Getting closer
2023.07.04 - AYB - Reading time ~5 Minutes
Over the past few months, I’ve mainly been recovering from the road crash I experienced in September. I’ve also been trying to gain more sailing experience because, despite learning a ton of theory and watching loads of videos, I’m still a complete newbie when it comes to the practical side.
Towards the end of April, a friend of mine offered me the chance to take an extra course at his sailing school. So I hopped on a plane and flew to Turkey for some intensive training. It turned out to be an even more valuable experience than I had planned. As part of the training, we had a night passage scheduled, and wouldn’t you know it, we encountered some lousy weather with gusts of around 40 knots and rough waves. Thankfully, everything went fine, except for the fact that I was so utterly exhausted that I literally switched off and slept for 12 hours.
Assessing my knowledge absense with the instructor
The first few days were all about assessing our actual skills. That’s when I discovered that Serge (the one on the helm in the next photo) is a way more experienced sailor than both me and the other student. He had already participated in some casual racing events, making him our top authority when it came to sail tuning and overall operation. He also showed the most passion for acquiring new skills since he was preparing himself for more serious sailing sports events and, in particular, chartering a boat with about six friends and taking on the role of a responsible captain.
Here, we’re going a bit overpowered, but our instructor said we should do so because we need to learn. There are no skill points gained at a speed of 4.5 knots and with heeling 10°.
We’ve been sailing along the southern coast of Turkey, around Marmaris. We’ve covered about 200 miles in total, including a 55-mile overnight passage. Gotta say, these seas are absolutely beautiful. The underdevelopment of the surrounding areas helps keep the sea pretty clean, along with the strict laws that protect both the sea and the shoreline. I’m really happy that Turkish people understand the importance of the sea for their country’s tourism income, which is why they guard their seas so strictly. For instance, you can’t enter Turkish waters if your boat doesn’t have a holding tank — no shitting in the sea. They won’t give you approval no matter what.
At 02:00 AM, the storm was building up. The wind at that moment was around 30 knots, with gusts reaching up to 40 knots. We had already taken the third reef and furled the genoa to about 85%. The sea had also started to build up. In about 5 minutes, our instructor was going to show up and take command, as things were getting rough.
The evening forecast predicted 6-8 knots of wind in a favorable direction throughout the night. We left our anchorage in the evening, heading back home. As we rounded the peninsula and reached the open sea, we encountered 12-15 knots of wind, and we thought it would be a thrilling ride back since our boat is quite sporty and performs the best at 15 knots of wind.
But then the storm hit us unexpectedly. Around 2:00 AM, we decided to reef to the maximum as the wind exceeded 20 knots. By 2:30 AM, things got rough, and our instructor woke up to take command. I had been at the helm for about 5 hours, so I was tired and handed over control to Serge. The wind continued to pick up, reaching a steady 30 knots. Even with everything reefed to the maximum, we were still flying at 8.5 knots with a 25° heel, and the sea started to build up nasty waves.
I didn’t take any photos or videos at this point since I was feeling nervous and extremely tired. However, our instructor remained calm, which helped me maintain composure. It was a pitch-black night, and the short 2.5-meter high waves, along with wind gusts of around 40 knots, made me feel uneasy. Around 4:00 AM, I announced to the team that I was completely incapacitated and therefore useless, and I went to sleep.
Sleeping in such conditions would be challenging for most people, but I was so utterly exhausted that I collapsed onto my bed, positioning my butt towards the port side and my legs against the cockpit wall to prevent myself from flying all over the place. I simply switched off. I woke up when I felt a sudden change of boat behavior, realizing that it was already morning and we had sought refuge behind some land, navigating towards a safe lagoon. I then switched off again for several more hours.
Motoring out of the lagoon where we took shelter last night during the storm..
After resting at the safe and incredibly beautiful lagoon, we made our way back home to Marmaris. It was such an amazing week, filled with lots of fun. Surprisingly, the storm didn’t ruin my overall experience. Against all odds, it actually added more excitement. Especially because I knew that Victor, our instructor, knew how to handle things.
