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Our original plan was to depart Marmaris Yacht Marine on June 7, the day our contract ended, but boat problems caused a delay. About a week before our intended departure, the tip of our starboard spreader supporting the upper shroud fell off. When it occurred it sounded like the �sky was falling� as the entire boat shook. We ran outside but couldn�t figure out the problem until a couple of days later. It was hard for us to believe that we had an aluminum mast with wooden spreaders, and now that Kuhela was 28 years old the wood had acquired some dry rot. Luckily, it happened while we were in the marina. It would have been devastating to have had happen during our passage back across the Atlantic next year. After new wooden spreaders were made and covered with fiberglass for added strength, Phil installed them. On Thursday, June 21, we at last departed the marina.

The two great cruising areas in Turkey encompass the Lycian coast from Marmaris to Finike and the Carian coast from Marmaris to Bodrum. Both of these coasts take their names from the indigenous Anatolian people that initially occupied each area. After leaving Marmaris, we first headed east along the Lycian coastline.

The Lycians were thought to have appeared in this region about 2000 BC. They quickly established a number of settlements along the Turkish southwestern coastline, about 23 in all. Being very skilled, their craftsmanship can still be seen in the amazing rock tombs and sarcophagi they left behind. From the 6th century BC onwards, the Lycians came under the influence of different foreign invaders, and with each invasion new ideas were brought into the area, mainly from the Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Romans.

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