Let's go Sailing! Ciftlik, Bozukkale, Bozburun, Serce Limani and Turunc

 At last! In between the time we spent at Marmaris, we took advantange of the nothing's-happening-for-a-few-days and ran away to sea. 

Reluctant to head back the way we had come, as we would be doing that once Karen and Lloyd arrived, we turned the bow south east and set off to explore new bays, while testing out new batteries, bilge pump and our essential-to-us upgrades.

We raised the sails - yes both of them at last - and headed for Ciftlik Koyu, a distance of 24nms (nautical miles). As will be the norm, the wind dropped off, and we had to motor a way, but arrived just after mid-day, perfect for congratulating ourselves for not yet divorcing. We had heard of Ciftlik many times, and it is indeed a special spot. A few hotels, scattered around the bay, with a handful of restautants in one corner, and a white beach in the other. Plenty of room for us to anchor, along with a total of 5 boats overnight, plus a few on restautant pontoons. What's not to like? A chilly swim, before we watched the rain fall from the comfort of our new cockpit.

Next morning we decided to explore, following a road behind the few restaurants up the valley. We hadn't actually planned to go this way so it was only a few ks. However, it was very peaceful, checking out what was being grown in the rich dark soil. Olives, corn, vegetables galore, herbs, grapes, stone fruits, nuts and even aloe vera. And it smelled gorgeous. At one stage the most amazing herbal scent drifted past, and following it like some demented bloodhound, I found two elderly residents packaging up oregano. Did I want some? Yes please! It smells devine, which is a good thing, as without that distinctive scent, I think I may have purchased a bag of marijuana.  

Buying Oregano. I think.

Looking the darkening sky, and with thunder rolling around the hills, we turned back and headed to Kirrikie, stopping off a small shop for supplies. Did I need bread? they asked. Once again, yes please! A girl was dispatched, returning shortly from someone's kitchen, bringing a round flat loaf called Bazlama, cooked in a stone oven. Happy days. Then time for a cool drink, watching the competition between the different restaurants trying to entice arriving yachts to come to THEIR pontoon, not their rival's. This is achieved by making haste to the end of the pontoon and wave a coloured flag. It's a lucky dip really, so we made bets as to which ones, if any, the yachts would end up at.

We up anchored and headed off, around the peninsular for our next 2 nights, the outstanding bay of Bozukkale. It was another short distance of 17nms, again travelled with a combination of sail and motor. Nothing special... just a tranquil, amazing deep blue large bay with lots of room to anchor, or tie stern-to*, for yachts and gullets, with 3 restaurants spread around its perimeter, a castle on the hill, goats and donkey.... hmmm. A new favourite. I will have to admit, at this stage I have a preference for not having to tie stern-to so I love any place where this is not required. (Dry your eyes princess...).

Due the exertions of the morning, we once again chilled out in our little world, swimming, watching the goats meander along the shore, and ...  what the hell is that sound?? A donkey braying must be the best test for an echo chamber. It bounces all around you. I have a theory that this is proof that God exists and has a sense of humour - there can be no evolutionary use for that cacophony of HEE-HAWWWW HEE-HAWWWWW. Not even the goats were impressed.

We had our first visit from a visiting 'shop' boat, with a local man visiting us with a variety of goods to sell. Much to my utter amazement, Mike was enthusiastic and bought a white shirt! We later encountered this same gentleman in other locations so it must a profitable excercise.

Next morning we tried to beat the warmth of the day and headed off to check out the castle ruins. Bozukkale is Turkish for 'broken castle', which indeed it is, but what is left for us to see is pretty impressive. The castle was built approximately 700BC as a navy fortress, to prevent enemies from gathering in the natural harbour before or after attacking nearby Rhodes. (On a good day, you can see the now Greek islands of Rhodes, Haiki, Alimia and Symi). There were 9 or 11 lookout towers, the fortress was 334 metres long, 36 meters wide with stone block walls 2 metres thick. We walked along and beside what is left, it certainly still feels pretty solid, with stunning views over the bay and the ocean.

Loo with a view

Looking towards Symi

Bozukkale Bay view from the castle, Kirrikie hidden by the flag

In the opposite far corner of the bay is a posh restaurant (by our boatie standards) called Loryma, after the ancient city that used to be located there. Loryma was an important religious centre at one time, but little remains of the settlement now. 

After lunch we decided to treat ourselves and moved onto the pontoon of Ali Baba restaurant at the bottom of the castle, where we could still swim in crystal clear waters before dining out with Kirrikie safely tied up. And of course, meet our boat neighbours, Gillian and Nigel on SV Salmanazar.   The great thing about this life is meeting new people with a similar interest, and we spent a lovely evening eating a freshly cooked meal with these friends who have years of experience sailing these waters. We just lapped up (pun intended) all the good advice Nigel and Gillian offered.  We 'retired' to their home after dinner, where they shared their stash of Cornish gin. I'm a friend for life, whether they like it or not.

