An exciting season on the Turquoise Coast

An exciting season on the Turquoise Coast
Gillie Green
We had a season of gentle cruising – no great distances covered, just
pottering about the beautiful coast of Southern Turkey. Surgical Spirit may
be 22 years old now, but she feels just as nippy and safe as ever. Our main
focus all season, however, was getting ready for THE RCC and RTYC
MEET [see pages 326-9].
Alan Gardner (RCC), with whom I share Surgical Spirit, arrived in
Turkey in early May and supervised her lift-out and antifouling. She
needed a new stern gland bearing which was put on a bus in Istanbul
and arrived eventually. Penny Gardner and I arrived a few days later and
the boat was launched on 17 May, the mainsail was bent on with some
difficulty and we headed for the Greek island of Kastellorizo (Megisti) on
a bumpy sea. It is a miracle that the Greeks and the Turks have come to
an agreement here as the Greeks have dropped all formalities for yachts
visiting from Turkey. We moored alongside our favourite restaurant and
feasted on lobster, squid and tuna.
Next morning we finally found the museum in the mosque open and
learnt of the history of Kastellorizo. Having previously been colonised by
the Dorian Greeks, the Rhodians, the Byzantines, the Knights Hospitalers,
Egyptians, Neopolitans, Aragonese, Venetians and the Ottomans, the
Greek speaking inhabitants bravely declared independence in 1912. A
turbulent period followed and the French moved in during 1915. The
Turks didn’t like this and shelled the town and the harbour, sinking a
British seaplane carrier. In 1921 the island was ceded to Italy. During the
second World War British commandos invaded and the British bombed
the harbour which was the finest eastern Mediterranean port held by
the Italians, thus also used by the Germans,. When Italy surrendered in
1943 the island was occupied by the British and the harbour was used
as a seaplane base. The Germans bombed them, a fuel tank set fire to an
ammunition dump and most of the homes on the island were destroyed.
Our restaurant owner, Georgis Lazarakis, explained that the remaining
inhabitants, including his parents, were taken off the island by the British
who tried to settle them in Turkey, then Crete, then Egypt, but finally
they spent four years in a tented camp in Palestine. The old couple now sit
peacefully in the restaurant.
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An exciting season on the Turquoise Coast
By 1948 the Island had been ceded to Greece, but few inhabitants
returned as the town around the harbour, which had previously been
home to perhaps 100,000 people, was derelict. When I visited in 1982 the
harbour was like a film set. The fronts of the remaining houses had been
repaired and painted, but most had no other walls or roofs. Gradually the
people of Kastellorizo have returned and now it is a thriving yachtsman’s
destination. I met an Australian trying to establish where her family’s
house had stood, so that she could build it again.
We left the harbour, anchored in Mandraki Bay and swam with the
turtles. A dead battery required our return to Kaş, but it was replaced
immediately and we set off to sail eastwards the next morning. We coasted
on a fickle westerly as far as Aperlae, a Lycian port, now destroyed by
earthquakes, which thrived for about 1300 years from the 4th century
BC. A valuable purple dye, said to have cost 20 times its weight in gold,
was made here from local snails. Aperlae still has no road access and few
people visit; it is an especially emotive spot.
As the bay is open to the westerlies, we weighed anchor and headed for
Kekova Roads. Here our favourite restaurant is at Palemos at the western
end. Mustapha and his family bring us fresh fruit as we tie up to their
rickety pier. After a night disturbed by cockcrow at 0330, we sailed on to
Woodhouse Bay and anchored in 10m. There is a reef to swim over and
some fish, but sadly not many.
Then on to Kalekoy, ancient Simena and a walk to the top of the castle.
That afternoon we headed for Üçağiz, but my moment’s inattention at
the helm meant we were nicely settled on an ancient Greek quay. Within
minutes a tourist boat came up and offered to tow us off, a rope was
attached to our stern quarter and they yanked us off at full speed before
we could ask for more gentle treatment. I heard the rudder grind on the
stone . . .
