David's Diary: Saturday, August 2, 2003

Shipwrecks and Queens on the way to Akbuk Limani

We left English Harbour this morning and stopped off in Sogut for supplies. We next motored over to Castle Island. Just before lunch we anchored off the South side of the island. There is an undocumented 2,000 year old wreck off the island that Dick and Marian know about. Karalee and the kids swam over to the wreck while I watched over Dragonsinger. The wind was starting to blow and I was afraid that Dragonsinger would start dragging her anchor.

When Karalee and the kids returned, I dove in and swam over to where Dick had told me the wreck was. It took me a few tries, bobbing around in the waves, before I found the wreck. The original wooden hull is long gone, but the cargo must have been olive oil or wine carried in amphora. I could imagine the outline of the ship by looking at the thousands and thousands of shards of pottery, which is all that is left of the ship.

Jocelyn Windsurfing

Kevin picked me up the dinghy and took me back to Dragonsinger, saving me having to swim against the waves. We picked up the anchor and motored around Castle Island. On the way we passed a large sandy beach. It is believed that Cleopatra had the sand for the beach barged all the way from Egypt. We anchored in the protected bay off Castle Island. Tour boats came and went among the anchored yachts. Jocelyn borrowed Van Kedisi's windsurfer. She has been learning to windsurf all week and today she showed off her growing skills as she swept past Dragonsinger so that I could take a picture.

Allen, Steven, and Andy

After lunch and a short rest we crossed Gökova Körfezi once more and arrive at Akbuk Limani around 6:00 PM. We couldn't find a suitable anchorage so we tied up at the dock at the head of the bay. Steven and Andy came over to Dragonsinger to play with Kevin and Allen before dinner.

Akbuk Limani

I went for a walk down the beach. There were many local people out enjoying the sunshine and warm water. A group of fishing boats were pulled up to the beach and the fisherman were mending their nets and looking after their boats. Children were running around on the beach and I stopped at the local beach side grocery store for some bread.

After dinner, Dick, Marian, Karalee, and I left all the children onboard Dragonsinger watching a movie. We followed the road immediately behind the dock and climbed the short hill to a restaurant. We sat down and enjoyed a few drinks while we visited for a few hours. With our shared Vancouver history, children, and interest in sailing, we never run out of topics to discuss. We got home after midnight, just as the kids were finishing their movie. We put everyone to bed and settled down for one of our last days of holidays before we head back to Bodrum to pack up Dragonsinger and travel back to Canada.