As we race West at an average of 8 knots plus, we are often joined by pods of dolphins, up to 70 at a time. After an aerial display of leaping out of the water, which none of us have yet managed to catch on camera, they “play” in the water by the bow of the boat, a wonderful sight.

The winds have been kind and our last two “24 hour runs” have been 198 and 201 miles. Those of you with Porsche 911’s may think “well I could do that in an hour and a half”, but the 911 does not fare so well on water. No comments please from “motor yachts” (aka stink pots).

The results issued this morning show us at 4th of 19 in class and 17th overall of 250 boats. This is not entirely reliable as some boat positions are taken at midnight and some at 4 am, which sounds insignificant but in one period last night we covered 38 miles in four hours.

Kealoha8 is as ever performing beautifully. Last night in winds of 28 knots (32 miles per hour) she glided along gracefully at 10 knots plus in great style. She remains intact with no damage or breakdowns, for which we are very grateful as there are few repair facilities mid Atlantic.

With so many Yorkshire men on board such a gracious yacht we also need to eat in style and so we called upon Williams Farm Kitchens of Hornsea, owned by David’s son in law, to provision us. Their dry cured back bacon and homemade pork sausages are to die for.

Our prizewinner yesterday was young Tim who has been incredibly enthusiastic, a key member of the foredeck team and cheerfully undertaken all that has been asked of him.

Fortunately we remain isolated from the news. It is probably reasonable to guess that the politicians are still focussing on votes rather than finding a sustainable solution to the profligate mountain of debt in Europe. We could tune into the World Service on our SSB, but do we really want to spoil and excellent piece of sailing with news of incompetent politicians and avaricious bankers?

Onto happier subjects all is well on Kealoha8 with no kit damaged despite the huge loads, no injuries apart from a few tiny plasters on Billy and all in good spirits.

All good wishes from all on Kealoha 8

Please click Golf May 2011 pdf blog to down load our latest news on two fabulous weeks sailing and playing golf on the Turkish coast.

For our April 2011 sea trials blog pleaseK8_april_sea_trials

For a blog about our re-fit wrap up 2010 & 11 pleaseK8_refit_wrap_up click here

To down load the PDF for more adventures in September and October on K8, please Kealoha click here

Ahoy,

Here are some tales about what Kealoha 8 got up to in september and October 2010

To see more Kealoha Blog2011p12

A final Blue Cruise

It felt like a final “Blue Cruise” as we sailed from Bodrum last month, August, but it is not really as we will be returning shortly from Sardinia.

It has been a great season so far, our most recent trip was especially exciting, sailing approximately 250 miles from Bodrum to Crete, keeping in front of the howling Meltemi winds as they chased us from Kos, Kalimnos, Astipalaia and Thira to our destination. The winds caught up with us as we approached the Island of Crete and kept us tucked in our bay for a few days as the waves foamed around us and we thanked our lucky stars we were not bouncing about for the final 60 mile crossing in the force 9 beyond the shore.

The departure itself was a challenge as the Turkish officials in Bodrum decided that we suddenly did not have the right paperwork to leave the country – even though K8 has been sailing here since late 2009….and we were delayed another day before the appointed agent managed to find a mutually convenient solution.

But once we got going the beauty of the islands we visited soon dispelled the initial concerns and the warm welcome in Kos was a breath of fresh air.

The conditions were optimal, during the trip we managed to have a few refreshing dips in the clear blue seas, peek into some breath taking anchorages, get Kealoha up and charging along at 10.8 knots and still enjoy some tasty dining aboard and ashore.

We had the pleasure of welcoming all the Hislop family on board which was particularly special for me as Victoria Hislops book, The Island, is set on Crete and we sailed all together to Spinalonghi and sheltered from the wind for a lunch at anchor.

Kealohas’ biggest fan reunited

From Crete we traveled to Corfu where K8 had some TLC and met up with K8s biggest fan – David. From Corfu the days flew by and before we knew it we had arrived in Sardinia and prepared for the Oyster Regatta.

Sardinia 2010, The 25^th Oyster Regatta

Over 30 Oyster yachts joined together to celebrate the 25^th Oyster Yacht Regatta in Sardinia at the Costa Smeralda Yach Club on the North East coast. A special occasion and a special location. The yacht club and old port ooze sophistication and underline the quality that Oyster put into their boats and into their overall organization which has been awe inspiring.

