FIRST ARGUMENT

#2 Soledad Sailing Challenge

August 17, 2025, Kos, Greece

We departed from Kairos marina, which is located in the Turkish town of Datca and headed towards Bodrum.

Arif, Feridun and Omer on Soledad, and Basak, Ozgur and I on Pero.

In Bodrum, we arranged a meeting with the border police and customs to handle our exit from Turkey.

Everything went surprisingly quickly and smoothly, leaving us both delighted. Riding that euphoria—and since we were already there—we decided to refuel Pero before entering the EU, where fuel is considerably more expensive.
 

However, because of that decision, we wasted all the time we have saved - and all the morning euphoria as we circled around the tank station for 45 minutes waiting for a spot to moor to tank. 

In the meantime, Soledad arrived in front of Kos where they were waiting for us because all the passports were with us. So they got their share of our misery too.

Kos lies just over 10 nautical miles from Bodrum. With 20 knots of wind on the bow, gusting to 25, we sailed in and reached Kos around 1 PM, cleared entry formalities—and had our first argument.

Today is officially the first day of the #SoledadSailingChallenge2025, but unofficially our third day on the boat. It is important to note this because the third day is notoriously "the most dangerous” one. On the third day, concentration drops, along with the masks of civility, and people start braking physically and mentally.

On the third day, those who are closest to each other are the first to start fighting.  This time, Feridun and I had that honor. Nothing unusual. On the contrary, it's a typical mooring situation where everyone has their own idea of how it should be done much better, those who can stay quiet, those who can't, shout. And the fireworks are ready to explode.

We completed the entry procedures with the help of a friendly Greek named Dimitri, who, in an attempt to ease the tension while we were settling in, sang Sooooledaaaad Sooooleeeedad.

Thanks to Ozgur's friend, the owner of Artemis Hamam hotel and spa, we managed to secure two spots in the city center on Kos, right next to the main tower which is the symbol of the island, where we waited for the Ryanair flight from Zagreb that brought us our Nikša.

After various adventures in finding a way to get to us from the airport located on the southwestern part of the island, about 30 kilometers from our berth in the center of Kos, Nikša finally managed to get to us by sharing a taxi with a middle-aged Italian guy and a young Maltese woman, both traveling alone. He paid 30 euro for that ride, which we found more than reasonable.

We had dinner, again on the recommendation of the same friend, at the restaurant Nick the Fisherman. The dinner was excellent, the bill - even better. 35 euros per person for top-quality seafood, ouzo, water, baklava, and the indispensable watermelon, or as the Greeks say – karpuzi.

We returned to the boat a little after 11 o'clock, intoxicated by ouzo, a gentle breeze, and plans for the next stages of the voyage, and until midnight we chatted about Hippocrates, the founder of modern clinical medicine, who is still the most famous son of this island.

If the morning is known by the evening, ours was supposed to be great. However, as soon as we woke up, the news arrived that we wouldn't be able to set sail until noon due to the exit documentation that got stuck at the agency.

We took the chance to enjoy a coffee ashore, wash some clothes and give the boat a rinse, hoist our Soledad Marine Textile flags, and run a quick check on the generator and inverter aboard Soledad.

In the meantime, it’s worth noting that the running theme of our journey so far has been Basak’s encounters with the armies of her admirers.  It always follows the same script:  Bašak, we know you, we follow you, we adore you, you mean so much to us. Congratulations — you’re truly incredible. How did you manage to go through all that on your own?’  Bašak speaks with everyone, answering each question with care and patience.  Every day I’m struck anew by how truly great she is in her humility, and how nothing ever seems too difficult for her.  That’s why she was able to sail alone around Asia Minor and break the world solo record.  She never complains—she simply works quietly and humbly toward her goals.  

Next destination, God willing: Amorgos.