True East finally arrived in Marmaris on May 31. We met with our agent to handle the required paperwork with Customs and Immigration, Dan was now missing his passport. Turkiye has strictest rules and the best set up for handling ‘black water’ on boats. You are issued a ‘Blue Card’ to record your pump out of ‘black water’. Every municipality, fuel dock and marina has a pump out station and the number of people on board, date, time, location and volume of pump out is centrally recorded. Based on these details they can estimate your production of black water and your discharges….it’s unlike anything we have seen in the world.
There was a long list of works for the boat in the Netherlands; unfortunately they performance of the mechanical team was dismal. While the boat was operational, lot’s of stuff either did not work or needed adjustments. Dan changed his role from Captain to chief engineer. By the time our Miami friends Tiffany and Steve join us in early June the boat is provisioned and ready to go.
Our first night is at anchor in Datca about 60 miles from Marmaris. The water is clear and warm enough to enjoy a swim. The gezpacho, lamb and Turkish wines were all wonderful.
The next day is was on to Bodrum, about another 60 miles. Bodrum is the center of Turkiye’s gold coast and yacht charter central. The marinas are huge and have some of the best facilities we have ever encountered. The castle at Bodrum is spectacular and in great condition.
A short run the next day took us up to Yalikavak Marina…wow. This is another marina owned by Setur and here we found the most amazing shopping center in the marina to go with the mega yachts.
Our next stop was Kusadasi, just a dozen miles from Ephesus. Dan and Marcia had visited on our road trip, but it was a new experience for Tiffany and Steve. Dan was notified his temporary passport had arrive in Marmaris, so he rented and drove down to pick it up so that we could move on to Greece. The Turkish government has done a wonderful job in the restorations and archeological works at Ephesus.
Continuing north against the prevailing north winds, we traveled about 70 miles up to Cesme, one of gems on the Turkish coast. The Castle there is amazing. After a day wandering the city and most great meals, we had to say goodby to Tiffany and Steve who we think enjoyed their first cruising experience.
We continued on up the coast to Ayvalik that would be our last stop in Turkiye before we headed the 10 miles over to the island of Lesvos. The architecture and street life in Ayvalik feels much more Greek. Until the 1920’s, it was part of Greece.
While we had to fight the winds on this leg of the journey, we certainly enjoyed every part of the Turkish experience and would recommend it to all.
Click on photo to see the album of this trip