"So, you are from California. You smoke grass?" I had met Orhan Atasoy that afternoon while walking my dog in the boatyard in Deale, Maryland. We struck up a conversation about going cruising. It was 2005 and Kirby and I were at Herrington Harbor with our sailboat, TOBIAS, getting it ready to cruise. Orhan invited us over for cocktails on his boat that night so that we could talk about cruising. Those were just about his first words to us as we settled into the comfy cabin of his Tayana '37.
We learned yesterday that Orhan passed away last week after battling liver cancer. We will miss him so much. He was one of our "character" friends, so very precious and important to us. Orhan was Turkish. He was a Turkish Rock Star and is on YouTube....you can look him up. (you just won't be able to understand the lyrics to his song.) He had had a very interesting life and loved sharing exciting stories with us.
When TOBIAS was ready to go we decided to make a practice run to make certain that everything worked properly. We headed out into the Chesapeake following Orhan as he sailed "Melody". He lead us to a wonderful anchorage where we tied up together for the night and enjoyed cocktails aboard our boat.
When we decided to sell TOBIAS, he painted the bottom for us after we left because he didn't like the way it looked. He was a true friend - a perfect example of what a friend should be. He was there whenever we needed a hand on the boat or someone to drink a cold beer with. He loved his children and talked of them often.
We miss him.
Update - 6/10/2012 - Follow this link for a recipe from Orhan!
Update - 6/26/12 - Follow this link for more information
