In the Marmaris area

En route Marmaris

Marmaris town from seaward

In the end we were to spend two days in and around Marmaris. I sorted out the details of my temporary residence permit but found out that I had to be available the next evening at 1700 to receive some of the paperwork, thus we were to be delayed leaving. The first night we went into town and dined in one of the waterfront restaurants, picked up some late night shopping from the Migros Supermarket, and caught the 2300 dolmus (minibus) back to the marina. Next morning was bright and clear and so we decided at mid day, all other tasks having been completed, to head out of the marina and take Kurukulla on the five mile passage, out of the Marmaris Bay, around the (almost) island of Nimara Adasi, and anchor in Yalanci Bogazi; this is the bay on the far side of the isthmus that forms the seaward side of the marina and connects Nimara Adasi to the mainland. Our final anchorage was 200 metres from the marina but on the seaward side of the isthmus. A good anchorage in W or NW winds and it was from here that I set off in the dinghy to land on the beach, cross the road and enter the main gate of the marina, all to collect my papers. That done we were free to leave the next morning.

Dalyan River heading towards Caunos

Our destination was to be Ekincik Limani in preparation for visiting ancient Caunos the next day; in the event we chose to anchor in Kargi Koyu just 0.5 miles short of Ekincik as it was verging on deserted and Ekincik looked quite crowded. We dropped anchor, under sail, in 10m, with enough room to swing between us and the beach. Our only companions were a small catamaran and a charter gullet, both some distance away. Supper onboard, a film night and early to bed were the order of the day with an early start the next day to visit Caunos. In the event this was not to be. Having made a reasonably early start, 0800, we motored across to Delikada, anchored inside the island and took the dinghy ashore to catch the public boat up river to Caunos (Kurukulla's draft is too deep to cross the sand bar at the river entrance). We were there at 0930 which seemed the ideal time with the exception that we were told that the public boats had been reduced to one per day and, surprise - surprise, we had missed it; it departed at 0900. The public boat is like a dolmus service and costs a few Turkish Lira; the alternative, that our adviser was more than keen to sell us, was a private boat costing €100 per head; we declined the offer! Unfortunately the boat co-operative operators almost have a monopoly and you are, not surprisingly, discouraged from taking your own dinghy up the river. Thus it was that we enjoyed a swim, early lunch and then sailed off the anchor heading for Baba Adasi, our next anchorage. Here we again anchored under sail in the lee of the island and settled down for a quiet evening,

Sunset at baba Adasi

The plan had been to take a parascending trip here, via the water-sports centre, but the boat was not operating. Next morning the boat passed us but full of tourists doing a high speed circumnavigation of the Island! Just our luck.

Dinner at Pineapple, Netsel Marina

From Baba Adasi we were to be forced to return to Maramaris for Steve's departure, he left by ferry to Rhodes and flight onwards to UK. Fortunately the wind co-operated and we were able to lay Marmaris in one tack, we almost made it right to the entrance to the bay of Marmaris without tacking; from here it was a short beat through the entrance and we were on track for Netsel Marina, one of the other marinas in Marmaris and the one most convenient to the ferry terminal. To “celebrate?” Steve's departure we dined in the Pineapple Restaurant, on the waterfront, over-looking Kurukulla. Next morning we walked the 250m to the ferry terminal and Steve was on his way back to UK. I then set off, by dolmus, to do some business in Yacht Marine, and finally left Netsel late that afternoon. The next two days were spent anchored in the bay of Marmaris, near Yacht Marine, doing some of the outstanding maintenance and relaxing.

48 hours at anchor is enough! On Thursday morning, 27^th of September, I sailed off the anchor for a very relaxed passage to Ekincik 'again' but this time I anchored in the Ekincik anchorage with the other 10 boats that were there; the east side was the least crowded and thus my choice for the night. Next morning there was a gentle breeze and so I took the opportunity to rig the No1 genoa (first outing this year!) before setting off to anchor at Baba Adasi again and then on eastwards. My next crew member is due to join on the 8^th of October in Kas so plenty of time for a relaxed passage east!

