Onwards from Bencik to Marmaris via......

Tuesday 17 March Bencik to Orhanye


Blue skies and light winds accompany us so we opt to practice our MOB on the way and Richard throws over a fender while Pippy turns the boat and goes back and retrieves it! Mission acccomplished we continue past Marti Marina up the harbour to tie up on a delightful, if a little rickety looking, pontoon on the south western side of the bay alongside Deep Blue. The ruins of the Byzantine Fort on the island on the way in provide a startling reminder of the history around here.

Who should we see already tucked up in this bay but the red half tonner yacht (Penelope) owned by Sepp and Troudy who we have first seen in Kos Marina and encountered again alongside in Datca. We all have drinks together for happy hour and find them a really interesting couple. Over the Ouzo bottles, we find out that Sepp is a mining engineer and mountain climber (having been the first to conquer and name the mountain of Koh-e-Kesnikan in the Hindu Kush in the 60’s). They live in the USA near to the Grand Canyon. They hunt and shoot and are the original adventurers, having sailed their yacht in the Med for the past 35 years from January to May, including when they had a small baby. Sepp is 73 and Troudy 66, so there is time for us yet!




The next morning we are up early to wave goodbye to Penelope as she sails onwards. We four are going tramping today and head up into the mountains, taking a good 3 hours to climb over a high ridge and around the valley to the other side, emerging close to Marti Marina where we walk to for our supplies of bread etc. It is pouring with rain by the time we arrive so we pause for coffee looking out over the many masts towards our mooring on the other side of the bay.






By the time we return to our boats the sun comes out and we decide to throw the lines and make for our next anchorage which is not very far away. Selimiye is the bay where we first met up with Rupert on Rumpus almost a year ago now. As we sail into it we find that the facilities have improved immensely with a new pontoon around the perimeter of the tiny harbour and quite a few boats safely tucked up there. And... who is already in residence on the outside of the pontoon but Penelope, so we are once again all together for happy hour where we exchange yet more sailing and outdoor adventure stories before we settle in for the night which turns out to be a little windy.

By the morning Penelope has shoved off over to the other side of the bay where there is more shelter and we are being blown onto the pontoon, so we decide to move on to our next port which will be Bozburon, but not before we stock up on the delightful village bread that we recall from our last visit here.

Thursday 19 March Selimiye to Bozburun

We leave together with Deep Blue and head out of the sheltered harbour into fairly fresh conditions around the point. We tack our way south east outside the islands of Kameriye and Koca rounding the point past Atabol Kayasi beacon and Kizil Adasi, turning north again up the harbour towards Bozburun. The wind is gusting over the top of the hills ahead of us and we are some way ahead of Deep Blue when we are hit by a violent squall with 43 knots of wind. Fortunately we have the sails down and are motoring at the time, and we hope that Deep Blue sees it coming and has time to get their sails down too.

It is some time before we are tucked up on the town quay but we do get a very friendly welcome here from the locals who are delighted to see their first cruisers of the year. We eat out at the Friendly Cafe which is about to have a name change as has new owners. It is absolutely freezing cold and we tuck up gratefully into bed this night listening to the wind howling overhead from our sheltered berths. Very early the next morning we hear a commotion outside and pop our heads up to see two enormous fishing boats tied alongside and a bit of a commotion happening around there. It transpires that these boats are from Istanbul, rarely call in here, are unloading a huge catch of tuna, and all of the locals are in a buying frenzy as the prices are amazingly good. The sun is out, the wind has eased and everywhere we go we see people walking, running, riding bicycles and carrying huge tuna fish home, with smiles of absolute delight on their faces. All the restaurants are stocking up on tuna for their summer supplies and all the local cats are in a frenzy as the cleaning and carving up goes on.




We watch the commotion, enjoy coffee at a local cafe and head out around midday for our next anchorage of Serce which is just over the hill from Bozburun by road but we have to sail south west to round the point at Karaburun, then south east and north east to the sheltered inlet of Serce.

An amazing sight of snow clad mountains greets us as we sail north east towards Marmaris. No wonder it has been so cold - they do not seem that far away but do make for a wonderful sight against the hazy blue sky.

Serce

As we round the entrance to this harbour we are amazed to see Penelope tucked in there in the south western corner.

Sepp has warned us about mooring in here as the sea bottom is littered with abandoned moorings. Deep Blue briefly tangles with one but manages to free their anchor. The Matelot crew launch the dinghy and check out the bottom with snorkel and mask before dropping the anchor after seeing what has just happened to Deep Blue. It takes us quite a while to set our anchors and tie ashore for added security as there is some wind predicted to come in from the south east.

