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Trip Report #10-2002: Return to IstanbulFiled from Istanbul, Turkey40 58.30N 28 53.00EAugust 30, 2002
Photo: Turkish Man looks out at Safronbolu from a balcony at the mosque We left Sevastopol after clearing Ukrainian customs, a process that took only 1 1/2 hours. Tom had spent 3 hours in the Customs and Immigration offices the day before, preparing for our departure. On clearing out, we were required to complete, in addition to the previously encountered crew lists, cargo declaration, health report, general declaration, and a letter saying we had no arms, ammunitions, drugs or stowaways, an "ecological declaration". This was a document declaring the size of our holding tank and we thought it strange that it was not required on entry - only on departure. But we completed the form and finally departed the harbor at 9 am, heading for Turkey. As we crossed the Black Sea, the wind was on the beam, up and down during the day and night, and there were gray clouds and threatening thunderstorms nearby. We watched as a pigtail from one of those clouds developed into a waterspout and then slowly dissipated. That night there was lightning in dark clouds all around us but somewhat off in the distance. We used our radar to steer around some of the cells and were fortunate enough to be able to avoid all of it. Twenty miles off the coast of Turkey, the wind came forward and we had a beautiful close reach at 6.5 knots, the best sail of the summer. We entered the harbor at Cide and anchored. Already there were Hazel and Ray on Triton and Julie and Ron on Gladlee. It was a real treat to join them for drinks and catch up on their news. Their crossing, two days before, was not as trouble-free as ours. The weather was not as forecast and they had very high winds and waves. Gladlee had taken a knock-down when an unusually large wave hit them broadside.
Photo: Waves in the Black Sea We made our way down the Turkish coast to the town of Amasra, where we met Brian & Susie on Riduna, also part of the flotilla.
Photo: Susie & Brian on Riduna Amasra is a very pleasant small town with a "women's market" on Tuesday and Friday. We had a great time in the market, buying fruits and vegetables from the local farm women. One could also get large pails of homemade yogurt, local hazelnuts, and combs of honey.
Photo: Town & Harbor at Amasra We took a dolmus (a small minivan bus) from Amasra, transferred in the town of Bartin, and rode to the ancient town of Safronbolu. In Safronbolu, one can see the most famous collection of surviving Ottoman architecture, much of which is being restored by the Turkish Touring Club. The overhanging balcony-like projection is a prominent feature of these buildings of wood and stone.
Photo: Ottoman architecture in Safronbolu, Turkey As in most Turkish towns, the mosque is central to the life and activities of the town.
Photo: The mosque in Safronbolu In the center of the town, there is a collection of shops that carry on age-old crafts, such as saddle-making, silver smithing, and tool and pot making.
Photo: A foundry in Safronbolu
Photo: Hand-rubbing, or tinning, a new pot in Safronbolu There is a bazaar within the town and we enjoyed buying spices, purchasing a Turkish hat for Tom (so he can "blend") and looking at carpets. We also enjoyed exchanging pleasantries with the people who live in the town, even though we could not speak each other's language.
Photo: Tom with friends in Safronbolu
Photo: Peg with friends in Safronbolu We continued on our way to Eregli, where we cleared Customs. What a breath of fresh air! A very pleasant young man, Osman Soydemir, took Tom with our papers to the appropriate office, our visas were stamped and it was over. And Tom was given a cup of tea to enjoy while he waited.
Photo: View of the Turkish coast from Starboard Home We sailed along the Turkish coast toward Poyraz, where we anchored for the night and then continued the next day down the Bosphurus. This time we had the current with us and the 20-25 knots of wind behind us. We made the 26 miles from Poyraz to Istanbul in record time and settled into a slip at Atakoy Marina, where we received a warm welcome and an invitation to attend a cocktail party honoring the Optimus Pram junior sailing graduates - juice for the graduates, of course. Our cruise in the Black Sea is now at an end and people have started to ask us "how was it, did you enjoy it, would you do it again, we've been thinking about going, what do you think?". We have lots of feelings about the Black Sea. It has been an experience that we'll never forget, with both positive and negative aspects. We probably will not go again by boat, but we are glad that we did and would say to others, "By all means, go!" If we were to do it over, we would go around the Black Sea counterclockwise, cruising through the northern coast of Turkey first, to take advantage of the prevailing winds and current. The pilot, "Cruise the Black Sea", written by Archie and Doreen Annan, is written for a counter-clockwise progression, which they recommend in the forward. We think anyone contemplating cruising the Black Sea should take this into consideration. The main thing that made the trip unpleasant was having to deal with the bureaucracy at every port we entered. We expected this when entering and departing from each country, but we did not expect to have to do it in every port within a country, nor did we expect it to be as time consuming as it actually was. Our friend, Vicky Rosenberg on Ghost Boat, said that one really must view the Black Sea as a cruising frontier - changes will occur, out of necessity, as more people cruise there or as the benefits of attracting cruisers and tourism is appreciated. There are already indications that this is beginning to occur. Bulgaria has just started to grant cruising visas, which will eliminate the necessity to check in at each port. Beyond the officialdom, however, the people of Bulgaria, Romania, and the Ukraine were wonderful. There are advantages to cruising a frontier. The people do not often see cruisers from other countries and so we were warmly welcomed everywhere. We learned that stereotypes about people in this area, previously held by us, were just wrong, and we think that we helped change some of their misperceptions about Americans. And the trip offered us an excellent opportunity to see how the people here live, to see how much their economies and lives have changed in the last few years and to see how well they are adapting to those major changes and how hopeful the future looks for them. Das Vaydanya 73's, 88's, love & hugs, Peg & Tom Maynard aboard s/v Starboard Home
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Grand Daughters' web pages: Anna's Home Page, Anastasia's Home Page Isabelle's Home Page
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