The racing has been exhilarating and it has been wonderful to meet new crews and see the variety of Oyster yachts. The K8 crew of Phil, James, Tim, Richard, Colin, Ben and Kate worked very hard for Helmsman and owner David, they donated some sweat and blood and Kealoha sailed proudly in her class with some exciting tactics, a close rock encounter and sadly a ripped spinnaker. The after race entertainment has been second to none and the signature spacious cockpits on many Oyster boats have been well proven very apt for multiple impromptu drinks gatherings. Whatever the results of the racing, the event has been a complete success from Kealohas’ perspective as we have all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

June Blog 2010

Waves, wind and Sun

It is official, the summer is here, as if the weatherman were in control of the season, somebody hit a switch and the temperatures soared in to the 40s. Punctuated with heat influenced thunder storms, we enjoy mostly clear blue skies, sunny days with nice calm winds in the mornings and brisk winds in the afternoon. Perfect for a morning swim, some water sports if you feel active, lunch and an exhilarating sail to another destination waiting to be explored. The afternoon gusts keep the cabins cooler and the insects at bay (most of the time). They also offer our guests on board a real feel for Kealohas’ love for getting going. Give her 10 knots of wind and she is begging to flaunt her sails and try to dip her toe rail into the cool blue sea.

Our guests and friends aboard have all loved putting K8 through her paces and the smiles crack into wide grins as soon as they grasp the helm and feel how responsive the boat is and how she enjoys the wind.

Travels along the Turkish Mediterranean coast

Everyday blesses us with another experience and together with all aboard we often wonder if it can get any better….

Be it people, places or just seeing something in an exceptional light all contribute to our satisfaction.

The romantic sunsets over the hills in Marmaris bay are stunning.

The charm of the waiter in Selimye called “Golden Teeth” who just helps out with your mooring lines to make that important first connection and perhaps persuade you to stop in his establishment and drink a homemade lemonade with the fruits from the tree behind his home. In the same bay, the ship building yard is open to view where the skeletons of future gullets lie and the local workers skilfully lay planks on the frames of thick hard wood pausing only for the imams call to pray.

In Bozubuku a young guy greeted us in a small tender as we lay the anchor and offered to take our line ashore. The next morning, he brought us fresh warm home baked peasants loaf of bread laden with olives. This bay has no electricity, the settlements on the shore line nestle between Byzantine ruins and only have power supplied by generators. You wake to the bray of donkeys and the jangle of goats bells.

Cooking up a storm

Inspired by the freshness of the local ingredients and the variety of spices, cooking aboard Kealoha has been a delightful experience. We have enjoyed the fresh wild sea bass, the calamari and octopus and the local lamb. We would like to hope that our friends and guests have left us satisfied and there have been plenty of requests for recipes for “cooking on K8”.

One of the more unusual requests was for fresh sea urchin eggs, so we clambered into the dinghy and methodically combed the coast line seeking the urchins. We opened them our selves carefully and scooped out the eggs for a delicious aperitif with a dash of lemon. Had we had a little more time before the sun set, we could have collected enough for sea urchin linguini

St Tropez of Turkey

The most Northerly point of our cruises so far has been Bodrum. What a contrast between the other towns and villages we have visited so far. The guests enjoyed breakfast the other morning under the shadow of St Peters Castle before alighting to visit the St Tropez of Turkey. Sharing the streets with the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife, you can browse the designer shops and savour international cuisine on a shady esplanade. But keep walking too far on the esplanade and you come to the largest outdoor discotheque in the world. It boasts the biggest speakers pointing directly at the yachts in the anchorage. On a sliding scale, the later into the night it is, the louder the noise from the club. In case you do not get the full effect and this has not shaken all your fillings out, the club sends a strobe lit, floating disco out into the bay among the yachts and to quote a guest aboard who “slept” in the cockpit, he thought they were actually dancing next to him.

Starting the season

Despite the volcanic ash cloud which disrupted some of K8’s plans, Visits flowed in steadily. We were eager to blow away the dust from the yard, and concentrate on exploring the blue cruise coast line which we had heard so much about. The photos in the literature do not do it justice, as it is all about the experience too which can not be portrayed in a still image.

