Yachting Monthly Turkey 2006

Caroline
Stevensvisitsfamiliarwatersin
..ts
Turkey,
butwith unfamiliar
boatcompanion
s. gf'noaos
Willthe meetingof youngandnot-so-young,
*
veteransailorsandgreenhorns,
proveto be
the perfectmix for holidayharmony?
f
O
ar below, on the tiny beach, a bonfire
flickered and the silence of the
night was broken by the rhythmic
beating of drums. Silhouetted figures
began to dance, twisting and swaying their
movements becoming wilder as the beat
speededup. We watched, entranced, from
the safety of Ali's bar, the hairs rising on
the back of our necks: but this was not
some tribal ritual - this was
Kids For Freedom having a
beach parry. We had stumbled
upon a charify flotilla of
some 50 deprived children of
assorted ages,races and abilities run by a
dynamic Austrian called Bernie. He scoops
up children from around the world, begs
or borrows boats, cajolesadult helpers and
takes them on a trip of a lifetime. What a guy
- and what an evening!
This is what never ceasesto excite me on
charter holidays - you have no idea what
you will find around the next headland and
2onm
in Turkey, you know whatever it is you
will be welcomed into it. Our children
were soon joining in the revelry on the
beach while we partied on high above, plied
with wine and awash with that wonderful
feeling of wellbeing
Although we have chartered on the Lycian
coast before, this was to be a new experience
for us; all our previous charters have been
we had several new considerations firstly, would we all get on for two weeks
in the confines of a boat (albeit a 50ft
Bavaria); secondly,how would our
inexperienced crew take to sailing?And
thirdly, would the teenagersbe bored witless
and/or drive us mad?
We booked our charter through Cosmos
Yachting, picking up the boat,rlo
from
"Io,
'Theshoresarelitteredwith rocktombs, r;il:lTffiJilT#"
amphitheatres
andancientruins'
;TH"T]::;"-i:Hi1.
. FEBRUARY
54 wwwyachtingmonthly.com
2006
with our four children, but sadly - or
perhaps encouragingly - Matt and Charlie,
our eldest sons, are now gainfully employed
and could not get time off. We decided to
take the opportunity of introducing my sister
Ros,her husband, Phil, and son,Joe,18,to the
delights of a sailing holiday. My husband Tom,
myself, our children Ed, 17, Sarah,15, and her
friend Katrina 15,made up the crew. Thus
good to unwind at the start
of a holiday, and Gocek is just the place to
do that. A leisurely stroll into town and
brealdast on the harbour side.followed
by Mohamed's Mini Market shopping
experience. We were whisked around while
Mohamed piled up the trolley with essentials,
plus various extras that apparently we could
not live without, including a stash of Raki
and a free pot plant. We didnt argue. Our
MIXINGHOLIDAYAIIIDHISTORYJ
PAGEloto,
FAC|I{G
secondfrom left,
anchoredin Cold
Water Bay.
FARLEFT:The harbour
at Kastell6rizon.
LEFIIYoungand old
working in harmony.
BELOW:
Golourful
markets and lazy days
purchases were packed into a trailer behind
a motorbike, Ros and I were perched on top
and we hurtled at breakneck speed back
to the boat. All done. An afternoon siesta
briefing with Tolga dinner at the fabulous
'Alternative
Restaurant'and we were set to
take on the world.
VOYAGE
ONE.WAY
We had chosen to do a one-way charter
to Kemer, allowing us to explore further
east than we have ever been before. As the
prevailing winds are westerly, we hoped the
downwind sailing would provide a gentle
introduction to the novice crewmembers.
The adults were hoping for peaceful
anchorages,good food and wine and a touch
of culture, while the young wanted water
sports, nightJife and shopping Alternate
nights seemed the way forward and this is
easily managed on the Lycian coast, which
is indented with numerous quiet coves and
interspersed \Irith a few resort towns.
Quiet anchorages are still easy to find
along this coastline - many completely
uninhabited, but some have informal
restaurants where you will always find a
warm welcome and excellent menu of freshlv
prepared local dishes.Each has its own
charm. You may be waved in to a rickety
jetfy, as at the delightful Wall Bay restaurant
or at Karacaoren we were ferried ashore.
Sadly Mustaffer - Karacaorens renowned
violin player - was absent, but we were
entertained by his handsome son, Can,
who colluded with the young and booked a
dreaded banana-boat ride.
Cold Water Bay was packed with the Kids
For Freedom flotilla but Ali still managed to
tuck us in under the towering cliffs, offer us
one of the best tables overlooking the bay
and find time to join us for a drink before
cooking us one of the most memorable meals
of the holiday.
This is the place to explore the
abandoned Greek
village of Kayakoy - a
strenuous 30-minute
walk higlr up into the
hills. We made the
trip in the cool of the
early morning and
were rewarded for
our efforts with a free
brealdast from Ali. Wherever you go, always
an invitation, but never an obligation. A
word of warning, though - restaurants in the
more remote bays tend to be transient and
you cannot rely on guidebooks or pilots, so
always be prepared to eat on board.
As with much of Turkey this re$on
offers what the Lonely Planet describesas
a seamlessmix of history and holiday, the
shores in some areaslittered with rock
tombs, sarcophagi,amphitheatres and
ancient ruins. What better way of burning
off the calories, especiallyas most of the sites
seem to be halfway up a mountain.
The Byzantine ruins on top of Gemiler
Island have beautiful mosaicsand a covered
walkway where an albino princess is reputed
to have shadedher fair skin from the
scorching sun. The ancient castle at Kalekoy
offers ma€lnificentviews over Kekova Roads.
