Chapter One: KNOWN FLYING OBJECTS
We were on our way from Gemiler Bükü to Fethiye with a brief detour to Butterfly Valley. A few boats were already moored to the beach but as we hadn’t intended to stop or go ashore we circled around while Peter took pictures of this spectacular gorge and its surroundings.
We left before the arrival of the trip boats and motored towards Ölü Deniz where we dropped the anchor. Peter took Ingrid to the beach then returned to look after Cordelia, and Ingrid went to the Lidl supermarket for provisions. Ölü Deniz is renowned for paragliding. This being the first day of the season for the gondola to mount up to the Babadağ station at 1,900m, the sky was covered with pretty coloured parachutes.
All were looking for a landing space and were approaching any bit of lawn between the esplanade and the beach from any direction. Ingrid was coming back from her shopping trip along the high street when she was warned to move out of the way. One of the many tandem gliders was careering down the road, using it as a private runway. Pedestrians were jumping left and right or risked having their heads taken off, but Ingrid zigzagged safely through the gauntlet and radioed Peter who picked her up in Buddy.
We had lunch underway which for Peter was always a cue to set a sail, this time the genoa. It lasted for about 15 minutes with the engine still on, then the wind changed and was on our nose, so away it went. The weather also changed from cloudy to rain and back to cloudy. When we turned into the bay before Fethiye the wind blew up from astern and we could finally sail on the genoa alone, doing over 5 knots all the way to the harbour area. There we found a nice looking spot near “Impavidus” and dropped our anchor.
We had visited Fethiye eight years ago during our flotilla holiday and had walked up to the fascinating rock tombs, and we didn’t feel the need to repeat it. This was just as well as thunderstorms, rain and drizzle limited our outings to the Migros and Sok supermarkets and the KonGas shop where a “friend” of the shop owner refilled our empty gas bottle.
With the housekeeping done we were looking forward to a gentle sail across the Fethiye Körfezi (= Gulf of Fethiye) into the Göcek SEPA (Special Environment Protection Area). We hoisted the mainsail as soon as we were outside the harbour area and immediately put in a reef. It was now blowing a good Force 5 (on the Beaufort Scale)! We weren’t quite prepared for this, and with quite a heel on, books, cutting board, water bottles and other objects were flying around down below. We couldn’t sail our course as the wind was on the nose (what else was new?), so we changed our plans and headed for Tersane Creek.
As soon as we reached the wind shadow of the islands we shook out the reefs in the main and headsail, and finally had our gentle sail to the point where we had to start the engine. When we passed Tersane Creek at around 2.00pm on a pleasant Sunday afternoon it looked packed, so we gave it a miss and carried on to our original destination. The wind had eased, then came back but was on the nose (again!), and although we tried to sail we just couldn’t get a decent angle. At 3.00pm we entered Kizilkuyruk Köyü where we finally dropped the anchor and tied stern lines to the rocks onshore.
Chapter Two: GO CHECK AND EGG ‘N CHIPS
At Kizilkuyruk Köyü we found a forest track that took us upwards. We could look down on the beautiful clear water with Cordelia reposing in it and over to the next bay where a boat was just leaving. Further up we found remnants of what we believed to have been a shepherd’s hut with one room and a chimney and a low ceiling (although the roof was missing).
We saw more stone walls and concluded there must have been some kind of settlement there once. We carried on along the track which all of a sudden reached a little flat(ish) crest. There we were surprised to find ruins of two large edifices. Around them lay big rocks, columns and masonry.
We guessed that this was the site of a Roman tomb which may later have been converted into a Byzantine church which in turn may have been claimed by an earthquake. We later discovered this to be a place called Lydae and for the time periods to be correct, though we could not confirm the reason for its demise. There were more ruins in the distance as well as a couple of modern houses, but rather than walking over we turned back.
We had no internet connection in our bay, so if we wanted an update on the weather we had to move. Ingrid used Buddy to untie the lines and fastened him on Cordelia’s stern while Peter raised the anchor and motored us out to a calm sea. Once we got there we lifted Buddy out of the water and tied him to the foredeck cleat with his painter. No sooner had we finished the job and Peter was back in the cockpit when we were hit by a multitude of waves. They’d come out of nowhere, were about 1½m to 2m high and were spreading out from a central point. Cordelia was slamming hard but soon found flat water again. There was no other moving vessel around for miles so we surmised we’d encountered a fumarole, an underwater volcanic gaseous eruption, that had upset the sea surface. It was certainly an experience whatever the reason!