Provisioning

Provisioning alone is an experience to behold – the market runs every Sunday and Thursday in the centre of Marmarais town. Farmers from neighbouring villages set up stands with their wears and tout for business as potential customers wander about. You can buy the freshest fruit and veg, but only the local produce that is in season, there are spices piled in colourful sacks and wicker baskets of dried fruits and nuts. You can taste all the local goat, cow and sheep cheeses and gorge yourself on a million different olives. Some of the vegetable were new for me and a stand holder took me under his wing and cooked a wonderful stew on a gas camping burner right there as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Friendships were forged over a quest for understanding the Turkish for coriander and a place to buy some.

Visitors

Our visitor are arriving and sadly leaving, but all I hope are taking a little bit of Turkey and the magical Kealoha experience with them. As we visit different places we are making new friends. The coast line seems an endless discovery of little bays and historical ruins. The people we meet are so full of knowledge and very proud of their history. We have got to know a number of Turkish Gullet Captains and International Cruisers in their own boats who are eager to share their knowledge of the coast line with us so that we can get the most out of it together with our guests aboard.

None the less, nothing replaces your own experience of each special place. A few weeks ago we went to Gocek town for the evening; a friendly waiter served the guests with drinks on the quay side and upon learning that they were cruising the coast on a yacht, insisted they take freshly made stone oven bread with them free of charge. We devoured it with some home made Hummus and salad for a light lunch. Last week we went to a restaurant with guests in Selimiye and some German Crew kindly entertained all the diners with a jamming session on a banjo and saxophone. A few days later while crossing the bay of Marmarais in the tender, we were joined by a curious loggerhead turtle, which swam with us for a few meters before departing to the depths of the bay. He must have been 1.5m large, I wonder how old he is and what he has seen in his life?

Work through the winter

While the winds howled and the rains lashed down, winter work on Kealoha 8 remained as relentless as the Turkish winter. Punctuated by balmy sunny days you could not believe that it could also be so cold and hostile. I often wondered how the oranges and lemons managed in climes that were 1 degree centigrade sometimes.

Like the hardy citrus fruits, Thanks to a team of some exceptional local specialists, Kealoha 8 was refitted inside and out during the months of January through March and by April she was smugly gleaming in the yard awaiting transportation to the launch pool.

Friends and pricing benefits

For ourselves, the crew, Turkish refit doubled up as a Cultural lesson and one day, while seeking some obscure small but crucial piece of equipment, we befriended a well dressed local gentleman in a suppliers shop who offered us a lift in his car to another outlet where we could source the piece we were seeking. The gentleman turned out to be the buyer for the Turkish Navy and we gleaned a valuable lesson in how to manage price negotiations with different sources. A very large bladder is a key point as it involves several cups of chai (thimbles full of tea) before you can arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement. Also do not judge books by their covers, craftsmanship is understated generally in Turkey and the shop with the biggest front and most advanced advertising statements does not necessarily tick the boxes. The little shack at the dark corner end of the road probably supplies the gleaming shop that catches the naive crews’ eye!

Launch on time

Kealoha 8 sat snugly surrounded by perhaps 2000 boats. Thanks to our exceptional team the ship and the work aboard was completed in a timely manner though from my inexperienced eye, I could not see how the marina were going to get Kealoha and her mast into the lift pool for the date that was emblazoned on her rudder. But true to their word, the marina played out an extravagant game of shuffling boats (sometimes into the small hours of the morning) and K8 kissed the Mediterranean with precision timing and precision driving by the travel hoist driver.

Sea Trials

Sea Trials ensued – our sails were put on by one of the fantastic teams we have a lot to thank for at 9pm on a Sunday – where else do you enjoy such a dedicated attitude – including a sparkling new stay sail. After a seemingly mammoth amount of paperwork in order to be let out of the marina (one of the few down sides) We slipped the stern lines carrying a posse of 10 stoic work partners out, to put Kealoha 8 through her paces. It really did not take long for every one of them to break into a smile, enjoying over nine knots in a moderate breeze.

We knew then that Kealoha was just itching to get on with the exciting season ahead.