War games

After a very bumpy evening as the swell rolled in all afternoon and night making the lines, fenders and yachts creak and rattle; we didn't get much sleep.

I'm glad we are the first yacht out of Bozuk Buku, amazing ruins but that's about all.  We have an eight hour trip in front of us, heading for the southern end of the Gocek Islands; it's supposed of be a beautiful sailing area so very excited to be going there.

It's a beautiful day apart from the haze which has been hanging around for two days now, it's really thick and we can bearly make out the land on the horozin, however we are making the most of the sun and wind on our backs.  Then we hear over the radio something about a war ship.  I'm thinking yeah but must be else where. The coast is so large, it's not for us.  By 11am a Turkish warship is calling out our latitude and longitude, speed and length of yacht, just as well Greg has the VHF radio on channel 16.

After a few conversations it's obvious we have to change course as we are in the way of their war games. Basically we have to head in the opposition direction to where we are going, shame really as we were half way to our Gocek anchorage.  We do as we are told and listen in to the warship call out all the yachts individually to change course out of their play zone.  Initially we are surrounded by three navy ships and see a few more on our way back north.  About an hour later we hear some almighty big booms, but not sure from where but seemed to be coming from the land near Marmaris.  There is a no go zone there so must be the navy practising; maybe for Syria.  Unfortunately we can't see anything due to the thick haze.

Well that's our excitement for the day, and I'm thinking it was for a reason.  We decide on a new destination west of Marmaris called Ekincik, where we can visit the  ancient city of Kaunos and rock tombs in the cliffs, they look pretty impressive from the photos.  We have to hire a boat and travel up the river Koycegiz about five miles and we will save that trip for tomorrow.

We reverse into another make shift wharf, which some yachts and very large Gulets are using, however there is no swell in this bay this afternoon so very comfortable.  We will visit our local restaurant who owns the wharf for dinner tonight.

Ali Baba

After a good nights sleep we depart Bozburun around 11.30am as it takes us a while to organise our blue card. This card is required for the area for managing waste on the yachts and authorities check to see when and where you have had your holding tanks emptied.  It was some good advice we got from Michael and Julia who we met yesterday and have sailed then Region quite regularly.

We fill the water tanks and wash the decks that are covered in dust from the winds yesterday, get some provisions and we are on our way.  The winds are much milder today and we are headed across to Bozu Buki only 18Nmls away.

The restaurant under the fort ruins has been recommended by a few people and we are the second yacht to arrive.  It doesn't take long for the two wharfs and moorings to fill up.  We take a walk around the fort and the view is spectacular.  The water around here is incredibly clear and we are happy to do our little bit to keep it that way.

As it's so busy we decide it makes sense to have an early dinner and beat all the other larger yachts to the restaurant as there a three big catamarans here as well.  It's called Ali Baba's Restaurant and let's hope it lives up to its reputation.

Gail Force

The winds start to pick up around 6am however they are only gusting and calm in between. By lunch time it's blown a Beaufort 5 in the Bay but we are safe and well tied up on the wharf.  No trip to Marmaris today. 

We use our time well and do a job I've been putting off for weeks. We lift all the floor board panels, de mould and clean them, fit them with felt bottoms to reduce noise and polish them. A big job and I'm sooo happy to have that  done.  Now we are relaxing over a vodka and beer.

By 3.30pm it's blowing Beauforts 7s and 8s in the harbour and one last Sunsail yacht comes in to raft up with its flotilla.  

Everyone's talking about it

The harbour fills up quickly today and we even have to move our yacht to port to fit one more yacht. Everyone is getting ready for the winds tomorrow and there is a tension in the air amongst all the yachties from the 50 odd yachts in the harbour. 

At 9.30pm it's as calm as anything; the calm before the storm as we say. 

4. Leap of Faith......

We head back into Bozburun harbour for our fuel delivery and reverse in just out the front of Gordon's Restaurant.  We decide to have some breakfast there and chat to the staff.  They are very friendly and helpful with information.

The diesel guy turns up on time and he handles the refuelling for us.  We are staying in the harbour now for two nights now as there is a huge southerly buster coming tomorrow with a forecast reaching Beaufort 7s and 8s in the area.  We want to be tied up to something solid to withstand gale force winds.  Most likely we will catch a bus to Marmaris to miss the southerly as we won't be headed there in the yacht and we'd both like to visit the city.