We motored past Tersane Creek to Arslan Marin at Göcek where we pumped out. With the waste tank taken care of for another fortnight we motored South to Twenty-Two Fathom Cove, another lovely bay in the Göcek area. We had a brief encounter with a dolphin underway, then dropped the anchor in about 32m and reversed to the shoreline where we attached Cordelia to a bollard and a convenient rock.
The next day we put the outboard on Buddy and motored over to Cleopatra’s Bath near Wall Bay. We fastened Buddy to a rock, walked up and through a little compound and found the path signposted Lydae.
And what a lovely path this was! It led through a pine forest and smelled accordingly, was nicely shaded and not too steep, and afforded great views.
Just over an hour later we reached some farmhouses, and from there we could see the rest of the ruins we’d missed out on a couple of days ago. Peter had done more research which informed him that allegedly Lydae was founded by a freed Roman slave to Julius Caesar called Heliodorus. The tombs all related to eight generations of his family. Though most of this rural settlement is still believed to be buried we could easily spot columns, Roman brickwork, inscribed stones and stele among the rubble.
We also found an ancient Ottoman cistern which was still being used by the adjacent farmer.
We wandered around the ruins and even made out a place where the amphitheatre may once have stood before we rejoined the path and turned homewards.
We rested, swam, read, drank tea and gin and tonic and sunbathed in the cockpit. On the water we saw gulets, superyachts, sailing boats, one jetski, an ice-cream selling boat and other flotsam. It was definitely getting busier as the season progressed, and this was a very popular area. Before we took leave from our neighbours, one who had his generator running all night, the other one who had teamed up with theirs and partied till late (or was it early?), we needed another shopping trip.
At 12.30pm the Carrefour shop arrived – by ship. We fastened Buddy on its stern whilst it circled around the area and made our grocery purchases. By the time we’d dropped them off in Cordelia’s cockpit the Migros ship was making its way into our bay. We motored across, tied up and entered the shop. It was of a decent size with a respectable range of goods and we quickly filled our trolley. We paid and mounted Buddy by which time it had clouded over and the wind was blowing. Ingrid got quite wet on our ride back as the water was splashing around us but we made it before it started to drizzle.
We stayed another night and untied the lines at 8.15am. It was a sunny but hazy day with no wind other than the one coming down the hill into our cockpit in the anchorage. We motored out of the Göcek area and around the peninsula. The forecast was for a South-Westerly Force 4 with the wind arriving at 10.00am, but the reality was different with little wind, and that on the nose, until about 11.00am when it finally picked up from a decent direction. We sailed close-hauled for an hour and a half under full sail along the coast, passed Baba Adası and lost the wind near Disibilmez Bükü.
We motorsailed for a while with the genoa furled away and the mainsail not doing much. We were in calm water but Ingrid could see white horses further out. These horses came galloping in, so we quickly put a reef in the main. It wasn’t long after that we caught the full brunt of the wind. For once, it came from abeam, so we unfurled the genoa to the first reef. The result was another ½ hour of great sailing, doing about 6.5 knots, to our destination. Just after 2.00pm we dropped the anchor in 7.5m at Karği Köyü near Ekinçik. We admired the wilderness and the pine trees that reached down to the beach like a jungle. It was a very relaxing site, and we were confident we wouldn’t be plagued by partying yobs on motorboats or jetskis.
After a quiet night we launched Buddy and motored across the corner to Ekinçik harbour. There, apart from the trip boats, we also saw “Impavidus”. We went to say “hello” and they invited us on board for a cup of tea. We exchanged sailing stories and experiences, and spent an enjoyable three hours with Ant and Cindy.
Back on Cordelia Ingrid cleaned the waterline and Peter researched boat trips on the Dalyan River to Caunos with its rock tombs, baths, city walls, a temple and an acropolis amongst more ruins. We were interested in the history, but the boat traffic, potential crowd and money grabbing put us off. Besides, you couldn’t go close to the tombs and the (mud)baths worked to a strict schedule – not our idea of fun!
