To Rio or Tahitia - the choice

Pete

Dave with visions of the Southern Ocean

Early morning on board with Granny Elsie

Relaxing by the swimming pool

Richard and water mix well

Eyes only for eachother!!

Ali and Ewout

Fethiye Gocek Bay

Fiona

Biker kids

Pete and Fiona on their day out together.

Towed behind the boat

Early morning in a Turkish Bay

All the gang

Scooter buddies

Hey Grandad, do you want to go to town with me on the scooter?

Captain Richard walks the plank

The boom, actually.

Makena

Captain Richard giving orders

Dr Norman Sharp

Uncle Norman's Church in Shiraz

Chris and Esther visited Iran on their way to Turkeyand were able to drop in on Shiraz. My great uncle Norman (Dr Norman Sharp)build thischurch which is still being used. He was a Persian scholar loved Iran passionately.It is fascinating that three of the family have now worked there --

I was there in 1968 to 1970,
My brother Dave was therelater on until the arrival of the Khomeini regime.
Ali worked there in Bam a couple of years ago.

Now Zara and Richard walk where their great great great uncle used to walk.

3 sons-in-law

It was rather thrilling looking into the bow and seeing the 3 Sons in law in the bow sharing their experiences. Ewout is strictly not yet a son-in-lawbut he is rapidly heading in that direction. I think he was getting some tips on how to handle a Lyth girl!

Who knows what God's plans are for these three families.

Top speed

I think she must just have looked down and noticed that we were doing 8 knots!!

The Four

Susannah was at the helm when we did our fastest speed on a glorious broad reach (that means with the wind coming from the side!!).

For those who had not sailed much before this was a wonderful introductionto sailing with some good winds at times when we had to shorten sail somewhat.

Skpper Chris

Skipper Chris at the wheel of the good ship Makena. 13 hours overnight on a bus from Istanbul took us to Fethiye on the Mediterranean. There we picke up the yacht Makena which would sleep 8 of us at a pinch. Ewout was in the central area where we ate. We collapsed the dining room table down and is "dining-room" table. Chris in true Skipper fashion slept next to the wheel.

Beauty in Istanbul

Wow!! They must take after their mother.

Asian Stars from the roof

Mother and daughter lie out on the roof looking up at the Asian stars and talking about the inevitable subject - Ali's upcoming wedding to Ewout in October.

Looking at Europe from Asia

Our flight took us via Amsterdam to Istanbul. For three days we stayed in Istanbul on the Asian side and had this view over the Bosporus towards Europe. We saw all the famous sites that time would allow - the Palance, the Blue Mosque among others. The legs and brain seem to become drained of energy after a few hours of slow meandering around. Somehow it is less wearying to walk briskly. Maybe I am just not such a museum person.