I have a hairdresser recommended to me and I take a leap of faith to have a cut and colour.  He quotes me 30 Turkish Lira which is about $20 dollars Australian.  You can pay up to $200 for a bad one in Sydney so fingers crossed.  Guess I can always have it fixed in Marmaris tomorrow if need be.

As it turns out he does a great job of colouring my hair and all my grey is gone.  The cut is not bad either  so I give him 50 TL as I don't know how he can even pay for the products on so little money.  He is a very happy guy and so am I.

It's another beautiful day in Bozburun and we just hang out watching the boats arrive and depart the harbour, having a siesta and enjoying the odd cold drink or two.

We have great Wi-Fi at the moment and will do till Thursday morning (except when we go to Marmaris) so if you want to say hi let us know and we can Facetime you or Skype you.  We are seven hours behind Australia, ten hours ahead of Vancouver and sevens hours ahead of New York.  Gee I hope I've done my sums right.  Anyway would love to say hi to anyone who is out there.

Gulets in th harbour

3. Ouzo Time Turkey style

After a yummy breakfast at the Yacht Club we say our farewells and depart for the harbour around 10am.  We are hoping to purchase some diesel before we head on our way to find some secluded anchorages over the next few days.

As it turns out we need to order the fuel so we have to come back tomorrow at 10am for the delivery.  That's fine as there are plenty of beautiful coves in the close vicinity for us to spend the night.

We find one only 15 minutes away and perfectly protected from the winds.  It's takes us a little while to get the ropes all secure but we have the perfect location for the afternoon and night.

By 4pm we reckon its Ouzo Time so we get our liquid picnic ready for the tender trip across to land.  Greg is loving this place and takes heaps of photos.  Even the goats come and join us for a drink.

This ones for you Kymmie! 

We have an enjoyable evening catching up on Game of Thrones Season Three and I make a yummy pasta for dinner.  It's actually a little cold but the day time temperature was perfect.  Even the sea temperature is warming up, today it reached a all time high of 24 degrees.

2. Bozburun Yacht Club

We have a slow start to the morning enjoying breakfast at one of the cafes overlooking the harbour and watch all the drama of the fouled anchors.  Fingers crossed we are OK.  There are quite a lot of charter yachts in now and the lead guys are in tenders assisting with the fouling of anchors. 

We leave around 10am and have no problem getting out which is great.  It's a beautiful day and we are really looking forward to getting to Bozburun and the Yacht Club.  It's about a three hour motor sail and very enjoyable with the wind behind us.  The Yacht Club is located just out of the main harbour and village and is surrounded by beautiful clear waters and colourful cushions with many boutique hotels near by.

It's probably not quite what I was expecting but it will be fine for a special night.

We head into the village to watch the F1 which proves to be a difficult thing to do as no one has cable TV and they don't broadcast it on free to air.  We check out every bar and cafe and end up listening / watching it via the Internet at Gordon's Restaurant complete with regular hacked ads for girls in Russia.  We all have a laugh but it is frustrating.  The staff try really hard to make it work.

Back at the Yacht Club we get ready for dinner.  It's alfresco dining and a tad cold tonight so I grab my throw rug to keep me warm.

The chef has made Greg a chocolate birthday cake which is delicious and we share it with the guests and staff. 

1. Datca

It's takes about seven hours to get to Datch, a beautiful harbour and village. We are in luck and find one of the last spaces  on the wharf away from the Gulets.  The harbour curves around and it's obvious there will be some fouled anchors to deal with when we leave tomorrow.

Greg has a well earned siesta while I check out the village.  It's surrounded by water as there is a small causeway leading to the north bay which is very picturesque.  It would make for a good anchorage with favourable winds.  There are many bars and fish restaurants in the nearby vicinity and provisioning will be easy.

We take it easy for the afternoon as we had an early start to the day.

Later on in the afternoon we meet our neighbours from Singapore who are very friendly.  We share some wine and stories about our time there. David also brings his charts over and gives Greg some great ideas for some lovely anchorages in the Bozburun area where we will be headed tomorrow.  David has a custom made yacht perfect for the area and single handed sailing, he is loving the Beaufort 4s and 5s.  David and Fern are headed North so we will most likely not bump int them again but really enjoyed their company.

