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Part 2 of our Teos adventure gets a little bit windy, then a little bit sandy...
Monday morning we awoke to a wind rustling through the trees. It had picked up overnight, and was touching Force 4/5. However, before we got on the water, we had to get in it. We had an early morning (well, 10am is early when you're on holiday) appointment with a try scuba dive in the swimming pool (which was still pretty nippy). We went diving a few years ago in Brittany, and hoped to go again - but unfortunately after the try dive we never felt well enough to go for another dive.
After that, it looked too breezy to take out any smaller boats this morning, so we decided to head out on the Laser SB3s again. Unfortunately we got split up, and spent an hour and a half in high seas, in reefed SB3s ploughing through mountains of spray, during which time a woman in my boat nearly got beheaded by the mainsheet, I got a severe knee bashing when releasing the jib during a gust which yanked my whole body 4 feet across the boat, and Becky firstly managed to break jib car (pull hard, ping!), and then tried to get a job with Neilson (not the last time that was tried this week!)
I also had water-skiing booked for this morning, but the high winds made it too choppy, so it got cancelled. We decided to go for a quick spin in the kayaks they had, which were really good, unfortunately with a choppy sea we couldn't get close to anything, and our trip didn't last long. After lunch it was even windier, and Becky didn't feel like braving the elements. I on the other hand, decided I had something to prove (i.e. my sailing ability), and thought taking a Laser Radial out in Force 5-7 gusty conditions with 2-3 ft chop and swell would be a good idea.
Unfortunately the sea had other plans. It was an offshore wind blowing out of the bay into the sailing area, and very shifty. I'm getting pretty good at dry capsizes lately, and three more later I was even better still. Two refusals of power boat assistance later, I went over again, and with the main sheet wrapped around one leg and a toestrap around another, this wasn't quite such a dry capsize. I decided to call it quits, and for the first time ever, got rescued by a power boat. I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a sulk, thankfully the sailing later in the week made up for it.
Later that afternoon, the entertainment girls, Fi and Laura, were trying to rally up people to play Beach Volleyball - but without much luck. I hadn't played Volleyball in about 12 years (and that was only once), and didn't plan to play again - but I took pity on them, and decided to pitch in, with predictable results. When we finally got enough people together (more staff than guests to start with), I did as bad as expected, won one single point and didn't get a single serve in - but it was still great fun. My knees didn't enjoy it as much as the sand was a bit rough. Bec sat this one out, keeping score. The final game ended up as staff vs guests as it of course should, with the guests winning (surprisingly as fewer of us had ever played before!)
Tuesday again was a wee bit windy - definitely too windy for us to go sailing, so we spent the morning watching silly people repeatedly invert Lasers, until all the guests gave up, and the Neilson staff went out windsurfing. I was booked on for a catamaran clinic in the afternoon, but it got to the point where they cancelled all the sessions. So, we gave the beach up, and went to discover how bad we both were at tennis - Bec never having played before, and me not since school, again about 12 years ago. It was good fun though, and a bit of exercise, and the only activity we got that day! A quick trip down to the beach resulted in me being even less happy, as they'd decided to run the catamaran clinic, and I'd missed it. I did get to redo it later that week though.
Wednesday was less windy, although an onshore wind meant lots of chop. We tried going out in a Laser Bahia, but unfortunately got dropped in it on a floating mooring, straight out into the wind. We stayed in a few minutes, then called it quits. The powerboat ride back in was a little rough. After this I went on a catamaran joyride with another guest and one instructor, which was uneventful apart from the rudder bar that runs between the rudders and has the tiller attached coming off a rudder nearly a mile out. We limped back in, changed it, then went back out again.
After lunch we sunned ourselves by the pool for a while, then went out in the Laser SB3 races. Each day, they take a crew of guests out with an instructor in each boat, and race up to four of these beauties. Today it was just the two boats. The winner of the race each day goes into the final during the regatta on Friday. The guy we were up against was already in the regatta, so either way we would be in the final - but pride was at stake. We went out with a young lad called Nick - who had a great racing head on him. After spending half an hour searching for the buoys designating the course before the race started, at which point we realise the buoys hadn't been put out yet, we got started. It was a short course, two laps, and our instructor, with me at the helm and Becky on the jib, started us on the opposite tack going the opposite way around the course - slightly unconventional, but giving us right of way over the start line and finish line.
We had a couple of close calls, the first tacking around the other boat and missing by about 3 feet (although we would get closer later in the week), but we managed to sneak across the line a couple of boat lengths ahead. After that, it was back up the volleyball court for a rematch. We had more people this time, more staff and more guests. The most surprising thing though, was the fact I got about 25 out of 30 serves in, and I lost count of how many points I won for our team, a complete turn around from the last match (still don't know how), and my team won all three games. My knees liked it even less though, to the point of starting bleeding. Oh well, they'll recover!