Chapter Three: AROUND MARMARIS
It had been a rolly night and when we got up the solar panels were covered in pine dust and the white surface in the cockpit was smothered with midges. We packed up after breakfast and weighed anchor at 9.20am.
Surprisingly there was little wind outside our bay, but unsurprisingly it was on the nose. We motored along outside a restricted area but as soon as we had cleared it and turned to the North we could finally set both sails, and despite being close-hauled we had a gentle ride to Marmaris. It was a hazy day but the mountains were still visible with their pine and bush vegetation. The scenery with its cliffs falling into the sea, with caves and coves, was stunning. What a beautiful coast!
We dropped the hook in the crowded anchorage at 1.30pm. We were surrounded by boats of all sorts on three sides and by the beach with hotels, restaurants, sunbathers, swimmers, and watersports on the other. Helicopters flew past, gulets played loud music, punters shrieked on jetskis and parasailers, and the wind built up to 27 knots. We had white horses in the anchorage, and the wake from passing boats only added to the swell. The wind did calm down eventually and so did the traffic. At last, fun was had by all!
Marmaris is the Turkish metropolis for anything to do with boats, and we had a list of items we wanted for Cordelia. To our astonishment it was not that easy to procure them. We had a bit of a run-about to find camping gas, could not source the floating rope we wanted for stern-to mooring to the shore, and the whisker pole we had planned to replace was not in stock in Turkey and would take six to eight weeks to arrive. Even the refuelling and pump out took us three attempts at the marina as we gave up queuing twice after waiting 1½ hours.
We were more successful as tourists and enjoyed our walk through the old town to the castle which housed the museum.
Inside there was a little atrium with a mini-theatre and trees and shrubs and grass. Around it were strategically placed amphorae, altars, statues, stone cannon balls, and other antique paraphernalia.
We climbed the steps up to the balustrades where we were provided with ample opportunity for photos of the town and harbour.
We also entered the exhibition rooms with display cases full of pottery, beads, bracelets, hairpins, earrings, loom weights, oil lamps, figurines, statues, coins and whatever else they’d found and was worthy of exhibiting, reaching from the Classic to the Ottoman Period with Roman, Hellenistic and Byzantine thrown in for good measure. We particularly empathised with one inscription we read:
Furthermore, we looked at wine vessels and more amphorae, courtesy of Knidos, a wine producing and exporting centre that shipped its produce all across the Mediterranean region. The castle was quite bijou and we’d seen it all after 45 minutes.
The wind was beginning to pick up, so we made our way back via the Migros supermarket next to the marina to an unhappy Buddy. We had locked him up at the little blue bridge near the “Marmaris” sign, and he was now bouncing up and down and along the little quay in the swell, got scraped and splashed, and was glad to be liberated and taken out of there. The ride back to Cordelia was “interesting” and wet in the waves, but Peter took it slowly and we made it safely back onboard.
The wind and weather were on the turn, so we weighed anchor and motored across the bay to Adaköy. We found a lovely space in the anchorage outside the marina and dropped the hook. There we were well protected from the forecast wind and the scenery was breathtaking. Red-brown earth and green shrubs reached down to the pinewood and marshes that stretched along our little bay. People sat under the trees for a picnic or swam in the sea (with some of the ladies still dressed from head to toe as religion required). It was quiet and we enjoyed a good night’s sleep.
The morning dawned overcast and the clouds got darker by the minute, so we decided to put Buddy on the foredeck before breakfast. This proved to have been the right choice as no sooner had we finished the job when the heavens opened. A deluge of water landed on Cordelia, and some of the wet stuff found its way onto the cooker. The leak in the skylight was back! The wind had also picked up and some of the gusts that came down the hill were vicious, reached about 45 knots and shook and swung Cordelia around. Our Mantus had set in 14m of mud but we only had 30m of chain out. Because of the vicinity of the other boats we couldn’t let out more, but we trusted our anchor, so we hunkered down below and waited for the conditions to improve. Little did we know at the time that this was to be the last rain we would see for nearly four months!