We enjoy a great night aboard Deep Blue with the Penelope crew in attendance.

The next morning there is a gale prediction and the general consensus is that we will stay in this harbour until it passes over. Matelot is taking a few gusts side on and we get blown quite close to Deep Blue and closer to the shore. We decide to move and swing on the anchor which we drop further out and away from the other two boats and well clear of the laid moorings. The wind is gusting in from the entrance to the harbour so we set out a second anchor with quite a lot of fiddling around and Richard rowing it out in the dinghy to drop it. Ten minutes later the wind direction changes and comes from the south west, spinning us around so that the two chains are threatening to wrap around each other. We hastily pull up the second anchor and sit there observing. We are sailing around a bit on the anchor and although we have dropped well clear of the moorings, are soon nudging up against a buoy, so we pick it up as decide it is safer on the bow of Matelot than under the keel.

Earlier in the day Pippy goes ashore for a quick explore around the abandoned restaurant and comes back to Matelot reporting on a scene of total destruction. Apparently this is what happens when people do not pay their tax in Turkey. There is a lot of rubbish and broken stuff lying around and it is pretty sad to see.

Penelope and Deep Blue all come on board for a quick happy hour before departing back to their boats as the weather deteriorates in the very dark night.




This is how we spend the night as the gale rages, hitting its peak around 5.30 am, alternatively straining on the mooring and then on to our anchor, but we feel much more secure being held this way. We keep the chart plotter on anchor watch, but it does not go off at all during the night. Nevertheless we sleep on and off, fully clothed and ready to hit the deck.

Serce to Marmaris Sunday 22 March

We follow Deep Blue out the next morning, saying our farewells yet again to Penelope. We definitely are heading in different directions now so may not see them again. Our sail to Marmaris is a little frustrating as we watch Deep Blue pull up their spinnaker and sail straight to their destination as Matelot has to tack downwind taking very long boards. We hit speeds of up to 10.2 knots in the fresh conditions. Deep Blue reports also making 10 knots in an exciting spinnaker run which leaves them glowing with pleasure as they leave Matelot far behind for once.

Arrival Marmaris around 4pm average speed 8 knots.

Datca onwards to Bencik

Photos:
Fab photo of us all
Deep Blue and Matelot at anchor at Bencik
Matelot arriving at Bencik



Monday 16 March dawns cloudless after one of the coldest nights we have had for a while. We sleep under two feather sleeping bags! Last minute stockups of bread and veg complete, we cast off from Datca town quay at 11.30am, waving farewell to the cafe owner and his wife who have been very hospitable to us, providing us with internet, shore facilities and fresh water in the bucket for washing vegies.

We have a glorious... truly glorious... beam reach, sailing 085 degrees towards the magical inlet of Bencik where we will spend the coming night. The sea is flat as we carve our way past the Greek Island of Simi to starboard, feathery white clouds hovering above it in the bright sunshine, our wake stretching out behind us, the red hills of the Peninsular off to our port side. Matelot has her beautiful white sails set and she is like a graceful bird carrying us along, as autopilot on, we sit back and relax and marvel at how great it is to be alive, looking around us in disbelief at the stark beauty of our surroundings. We can see SY Deep Blue up ahead with spinnaker set but we are still closing on her... yes!!

Three hours later and we follow Deep Blue quietly motoring our way up the sheltered inlet of Bencik to anchor and tie stern ropes ashore for the night. It is calm and peaceful and we have Andy and Brenda aboard for a meal and a chance to swap sailing stories from this magical day.

Tuesday 17 March

The sound of a traditional fishing boat starting up nearby around 7.00am wakes us up and we slip in and out of sleep as its engine fades away into the distance. Opening the hatch above us we see the mist rising off the water as the sun starts to warm the air. All is very still around us and we stay in bed and read, holding our books in frozen hands. The night has again been very cold and crisp air wafts through the wide open hatch as we watch the blue sky fill in above us. Every so often we have to slide our hands under the covers to warm them up.

This morning is very special as the sun very quickly warms us and we have our first swim of the season, jumping in and out .... very quickly.... Richard twice because he drops the soap and has to go in a second time to retrieve it. We finish off with showers on the stern and hot coffee before departing for our next anchorage....

