43. First sail of the season | Sailing the Turkish coast of Marmaris | We back baby |

‪@SailingKawai‬
This week we leave Australia and fly to Turkiye to be reacquainted with our boat Kawai. We have 2 weeks to get her ship shape before we leave our hard stand and are placed into the water. There are many jobs to do, as we receive new batteries, a new solar arch is installed and Trace heads up the mast to fix the anemometer. We have some last minute maintenance issues before we head to the safe bay of Marmaris.
Our friends are arriving in 1 week so we take the opportunity to sail to the beautiful bay of Kumlubuk. With light winds we check our main and head sail and ready them for the season ahead.
Kumlubuk is a large anchorage 7nm from Marmaris. The bay has a variety of restaurants and bars, walking trails and some lovely swimming bays. We use the perfect conditions to explore Amos and it's ancient ruins which has an amphitheatre dating back to the 4th century bc.
With light winds we cruise back into Marmaris ready to pick up Damien and Nicole before we sail towards Gocek.
About us:
Our names are Jason and Tracey and we traded our house, cars, business, job and security for freedom, adventure, travel and living simply amongst nature and the seas on our 45 foot Hanse 445 sailing boat, Kawai.
We don't know exactly where the winds will take us at this stage but over the last couple years we have sailed to Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia.
Jase loves making travel videos and we decided to upload to youtube to share our adventure. We really hope you enjoy and feel free to drop us a comment any time to chat or subscribe to follow along :)
Instagram
Jason: / jase_stephe. .
Tracey: www.instagram.....
Music
1. Always on my mind, Paper twins feat. Feat Erik Fernholm
www.epidemicsound.com
2. Lonely calling, Arc De Soleil
www.epidemicsound.com
3. Some Thing, Rambuten
www.epidemicsound.com
4. Homeless Soul, Fleurs Douces
www.epidemicsound
5. Floating baby, Adam Yoo, / floating-baby
6. Zolfan Chang Chang, epidemic sound
www.epidemicsound.com

[@andrewpeace756]

So good to see you back on Kawai. One of the very best sailing channels has returned and it’s just like hanging out with old friends. With Tracey at the wheel, Jason’s sense of humour and Kawai’s upgrades life is looking good once more.

[@SailingKawai]

Hahaha that's such a nice comment, thanks so much! Love being back, glad you enjoyed the video and great to hear from you :). Chat soon

[@7divad37]

Thanks for the trip back in time. I used to run an Aussie flagged yacht, that spent 5 winters in Netsel marina, Marmaris, and the locals and ex-pats made my time there so fantastic, that it easily became my home away from home........ its been 15 years, glad to hear the turkish people are still excellent.

[@SailingKawai]

Yes, Turkey was fantastic, people were amazing :)

[@ToastandJam52]

Great to see you back on the water. Oh, the suspense at the end there with the rabbit!!! Will he? Won't he? Had me on the edge of my seat!

[@SailingKawai]

Hahaha that's what we were going for :). Hope you enjoyed the vid!

[@Dreamtimesail]

Good to see you back onboard. That much solar on the arch will be fantastic. Bit jealous now. Cheers!

[@SailingKawai]

Hahaha yes we love it! Game changer for our energy needs. We were always worried about power, now we are fully charged by around 10am which is super! Hope you guys are well, chat soon!

[@thomasthomas001]

beautiful Country, views, very cool!...

[@SailingKawai]

Sure is Thomas! One of the best :)

[@rossipop]

Kawai is looking sweet and with that much solar this is looking like an off grid boat., good job guys. Much hugs safe sail.

[@SailingKawai]

She sure is :), it's great having that much energy. Thanks as always and chat again soon xo

[@petemandysailing2685]

Great to see you back, looking forward to future episodes.

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks guys! Appreciate it :)

[@chrismalkin4070]

Yay! Awesome to see you back. Go well.

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Chris! Really happy and grateful to be back, can't wait to explore!