The lovely Gillian had given us a hints and cheats list, of places we should consider while in this part of Turkey, which we relied on to decide to head for Bozburun which would provide more shelter over the next few days from windy afternoons. We waved goodbye and motored out so we could catch what wind there was out of the bay. We made slow but determined progress, trying not to notice SV Salmanazar leave the bay after us and make much quicker progress closer to shore and disappear around the corner. We made it most of the way under sail - we had all day after all - with about 3 hours decent sailing in the afternoon. 

Bozburun is a small town of about 2000 people. While tourism is listed as main means of livelihood, it is not a busy tourist town. Other sources of income are sponge diving, fishing and gullet construction. And although there were many new gullets with their gleaming beautifully crafted wooden hulls, there weren't many going in and out, which made for a much peaceful stay. 

Bozburun

We put down roots in this lovely place instantly, staying 4 nights, the longest we've manged so far. We dropped a load of washing at the local laundry (hauled up from street level to the first floor by an external lift, which the laundress had made herself), and set out to find some outboard fuel. To this we needed some help, as there was no petrol station or fuel dock for this, so we did  as Gillian had recommended and found Osman at Osman's restautrant for this. What a guy! Or should I say what a couple, as he is married to a scottish lady, Lynne. Osman is the go-to man for any problem it seems, even medical emergencies as previously happened to another couple. Osman arranged for our fuel can to be collected, taken and filled up at a servo some way from town, and returned within an hour, while we did a little provisioning and enjoyed a cuppa at his restaurant. He was making delicious zucchini fritters and brought out two for us to eat while waiting. We paid a small amount for this assistance, but the cuppa and fritters were gratis! So, we stayed around in Bozburun for a while.....

We met David and Kate from SV Vakated, who have a slightly younger model of boat as Kirrikie, who are also very experienced sailors, know the are very well, and were incredibily helpful to us over the next few days. Thanks to them we have definitely improved our sailing skills and have got to know our own boat better. The next day Gillian and Dave sailed in, so we picked them up in dinghy and headed into Osman's for dinner. Later Bernard, who had been at Osman's all afternoon, nursing a beer or two as his outboard motor needed repairs, needed a lift home, so we added him to our party and dropped him off on the way back. All a bit merrier, louder and  wondering if Bernard was indeed the drunken sailor, but he was quite ok.. 

Gillian and Dave departed to check out of Turkey to head to Greece, Kate and Dave drifted off after a final good natter, and after sorting out some legal paperwork with the help of Gurkan, recommended by Kate, we decided to leave, waving at the temporarily stranded Bernard on the way. Time to turn back to Marmaris. 

And wow, what a great sail. Our first time in an area where other yachts are out just for the fun of it, it was lovely. Until the wind dropped as we glided slowly past the Turkish coastguard and then our engine wouldn't start... but that's another story. Or not, I'll leave that there.

Eventually we pulled into a small cove, Serce Limani, where we had to tackle the dreaded stern-to mooring. * Stern-to means you put down your anchor, then reverse towards the rocky shoreline, and tie two lines from your boat to the shore so you don't swing around the anchor. The main reason for this is the angle of the seabed is sharp and deep, and you'd need so much anchor chain out you couldn't anchor safely. You can either take the lines back by dinghy or swim them ashore. It should be done relatively quickly to stabilise the boat, and I hate it.  We took a while to achieve the right effect, with nooo swearing or yelling. As if. 

When all was calm again we looked around to see one yacht happily at anchor  - SV Vakated. Over ensuing drinks - naturally - then dinner as we overstayed our welcome, David provided some good advice on how what we did right, and how we could improve our technique. Because watching other boats come in and the shenanigans that goes on makes much better viewing than Netflix.  

Then next day we pushed on closer to Marmaris, with an appointment with electricians due the next day. This time we pulled into the waters in from of Turunc, a seaside touristy town set into steep hills selling cheap T-shirts, bucket and spades, ice-creams etc. But very nice to stroll around, and we found a breezy roof-top cafe for a yummy dinner looking over the beach, spying on Russian and English vacationers making the most of the last rays of sun. A perfect end to our holiday.

Turunc. Spying on tourists and Kirrikie.

PS The best part of this is you meet wonderful people, in a marina or in a bay, sometimes forming meaningful relationships sharing more than sailing stories,  then you say goodbye not knowing if it's forever , or a few months or even a day.  You're sad, but then around the corner you meet someone else who enriches your life and so it goes on. We have been blessed so far in this short time  - thank you Finikians and everyone since then xx

Marmaris. Our love / hate relationship

 Now where were we?

Yes, just arrived in Marmaris, for 1 week, to complete some additions or upgrades. Then we were off to explore before my sister Karen and her husband Lloyd arrived for 5 days. Or so we thought...

... We have picked up a saying since arriving in Turkey. The plans of sailors are made in the sand at low tide.  Well, that bloody tide has been all over the bloody place, and we are hestitant to even approach the beach these days.

I'm not going to launch into a long-winded rant (what a nice change), as in reality we're not in the Ukraine, or Syria, or the Sudan, so nothing to complain about. Suffice to say that we ended up staying in Marmaris for 2+weeks, with repeat trips back for bloody-hell-what-now repairs.