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We've just got back from a fantastic week in Turkey, staying at the Club Teos with Neilson. We got up to loads, including sailing, diving, kayaking, water-skiing, mountain biking, and tennis. Carry on reading to find out more...
Check out our Photos From Teos.
Club Teos is Neilson's newest resort, on the Eastern coast of Turkey, about an hour from Izmir airport or an hour from Cesme, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Several miles away lies the town of Sigacek (pronounced SyCheck); we were reliably informed it was a 40 minute walk away, we decided not to check. We went in the first week, always a risky venture with a new resort, but the staff held it together well and made their way through the first week with only a few bumps and bruises.
Our holiday started in Gatwick airport, which after a few delays on the motorways we reached on time - unfortunately, our plane didn't. Due to planes being swapped around, our flight was delayed for two hours (thank god for the Jack Daniels' stand and the Animal shop!), so we finally arrived in Izmir after a cramped flight at about midnight. After purchasing a visa (entry tax?) and the quickest baggage pickup ever (ours were the first suitcases off), we stumbled through arrivals, met the Neilson rep who directed us towards the waiting coaches. However, a porter was in our way, insistently helped us with our suitcases onto a trolley for a 100 metre walk, then helped himself to a 5 Lira tip (let that be a warning to anyone else going to Turkey soon!).
We arrived at the resort at half past 1 in the morning, had a quick sandwich, checked in, then zonked out. Roll on Sunday morning! We had a quick look around the resort. Based largely on a steep hill, it used to be an old coach house, and has a marvellous white walled courtyard at the top of the hill, all completely renovated to its new 3 star status. The rooms were clean (bordering on spotless) although spartan (but let's face it, you want to spend your time outside not in). The grounds are immaculate (with an interesting array of English bedding plants already suffering). The restaurant where all the meals were served was large and spacious, with very friendly and helpful staff. All meals apart from three evening meals were included too, so not so much money needed to spend on meals.
After breakfast, we had the obligatory briefings on activities available for the week, then a beach safety briefing. After that we decided to lie around in hammocks for most of the morning, and take it easy. It's difficult to take it easy with so much kit lying around though!
So, onto the activities... and what they have! Four brand new tennis courts, with umpteen brand new Head titanium rackets. A bike shed with about 30 brand new Gary Fisher mountain bikes. Two water skiing tow boats (more on that later in the week), and then the beach. They had somewhere in the region of 70 windsurfing rigs (check the Neilson website for exact numbers), but the boats... thats where our interest lies.
Starting out with several Laser Funboats (not just for kids, we saw a 6 ft plus Scottish chap and his wife sailing one), a bunch of Laser Picos, a large fleet of Laser 1s (standard, radial and 4.7 rigs available), 4 Laser Bahia's, 6 Laser Dart 16s, and 6 Laser SB3 sportboats.
So, naturally, us being us, we made a beeline straight for the biggest boats, the Laser SB3s, and along with two other seasoned sailors, Giles and Caroline, joined onto an "intermediate" session on the Five Essentials with a great guy called Nick. We learnt a huge amount about the Five Essentials in the hour and a half we spend just sailing aimlessly around the bay in these boats. We were quite wary of the Laser SB3s to start with, being a high performance 18 foot long sports boat with keel, but it was unfounded. Neilson don't allow them out without an instructor, but thats more to do with the £20,000 cost of each one (apparently the instructors have a beer bet on who can capsize one first, as with the huge keel they are virtually uncapsizeable). They're an absolute dream to sail, almost fingertip control on the rudder, 10:1 mainsheet making sheeting in pretty easy - and with a three man crew, pretty good division of labour. Anyway, our five essentials are better than ever before now...
We decided to finish the day with a bike ride, as it was the easiest guided tour available that day. Geoff, the bike guide, was fantastic, taking fifteen people on the first trip. It was a nice easy 6km, even for me who doesn't bike much, with a couple of uphill sections, and one turn into a dirt track, at which point Bec decided to christen the accident log by coming off her bike (don't worry, she only got minor gravel rash). Another short ride later, we ended up at a Turkish cafe for a drink, then back to the hotel. We think at this point the instructors were doing a leaderboard of causing trouble, as Geoff decided to have fifteen people bike cruise down a steep hill straight into the pool bar in full bike gear. Unfortunately we had to go back up after...
Next up, the wind picks up...
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We're off on holiday for a week to another Neilson resort!
We are off to Teos in Turkey for a week, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, wakeboarding, kayaking and more.
See you in a week!
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