We then decided that we should go back to Kaş to check for any damage
to the rudder. A good easterly gave us 6-7kts all the way and we were
moored by 1915. However a tired Marinero managed to get the laid line
around our prop. Next morning the Marina management offered us a
free lift-out to clear the prop., which was just what we needed to check
the rudder as well! We bandaged the minor damage to the aft corner of
the rudder with glass fibre and resin, the engineer cleared the prop and
checked the bearing, and we were back in the water by lunch time with
no charges.
And so ended out first little cruise. I then went to Istanbul for a week
to meet friends from New Mexico and Alan and Penny went home. I had a
very interesting time in Istanbul during the riots, listening to the distress
of the people and joining their peaceful demonstrations after the first
week of violence.
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Gillie Green
Young Turkish people demonstrating in Istanbul
It seems that the President of Turkey had persuaded Prime Minster
Erdogan and his government to let the people air their views. We visited
magnificent Pergamon and Ephesus on the way back to Kaş.
We left Kaş on 6th June with my American friends as crew. We followed
the time-honoured tourist route again. One is so proud to show people the
beauties of this part of Turkey that going to the same places over and over
is a pleasure. We walked short bits of the Lycian Way, anchored in various
bays of which Karaloz is our favourite. Wild goats, lovely snorkelling,
miles from habitation, it is a gem, more a fjord than a bay. It was a bit
crowded (three other boats) and a large yacht anchored right on top of our
anchor. As we needed to go before they did, we used an untried technique
of two long ropes tied at different angles to the rocks astern, allowing the
anchor to be gently pulled back to the boat, rather than the boat moving to
the anchor. It worked, but one needs willing crew to untie the ropes from
the rocks and then swim back to the boat.
All the while we were planning for the BIG EVENT, the RCC Meet
in Turkey. I met with Maggie Kay, the Royal Thames’s rally organiser,
in Kaş on June 11th as some Royal Thames yachts were keen to join us.
So wherever we sailed we thought about what everyone might enjoy. Paul
Heiney joined us for a beer on board. We heard about his experiences
in the Atlantic and were mighty glad to be in the warm comfort of the
Mediterranean.
Our next crew was my eldest granddaughter, Anna Green. She had
just left school with a raft of A* grades under her belt and with enough
experience gained at the Swallows and Amazons Meets in Dorset to want
to sail some more. We had a rollicking sail in a strong westerly to Kekova
on 14th June. We probably had too much sail up, so were glad to enter
the calmer waters of the Roads, but the engine failed to start. When we
changed to another battery it fired up, but would not go into gear, nor
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An exciting season on the Turquoise Coast
did the accelerator connect. Alan had noticed some strange red oil in the
sump under the stern gland. Could all this be related? The only answer
was to sail into the even calmer waters of the inner lagoon and anchor
under sail. It was still blowing F4 or 5, so I furled our 160% genny and
dropped the main as Alan let down the anchor.
We sat and thought. Alan found the accelerator cable had broken, but
we believed the damage must be more widespread to account for the red
oil, which we assumed was from the clutch. We telephoned an expert at
Deacon’s Yard in Hamble and he said we could sail in to his Yard if we
just worked the accelerator with a piece of string, and moved the gears by
hand. Hamble seemed a bit far though. So next morning Anna donned
the head torch and lay on her tummy by the engine to reach the gears,
Alan attached a cunning piece of string to the accelerator and we set off
for Kaş. The system worked pretty well; we solved the battery problem by
adding more water and the red oil turned out to have been leaking from
the spare ATF bottle in the stern locker. We managed to moor stern-to, the
Marineros being very impressed with Alan’s engineering skills.
That night Firemoose (RCC) arrived in Kaş and we were delighted to
join Peter and Catie Whiteley for dinner. Not wanting to spoil Anna’s
sailing time we decided to sail across to Kastellorizo the next day – a
Sunday with the yard closed. Catie and Anna swam into the Blue Lagoon
on the east side of the island while Alan manipulated the gears and I
pulled on the bit of string efficiently enough to pick them both up safely.
We then anchored in Mandraki Bay and swam with two large turtles. I
thought they were fighting but Anna said they were mating. Back to Kaş
that evening as the Yard had promised a new cable on Monday morning.
By noon that day all was repaired for only €65, but we all had to leave to
catch a plane home the next day.
