The rough with the smooth

Company en route south

From Mersin we headed south to Agalimani and the village of Bagsak; onboard was also Tansu, a local keen fisherman who came on the promise of catching supper for tonight! As any close friends will know I am not a fisherman, it makes too much mess! Good to his word however, by the time we rounded the south cardinal mark that now identifies the southern extremity of the three mile long sand-spit at Incekum Burnu he had hauled in two large mackerel and a very much larger fish that I did not recognise. That evening we took them all ashore to a restaurant in Bagsak, owned by a friend of his, and dined very well on them. (Having a fisherman onboard does have it's compensations!).

View from the restaurant at Bagsak

During that same transit we also saw two pods of dolphins so it was definitely going to be a good day! From the restaurant I returned onboard and Tansu returned to Mersin.

Next day, after a quiet night in the anchorage, I set off for the anchorage at Ovacik again; stopping en route to anchor, for lunch and a swim, in the anchorage off the island of Dana Adasi. The water was crystal clear and turquoise blue, almost tempting enough for me to stay there for the night but I had promised to ring my father that afternoon whilst he was visiting my mother and there was no signal in the anhorage; and so, at 1600, I pressed on to Ovacik. On arrival I telephoned as promised only to find that my father was in hospital instead, life is full of surprises!

Departing Ovaci

Ovacik is a lovely anchorage and I therefore decided to stay two days, there is no time pressure on this leg. On the second day an Italian yacht came in to join me, enquired if the holding was good (answer “yes”) and promptly anchored a boats length away! The bay is only a mile wide! Fortunately I was leaving early next morning and the weather was calm.

Next day I ghosted off the anchor and tacked silently out of the anchorage, heading south to round the headland at Bolukada Burnu and then north again to Yesilovacik. The weather was settled and very light wind so it was a very pleasant sail. On arrival I put Kurukulla into an alongside berth in the southern corner of the harbour, next to a sunken grockle boat which the locals assured me had been there, sitting on the bottom, for five years! Later that evening I set off ashore to find a local restaurant recommended by another skipper we had met in Bozyazi, The food was good, the ambience fun and it was obviously well frequented by locals. A two course meal plus a beer 15YTL i.e. £5.50, not to be argued with!

The berth at Yesilovacik

On return I telephoned my brother to get the latest update on my father only to have to break off after 10 minutes due to a sudden and very strong gust of wind and the unplanned arrival alongside of a small fishing boat that was trying, with considerable difficulty, to depart from its berth alongside the boat behind me. In broken English they shouted “Get out”; they obviously knew what was coming. Single handed and pinned onto the berth by the wind I had no choice, getting out was impossible! That gust marked the start of a 36 hour nightmare. The wind took less than five minutes to reach 30 knots and half an hour later was gusting 50. I had every fender onboard deployed plus three car tyres scavenged from nearby and spent the night trying to stop Kurukulla landing on the jetty. In the width of the harbour the waves were reaching between 2.5 and 3 feet high! To make things worse I managed to trip when climbing out of the main hatchway and landed on the cockpit seats, sideways, damaging my right side, I am still not sure whether I have cracked a rib or two but three days later, as I write this, the pain is subsiding; slowly! By the end of the 36 hours I had had no sleep, replaced six parted berthing lines and Kurukulla had sustained a fractured forward fairlead, (part of the bow casting), and a severely distorted stern fairlead but apart from black tyre marks and a few superficial scratches no significant hull damage, thank goodness. This was thanks also to the assistance of some of the locals who, when not struggling with their own vessels, helped to keep her safe. It was a close run thing!

Dining with the Akkus's

Being exhausted and in some pain I decided to stay a further night in Yesilovacik, which by now was an oasis of tranquillity! I returned to the same restaurant after making a short tour of the town (it doesn't take long!) to get some victuals. I ordered an iced coffee and whilst sitting there I got into conversation with Emre, a Turkish guy who was in Yesilovacik holidaying with his family. His father, Tugrul, had joined me at my table and although we did not have too many words in common I found myself being challenged to a game of Backgammon. At three all (Tugrul was being very charitable!) we called it a day, shook hands, said our goodbyes and I departed back to Kurukulla.

Dining with the Akkus's

That evening there was a knock on the coach roof and it was Emre who had come to collect me to go to supper with him and his family. They had taken pity on me dining alone and, without my prior knowledge, had decided to invite me. It was an absolutely captivating occasion: four generations of the family from Grandmother at 84 to great nephew at 10 including Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, all holidaying together in the family holiday house in Yesilovacik. Their main homes were all in Ankara. Real generosity of spirit and genuine friendship. They were all on the beach next day to wave me goodbye as I set off for Aydincik. Perhaps next year I will have the chance to meet with them again.

Aydincik

Aydincik by night

From Yasilovacik it was a three hour motor to Aydincik, not because there was no wind, there was, but to avoid pulling on ropes etc. as my ribs were still giving me grief. I arrived in Aydincik at 1700 and anchored in the inner reach of the harbour, not that it is very large but anchoring seemed less effort than backing in stern to the jetty and getting lines ashore. Again I decided to stay two days togive myself more time to recover. This evening, day two, I rowed ashore for a look at the town, purchased some victuals, and decided to dine ashore. Advised by a local where to go I found myself sitting on the waterfront, sipping a beer and enjoying a delightful meal, all for 16YTL again. If you know where to go you really can eat well in Turkey for very little.

Tomorrow it is an 0600 departure to catch the offshore breeze before the SW wind sets in around late morning. At present I am being serenaded by a wedding party on the jetty so goodness knows what time I may get to sleep; it is good to watch though!