This time, the guest of the "3 Things You Cannot Know Unless You Experience Them" series, in which we try to gather the knowledge that only the most experienced sailors can have, is Captain Merih Kibar, one of the first graduates of the Tuzla Maritime School.
Görkem Baygın, Setur Marinas Ayvalık Front Office Representative
Maritime is such a vast domain of knowledge that more than what is taught in schools, written in books and filmed lives in the minds of sailors, captains and fishermen. One of those people is Captain Merih Kibar.
Captain Merih, who was among the first graduates of the Tuzla Maritime School in the early 80s, has 32 years of experience as a tanker captain as well as an extensive sea adventure with his own boat. In 43 years of this great experience, there are also very special chapters, such as inspecting cargo ships for an oil company.
Captain Merih is someone who has lived more at sea than on land. He is passionate about the sea to the extent that he moored his boat at Çam Harbor behind Heybeliada and stayed there for two nights instead of going home as soon as he returned from his duty as an oceangoing master. He never entrusts his boat to anyone, and never leaves it alone, no matter what. He believes that time is indefinite at sea. So he does not wear a wristwatch.
Captain Merih's relationship with the sea, like many of his colleagues, oscillates between two extremes. He both loves the sea and fears its power. This captain, who has been listening to the sea and trying to understand it all his life, reveals the notes he has been keeping for years. He chooses 3 vital points from all his knowledge and shares them.
Each boat is as strong as its weakest link. What is the most neglected part of your boat?
Every sound on the boat means something. You should listen to that sound and do what is necessary. The most vulnerable part when you are exposed to bad weather will be the part from which the sound is coming that you are not paying attention to. So do not postpone even the smallest problem on the boat. That is because you never know when it is going to cause trouble.
Try, feel, listen. Do not be a hero!
You cannot know for certain if you can be a sailor without spending one summer and one winter at sea. You live in Istanbul, but your boat is in Ayvalık... that is not how it works. Live together with the boat. Do not get into a relationship with something you will not be together with. Expand your area as you gain more experience.
Every boat is small against the sea.
First, be afraid of the sea and prepare accordingly. Do not rely on the type or power of your boat, rely on your knowledge. And keep in mind that time at sea is indefinite.
These are the facts you should remember, from a captain who has listened to the sea for 43 years. It is worth listening to those who once listened to the sea.
