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Trip Report #6-2002: Into the Black SeaFiled from Eregli, Turkey41 16.9 N 31 24.1 EAugust 20, 2002
Photo: Harbor Scene, Balcik, Bulgaria We returned to Istanbul after visiting with family in the U.S., planning to leave immediately to catch up with the Black Sea Flotilla, which had left 3 weeks earlier. The process of leaving Istanbul, however, was not as simple as we thought it would be. On July 9, the day we were to leave, Deniz, the Atakoy Marina captain, went to the Customs office in Istanbul with Tom to help him through the process of checking out of Turkey. The customs officer stated that he needed to see Tom's Certificate of Competency, which had not been required on entry into Turkey. A Certificate of Competency is a document that is required of boaters in Europe in order to operate even recreational vessels and is issued after successfully passing a required course of instruction. It is not required of boaters in the U.S. and neither of us has one. It was finally settled that Tom would go to the American Embassy to get an affidavit verifying that he had passed the U.S. Power Squadron Boating course (which he took many years ago). He made an appointment at the Embassy for the following morning to get the signed and sealed affidavit (at a cost of $30). With that in hand, the Customs officers completed the process of checking us out. We cast off our lines, stopped at the fuel dock to top off, and then steamed out of the harbor, one day later than we had planned. Next time, we'll plan ahead.
Photo: Leaving Istanbul: Lesson - Don't get too close to shore As we left Istanbul and headed into the Bosphorus, the 20 mile strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, we were enthralled by the sights on each side. On the west shore was the urban spread of Istanbul. We passed the magnificent Dolmabahce palace, an ancient stone fortress and some beautiful mosques. On the east shore were vacation homes, including many old wooden villas that were being rehabilitated, and the more rural landscape of Asia Minor. We passed under two modern suspension bridges linking the two sides.
Photo: The Dolmabahce Palace
Photo: Mosque on the shore of the Bosphorus, with the southernmost bridge in the background
Photos: Vacation Homes Along the Bosphorus We spent a very pleasant night anchored in Poyraz, a friendly fishing harbor/ beach resort. As we came out of the Bosphorus at 6am. the next morning and headed toward Igneada, 65 miles away and our last stop in Turkey, the wind was from the north. We did not realize it at the time, but it would stay in some version of north the entire time we were heading north-northeast in the Black Sea - this is the prevailing wind at this time of year. There was also an adverse current of 0.5 to 1.0 knot, and there were short, steep waves that whipped up very fast with even a minimal increase in wind velocity, so our progress was slow. We were able to sail at times, but when the wind diminished, the waves and current coming at us forced us to motor sail, or as we have come to call it: motor slog - the Black Sea motor slog.
Photo: Fishing traps at the entrance to the harbor, Igneada, Turkey We finally arrived at Igneada at 7:30pm. As we approached the harbor there were fishing traps plainly visible all along the coast and into the harbor entrance. There did not appear to be lights on them, so we were very happy to be arriving before dark. The next morning we were finally and eagerly on our way to our first port in Bulgaria. We were anxious to see Bulgaria, Romania and the Ukraine, countries that had been part of the USSR, only regaining independence within the last 10-12 years. We were excited about sailing in a part of the world that has seen few cruising sailors. We wanted to know what the people are like and how they live. We wanted to taste their food and see what their homes were like and look at their monuments and find out what they do for entertainment and meet their families and discover what is important to them. We wondered about how we would do in countries that have an alphabet that looks so different from ours and where few people speak English. We wanted to do all this - but we wanted to do it with the flotilla to help sort out problems, and they were far ahead of us. We felt a little nervous and isolated as we approached Bulgaria. We had everything we knew that we would need for the formalities in the Black Sea: copies of crew lists, general declarations, our Ukraine visa and health insurance, and above all - our boat stamp. But the SSB radio contacts with the flotilla were invaluable to us - as a source of information about ports they had already explored and as a source of friendly support and camaraderie. Our first port was Sozepol, Bulgaria. The flotilla "leader", Rob Cornish, had arranged for a tourism representative to meet us there with a Customs officer to carry out the formalities of entry. When we arrived, we were waved over to raft off a Bulgarian boat and a very nice young man explained that he would bring the harbormaster and interpret for us, but that he had seen no sign of the Customs and Immigration officials. The harbormaster came and looked over our passports and documentation and then told us that we could not come into the harbor until after clearing Customs, but that we could anchor outside, which we did, and even take the dinghy into the port to get supplies. The Customs officials did not show up that night or the next day. Peg took the dinghy into the town, while Tom waited on the boat.
