Our friend Graham arrived this week. His boat, Nova Vida, is still in refit; so, we welcomed him aboard DFN. We lived aboard Nova Vida for a few weeks in the Fall; so, we are happy for the chance to repay the hospitality. And we love having someone else on board.

Our new upholstery, dinghy cover and window shades were delivered this week. The work was done by Aktif Doseme Yacht Upholstery, a husband and wife team. In true Turkish fashion, we had coffee together while they were here.

We put Graham, his first aid training and his new first aid kit to work–Roger gave himself a nasty cut. For heaven sake, don’t get blood on the new cushions!!! Not to worry, Graham taped him up and I put him back to work right away.

We had a few major upgrades/projects this week that are not very photogenic. We made the leap to the twenty-first century and upgraded the house battery bank to lithium ion batteries. The old batteries were on their last legs. The operating efficiency of the new batteries more than justifies the capital outlay and we will significantly reduce our carbon footprint. We have learned a ton about volts and watts and amps thanks to Burak at Marlin Yachting Technical Services. We had the hydraulic motor checked and serviced this week as well.

SK-Yachting checked the generator, installed the new motor that we brought for the passerella and helped us get the furling genoa back on. We found a genniker buried deep in a lazerette which we have sent out to be checked and to see if it may be modified to meet our needs.

The highlight of the week was a Saturday evening meal with the three Novies, Burak (from Marlin) with his family and David and Fern from SY Peajay (our dock mates) at the Grand Halil’in Yeri Restaurant. It was a meal and an experience that we will not soon forget.

Some images from the Marina this week.