Imagine if we had a flag like this with Julia's face on it!

Skippers birthday cruise.

After sailing into 25 knots for three hours we arrive back at Capitain Ibrahim's Cokertme around 9am and even though we are tied up its still very bumpy on the yacht as the winds are blowing in the bay all day.

We have a delicious lunch and decide to walk it off  around the bay, it's beautiful.  

While we are relaxing on land we are able to connect to Zane's live stream beats and are so glad to hear from him with his shout out to us.

We met a few people who finally tell us a few truths about sailing in Turkey.  Firstly the winds are very tricky and this is normal for the area Spring through to Autumn, and the southerlies are unseasonably late.  We just seem to have no luck so far with the winds.  Basically it blows Beaufort 4 s and 5s within the Gulf of the Carian Coast.

We enjoy our meals here and have the laundry done while we wait out the weather.  We depart Saturday at 3.30am for our next leg and fingers are crossed that the weather forecast is correct. We are leaving under a full moon which guides us and gives us information about the weather ahead.

We are in luck as the seas are pretty calm for the first four hours as forecast and we have a pleasant enough  seven hour trip to Datca south east of the Datca Promontory.  Datca is a beautiful village and harbour and we are very happy to be tied off here.  Unfortunately there Sunsail charter flotilla is arriving and we think has fouled our anchor.  Anyway we will deal with this tomorrow.

I haven't forgotten; but Greg has decided to delay his birthday celebrations until Sunday so he can enjoy himself.  Tomorrow we are heading to Bozburum to celebrate at the Yacht Club, reservations have already been made and its only three hours from here.  It should be a very special birthday dinner; can't wait and hopefully an exciting F1 at Monaco. 

So much for that plan

We depart our safe little anchorage at 6am hoping to make it to Palamut but that's not going to happen.  The forecast seems to be wrong again and we are punching into Beaufort 4s and 5s.  We decide to change our destination  and head north back to Cokertme that way the ride will be a little less uncomfortable and only a few hours way.

We will work out our next plan of attack once we get there.

It's a pretty bumpy ride all the way across the south coast to the north coast and even tying up at the wharf is difficult as its quite windy in the bay.

We are soooooo over this weather and Turkey if this is all it has to offer weather wise.

The Carian Coast

After a great fish meal and a good nights sleep we depart Cokertme around 8am.  It's a very interesting coastline as we head east and then south down to a lovely anchorage for lunch.  There is a huge chimney stack for the powerhouse right on the water and in many cases a lot of rubbish has been washed up on shore so the view is not so appealing in some coves.

We spend the day chillin out, sun baking, sailing and fishing but with no luck as yet on the lures as Greg tries all three of them.

We have agreed to meet our Australian friends Cheryl and Will from Port Adelaide and their charter guides Alan and Kristen at English Harbour Okulk where we again tie up to a restaurant wharf.  We are invited over for pre dinner drinks on Cheryl and Will's yacht which they purchased in Marmaris a few years ago and are enjoying sailing around the Med like us.  

Alan and Kristen have been involved in the charter business for some time and have been in Turkey for a few years as well.  They are able to offer us much good advice and Alan even shares some magic tricks; shame we are not twelve years old.

We have our evening meal with them and I have to say I'm not that impressed with this place unlike Captain  Ibrahim's last night and there is no Wi-Fi.

Greg, Will, Cheryl, Kristen and Alan.

The Carian coast is pretty barren and fairly remote, there are only a few villages on either side of the coast where you can tie up to a restaurant wharf to eat and find some limited provisioning.  The early mornings are usually sunny and clear, by 9 am there is haze and mist everywhere and then it's clear again and hot and sunny by 4pm.

Day Three.

We bid farewell to our new acquaintances and head out for Cleopatras Beach around 9am.  It's only a short distance to  both Snake and Castle Islands where her beach lies.   As the myth goes, apparently Cleopatra imported sand from Africa so her lover Antony could sun-bake on her beach.  By the time we get there we can hardly see it as we are punching into the wind up to 20 plus knots and the skies are overcast and hazy.

