Chapter One: CHANGING CONDITIONS
After an uneventful night in Foça we weighed anchor at 8.00am in a Northerly Force 4 and unfurled the genoa. This didn’t last too long, and as we changed course we hoisted the mainsail. Now it was blowing a Force 5-6 from North-North-East, so we put in a reef and kept two in the genoa. We were going strong with speeds of up to 8.3 knots, courtesy of Cordelia’s very clean and slick hull.
We made it to the second traffic separation zone where we altered course to cross it perpendicular and to also avoid a fishing boat, when the wind dropped and fizzled out to a North-Easterly Force 3. We had to use the engine all around Karaburun and its cape, and it was only once we neared the fish farms when the wind resumed its strength to North-East Force 5-6.
We were sailing downwind wing-on-wing with a reefed mainsail and full genoa in following seas, then furled away the genoa when it couldn’t make up its mind which side it wanted to be on. With the wind still blowing hard we didn’t fancy being caught out with the mainsail, so we doused it after a while and exchanged it for the genoa. When we’d passed the fish farm between the islands Peter saw the accelerated windline in the gap and decided to continue under the engine alone. Not long after, we dropped the anchor at Karaada in 4.5m in sand / mud. We’d had a great passage, but we had been busy and vigilant with our mode of propulsion, which had kept us on our toes. We calmed down with a cup of tea and a biscuit, cooled off with a swim and wished for some peace and a quiet night.
We awoke to a lovely peaceful and lonely morning, and had a leisurely start. Our log had stopped showing Cordelia’s speed, so Peter dunked it in Killrock and left it to soak. A fisherman had come into the fjord during the night for a kip but faced away from us, so while there was nobody around to look into our cockpit we took the opportunity to cut Peter’s hair. He sat on the seat atop the bathing platform and Ingrid chopped away. Of course the wind picked up while we were at it and blew Peter’s angelic locks all over the cockpit. The cut strands not only had him and Ingrid covered, but also found their way into all the nooks and crannies. We’d still be cleaning them out in years to come! We decided to use a different location for any future hair-styling as we both jumped into the sea to wash off.
We spent some wonderful days at Karaada, relaxing, swimming, following the Americas Cup, catching up with admin and looking after Cordelia. We also watched the boat traffic in- and outside our anchorage. Most of them were well behaved, and even the gulets turned down / off the music when they’d anchored up. However, there were always a couple of boats with either loud music, screaming children or squealing girls, or – worst of all – wannabe XFactor winners who wailed along to any Turkish song in a milk-curdling fashion waiting to be “discovered”. Luckily none of them stayed overly long, and in the meantime we played “our” music (without singing along!)
As forecast, the wind had changed to a Southerly overnight, so we needed to change anchorages. It was also cloudy with rain in the air. Not something we had experienced for a long time! When we motored out of Karaada at 6.45am we had a pretty sunrise in one direction and a rainbow in the other.
It was blowing from South-East, Force 4 outside, so once again the wind was on the nose and the sails remained unused. We arrived at Boyalik Plaji, an anchorage East of Çeşme, just after 8.00am. At first the anchor dragged, but then it stopped abruptly and nearly pulled Ingrid off the chain when she stood on it to stop it from jumping off the windlass (but it still pulled off more chain). When she dived on it the anchor lay on its side and rested against a rock. On attempt number 2 it would not bite, and neither did it on 3 and 4. It didn’t help our mood that it was also raining on and off. In the end we settled for a sandy patch in 6m rather than trying again in 4.5m-5.0m, which felt far more promising. Ingrid checked on it, Peter gave it another tug, it all looked good, and we could finally sit down for breakfast.
In the meantime the wind had been building up with 35+ knot gusts, and our anchorage filled up with boats that had come from other less protected places to seek refuge. While we were busy below they kept coming and going, and so did the clouds. Cordelia still got blown around, but at least there wasn’t enough fetch for big waves.
The wind was still gusting 30+ knots when the first bout of rain came at around 2.00am. Peter got up and looked out of the companionway checking on the situation, then went back to bed. The second bout woke up Ingrid at 2.45am with the wind howling, the rain pouring down and with lightning in the vicinity. It was her turn to stick her head out and to alert Peter who had also gotten up that Cordelia had just turned around and the wind was now blowing from the North, i.e. onshore (not forecast!). This also meant that there was a big fetch with waves that made the galley sink gurgle.