Datca...and Old Datca

Photos
Sitting by the spring having our lunch
Old Datca house
Our provisions from the Farmers Market

We have a brisk sail on Saturday from Palumut to Datca which is a bit of a surprise as we are motor sailing with just main up until we round the point to come into Datca and are hit by a squall with winds up to 25 knots which comes out of nowhere. However, the calm anchorage on the town quay when we arrive and the farmers market where we stock up on produce, makes it all worth while.

Today we take a walk to Old Datca which is overwhelmingly charming and picturesque - well worth it.

Tomorrow we sail on to an anchorage near Bicuk and then on from there.

Holed up in Palumut waiting for the storms to pass over...

Photos:

Matelot and Deep Blue at anchor at Palumut
Richard stealing green almonds
Andy pointing from the top of the hill over Palumut
Andy and Brenda and "Hopeful Hound"


Following is Brenda's letter to all her family and friends which is much better than what I would have written...

This part of the Datça Peninsula is very windswept and sailing round it reminded us of rounding the Lizard. Palamut is a little oasis just off the tip of the peninsula, very sheltered for yachts with a few over-wintering here, including one beautiful wooden boat that is the very one they used in the film Multiluk (Bliss). In the summer they get 25 visiting yachts every day and there is a small waterfront of restaurants and grocery shops. This makes it sound touristic but it is very shanty town – there is a man who sits looking out of the open window of a caravan on this street and he looks like he is selling something. We went to ask what and he said “I sleep here”! A lady lives on the outskirts of the village in a shed made of plywood, guarded by a HUGE dog. Chickens run free and the men sit and smoke. The main industry is Almonds and this week is a special week as the green almonds are just at the stage where they are picked and eaten as a very special delicacy. The nut is jelly and the shell is crunchy, all with a piquant flavour they complement with sugar and chilli. We have been invited to go picking later.

Our second morning in Palumut dawns clear and sunny with light breezes from the north, however inclement weather is forecast for later in the day so we delay our trip to Datca and our check in to Turkey.

We take advantage of the lovely morning and walk uphill through twiggy old thyme bushes with fresh green leaves on them, flowering wild lavender, red anenome flowers and prickly vegetation until we are on top of the hill overlooking the valley filled with almond and olive trees and the marina below. The view is fabulous and we shoot off loads of photos.

That night we go on board Deep Blue to watch a Turkish film called “Mutluluk” which translates to “Bliss” in English. It is a powerful and moving film which unfortunately we do not see the end of because the DVD is scratched. However it does help us to recognise the large green yacht we are moored next to which features in the film which was made in these parts of Turkey.

Thursday brings a freshening southerly and Richard pulls up on our anchor to ensure we are well off the quay behind us. Unfortunately this makes the gangway a little precarious as the boat jobbles around in the wind and it slips on and off the quay. It is fastened to the main halyard with shock cord which keeps it lifted, but will not hold the weight of a person if it slips off the quay while being crossed. We plan a walk to the almond trees this morning and I make it over the gangway, but sad to say although I am holding on to it as much as I can, Richard lingers on it a little too long and as the boat lunges, the gangway falls down into the water taking Richard with it. He manages to save himself on the concrete quay but his thumb and fingers are rather lacerated, so we have to apply some first aid before we continue on our way. Also, his sunglasses have gone into the water below the boat….bummer!

Gastronomically speaking Palumut is a little paradise. The fishermen appear to be constantly on the go hauling in fish but we are not quick enough to buy some and it all very quickly gets spirited away probably to Istanbul or markets closer. Alten tells us the fish are plentiful at this time of the year including large barracuda and swordfish. He also tells us it is time to harvest green almonds – a period of around 2 weeks when the tiny luscious fuzzy fruit form the nut inside. They are harvested and sent to Istanbul and other large markets, where they sell for E10 per kilogram as a popular delicacy eaten either as is, or carefully peeled to expose the delicate nut within which is then served for example with sweet melon and parma ham accompanied by a crisp white wine. We walk along the road gathering a small quantity, munching on them as we go…delicious.

The southerly howls and blows for the remainder of the day and it is precarious getting on and off the boat until Richard rigs up a safety line around the gangway which will take the weight if it comes off the pier with all the movement. The calm when it comes around 11pm is a welcome break until the northerly fills in this morning and now we are having a gale from that direction! However, we do have some success this morning when Richard rows and from the back of the dinghy, Pippy leans over with a snorkel and mask on, head and shoulders under the water, sights the errant sunglasses on the bottom and manages to “sweep” them up to the surface with the long handled broom attached to the boat hook. Brenda is a bit slow with the camera because apparently it is all a bit of a sight – she is much too kind to expose Pippy in that light! The water temperature is 16ºC and the air temp is 12 ºC, so it feels quite warm under there. There are lots of wet clothes to dry out as a result!

