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Trip Report #2-2003: Leaving TurkeyFiled from Trizonia, Greece38 22 .0 N 22 04.7 EJune 10, 2003
Photo: The waterfront in Marmaris, Turkey We left the marina on May 11, 2003. We had about 2 weeks left in which to explore the southeastern coast of Turkey before Tom's visa would expire. The bill for our 6 month contract, $1090, including lifting out, launching and pressure washing at Marmaris Yat Marin, had been paid in November before we left, which was fortunate for us, since the Euro had risen 25% against the dollar since then. We stayed in the marina another 21 days and paid 4.40 Euro per day plus $28.80 for electricity and $5.86 for water, a total of $135.01 USD. Before leaving, we stopped at the fuel dock to top off our tank. During the cold month of March and some of April, it had been necessary to use our diesel-powered heater. We put 28.3 liters of diesel into the main tank and 60.4 liters into the auxiliary tanks we keep on the deck. At 1,432,000 Turkish Lira per liter, cost to us for fuel was $85 USD, a little over $3.80 per gallon. We motored across the bay in calm wind and anchored in front of the statue of Ataturk on the Marmaris waterfront. There was a place to tie up the dinghy, and the supermarket, Tansas, was only 2 blocks away for last minute provisioning. We also left our empty propane tank to be refilled. Refilling the tank would take at least 3 days, so we made arrangements to pick it up on our way north. We could also check out of Turkey at that time.
Photo: Tom at the statue of Ataturk, Marmaris, Turkey
Photo: The anchorage in front of the town of Marmaris, Turkey We pulled up anchor and headed out of the Bay of Marmaris toward Gocek and Fethiye. We knew that, although the wind was almost nonexistent in the morning, by noon it would be blowing 20-25 knots as the onshore breeze filled in. We needed some wind to tune the rigging and as we sailed east, in 25 knots, we sailed on every point of sail, with the yankee, with and without the staysail, making adjustments as needed. We stopped in two very pretty bays on the way to Skopea Limani and Gocek - Kizilkuyruk and, just around the corner, Kucuk Kuyruk. In both bays, we anchored with our new Bugel anchor and rowed a line ashore, securing it to a rock. The new anchor seems to be very good in a variety of bottoms, including weed, hard-packed sand and rock. We have learned to let it "gentle" into the bottom before using the engine to give it a good tug to set it securely. Skopea Limani, with the small town of Gocek at it's head, is a beautiful bay with lots of smaller bays and coves in which to anchor and lots of good sailing in the bay. The town of Gocek, however, is not very impressive and serves mostly as a charter fleet base.
Photo: Tom sailing in Skopea Limani, Turkey
Photo: Tom in the center of town in Gocek, Turkey We had heard that there was a new marina being built in Fethiye and work is definitely proceeding with the intent to complete it in time for this winter season. When finished, it will be quite a large complex with concrete floater docks and some protection from the prevailing winds. It is possible to tie up there even now for a small fee. We chose to anchor in the southwest corner of the bay where we found good holding in 25 feet.
Photo: At anchor in the bay at Fethiye, Turkey The town of Fethiye is a working town that caters to tourists. There are many hotels and resorts and touristy boutiques, but walking around the town, one passes typically Turkish homes and businesses as well as the ruins of 2500 year old Lycian cultures scattered about.
Photo: The town of Fethiye
Photo: Peg at the Lycian tombs above Fethiye
Photo: Tom in the ruins of an amphitheatre in Fethiye The highlight of our trip southeast was taking a cruise up the Dalyan River to see the ruins of the ancient city of Caunos. We anchored at Ekincik and booked passage on a small riverboat which picked us up at our boat the next morning. As it turned out, we had the boat to ourselves, as there were very few tourists in the area. It cost us about $80, more than if there had been others to share the cost, but was well worth the trip, which took most of the day. The trip to the river inlet from our boat took about 1 hour. Photo: Tom and our captain on the Dalyan riverboat Photo: Dalyan River from the site of Ancient Caunos
Photo: Scenes in the ruins of Caunos After hiking up to Caunos, where we spent an hour and a half walking and gawking, we continued up the river to the town of Dalyan, passing the Lycian tombs carved into the hillside. The Lycian people were probably an indigenous Anatolian race, who lived along the coast in this area 2500 years ago. The decorative rock tombs dotting the hillsides are thought to resemble the wood dwellings in which the people lived during life.
Photo: Lycian tombs along the Dalyan River We returned to Marmaris for the last time, passing our friends on Carmen Miranda, Cindy and Faith from San Francisco, as they were leaving to head for the French canals.
Photo: Cindy waves from Carmen Miranda We anchored in front of Yat Marin as weather moved in, bringing storm clouds over the mountains surrounding the bay. One thunderstorm after another passed over the boat during the course of the afternoon and evening, pouring rain on us. After the boat was clean as a whistle, Tom braved the rain and hooked up our water catching system. Our tanks were filled up in no time. At 3 am, the wind switched, bringing waves and strong winds into the anchorage. It was pitch black dark outside. We checked our position compared to shore lights and the anchor lights of nearby boats and found we were dragging. We pulled up our anchor and motored to reset, a procedure made difficult by the fact that the boat nearest to us had no anchor light and we simply could not see it. Using our big flashlight we finally made out her location and proceeded to anchor successfully. Anchoring is full of joy and terror. Our propane tank was delivered by bicycle to the dinghy. It's a common sight, though a little unnerving to us, to see propane tanks on a bicycle, sometimes on the front, sometimes balanced on the crossbar, sometimes in special racks to hold them.
Photo: Propane tanks being delivered in Marmaris We took one last walk through the town, had one last dinner with Joe & Jeannie, and said our last good-bye to Marmaris and Turkey, a country we grew to like very much.
Photo: Tom & Peg walk along the waterfront near Netsel's Marina But the Adriatic Sea beckons and we need to move before the meltemi (strong northerly winds) sets in. Allahsmarladaik, 73's, 88's, love & hugs Peg & Tom Maynard aboard s/v Starboard Home
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