The downpour quickly developed into a deluge with lightning illuminating the sky all around us, and the odd rumble of thunder thrown in for free. The skylight above Ingrid’s saloon bed couldn’t resist any longer and dripped a few drops on her and her blanket. Peter put our laptop, phones and one of our iPads in the oven during the worst part, but we kept the iPad with the anchor watch close to us. Peter made us a cup of tea when the conditions seemed to improve and retrieved the iPad, so we could check the forecast. The weather front moved slowly but surely, and by 5.00am it felt safe enough for us to go back to bed. At 7.30am we awoke to a calm sea with the weather clearing out.
We launched Buddy and Peter motored us to a rusty and mostly derelict pontoon near the public beach where we tied Buddy on.
We got rid of our rubbish in the bins on the road leading to the dual carriageway, then turned right on it and carried on straight past hotels and shops through the town to the marina. Outside we found more shops, cafés and restaurants, and also espied the fuel dock. We returned the same way, but stopped at the Migros and BIM for provisions and an ice-cream.
The next day we were ashore just after 9.00am and walked through the town to the castle. We paid the entrance fee, and took the stairs up to the exhibition halls and towers. The castle had been built in 1504 and had been inhabited till the 19th century. It was nicely restored and had been turned into a naval museum centred around the Battle of Çeşme in the 1770s between the Ottomans and Russians. Some Brits assisted with the Russian strategy and set the entire Turkish fleet on fire, thus winning the battle. We were also treated to the usual exhibits of amphorae, stele, pottery, glass and a multitude of coins.
Outside the castle was a statue of the Grand Vizier Hasan Pasha and his domesticated Lion. He had been a fleet commander during the Battle of Çeşme.
After we’d seen it all we walked along the seafront and continued being tourists (ice-cream included) before we turned to the shops and ultimately back to Cordelia.
We repeated our shopping trips and were well stocked up when we finally awoke to a calm sea with not a ripple on the water. The sun shone and the air was crisp and clear. What a beautiful day! At 9.15am we were all prepared to motor to the Setur Marina for another pump-out. When Ingrid paid for it at the marina office she enquired about the price for an overnight stay. She had to stop herself from laughing out loud when she was quoted TL8,400.00 (£220.00) and was still laughing tears when she told Peter. Needless to say that we had no intention to part with that amount, so we headed to our anchorage at Kadaari via the donkey sanctuary in the next bay.
On the way we could see clouds and what looked like rain on Chios whilst we enjoyed the sunshine. Ingrid was warm and glad to check on the anchor when we’d dropped it, and it looked well dug in. In the meantime the rain had made its way over from Chios, and we had showers for the rest of the afternoon. We stayed for the night and upped anchor at 1.00pm the next day.
Chapter Two: GREAT EXPECTATIONS
We motored away from the island, then unfurled the genoa. We left a reef in at first, but soon shook it out in this Northerly Force 4. We sailed around the marker buoys and past the anchorage for the “bigger boys”, i.e. tankers and cargo ships. We had quite a swell when the wind reached 22 knots, but it was from astern and diminished between the last island and the mainland. From there it wasn’t long before we altered course to port, took down the sail and entered the anchorage at Goldensand Beach. It had taken us 3½ hours for the 14.7NM and we celebrated with a cup of tea.
After this quick stopover we continued our journey the next day and weighed anchor at 11.30am. We set both sails and shook out the reef in the main in a Northerly Force 3-4. We were drifting slowly down the coast, and at one stage had to furl away the genoa to stop it from flapping. The wind played games with us, turned to North-West, then West, then South-West. We sailed wing-on-wing past Alaçati, Turkey’s windsurfing hotspot, swapping the genoa’s side when it seemed unhappy with the side it was on. Peter had also hung out the rod, but we weren’t fast enough to get any fish interested in our lure.
We manoeuvred through the gap between an island and the mainland into Mersin Gulf and finally had the wind on the beam. Cordelia was racing towards the anchorage at over 7 knots! We put the genoa away and still made around 5 knots, so we sailed right to our chosen location and only lowered the mainsail and turned on the engine to drop the hook. We found a good spot in 5m eventually, and the anchor set in well.