We take another big walk today over the hill to the next bay, through almond groves, blossoming trees, wildflowers, past stone walls, old springs and crumbling deserted stone cottages. We have left the dogs Speedy and Leuticia behind in Kos, but are now accompanied by another of their species which we have named Hopeful Hound. She follows us everywhere on our walks and demonstrates her ability to point when she flushes several partridges from the undergrowth along the way.

Tomorrow we may move on to Datça, weather permitting. The forecast until next Wednesday appears to be favourable, so we plan to cruise this coast and arrive in Marmaris around then.

This is SY Matelot signing off for now.

Goodbye Kos ... we will never forget you!

Photos:
Southern Kos during a south easterly storm - well away from the Marina!
Lucy and Aurora pay us a visit
Sophie, Peter and Catarina pay us a visit on board just before we leave


Suddenly we are leaving Kos. It is time to go as our contract has finished. It has come around very quickly and we may have stayed on for longer and tootled around, but our motivation to get moving appears suddenly out of the blue in the form of “SY Deep Blue” and our friends Andy and Brenda from the UK. On Monday we get an email from them telling us they are heading out to cruise. Several text messages and a dinner date later, and our plans are made.

We are suddenly rushing around buying last minute stocks of good cheap Greek wine and muesli (7 kg) and saying goodbye to some of the friends we have made. Sadly we have not seen Ian from Yacht Café (the best bar in Kos), Pavlos our favourite ship chandler who has been such a good friend to us, and others. We hastily finish all our last minute shopping, return the hired bikes and Richard takes care of our customs clearance out of Greece.

Kos Marina has been a wonderful place to winter over – the best – and it feels like home to us especially as the people here are so wonderful to us. Big thanks to Sophie our Aussie/Greek friend who is the ‘face’ of the marina and has looked after us. Nothing is too much trouble. The team at Kos Marina are truly awesome – Kostas who pays us a daily visit with his sunny smile and always a bit of chat and the Marinaras, Thomas, and Stavros. We will miss you all and thank you so much.

Fortunately we have completed all the spring prep jobs on the boat and she is ready to rock and roll, so off we go.

We are going to Turkey.

The day is very windy. 25 knots at least from the south west and it is hooting through the marina in fresh gusts. We get some funny looks from our cruising neighbours who may think we are a little crazy going out in this weather. Pippy is gritting her teeth and thinking “great choice of weather for our first sail of the season!”

Thomas escorts us out of the marina in rib boat and we motor with the wind dead aft until we are off Cape Psalidi on the north western corner of the island, past the light house where we pull up the main and break out the genoa. Andy and Brenda are two hours ahead of us and have let us know the wind is a bit fresh in the passage between Kos Island and Datca Peninsular so we have both reefs in the main and the genoa partly furled – we can see the white water ahead. As we lay the 11 miles across to the tip of the Datca Peninsular, we have up to 30 knots apparent wind and make between 6.5 – 7.5 knots. Matelot loves this sail and we sight Deep Blue off our bow as we close on the point of the Datca Peninsular some way ahead. Sea state is approx 2m rolling swells and fairly lumpy as we round the point. Later Andy and Brenda say they have had breaking waves over their boat. We get some water over us but not much and the boat goes really well… “See Pippy!....”

Our destination of Palamut is a small village nestled on the southern side of the Datca Peninsular. It is unspoilt by massive tourist invasions, despite the row of restaurants along the waterfront and the shade trees fringing the long beach lapped by turquoise waters, where tables are set up in the summer. Four hours after our departure from Kos, we follow Deep Blue into the small harbour and reverse into a stern berth alongside them. We are met and welcomed by Alten, a local personality who owns the Mirhaba Restaurant – we hear later this is the best restaurant on the strip. Alten is gracious and helpful in every way and ensures we have facilities ashore to use if we wish. Unfortunately his restaurant is not open until mid April – we are a month too early. After the brisk sail we tuck into a shared treat of freshly squeezed orange juice and vodka (Deep Blue) accompanied by some mezze of white beans, fried aubergine and zucchini with loads of garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, accompanied by some fresh brown bread from Kos Island (Matelot). We all turn in fairly early for a sound sleep.