Tied back to the rocks at Kizikuyruk Koyu

From Baba Adasi it was onwards to Fethiye Korfesi and an anchorage in Kizikuyruk Koyu, an anchorage with two arms, one of which was crowded and the other occupied by only one other yacht. I chose to anchor with a line ashore on the north side of the north arm in a delightful little cove. The anchorage itself is deep but by laying the anchor cable along the edge of the shelf the cove was quite tenable and the tie back made easy by a large hole through the rock! I did my usual swim the line ashore to the amusement of the other yacht in the anchorage. Later in the evening we were joined by one other yacht but the magic of the place was unaffected.

The pool at Yassica Adalari

Next morning on the lightest of onshore breezes I was able to sail off the anchor and head to Yassica Adalari, a small group of islands off Gocek. I had been determined to return since my brief visit some months before when I was tempted to leave earlier than I had planned by the offer of dinner in another yacht! This time I decided to anchor in the inner pool; this is rarely frequented by other sailing yachts as the entrance, as I found by trial and error, is only 3m deep. Enough for Kurukulla though. In the centre of the pool was the only other occupant, a catamaran, anchored but without a line ashore; I dropped my anchor as close to him as I dare but the result of his presence was to limit the amount of anchor cable I could put out, something I was to regret later! Not long after my arrival the catamaran departed and another yacht was encouraged to enter! This was a Turkish yacht, also single handed, but unfortunately we did not have more than three words of a common language; task next year – learn Turkish.

Photo taken by moonlight, Yassica Adalari, pre wind!

The surroundings here were idyllic and I decided to stay two days. The decision was made easier by the arrival of an elderly lady each morning, in a small boat, selling freshly made stone baked bread. Staying here too long would be very bad for the waistline! Each evening there was also a replay of “Watership Down” on the beach; a number of wild rabbits, of every colour imaginable, black, white, brown, mixed, all congregated to devour what the tourists had left behind! Late on the second day there also occurred the first thunderstorm of the year with a silent deluge to accompany it. Initially, for the first two bouts of thunder and lightening, there were no strong winds to accompany it. This was not to last though! At midnight the final bout of the storm arrived but bringing with it 35 knot winds from the SE, directly on Kurukulla's beam (the forecast was max 10 knots from the SW!). The result was that the anchor dragged and we swung round parallel with the shoreline going aground on the soft mud. It was so gentle that I did not even feel her take the bottom and being the middle of the night and in a safe if not normal situation I decided to wait until morning before getting her off. At 0645 the process started, by 0730 I had also swum a line across the width of the bay and tied it off to one of the securing points on the far side. The combination of that line led to a main winch, the engine on full power ahead and the three heaviest sails on the end of the main boom, pushed out to starboard to give her a list and reduce her draft, and she came off, very slowly; it was a much tougher process than I had envisaged; the soft mud was covering hard sand and that had a much firmer grip! By 0830 we were back where we had started the night before but with much more anchor chain out! By the time I departed for Gocek, 1430, three other yachts had taken the challenge and entered the bay. Amazing how yachts congregate, the publicised outer part of the anchorage was almost empty!

Departing Gocek

An hour later I was anchored in the bay at Gocek. There are five marinas in Gocek but given that I did not need water and that it was much easier to anchor than Med moor in a marina, I chose to anchor off and use the dinghy to go in. The evening seemed to be building towards another thunderstorm and so, in the cause of safety, I decided to delay going ashore for victuals until Wednesday morning. By mid-day all was sorted and so after an early lunch I set off for Fethiye, a couple of hours sailing away. Having looked at the options for anchoring in the vicinity of Fethiye I opted for the anchorage on the SE side of Fethiye Adasi, the island effectively closing the entrance to the bay in which Fethiye sits.

Anchorage at Fethiye Adasi

Although open to the SE the anchorage is reasonably well protected and I sailed in and anchored at 1600. In the anchorage was only one other yacht, a Dutch couple whose boat I recognised from Marmaris. Next morning I dived in for a morning swim and got quite a surprise, the water was freezing cold (or in comparative terms anyway), I had anchored directly above a source of very cold fresh water coming up from the bottom of the bay. As I am under no time pressure I decided to stay a second day and do a bit more maintenance. The plan is to depart for Gemiler Adasi tomorrow and then onwards to Kas, my next deadline, by Monday next.

More in a few days …...