It has been said that cruising is the art of doing boat work in exotic locals and honestly that’s not far from the truth. Atticus 2 is in super good shape, but all boats are in constant need of routine maintenance. Salt water, fresh water, and UV rays are constantly doing everything they can to destroy seagoing boats and extreme motion means that any week link can and will be exposed at the worst possible moment. So now is the time to for us to get on top of our preventative maintenance and there are still a handful of improvements that we’re hoping to make as well.
We decided to spend the winter at D-marin, Turgutreis in Turkey for several reasons. The winters here is mild, Turkey is renown for having skilled labor at reasonable prices, its outside of the Schengen region so we can recharge our Schengen Visas, but more than anything we’ve been told by several other sailors that Turkey is their favorite country in the Med. It’s such a unique place considered a transcontinental country, not quite a part of Europe, and not quite a part of Asia. And that’s exactly how the culture feels, it’s a blend of two extremely different places. Turkey is one of the most secular muslim majority countries in the world. It’s now home to two of the seven wonders of the ancient world. And for centuries, the Ottoman Empire was the preeminent power in the Mediterranean.
So this week we’re going to get to know this fascinating place before we hunker down to start doing boat projects