After a couple of days hiding out the weather turned for the better and we left Marmaris Bay. It was 9.00am and as soon as we were out of harm’s way we set the genoa and stopped the engine. We had a lovely downwind sail, and only had to contend with the wake of a couple of Turkey to Greece ferries. Just before we entered the bay outside Çiftlik we furled up the genoa and prepared for a stern-to mooring at one of the restaurants. On the respective pontoons men were waving coloured flags, indicating there was room for mooring and in their restaurants. Of course by now it was blowing a hoolie and Cordelia’s bow was following it, taking us sideways. No coercion could persuade her to move backwards in a straight line, so we opted for a space in the anchorage nearby. At the third attempt we found a nice sandy patch to drop the hook in and keep away from anyone else. A man came by on his boat selling fish, we spotted a turtle, watched other boats arrive, relaxed with music and cooled off with a swim.
We needed to top up with water, so one morning when the wind had abated we moved to the pontoon at “Deniz”. We were already prepared for a stern-to mooring, only this time they wanted us to come inside and alongside, so Ingrid had to change the whole set-up once again at the last minute. There’s nothing better than being hurried into action, it keeps the adrenalin level up. We made it safely, though, with the help of a marinero who knew what he was doing and his assistant. The mooring, water and electricity were free provided you ate at their restaurant, so we treated ourselves to a nice meal in the evening.
Chapter Four: RUBBLE, ROCKS AND STONES
With all the free water Ingrid did five loads of laundry in our hand propelled washing machine, scrubbed and hosed off Cordelia, and replenished our two water tanks. Afterwards we slowly prepared for departure.
We had to perform an unorthodox manoeuvre to leave the pontoon which involved our second-next-door neighbours having to drop their slime line and motor forwards, and us being pulled 90º by our stern line and crossing their bow, followed by another 90º turn to get us out to open water.
Once there and everything shipshape again we had a stint on the genoa. It looked like we could carry on sailing if we tacked outside Kizilada Island, so we set the mainsail only to promptly lose the wind resulting in a motorsail. Then the wind picked up and we had a reef in the main and genoa on our way between the two islands of Çatal Adalari until we rounded the corner into Bozuk Bükü. We found ourselves a spot on the West side, dropped our anchor in 9m, went for a swim and checked on it, put the anchor ball up and the sails to bed, and relaxed with a cup of tea.
We spotted the usual suspects around us (Impavidus, The Cunning Plan, Lumos) and watched other vessels come into the bay. The scenery had changed on our way along the coast and was far more barren now with rocks and rubble replacing shrubs and pine trees. It was nevertheless a beautiful place, and we were planning on a walk to the nearby ruins of a citadel the next day.
On two occasions Peter rowed us to the shore at 7.00am. The first time we meandered around trying to find a path and eventually found something that resembled one at “Sailor’s House”. This led us through undergrowth over rocks and boulders to the next bay, and from there finally up to the citadel.
A large Turkish flag marked the territory as we walked along the walls.
We later found out these were built in 300BC, so no mortar or cement to hold them together, just precision craftsmanship. The views from there were also something to admire. We could see the islands we’d sailed through the previous day, the inlet to our bay, our anchorage, and some of our sailing ground ahead. The way back down was as treacherous as it had been up (it was the same).
The second time we had a closer look at the big blocks of stone and pillars we had spotted on the hill in front of our anchorage. We found them to be remnants of the Rhodean harbour town of Loryma from 300BC, which was subsequently almost uninhabited between 100BC and 400AD.
We carried on further up to a plateau which was full of stones and featured a fairly large derelict edifice with multiple rooms.
We walked along the circuit wall for a while which had yet more ruined buildings alongside it. We were looking for a way down, but only found half a dozen wild donkeys. We couldn’t see an easy way out, didn’t want to get stuck in a gorge or down a precipice, so retraced our steps and headed back the way we’d come from. As there was no actual path the route varied slightly with more stone building blocks and even a slab of marble on the way, but we got back in one piece.