The wind calmed down and by late morning on the next day the anemometer was only showing around 10 knots. Ingrid was sitting in the cockpit enjoying the scenery when she saw a speedboat approaching. It was the Coast Guard who poked their boat into the bay and pointed their nose towards us, so Peter switched on the AIS. This had them stopping in their tracks while – we assumed – they checked our records. Then they turned their bow the other way and slowly motored towards the fish farms outside. We last saw them on the way towards Alaçati.
We were still waiting for the forecast wind as we were hopeful to have chanced upon a good windsurfing location. With only small hills surrounding the anchorage, we expected clean wind and a decent session. When it eventually filled in, however, it got a bit too much with over 30 knots before we had even rigged or were out on the water, and we decided to postpone.
We had another reasonably calm night, but the wind soon picked up in the morning, and it was already gusting 35 knots at 10.00am. It hit over 40 knots in the afternoon and kept blowing during the night. Cordelia was groaning in the gusts and swung around her anchor in an arc, but did not go any further. We left the windsurfing gear in the cabin and sought other entertainment.
The wind kept fooling around and was up and down. We reluctantly had to admit that this was not a place for windsurfing, nevertheless it provided good holding and protection for Cordelia. Then, one morning it dawned overcast but with a lovely sunrise.
We waited until the clouds had cleared out and it had warmed up in the near windless conditions, then Peter motored us ashore after our morning coffee. It was quite shallow towards the beach, and Ingrid ended up pulling Buddy through the water. We dragged him on land near a little inlet, then picked up the gravel road towards Alaçati.
The going was easy over flat terrain, and we made it just past the kitesurfing centre. We found a rubbish bin and used it to recycle our plastic bottles, then carried on past a little beach and had a good look around. Other than an anchored motorboat there was no-one in the water (no surprise in no wind), but Peter spotted the windsurfing centres on the beach opposite through the binoculars. The monstrosities of the hotels could easily be seen with the naked eye, even from across the bay. We weren’t impressed with the looks of Alaçati, but sincerely hoped the windsurfing conditions would normally compensate for the town’s countenance. We turned back to Cordelia, and with the wind forecast to change in our favour, prepared for departure.
Chapter Three: FORM AND FORMALITIES
We were awake before sunrise and underway at 7.00am. The wind was a fickle Northerly Force 2-3, but we managed to make use of the genoa together with the engine. When even the apparent wind couldn’t stop it from flapping we furled it away. This was an inopportune moment for the Coast Guard to call us, but call they did. Peter answered, and all they wanted to know was whether we needed any help. As we didn’t, they wished us a nice day and sped off into the distance.
Peter also put the rod out. He was brushing his teeth when Ingrid heard the whirring sound. “Fish on”, she shouted. Peter came running on deck with his toothbrush still in his mouth, reeled in the line while Ingrid reduced speed. “He jumped off”, Peter declared. When he checked the lure there were no signs of a fish, only of a plastic bag which had floated away when Cordelia had decelerated. Oh well, at least we’d had some excitement!
We motored along quite happily when the rod went off again. Peter was suspicious of the movement it made, and he was right. There was still no fish on the end of the line, only another plastic bag that came off as easily as the previous one.
Peter put the rod away, and concentrated on the navigation around the cape to Çeşme. He followed a narrow channel with sandbanks on either side, one so shallow it had birds sunbathing on it. We made it safely to Hacettepe Bay off Dalyan, and dropped the anchor in 9m behind another twenty or so boats.
After a spot of lunch we equipped Buddy and motored ashore to the North-East corner. We scrambled up a track, and followed it into Dalyan to the Migros and BIM supermarket, then carried our full rucksacks all the way back.
We were up at 7.00am, weighed anchor at around 8.10am, motored over to Boyalik Plaji, dropped anchor, hopped into Buddy, motored ashore and were outside the BIM waiting for it to open at 9.00am. We stuffed our rucksacks, made it back to Cordelia, unloaded, and returned to the beach for another bout of shopping at the A101. Back on board we stowed everything away, including Buddy, and after a cup of coffee and a biscuit we were off at 12.15pm.