Photo: Starboard Home at anchor outside of Sozepol, Bulgaria The town appeared to be a beach resort, with many vendors and restaurants along the waterfront. There is a charming old city to wander through and a beautiful beach. Away from the beach were shops and stalls where Peg bought fruit and vegetables and some of the excellent and inexpensive ($.70 to $2.00 a bottle) Bulgarian wine.
Photo: The beach at Sozepol, Bulgaria We were anchored in an area that must have been near a sewage outflow judging by the odor, so we decided to re-anchor on a pleasant little beach across the bay, where we could swim. Halfway across the bay, a large police boat, with four large and armed men lining the gunwales, stopped us and demanded that we sail 20 miles upwind to a commercial harbor and check in there with Customs. Tom politely replied that he did not want to do that, and they went back and forth a few times. Finally, we asked if we could go to Varna, another port of entry, instead. They conferred and finally ordered us to go to Varna immediately. That would require us to do an overnight sail - they would not allow us to anchor and sail the next morning. They watched while we got our dinghy on deck and started to sail off and then radioed to us, "Thomas - have a nice voyage". We had not mentioned our names, so it was clear that our arrival had been reported by the harbormaster. This was all a bit more intimidating in the experience than in the telling of it. Since the next day was Sunday and we were not sure that Customs would be readily available and wanted no problems, we continued sailing on past Varna to the last port in Bulgaria, Balcik, also a port of entry. We entered the large harbor in Balcik at about 7:30 am and went to the Customs dock as indicated in the cruising guide. We called them on the radio, but got no answer. As we approached the dock, however, there was a uniformed official waving us over to tie along the wall. He spoke no English, but indicated that we would have to wait for someone else to come along. There were 3 officials who checked us in, all within 3 hours and then told us we could tie up on the town quay. As we were getting ready to leave the customs dock, Jay and Linda Hellstrom from Hell's Belles came by and introduced themselves. It was absolutely terrific to finally meet this very friendly, likeable and knowledgeable couple, whom we previously knew only through SSB conversations and our friends, Rick and Vicky on Ghostboat. They were just getting ready to leave the harbor, so they hopped aboard Starboard Home and we dropped them on their boat. We waved good-bye to them, hoping to catch up with them again along the way, and then tied to the wall in the place they had just vacated.
Photo: The harbor at Balcik, Bulgaria Balcik is a charming resort town. European and Bulgarian vacationers flock to the beach here and tourism is the business of this town. Walking beyond the harbor and beach into the residential areas, we were struck by the apartment houses that appear to be crumbling and the fences and balconies that were rusting and lopsided. There is a deteriorating, uncared-for look to the place. We were also taken aback somewhat by the unsmiling faces we saw. However, as we spent some time there, we came to know that if we were actually engaged in some activity with people - asking directions, buying vegetables, etc, the people were very friendly, often making humorous comments, helpful and eager with questions of their own. They do not smile at people they pass in the street, though, even if one smiles directly at them.
Photo: Street Scenes in Balcik We walked the long promenade along the beach to the palace (consisting of a villa with several smaller villas on the grounds) of Queen Maria, grand daughter of Queen Victoria. Queen Maria's villa is adorned with a minaret, emphasizing her hope for amity among her Christian and Islamic followers, a hope inspired by her Turkish lover. It was a very hot day and walking through the cooling shade of the surrounding botanic gardens was a pleasure.
Photo: On the grounds of the Palace of Queen Maria When we were ready to check out of Balcik, the harbormaster, Angel, came to the boat at about 10 am. and walked us through the procedure. He was a very charming young man, and spoke English very well. Once we had paid the $10 harbor fee, Angel took it to a bank in town and obtained a receipt. He added some official harbor papers to the receipt to show to Customs and Immigration. We then were able to move the boat to the Customs dock and complete the paperwork there. Once the paperwork was completed, we were required to leave the harbor immediately.
Photo: Angel, harbormaster at Balcik, Bulgaria By that time, however, it was 2 pm, so we decided to sail 15 miles along the Bulgarian coast to anchor for the night at Cape Kaliyakra. There was good protection behind the nose of the cape from the light north east winds. There were, however, large fish traps and weirs along the coast and we worked our way carefully between them. We anchored here at 5 pm. and had our first swim in the Black Sea. The water was less saline than the Mediterranean, clear, clean and warm, but there were lots of small, bubble-like jellyfish. They felt eerie as they slithered along our bodies, but they did not sting.
Photo: Cape Kaliyakra, Bulgaria We were then on our way, hurrying to catch up with the flotilla and looking forward to our first port in Romania - Mangalya.
73's, 88's, love & hugs Peg & Tom, aboard s/v Starboard Home
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