[@mallowe9162]

Great to see you back home, on board hey 👋…see you round the waterways here 🕺🏼🎈🏝

[@SailingKawai]

Sounds great Mal, look forward to it!

[@nevillebroadbent1601]

Welcome back. Love your laidback style. Cheers

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Neville! Great to be back and thanks for the kind words :)

[@tmsyachting]

We wish you fair winds and smoot seas. All the best!

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks TMS, it was great working with you! We will do a follow up video on the boat work, thanks again

[@tmsyachting]

@@SailingKawai You are wellcome!

[@tonylamb812]

Welcome back Looking forward to your future posts

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Tony! Turkey is fantastic so hopefully can give it justice on vid. Appreciate the comment :)

[@licencetoswill]

you guys are awesome, keep the updates coming. cheers from the gc too.

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks so much! Hope the weather has improved a bit, hear she was pretty wet. Thanks for getting in touch and take care

[@licencetoswill]

I just call them windicators

[@SailingKawai]

Hahaha that would have been easier!

[@robertdowdall1068]

Brilliant as ever

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Robert! Glad you enjoyed the vid, great to be back :)

[@blackberrypriv3935]

Looks like fun : )

[@SailingKawai]

It is :), hope you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!

[@returner323617]

Hi Guys, great to see you back on the water after all this time, and you’re obviously enjoying it too. I’ll be very interested in your views of the anchorages along the Turquoise Coast, as we’ve heard mixed reports about how easy it is to find permitted places to just drop the hook. This year we’re playing it safe for our late summer charter and heading to the Ionian again; can’t wait to be at anchor again..! Enjoy.

[@SailingKawai]

Hey Robert, great to hear from you! The Ionian is fantastic so I don't blame you going back haha. We are currently in Kekova and have had a heap of safe large anchorages so far, will keep you posted. Glad all is well with you, keep in touch :)

[@returner323617]

@@SailingKawai Outstanding, and will love to hear your final thoughts when you're done cruising there. BTW, you mentioned that you experienced more roll in an anchorage than expected, based on Windy's prediction; I assume that you are also aware of Navaly..? Historically, I've found it to be pretty good as predicting wind and swell, and the latest version makes visualising this over the coming hours very straightforward. Anyway, all the best and fair winds..!

[@SailingKawai]

Hey Robert, yes we use navily all the time and love the app. Generally it's fantastic, the wind direction entering the bay was a little inconsistent however we had high expectations and it really wasn't that bad haha. Will let you know how we get on :). Chat soon!

[@minkhs]

yeah , my favorite sailing couple are back :) still able to sail? keep up the jokes and the smiles - enjoy again the Kawai and the Med :)

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Minkhs, haha yes we could still sail, thought we would be a little rusty but all was good :). We are and thanks for all the kind comments, great to hear from you again :) Take care and chat soon

[@Phil-dj6co]

Welcome back :)))

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks heaps Phil!

[@alaninglis1924]

My Kiwi friends, Irene and Chris who own the yacht Slam dunk, are back in the Mediterranean this season, not sure if you have come across them, but if you do make yourselves known, fun company,

[@SailingKawai]

Hey Alan, haven't come across them but will keep an eye out! Sounds like the type of people we want to hang with :). Hope you enjoyed the vid mate. Chat soon

[@patrickstratford9798]

Good to see that you have splashed the boat and you are cruising again. Looking forward to following your adventures.

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Patrick, yes some necessary upgrades which will make life on the boat even better. Hope you are well! cheers

[@braddobson2060]

Good vidio glad to see you back

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Brad, glad you enjoyed it!

[@alfsen_3426]

Looks lovely. As always. Great sweet couple you both are. If you ask if Turkey has it all, I loved your videos from Greece the most from all videos I have seen. It's a kaleidoscope of diversity and beauty what I saw and inspired me actually even more to be on a sailing trip there and must have only been a small part of what you can sail there if I look at your route

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks very much! Yes we love both Greece and Turkey, both very different but beautiful. It won't be long before we head back to Greece and cross the Cyclades again :). Yes, there is so much to see and do, could sail the Med for years and not even scratch the surface. Glad we inspired you, enjoy and take care!