By the time we round the Islands and are heading with the wind to our final destination, the wind dies down just as fast as it blew up,  we are becalmed for about two hours, so we make the most of it.  Greg has his lure out and we do some sun worshipping.  Later Greg trims the sails and changes course to pick up the South Easterly.  We are headed for a lovely calm anchorage on the South Coast called Buyuk Cati.  Two hours in and the wind picks up to the forecasted Beaufort 5 and 6 so we can't wait to get here.

We arrive at 2pm and find a big tree to tie off to.  It's calm and a great place to spend the night and certainly a lot calmer than the seas of the last two hours.

It's time to relax and have a siesta once we put up the sun shade.  There is alight breeze which cools us down for the afternoon and we just chill.

It's an early start tomorrow around 5.30 am so we can beat the wind predicted by lunchtime.  Our plan is to head West and round the Datca Promontory and find a place to tie off to in Palamut; its about a seven hour trip.

Beautiful Bodrum

The music blares out loud until the Call to Pray at sunrise about 5am; so we have very little sleep, shame the music is not to our taste.

So we head out of Bodrum about 8am heading for Cokertme a small inlet and village in the Gulf East of Bodrum.  We pass many beautiful beaches and anchorage spots that many of the Gulets go to.

We arrive at lunch time and are greeted by friendly staff looking for our business at their restaurants.  We decide to go to Captains Ibrahim's wharf.  It's a very chilled our place with lovely locals it also has a small market so I can purchase what we need for the next few days.

It's really hot today so we both go swimming even though the sea temperature  is only 21degrees, its very refreshing and we can sun bake on the beach.

We meet lots of people from Germany, UK and Australia, chartering and bare boating in the area and they all give us useful information about the area and seems like we can sail around here for a week before heading further South.  It makes perfect sense to us as we have to be somewhere next Sunday to watch the F1 and then Wednesday week for the State of Origin.  Looks like we have lots of options for the next few weeks.  We are loving Turkey!

Dinner is mezza and freshly cooked red snapper, can't wait to have some fresh fish.

And finally a video of the wildlife around Bodrum.

Sun is shining and summer is here!

We awake to a beautiful warm morning in Gumbet and have a leisurely Nespresso or two.  On our way out at 10am we head over the The Aquarium to take a look; its only ten minutes away.  Wow we are the first here and beat all the Gulet boats but not for long.  You can see the fish and we feed them bread which they love.  Video to follow.  Next come the flock of geese all very hungry and enjoy our bread and that from the Gulet that has joined us.  It's a lovely place but gets very busy in summer time with day tripper boats and Gulets. A Gulet is a wooden boat used for day trips and week charters.

We arrive in Bodrum Harbour about twelve and are very lucky in picking up a mooring line so we don't have to use the anchor.  It gives us peace of mind if the wind picks up.  We have the best spot in the harbour and are very happy.

View from our galley. 

We head ashore in the afternoon to walk around and have some refreshments, it's a very relaxing time and think we might stay an extra night.

Party Central Gumbet Bodrum

It's a four hour  trip to Gumbet into a South Easterly, so a tad cold however, we are blown away by the sight of Gumbet; its bigger and better than we thought and probably a lot louder as well.

Gumbet is a suburb of Bodrum on the West side and caters for the tourism industry.  The beach is coated with colourful umbrellas that belong to the numerous hotels.  Each one pumping out the music and competing for your business.  We just love it and will stay a few nights even if we don't get to sleep.

Gumbet lights at night.

We go ashore to do a reckie and meet some lovely locals and their families.  In particular a Gulet craftsman who is now retired but very famous for his ship building in his career.

On Sunday we head into Gumbet and catch a bus to Bodrum city a 15 minute ride away.  We walk around the city  and visit the Castle on the headland.  It's famous for being invaded by the English, French, Italians and Germans.  It's been repaired and is in good condition considering it was  originally built in the 14th century.

The dungeon

After visiting the castle and seeing the view of Bodrum Harbour from the Castle we decide we will be heading here tomorrow for at least a night.

Back at Gumbet we go for another walk around Bar St and find a good old Aussie Pub.

Being Sunday is a tad quieter tonight in Gumbet and we both have a wonderful sleep but the holiday makers are having fun!

Dudes in the sail bag.

Flying high.