We set both sails as soon as the anchor was up, and had a gentle cruise in a North-North-Westerly Force 4. The wind abandoned us for a while, so we gave in and had the engine on for about 5 minutes. Then the wind came back with a vengeance, and at one point Cordelia reached 7.6 knots. We put a reef in the genoa and still managed around 5.5 knots until we passed the fish farm where it got a little bit calmer. When we were within reach of our anchorage we furled away the reefed genoa, and, once inside, followed it up with the mainsail. We dropped the anchor at just after 2.00pm in 5.5m in sand. Two other boats were already in “Pleasure Boat Bay” and another one joined later, but they were all gone by 4.30pm, and we enjoyed a peaceful albeit windy (North-North-West, Force 5-6 outside) time.
The next day brought a surprise in that no other boat came into our anchorage and we had it all day to ourselves. The day after we were joined by three boats, but once again they were gone by 4.30pm. What a difference to our first visit when it was rammed! We swam, listened to music, sunbathed, watched YouTube, did crosswords, and enjoyed the solitude.
We were underway again at 8.00am for our last pump-out at Setur Marina Çeşme. We motored all the way in no wind, avoiding a myriad of boats. They varied in sizes, but some of them seemed to house a whole population or at least the very extended family.
We had to circle around the marina as a motorboat was filling up on the dock, but it was soon our turn and then we were on our way again. We motored to the anchorage at Boyalik Plaji where it took us five attempts to bury the hook. When it had finally set Ingrid dived on it, then Peter reversed on it, just to be sure to be sure.
We launched Buddy, packed our rucksacks and the gas bottle, and went in search for the appropriate shops. We found the Turkcell one in the shopping mall on the main road and bought some more data. Then we crossed the road and wandered about until Peter got us to a side-road where the Aygaz shop was located. Unfortunately it was closed despite being advertised as open 8.00am to 8.00pm every day. Their delivery vans were parked outside with gas bottles stored on them, though none of these bottles looked like ours. We walked back without having replenished our gas supply, and comforted ourselves with an ice-cream among other purchases from the Migros.
Then we stowed Buddy on the foredeck, cleared up, and prepared to leave the banana boats, jetskis and speeding motorboats behind, and embarked on our journey North towards Karaada. The wind was due to change from South to North-East, so we were looking for shelter in the bay there. We weighed anchor at 4.00pm, and once we’d cleared those nuisance water objects we set the genoa.
There wasn’t a lot of wind and we struggled to keep Cordelia moving at the 2 knot mark. About an hour later we came into more wind and briefly hit 4.8 knots, but it was mostly 3 knots that kept us going. We put the engine on when we were about 15 minutes away and noticed two boats already occupying prime spot. We diverted to Donkey Bay where there was no-one about and dropped our anchor there.
We were sitting too deep when the wind turned northerly, so at around 10.00pm we raised it and re-anchored in the dark. Peter was on the bow and confirmed it had set in 5.0m, and let 40m of chain out. We stretched out to 7.4m depth and all looked good (from what we could see in the dark), so we went to bed at 11.00pm with Ingrid sleeping in the saloon, ready for action if needed.
When we got up it was still gusting in the low 30 knots and it kept at it all day. We busied ourselves with admin, i.e. printing off the crew list for Greece and filling in their online form to let them know we were coming. While Ingrid dived into the water and cleaned Cordelia’s keel Peter also contacted the Turkish agent in Çeşme in preparation for our check-out. Our agent informed us that due to ferry traffic we wouldn’t be able to check out of Turkey before 10.30am. So we weighed anchor at 9.00am, motored across, and 1½ hours later moored up at the fuel pontoon at Çeşme Marina for diesel, water and exit formalities.
A young lady from the agency arrived just as we’d connected our hose to the water station and took us to the passport office where we received the necessary stamp. Back at the fuel pontoon we paid her, and continued filling the water tanks. The water had very low pressure and it took forever, so while it was slowly filling up Ingrid went to the office and paid for it.
In the meantime Peter was visited by Customs and another representative from the agency. They left him with the clearance document and a “see you later”. Ingrid returned, then went out again to take pictures of the castle, Peter filled up both tanks, it was after 11.30am, and still no-one had come back to see us off or provide us with a receipt. At 11.45am Ingrid walked to the agent’s office (next to the marina’s office) and asked if there was anything else that was needed to be done before we could go. “Of course you can leave”, said the agent, so Ingrid returned to Cordelia and we cast off. At 12.00pm we motored out of Çeşme, waved good-bye to Turkey and set course for Chios in Greece.
