Limassol, Cyprus

Moored at the Raphael Marina (side tied to another sailboat)
Limassol
Cyprus
Mediterranean
34'42.5N/33'09.9E

OH SNAP! That's what we heard in the early morning hours on Tuesday followed by, "Amy! Get up here. Something bad has happened." Turns out our dolphin striker snapped. What is a "dolphin striker" you ask? Well, it is a cable from the end of the bowsprit that is attached to the hull at Sandpiper's waterline. It also holds the roller furler in place, which is attached to the top of the mast and thus holds the mast in place. The force of the snap was so great that the bowsprit bent up with it and is now pointing due north. The jib was then cut loose and we weren't sure if we were going to be able to roll it back in. But we got it and secured the roller furler down with about 100 different lines tied down to the deck.

I should back track a bit by saying once out of the Suez Canal we were instantly greeted with 25+ knots of wind with BIG seas. Not at all what we were planning on, or picturing the Mediterranean was going to be like. The winds and sea state continued throughout the night. We were reluctant to roll in the jib as we were making 6 knots and had the boat pointed toward Turkey as much as we could in a northwest blow.

After the initial shock of what was going on, we then needed to decided what to do next. There was no way it was going to be safe for us to continue on to Turkey. So here we are in Cyprus. We pulled into the marina yesterday around 4pm, side tied to another boat on the guest dock, and begged the marina to let us stay for at least one night to figure things out. The marina is full of big fancy boats owned by Russians that never get used.

Fortunately for us there are a few nice Brits here as well. Bright and early this morning Tom pumped up the dingy and bent the bowsprit back to its somewhat original position with a come-along. Our new friend Pauline from S/V Forever Freedom drove us into town this morning to the rigger and we were able to get a new dolphin striker made. We even picked up a few new fenders too.

Upon closer inspection of the old wires we were able to see that the wires inside had quite a bit of corrosion, which makes sense as this part is almost always under the water. The shop in town was really great and will deliver our new parts later this afternoon. Fingers crossed, all goes well with the replacement and we don't need a new roller furler. It's been an expensive two days for us staying at the fancy marina, paying to check in to Cyprus, and replacing parts. But thats the great part of 'living the dream'.

Love to all,
Amy and Tom