View from the old town across part of Marmaris Bay

We had 1 week free in the marina at Marmaris as part of our contract with the Setur Marina group, and the rest was spent on anchor around Marmaris Bay. The marina is huge, officially with places for 720 boats, but to us it looked like thousands!! There was a tantalising swimming pool in a restaurant at the end of our jetty - ooohh posh - but despite the heat, we were too busy to visit this until the end of our stay. Very noice it was finally.

Thank heavens this was a share platter

Our first week started incredibly well. We had contacted an agent, Jes, prior to arriving with a list of things we needed help with, and he coordinated the work with specialists he knew and trusted. Our minds were blown when the tradies turned up so quickly and got started. We had riggers on the top and perspex fitters inside the boat at the same time. Mike and I just looked at each other in amazement. Jes visited each day to check on progress, and sourced parts for us. He even got down 'n dirty helping us fix a leak in the water heater (trying to stop our mysterious freshwater leak). 

Unfortunately things did slow down, a natural consequence of ordering parts, and then needing to schedule installation, as hundreds of yachts try to get work done before June. Thus, we moved into the bay to wait. This gave us more opportunities to perfect our anchoring and stern-to skills..... sadly still far from perfect.

We got too familiar with the all night doof-doof and laser lights and swinging boats, and chaffed at the bit as days went past. Luckily we were joined briefly by Ian and Malia from SV Longo Mai, who had experienced their own frustrations with repairs in Finike. We had a brief visit to the castle I'd been gazing at from afar for days, before they left to continue on to Istanbul. 

The castle has been well restored; indeed people were living in 18 'houses' in the complex, until it was restored in 1991. Walls surrounding the city were first erected in 3000BC, but records show that the castle was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 15th century.  The Turks are proud of the defence of the castle during WW1 against the French: 

"In 1913 a German ship escaped from the French cruisers and by passing the strait of Marmaris took refuge in the port. The Turkish soldiers protecting the port did not surrender the German ship to the French and duly performed their duty. Thereupon, the French ships mined the port. ..   the security officer and the gunnery officer demined and rendered about 48 mines harmless overnight. Faced with this situation in July and August of 1914, the French ships bombarded the Marmaris castle. The cannon shot caused great damage in the castle and most of it is destoyed. Afterwards, the French navy disembarked but had to go back to sea against the superhuman efforts of the two officers and the heroic resistance of the Turkish soldiers to protect the castle."

Our extra days also gave us also gave us to wander around and appreciate more of the old town and port areas of Marmaris, which were touristy, but very pretty. 

Most memorable modifications? well, since you asked...

1. The weird smell in the aft head (speakada lingo) turned out to be dangerously frying batteries under the berth (bed) about to be inhabited by our guests. One call at 5pm to Jes resulted in alarmed electricians turning up 20 minutes later. Immediately replacement of all house batteries. We were lucky to be in the marina, and not go up in flames and down into the sea.

2. Turning down the suggestion we get get lithium batteries we eventually spent money on an electric winch - our baby. Mike tells everyone it's because I'm so weak, we need help to get him up the mast. True. But he/we have used it for unfurling and furling the mainsail, the headsail, and the lifting the heavy end of the dinghy. Love love love it.

3. The loo. I hope you're not eating right now.....   due to an unfortunate brainfail when reconnecting some hoses, on our 'nth' attempt to get the front loo/head working, we had a very unpleasant version of a chocolate fountain. Cannot tell you how yucky this was. Cleaned and fixed. But more shuddering on Mike's part when he had to cut a hose to fit a one-way valve - which then failed. So we had to wait for another one... I do feel sorry for the electricians who were on board at the time. But it's now working !!! Oh the relief.

4. Mike took the boat out with an engineer on board to see what the problem was with our propeller, and why the overdrive function of Gori folding prop didn't work as it should. Unfortunately the diagnosis wasn't encouraging - the gear box ratio is inappropriate for the size of the boat's propeller, so cannot reach the revs it is supposed to, and clogs the turbo. So we need to replace the propeller with either a smaller one, or a standard propeller. This means taking the boat out of the water, we won't be doing that yet, so for now we use the engine without the overdrive, which is noisier and uses more fuel. Bummer.

What we had done or did ourselves:

Rigging - The shrouds (standing rigging) were back to front (??) - so these were taken down and installed correctly; The boom vang had seized, so this was serviced; The furler mechanism for both sails were checked and serviced, as were the clutches; The traveller bracket was replaced; The riggers installed fittings for a detachable inner forestay, so we can add a staysail (small sail for bad weather). 

Electrical work included 3 fans, new batteries, relocate and replace the bilge pump, new anchor control switches, installation of the electric winch, and new macerator for the loo.

We had the perspex in 3 large hatches and 2 side windows replaced. In less than 24 hours. So happy.

The engine was serviced professionally, identified problems with the turbo, which was taken away for repairs. The anchor windlass was serviced, the outboard propeller fixed (it couldn't cope with all the trips ferrying the tradies to the boat in the bay), and the start motor solenoid was fixed. 

In between all the work we had a great few days visiting Bozukkale, Bozburun, Turunc and KaDirGa Koyu (sounds like an '80s boy band) before returning to Marmaris for the great sister's reunion.

Turunc, with Kirrikie at top right