[@nortonmolly]

Did you have any input into the design of the solar arch? Sometimes your voice audio seems a bit muffled. At least no wind noise.

[@SailingKawai]

Hey Andrew, we found some arch's online and they showed us their designs. We then decided on the solar panels, number and they took the measurements and made it up. Sometimes there is wind noise due to the sailing and we try to remove it on premier pro which creates the muffle sound haha. This vid was a little rushed as we had a lot going on, hopefully less muffle in the future haha. Hope you are well mate!

[@alanduffy7993]

So great you guys are back. Looking forward to following your adventures.

[@SailingKawai]

Great to hear from you again Alan, hope life is treating you well mate! Thanks again :)

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

WD tends to leave a sticky deposit over time... For free spinning items like your anemometer use a PTFE spray or liquid like GT85 ..used by cyclists... It dries with no stickyness leaving a ptfe coating safe for metals and plastics and rubber. WD40 attacks some kinds of the latter as i know to my cost.

[@SailingKawai]

Hi Clive, thanks for the feedback, appreciate it!

[@simonhantler8062]

nice part of the world. hey what did the solar arch cost.also be good to know daily costs of things in turkey, marina, food, beer etc.

[@SailingKawai]

Hey Simon, how are you? Yes it's beautiful and pretty cheap. We do plan to make a couple of video's regarding the cost of living on a boat and boat costs. Our solar arch was 4000 euro so pretty expensive but necessary for our energy needs and wants. Hopefully in the coming weeks :). If you have further questions just ask!

[@simonhantler8062]

@@SailingKawai thanks for reply. 4000 euro still cheaper than here in nz. is the skill level high there?

[@jochemrebergen]

Great to have you back on Kawai again guys! Awesome views, blue waters, calm anchorages, heaven! 😍 What camera/microphone are you using? It sometimes sounds a bit inaudible, especially when talking on both ends of the camera. I'm using the GoPro Hero 10 myself with Media Mod, struggling to switch seamlessly between the front and back mic. Any comments on this? Happy sailing! Looking forward to upcoming episodes!

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks Jochem, has been a dream start to the season. We have a go pro hero 8 which is good and a Canon Eos 70D which we love, unfortunately when sailing the wind makes videoing difficult. We have a dead cat but not good enough in windy conditions. Hope all is well with you, glad you enjoyed the vid :)

[@fairdinkum7246]

So Good to see you guys back in "business" ! We can't wait either to start our journey to the Med. We officially named our Dutch Kotter into "Fair Dinkum" as a tribute to down under. We expect to arrive in Port ST. Louis (south of France) in December. Maybe we will meet one day. :)

[@SailingKawai]

Thanks so much guys! Yay, I bet you are so excited :). I love the name and hopefully we will catch up in the Med in the next couple of years! Take care

[@johnlord7854]

Great video you two, thanks :) How much did TMS charge you for the solar arch ? Have you been to Ciftlic ? Just around the corner from where you anchored. I have called in there 3 times, and love it :) Looking forward to seeing Goceck - I havent been that far East yet ! Best wishes to you both. John.

[@SailingKawai]

Hey John, how are you mate? Yes we have been to Ciftlic but in late November so it was really dead. Our plan is to drop back in on the way up once we have explored further South. The Solar Arch was pretty expensive, costing 4000 Euro, but a great investment. Gocek is crazy busy now, look forward to bringing it to you :). Take care and chat soon

[@johnlord7854]

@@SailingKawai Great thanks !!! Trying to stay warm and dry :) Hope you are having much better weather over there ! Wow, that is quite expensive, but where else can you put solar panels :( Yes you had to do it. OK. I went there in June, July, and October. Was quite busy, very enjoyable. Kind regards, John.