to stay in downtown Bodrum for a week.

So, on May 1, we departed our marina for a quick run to Akarlar, an anchorage just around the corner between Turgutreis and Bodrum. We anchored there for one night and then made our way to the outer harbor of Bodrum. Zehra wanted to anchor in front of the famed nightclub Halikarnas, which we came to learn later has closed after 38 years.

While on the transit over, the engine died about 2 hours into the run. I get it started using the emergency fuel pump and anchored. I found the two vent valves on the water separators open and these are quite small, so it took a while for them to lose their vacuum.

We were there a long time, and there was one day/night/day when I had Zehra stay ashore at a hotel because the winds and waves were predicted to be high and large. LeeZe was at anchor in about 8 meters of water with about 70 meters of chain out, snubbed with a 22mm 12 strand snubber line and backed up with two addition snubber lines. Wind gusts got about 60 knots and easily there was 1.5 to two meter waves in the outer harbor.

The harbor is a semicircle, more or less, so the wind was not blowing from the same direction all the time, but changed direction due to the topography. The waves more of less came from the same direction for hours on end, within +- 40 degrees, but the gusts would change direction quite quickly, and LeeZe rolled 10-12 degrees while she worked her way around. I told Zehra later that LeeZe was doing some very funky dance moves!

I was surprised that only one boat lost its mooring and ran aground hard in the corner by the castle. I saw it being moved later to somewhere with a floating collar around it with the boat half submerged.

LeeZe’s anchor seemed to dragged about 60-80 meters from where it was initially, and had I gone in the water, I would have seen evidence of the “field being plowed.”

Th night after the wind, we were meeting Brit friends from my first Ankara period for dinner at Sunger, a great pizza place in downtown Bodrum. At first, I was not sure that the winds would die down as the forecast predicted, but they did, and I got ashore to meet with Zehra and the friends, and to have dinner. To be honest, I was relieved to be on dry land. I was STUPID and CHEAP and should have come into the marina for the night, pay their outrageous daily fee and not have to live thru that storm. Next time.

So, on 14 May, we depart the anchorage for Kos. We had to delay our departed a few days because PROBABLY as a result of the 9 May storm, I did SOMETHING to my left shoulder that caused it to hurt like the dickens for 3-4 days. No amount of Ben-Gay helped, but I was good to go on the 14th.

Now the trip over was no a long one, and the seas were calm, the wind low, and we get into Kos and tie up at the “city wall” or so we thought. Nope, where we tied up was at an extension of the main private Kos marina, and we learned that the daily fee was ~ 4 times more than the city wall fee, + electricity and (very expensive) water.

It took us a few days to arrange to go to the real city wall, where there was no electricity, and water was available for free, if one had a 50 meter hose, which I did not have at the time of arrival, but do now!

On 16 May, a surprise pair of visitors show up at our stern, our British friends from Bodrum. They had no clue we were in Kos and came over for a day trip. It was so nice to have them visit, quite and un-expectent surprise.

Meanwhile, Zehra is trying to figure out what hoops her brother and his wife have to jump thru to spend a few days or so with us on LeeZe. We visit agents, passport and customs officials, and in the end, the visa they need is a Schengen visa, a visa that would allow the to visit any of 28 European countries. This application for the visa is $$$ and you do not get your money back if the request is denied. So, in the end, they decided not to come, and we were a little disappointed.

On 17 May, we move to the other side of the harbor and stay there until 3 June, enjoying all that Kos has to offer. The spot was a little rolly, especially when big ferries came to the custom dock just across the way. But, the price was right and we enjoyed it.

But the time comes that we want to leave. So, we pick 5 June to continue our travels, so 3 June, we decide to move back to the marina because the batteries need a really deep charge that the solar panels and the generator just cannot give. This day was falloff calamities. First while preparing to depart, I lost my balance and fell into the water. My GOOD glasses fell to the bottom and it took some time to find them. Since I had dropped a garden hose brass cut-off valve into the water the day before, I retrieved that also.

Then underway, but while docking stern too, the engine died. Restarted and this happened maybe five or six more times. Ummmmmmm. But we do land safely, plug in shore power, and give the batteries the charge they need. Meanwhile, I found a fuel valve out of position, and thinking that was cause, checked each valve and confirmed that they were correctly placed. But it was Sunday and I was tired so I failed to do an post-maintenance check. You are probably NOT surprised that was not the cause of the engine shutdowns, but I leave that to the next installment.

If you have any questions, please ask.
Lee and Zehra
MV LeeZe

You can find older blog posts here: http://whereisleeze.blogspot.com