Lots of work to do during July and August to co-ordinate the Meet,
but I did manage a sail around Sicily and on to Malta in July in a friend’s
boat, and spent August in the lovely mountains of New Mexico. I stupidly
tripped while picking apples and broke my nose and had 17 stitches in
my face. When one does quite dangerous stuff like sailing and skiing,
it is ridiculous to do so much damage to oneself in the garden. Maggie
Kay had wrecked her achilles tendon, so emails were exchanged between
Scarface and Hop-along!
Back to Kaş in September and the Meet is top priority. The only good
sailing we had in early September was a trip back from Kekova, where we
went to book a restaurant for the Meet. We were advised not to leave in the
morning as a F7-8 was forecast, but it seemed imperative to be back in Kaş
with yachts arriving any minute. We tacked back against a fierce westerly,
increasing to F9, with considerable waves soaking the mainsail. Alan and
I were soaked to the skin, but warm. Oh the joys of the Med!
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Gillie Green
The Meet was great fun, thanks to the flexibility of the kind Turkish
people and the sense of humour of the RCC and Royal Thames, the beauty
of the landscape, the warmth of the sea and mostly fair winds, we all had
a brilliant time.
The Meet has been described separately [pages 326-9], so I will just
add a few special memories and highlights: the sight of so many happy
sailors windblown on the ancient Kas amphitheatre as the sun set; a
gourmet lunch on the quay at Kastellorizo; ten cram into our cockpit for
dinner in Cavus Limani; watching Angus in his panama with an RCC
hatband, rescuing Alan and Robin from the rocks as they couldn’t make
any headway rowing our dinghy against a suddenly strong wind; Bridget
skipping in bare feet like a goat across the rocks to free our line; Chris
masterminding the Sunflower raft with Annabelle calling out the exact
distances we should reverse; the bush telegraph that told all yachts in the
bay that the Commodore was hosting drinks on board; Heugh playing his
accordion for us all to sing so lustily after our barbecue on the beach; Peter
piling his pudding plate at the Sundance Camp with melon, cauliflower
and chillies; the sound of laughter from Buket; the sunrise in Phaselis
Gillie (aft, centre) hosting dinner for ten on Surgical Spirit
lighting up the peak of Mount Olympos 2,365m above us; walking the
ancient street at Phaselis in the footsteps of Alexander in 323BC and
Hadrian in 131AD, and the story of David Beckley being elegantly flicked
overboard by his spinnaker sheet, only to be rescued by the Commodore
aboard Sky Hunter. Is Nigel the first Commodore to have rescued a fellow
Member?
Sadly we had to say goodbye to everyone in Kemer Marina, which had
given us all free mooring, and to head back to Kaş on 25 September. We
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An exciting season on the Turquoise Coast
Our lunch being gutted at Kelekoy
had days of good sailing with our favourite crew of Simon Wilkinson and
Robin Whiteside, with no more responsibilities.
We tied up to a restaurant pier at Kalekoy and had lovely fish for lunch,
then sheltered overnight from a blow in Woodhouse Bay. We gorged
ourselves again on barbecued squid and lamb at Kastellorizo and were
moored in Kaş by 1800 on 28th September. That night we partied in the
Marina cafe. Robin played and sang when the cabaret had a rest and we
danced the night away. We took out another 18 month contract at Kaş Marina
as it is so beautiful,
friendly and incredibly
good value (under
£2000 for 18 months).
We flew home on 30th
September.
We returned for two
weeks of sailing in the
middle of November
with Alan’s son Nick
Gardner and enjoyed
hot days and cool
nights, but at that time
Kekova Roads from the castle at Kalekoy
of year one can expect a
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Gillie Green
short sharp gale about once a week. It felt like sailing in the Highlands,
except that by 1700 the sun went over the hills.
Not many yachts about so we were able to moor in the little harbour
at Andriake and walked through the pine woods to Hadrian’s Granary.
This magnificent building has been re-roofed and is being turned into a
comprehensive museum of Roman Seamanship. A clear inscription on the
facade states that it was built in 129-130 AD. The Museum is due to open
at the end of May 2014. It will be well worth a visit. There will even be
replica Roman ships moored in the ancient harbour.
We left Surgical Spirit afloat in Kaş and flew home on 23 November.
View of Kaş from the hill (Gillie Green)
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