When we left Bozuk Bükü the wind was on the nose (again!), but we hoisted the mainsail anyway in anticipation of our soon to come course change. When it happened we also unfurled the genoa and stopped the engine. We sailed until the wind dropped which was after 5 minutes, put the genoa away and motorsailed. The process was repeated dependent on the wind’s strength and direction, and we got another 20 minutes of sailing out of it. Peter put the fishing rod out when we passed Symi, a Greek island which looked just as barren as the Turkish coast, then we turned right to enter a big bay which took us North towards Bozburun. We found a place to anchor on the opposite side at Bulgaz Köyü and suffered several painful bites by flies while we anchored up. Luckily the flies soon abandoned ship after Ingrid had squashed a few and Peter spray-killed them. And no, we had not caught any fish.
Bozburun had a conveniently placed Migros supermarket and a greengrocer. We motored across the 1 mile in Buddy, left him at the quay, crossed the road and entered the shop. When we were done we took the laden trolley across the road and heaved the goods straight into Buddy.
The brick-weaved road was narrow with the restaurants on one side and their eating areas on the other. Even though the tables and chairs were placed on wooden platforms that extended out over the water on stilts this didn’t provide sufficient space for the traffic. It wasn’t for the cars, though, it was for the scooters that were weaving around pedestrians, waiters, pot plants, menus and other obstacles. They were ridden by people of all ages, often with the whole family seated on top of them, a little dog held under one arm, and not a helmet in sight! Clearly Health and Safety hadn’t travelled as far as we had.
Chapter Five: A LITTLE HOLIDAY
We had no wind, so we motored out of Bozburun Bay. We turned right behind Kısıl Adası and had some wind on the nose. Near the isolated danger mark of Age Latha we set the mainsail and altered our course. We discovered there was not enough wind to move under the canvas alone so we didn’t bother with the genoa. Mainsail and engine worked together and brought us to Kuruca Bükü where we dropped the anchor.
Up at 6.00am, make breakfast, clear up, pack rucksacks, launch Buddy, lock up, leave – this was our routine for an early morning outing before it got too hot. As it was, the sun was already in our bay when we arrived at the beach at 7.30am. We walked along the fenced-off camping compound and found the dirt track that at first led past a windsurfing centre and a café, then through pinewood and eventually up the hill. After a few hairpin bends it ended at a communication tower. We looked around and found a path that pointed straight upwards, in a kind of “diretissima” style. In typical Turkish fashion it was rough terrain. At some parts we had to use our hands as well as our legs for the ascent.
We scrambled up some boulders until the ground evened out a little, Peter took some pictures, we paused for a brief rest and then tackled the last stint to the top which was marked by a Turkish flag. We sat down, admired the view, and pondered how we’d go down.
Peter suggested “slowly” and Ingrid agreed and added “carefully”. The descent was quite arduous and took us as long as the ascent, but eventually we made it safely back to the dirt track. From there on it was a dawdle. It was still early, so we decided to walk along the esplanade on the other side of the isthmus, check out the holiday village and pay a visit to the local Migros. We were pleasantly surprised by it all and returned to the waiting Buddy with our rucksacks stuffed with goodies.
We enjoyed a few quiet days in the bay of Kuruca, read, swam, sunbathed, listened to audiobooks, looked after Cordelia and scraped off the tube worms on her hull. Then the wind picked up, so we rigged our windsurfing gear. Ingrid was out on her JP 101 board and a 5.5m2 sail which turned out to be the perfect choice as despite bobbing around in the lulls the gusts were vicious. The wind blew from 12 knots to 35 knots, and all that could be done was to sheet in and hold on. It was effortless sailing and great to be blasting again.
Ingrid enjoyed some good runs, and after a cup of tea and a biscuit it was Peter’s turn. He got himself dressed appropriately, donned his impact vest, changed sunglasses, adjusted the boom height, and set off. Two seconds later he was back and put on his harness! Then he whizzed back and forth until he, too, was exhausted.
After a change of clothes and a rest we de-rigged and stored the equipment on deck to let it dry and in hope of another session the next day. It was less windy then, so we prepared the iSonic 111 with the 6.8m2 sail. The sail had a tear in it and needed mending, but Peter repaired it there and then, and Ingrid finally made it out onto the water. She had some exhilarating runs in 20 knots but when it was Peter’s turn the wind was about to die. Still, he went in search for it. He sailed across the bay a couple of times, then returned when he’d had enough. Once again we let the equipment dry on deck but cleared away all our other gear in preparation for next day’s departure.