Where we are situated in the marina, we have a beautiful view from our boat of the surrounding mountains that quickly become snow covered by November. Even with the warmer weather we are enjoying now, the snow remains and provides a beautiful view with the sun glistening on it.
With all the planned improvements scheduled for this winter, we didn't waste too much time to get started. The main salon was one of our major goals. We wanted to have the settees recovered with leather, build new bookshelves and incorporate new storage areas. Terry got going on these and built beautiful mahogany units; my job to finish these pieces by varnishing and matching color to surrounding wood pieces. The settees were recovered with beautiful blue leather; a very reasonably priced material available here. The upgrades included re-varnishing all of the original wood and painting the original headliner with special white vinyl paint. We upgraded and increased the lighting throughout the boat. Terry also rebuilt the toilets and I redecorated the aft and forward bathrooms. Of course, there are the usual projects that every boat needs attending to; servicing the engines and generator, cleaning all the sails and storage areas, varnishing, cleaning the decks, and the list goes on. We had to set aside time for relaxing and touring; it is easy to get caught up with the "work on projects everyday habit".
As most of you already know, Terry had a heart attack in mid January; certainly unexpected. He spent 3 weeks in the hospital here in Turkey, two of which to recuperate and the third to undergo an angiogram and a subsequent implantation of a coated stent. He retuned home in early February and goes for his daily 30-minute walks. He is feeling good and has begun to work on some of the last minute projects. We received tremendous support from past corporate friends who helped us to make contact with cardiology care options here. We both appreciated the many, many email messages expressing concern and prayers for Terry's recovery.
A few weeks after Terry's release from the hospital, we were shopping in a nearby large supermarket and were aided by another shopper who helped in translating our questions. It turned out that this person, Bulend, is Turkish and who had been educated not only in Turkey but the US. His wife, Jessica, was from Philadelphia. We immediately had a great conversation and exchanged phone numbers. We have since spent a few weekends with them at their flat in Antalya, they have also visited us here on Zelda. We enjoy their company and their helpful exposure to the various services available in Antalya. It is great to have made friends with "local" folks who live here full time.
We are now expecting to stay in Turkish waters for this sailing season with initial plans to sail to Istanbul for a few weeks of touring. We are also planning to tour Bulgaria either by car or possibly aboard our boats along with our good friends, Bob and Susan aboard Meg.
Needless to say, the war against Iraq may change these plans. As for the war, we have received and have appreciated the many email messages from friends and family expressing concern over our present position here in Turkey. The reality here is that we are extremely safe. Actually, no one has left the marina due to the war. Since we have cable connection to our boat, we are able to follow the war via BBC World and CNN.
Well, it is now mid April, still working on a few projects including the installation of an electric winch to help reduce high strength requirements of the sails. We are also changing our sail covers to pouches that don't require us to secure the sails after dropping. We continue to look for other things on the boat that would help us sail it more comfortably. We expect to be hauled out next week for maintenance on the prop shaft, reinstallation of our max prop that is new and some other odds and ends.
We hope to begin our cruising season in early May with about a 600 nautical mile trip up to Istanbul. Once there, we will plan to spend several weeks touring that area before leaving the boat to head back to the US for my son's wedding to be held in Annapolis.
Hope you have enjoyed this update, please feel free to sign into our guest book; we love to hear from you as well.
Stay well,
Marie & Terry
SV Zelda