Hello...

Thinking about what I have written before, I realized that I have neglected our future sailors who will be coming to the boat for the first time. Let me first apologize to them and hope that I will be forgiven with this article.

As you know, we do not need to sail in order to get an amateur sailor certificate here in Turkey. For this reason, among our friends who will join us for the first time, there may be those who have a certificate, but I will address our guests who do not have theoretical knowledge. Most of these guests come with a captain from the family and they will definitely consult them beforehand. Let me try to convey what comes to my mind, after all, there is no more information...

A boat was rented from Yelkenli Yachting. The technical specifications of this boat are available on the website. You can see what kind of a vacation awaits you with pictures. You can make plans and shape your vacation dreams.

First of all, you should know that there is a captain on the boat and everyone except the captain is called the crew. If you have vacationed on a gulet before, this is the first difference. So everyone on the boat has a responsibility as crew. Even if you cannot participate in most of the work and operations on the boat because you are physically disabled, at least you will be responsible for yourself. Everything you do or don't do will affect everyone on the boat in some way. You will understand what I mean with examples in a moment.

Let's start with preparations at home. You may have seen in the movies that sailors always carry cloth bags on their backs. Yes, do not come on the boat with a hard suitcase. If you don't have any soft bags, consider the possibility of emptying your suitcase in your cabin and leaving the empty one in your car. If this is not possible, definitely get a soft bag. One reason for this is the lack of space on the boat and the other reason is the potential for a hard suitcase to create entanglement. Take a look at the drawing of the boat you are renting. In the cabins you will see a space between the bed and the door. A space where you can stand and change your clothes. The bed is high, of course. So when the door is closed, there is a space like a pool. The hard suitcase left on the bed fell here during the cruise and made the door unopenable. Since the incident took place in the aft cabin, the hatch (window) above was not big enough for people to pass through. I was sweating profusely until I grabbed the suitcase with the hook and pulled it out. What if your baby was sleeping inside... here is the first example of how everything you do or don't do as a crew affects everyone in one way or another.

Don't overfill this soft bag as if you were going to a hotel. The storage space is too small and everyone takes back most of what they bring without wearing it. The decision is still yours... Since you can't travel without a cell phone or tablet, waterproof cases suitable for them can be very useful. Also, a suitable bag and slippers to use when going to the shower where you are tied up can be useful.

The sun is much more effective on sailboats. Even if you stay in the shade, the sun reflecting off the white fiber of the boat, the sail and the sea burns a lot. When you can't feel it with the breeze while sailing, there is a possibility of burning like a gas explosion on the first day of your vacation. Take sun protection seriously and take it one level higher than your usual preparation.

If you've never tried it before and don't know its effects on you, you can get one of these wristbands against seasickness. Looking at the phone screen for a long time, writing on the screen, especially doing these indoors, will seriously trigger seasickness. Not using your prescription glasses is also effective. Therefore, please get prescription sunglasses. If you start to feel as if you are going to get seasick, look at the horizon line. If it still seems to be increasing, steer. Even if you are not at a level where you can take responsibility for the boat, take the helm and stand up, hold on to the helm with both hands, pay attention to the heading and the courses of the surrounding boats, and steer with the support of the skipper from the side.

If you can't fall asleep without reading late into the night and don't want to take medication, get a battery-powered reading lamp. The system on the boat is very different from what you are used to at home. At home, you turn on the faucet and the water flows unlimitedly with city pressure. You flush the toilet and it flows away by gravity. Things don't work like that on a boat. Look at the drawings of the boat you rent, you will see at least two water tanks. The water coming from these tanks, which you will use very economically, to the faucet and flowing when you turn the faucet is provided by the booster. The booster works with electricity. Where's the electricity, in the battery. So 12 volts. There is no 220 volt city power on the boat, and the lights come from the battery. We have used the toilet, how will it go, there is no downstairs, how can it go by gravity on the boat? In the drawing you'll see the waste tanks hidden inside the toilets. They are higher than the toilet. We pump the content of the toilet into these tanks with a special pump. Either with a manual push and pull pump or with an electric pump that also runs on 12 volts. Here comes the most important warning: Don't throw anything that hasn't come out of your butt into the toilet, don't drop it, and if you have dropped it, pick it up. Otherwise, the pump will instantly break down and your vacation will turn into a nightmare. You took a shower in the toilet, there is no way down, where will the water go? It will accumulate under your feet, and when you press the button nearby, it will be pumped again with a 12 volt electric pump. In this system, you will either abandon your habit of falling asleep reading a book and turning off the light in the morning, or you will bring a battery-powered reading lamp.