If this still does not satisfy
your needs for culture, hire a
scooter or take adotmts @tts)
inland to Myra" or Patara
the birthplace of St Nicholas.
Otherwise known as Santa
Claus, he was renowned for his generosity
and legend goesthat he tipped a bag of
gold down the chimney of a poor family
who were dryrng their socks in front of
the fire. The gold landed in their stockings,
hence the Christmas tradition. The legend
and the colourfi.rl bazaars set us in mind
of the festive seasonand I managedto
complete almost all my Christmas shopping
Tom was a bit $oomy about the luggage
situation but even he couldn't resist an
evening stroll through the market5,laggling
over prices, sipping apple tea and soaking up
the exotic atmosphere.
ADREI{ALII{E
RUSH
While we shopped,the teenagerssampled
the nightJife. The harbours of Kas and
FEBRUARY
2006 . wwwyachtingmonthly.com 55
)
LEFI Thequlet waters arcund Ucagiz
BELOW:A minarct rises above Fethiye.
RIGHT!Thealbino princess'swalkurry
BELOWLEFIIBoat boys wwe e warm welcome at Onunrrcstaurant, Ukagiz.
BELOtyRrcm The crcw cool off during one of the fruquent swimming stope
'Therewere quiet bays,
buzzingtownsanda new
horizonevelt day'
Kalkan, and even the smart newmarinain
Fethiye, are all in the centre of town, so close
to shops and right in the hub of the social
scene.The nightlife is lively with numerous
bars and nightclubs but it is unthreatening
and the young made lots of new friends.
In Kas we managed to combine antiquity
and adrenaline - while we admired the
amphitheatre, Ed andJoe paraglided off
the 3%krn mountain above us,landing a
stones throw from the boat" Apparently it
was an'awesome'experience, but one I was
deligfrted to miss.
Quiet bays, buzzing towns and a quick
stopover on the Greek island of Kastellorizon
to swim in the aquamarine waters of the
Blue Grotto Cave followed. Every day there
lhc rcamn Theseasonlastsfrom
Aprilto November.
lhe reffien Thewind generally
blowsfrom the west,buildingin
the afternoonanddyingat night.
JulyandAugusthavethe strongest
winds.Unusually
this yearwe didn't
havemuchwindat all.
Harim cort$ We paidan avercge
of 833for berthsin marinas,
which
includedshorepower
andspotless
showers.All the smallbays,even
thosewith pontoons,are free,
althoughyou may be invitedto eat
in the restaurant.
EetingoutsMostexpensivewas
816per headandthe cheapest[and
one of the bestat Onursrestaurant
in UkagizJ
was €9.50for 3 courses,
wineandsoft drinks.Havesupplies
on boardfor the occasions
when
you anchorin the moreremotebays.
56
was a new horizon - until we arrived in
the tepid waters of.Ucaelz Limani. There
we became so relaxed alongside the little
restaurant owned by Onur and his Dutch
wife that we stayed for two days, using
it as abase to explore KekovaAdasi and
the ice-cold spring on the edge of the bay.
Apparently, if you can sit in the pool for
five minutes you are an'iron man'- I dont
ttrink any of us managed it, but it was
certainly refreshing
Fair winds carried us gently on the last
leg of our charteq stopping briefly in Finike
for a last fix of nightJife, ttren a peaceful day
unexpectedly relaxing by a swimming pool in
Cavus Limani. We had just popped ashore for
supplies, when that Turkish hospitality once
again took hold and only signs of the anchor
dragging urged us to move on. There was just
time for a final peaceful night at anchor then
on to the attractive marina in Kemer to bid a
sad farewell to elo rlo. L
Flighb & tranrtet- We flew
with ExcelAirways
from London
Gatwickto Dalamanfor 8199each.
Giicekis a short taxi ride from the
airport.Theminibusfrom Kemerto
Dalaman
cost €185for all eightof
us.Turkishvisascost €10 eachand
arepaidfor in cashat the airport.
PriccrsTheboat,an ll-berth
Bavaria50 in mid-July,costs92,300
perweek,andincludesbedding
andoutboardengine.Flightsand
transfersare not included.Boat
cleaningcosts€60 andthe Turkish
TransitLogalsocosts[60.
andPhil,newcomersto sailing,
the joy was beingon the boatand
visitinga differentplaceeveryday.
Ilorst b'ltr: Thereseemto be
moredaytripperboatsthanwhen
we were lastin this area,which
are noisyandcraminto someof
the smallbays.Theydo,however,
havea herdinginstinctandtend
to staytogether,so it is still very
easyto find quietanchorages.
Theyall disappear
backto their
ports in the afternoonleaving
everywhereblissfullyquiet.
le.t bit* Theeveningwe spent
in ColdwaterBaywith Kids
for Freedom.Forthe boys,the
paragliding
in Kaswas unbeatable.
Forthe girls,shoppingin allthe
bazaars
wasthe highlight.ForRos
l Bevery non-PCandsharea fruit
flavouredWaterPipe.
2 Thewalk from ColdwaterBay
to the abandoned
Greekvillageof
Kayakoy.
3 Swim into the BlueGrottoon the
ltusf Do€
wwwyachtingmonthly.com.FEBRUARY2006
southerncoastof Kastellorizon.
tl TheS-minute'ironman'testin
the freshwaterspringnearUcagiz
5 AllyourChristmasshoppingin
the bazaars!
Y-I rednE 4/5
Goiltact CosmosYachting
Tck 0800 3769070 /
0208 8780880
[email protected]
tlebsitcs www.cosmosyachting.com