Well so much has happened this year we thought we should send a half year newsletter. Last newsletter we left off with Gail in Oz and Steve in Langkawi. Back to Gone Troppo
Well, Gail was diagnosed with suspected serious health probs while in Adelaide but the tests came back negative. The Doc wanted more tests but it was going to take months for appointments and tests to be done. She decided to fly to Phuket to get the tests done.
So the Sunday afternoon after she arrived we rocked up to the hospital and after a couple of hours she had appointments for the following day. Some procedures and tests could be done in Phuket but others needed to be done in Bangkok. By the following Sunday she had all the necessary procedures and surgery for breast cancer done and it took another week for all the lab results to come back. Thankfully all results showed that no further treatments were required, no chemo, hormone or radiation treatment. The standard of the medical care was better than any we had experienced in OZ. We then stocked up the boat and sailed to Langkawi to allow Gail to fly to KL to pick up her watch from it's service and Steve to stock up with beers at $11/carton.
At the end of February we set sail for the Maldives, there was no wind for the first three days and one motor started playing up. After that we had a good sail to the Maldives where we spent a few days with the locals and a few cruisers. We had a great pot-luck on the beach and a meal at a local's house. Uligan now has a small hospital with a doctor from India. His wife is with him but his little girl, not being Muslim could not go to school there so she is in India. The hospital has had a significant positive impact on the islanders health. A resort and airport are about to be built, so there goes another quiet island. The sail to Aden was good. Gentle following winds, clear skies and lots of dolphins. We passed the dangerous pirate area at night doing 12-14kts(60nm in 5 hrs) so Gail was very happy.
We spent 2 weeks in Yemen catching up with old friends. They said that 
the pirates had been cleaned up, and as no attacks have been reported lately, they may be right. Our favourite taxi driver and friend, Omar, took us to his local restuarant and we watched while he ate a sheep's head, a local delicacy.
Had a mechanic look at the motor, all to no avail. We did a trip to Saana, the capital of Yemen, which is an extremely old city way up in the mountains. It was a surprise to see this beautiful old city with its unique architectural style. It has a world heritage listing which is very well deserved. Saw sesame seed being turned into oil by a camel powered mill. The old moat/ waterway around the city has been turned into a road which works well until it rains, as we found out. We stocked up in Aden ( it now has a shopping complex complete with supermarket & ATMs everywhere).
Diesel cost 50 cents/litre. Gail had a dance at the Sailors Club, taught by a lady of the night. The people of Yemen seem to be a lot less strict Islamic now.
Saw women out and about without being totally covered up. There were also a lot more happy faces about, and hardly any begging on the streets. In Saana they were very friendly to tourists. Only alcohol free beer available in hotels, bugger!!
We then left for Eritrea where we visited Massawa, not Gail's favourite city. Boats now being robbed in the anchorage while crew asleep. Had very nice day sails along the Eritrean and Sudan coasts. At one island some birds were doing syncronised flying, it was absolutely amazing, better than any airshow. Could have watched them doing it for days. In one Sudan marsa we saw a herd of camels being driven North to the Egyptian camel markets, and an Osprey decided our mast was the best lookout spot to the detriment of our wind indicator. Gail had to go up the mast to fix it, and she and the Osprey were at war for the remainder of our stay.
Cleared into Egypt at Port Ghalib, a resort/marina complex, still under construction. Ordered some parts for the engine, and while waiting for them we did a PADI Open Water Dive course. Really enjoyed the diving, great coral and fish.
Ghalib is a bit expensive to really enjoy for more 
than a few days, a carton of beer cost US$100, so after 19 days(and no beer) we were glad to be on our way again. The motor was better but still not right. Another yacht we met needed to have their engine rebuilt, but customs required a deposit of 10,000 pounds sterling($26,000) before the motor could be removed from the yacht, this is to make sure that they are not just selling it. The Egyptian authorities are still as bad as when we first visited. Had a good sail until the Straits of Gubal, where we were once again treated to a miserable night of strong winds. From there to Suez was a great sail, Southerly wind, we travelled in 24hrs what took us a week in 2000. In the wee hours as we entered the Bay of Suez, all the land based lights started going out, and then the ship lights, visibility dropped to about 100-200 metres. We were in a sand storm, but it only lasted a few hours. The Prince of the Red Sea, Heebie, remembered Gail and managed to reduce our transit fee. Our Suez transit was easy and stress free, not so for the yacht 30 metres ahead of us, they rammed a marker pole. We had told every yacht we met on the way, NOT TO LET THE SUEZ PILOT ON THE HELM UNLESS HE WAS CLOSELY SUPERVISED. This yacht had the pilot on the helm and both crew in the cockpit, must have been dreaming.
After Port Said we sailed to Larnica, Cyprus, it was like arriving back in civilisation, normal people enjoying a normal life. We unwound and de-stressed. We aquired a new passarelle and a supply of box wine before setting off to Turkey, via North Cyprus. Anchored in a nice bay on the Turkish coast that we shared with some turtles and a seal. Cleared in to Turkey at Tasucu, a quiet town, where everything was only a short stroll from the boat. We then spent a few days in a fantastic bay with dozens of turtles to snorkel with, before heading to Kemer Marina. We are now in Kemer and have a 12 month contract.
Have caught up with quite a few old friends. Gone Troppo's picture is still on the marinas advertising brochure. The motor is in the cockpit, awaiting a trip to the work shop. Kemer has continued to develop and now caters to a strong influx of Russian tourists, but the Turks have remained as gentle and friendly as we remembered. Gail had the pleasure of going to the local weekly market and buying lots of fresh, juicy cherries, strawberries and peaches as well as red, red tomatoes that smell like tomatoes. Of course Stephen is enjoying the Russian influx and has been known to volunteer to go shopping just to enjoy the sights. We try and do some jobs every day, but it is a bit hard as for the last two weeks we have not had a day under 36 degrees, and had 5 in a row above 40. So it's think about a job and then go for a swim, have a grandpa/ma nap, go for a swim, repeat process until bed time. Alright, have also been known to down a cold beer/G&T on a hot day.Hope you are well and having a good year.
Back to Gone Troppo