When you first arrive, your boat will be waiting for you at the marina, connected to the city electricity. You will load all the groceries into the refrigerator at once. Thus, the refrigerator will try to cool the maximum volume of goods with minimum air circulation. And if you go sailing immediately and entrust the refrigerator to 12 volts, you may think that the refrigerator is faulty. As I said, things do not work on the boat as you are used to at home. The refrigerator consumes the most electricity. It requires care such as not opening and closing it frequently, and minimizing the time the door is open by placing the contents in a planned manner. And this thing is doing its job in the summer heat, in the sun. We can even take a caravan into the shade for a vacation, but boats are always in the sun...

The purpose of this article is not to intimidate you with boat conditions. It is to introduce what you will encounter and to ensure that you come prepared and adapt quickly and have a very enjoyable and sporty vacation.

Do not use hard-soled shoes on the boat. It damages the floor. Shoes with soft and non-slip soles that will not leave color on white fiber are required. If you wear them outside, you should definitely check the soles before entering the boat and clean them if there are stone particles stuck between them. It is best not to go out with boat shoes, use two different shoes.

In the marina, you will find your boat with its stern facing you and a plank-like walking bridge between it and the land. This bridge is called passerelle. You will take it with you when you leave and use it wherever you tie up during your vacation. It is a very accident-prone operation. Instead of jumping in eagerly, you should use the passerelle calmly and cautiously.

If you look at the drawings of the boat you are chartering, you will see the so-called well deck, where the helm and two seating areas are located at the stern. This is the control area where both the engine and the rudder and the sails are managed, and an outdoor seating area with a fold-out table. Most of the vacation will be spent here. Sports, pleasure, eating and drinking will be here, in the well deck. Underneath where you sit, there are storage cabinets called locker. It is conceivable to make a shoe storage in a suitable place and not to bring the dirt of the outside into the boat.  In front of you, in the middle, there is a fixed table. It is very sturdy, you can hold and get support as you wish. On both sides of this table there are wings that you can open for eating. So don't push against them while sitting or standing. And this is a natural movement that we do at home and we don't even notice it. But when you press on the edge, those wings can fall and everything on it can fall into your lap...

There are a few steps down into from the well deck. Beware! Do not go down with wet feet. There are non-slip bands on the stair steps, but as soon as you step on the floor, you will slip like soap!!!... In harsh cruise conditions, I recommend you to turn around and descend. Clinging tightly to the handles on both sides of the ladder. Take utmost care not to step on things like ropes, bags, etc. that will slide with you on the ground. Never go up and down the ladder (even in the harbor) with both hands full.

We stepped down.The place that we entered is saloon. In one corner of the saloon there is a navigation desk and control panel, radio, in the other corner there is a galley. We call the boat kitchen a galley. We use LPG cylinders in the stove and oven. As you know, LPG is a gas heavier than air. The environment you are in is like a well, a place that cannot be ventilated from the bottom. Therefore, safety is very important in stove work. First of all, the cylinder is outside, in a special slot in the stern and there is a valve on top of the cylinder. Then there is another valve where the gas hose connects to the stove. If you don't turn the knobs of the stove and oven by pressing them, the gas doesn't come in, and if you don't keep them pressed for a while after lighting it, it goes out. As you can see, this is important. Please show the utmost care when using it.

Our basic rule when doing something on the boat is "one hand for the boat, one hand for yourself". If it is necessary to use two hands, we work after stabilizing ourselves by tying up.

Don't disobey the captain. If you think he's abusing his authority, you won't go on the boat with him again, and that's that. But until this vacation is over, no mutiny. Don't disobey the captain!....

You may have taken day sailing courses or even participated in sailing races. But if you have never vacationed on a boat for a week, you can benefit from what I have told you. Because if yachting is the big cluster, sailing represents the small cluster within it. I hope you enjoy it. Wishing you soundness..

turgut ilhan