It's a'blowing out thar!!!

We are experiencing another of the pre-winter weather systems passing through the area.  Winds have been in the 30+ range for a couple of days.  And forecast is to continue the same for several more days.


Above is an image of the weather forecast on the Turkish Weather website.  The little lines indicate the direction of the wind, and the little marks on the end of the lines (like fletches on arrows) indicate the predicted velocity of the wind.  As you can see, there are winds in excess of 50 knots forecast between Cyprus and Turkey.  At the moment we are in a lull with wind speeds of only 10 knots or less.  This won't last long before our area is back into the yellow range with winds back up in the 25 to 30 range.


Also note the location of Alanya, Turkey.  Alanya is really located a tiny bit north of where it is shown in this image, but this is close enough for you to get the idea.  We have been watching the Alanya area during the past 2 weather systems......because we are toying with the idea of wintering there next year.  Alanya appears to be in an area that misses the heaviest weather.  This is the third weather system that has left Alanya pretty much untouched.  As the system moves through, Alanya remains in the dark blue colors......meaning lighter winds.   According to the weather websites we are watching, Alanya appears to experience far better weather than Finicke, Fethiye or Marmaris.  I suspect this has something to do with the mountains in that area.  Alanya might be a good place for us to spend next winter (if we don't join the new Red Sea Rally and spend the winter season sailing in Egypt down to Massawa and back).  

Added later......the night after I posted this a storm blew through the area.  Highest gust recorded by wind gauge on another just down the dock from us was 58 knots!!!  For about 12 hours winds were consistently ranging 35 to 45 knots.  Were we ever glad to be safely tied to this marina dock!