Bareboat Charter Turkey
Before this one-week bareboat charter, we received a lot of good advice. Nick Cutler, a professional skipper and former Sunsail flotilla leader—and friend of fellow crew member Carrie Fletcher—told us: “Get out into Turkish culture in Skopea Liman Sarsala or Kapi Creek and then head up to Ekincik (egg n chips) for the Dalyan River tour.”
Juicy tips like this sent us straight to the cruising guides and charts. But the bundle of Turkish words, interpreted Turkish words, and common names for the exact same places has left us scrambling at times. With days still to go on our Moorings 4600 charter cat Therapy, we are relying on GPS coordinates to ensure that we are at the anchorages we think we are. Our professional captains in the crew—Rick Martell and Pat Manion—have upbraided me endlessly over these inconsistencies.
More examples of why our brains feel a little like scrambled eggs during our cruise of Fethiye Korfezi, or, Fethiye Gulf, are these:
Ortism Buku: This was our anchorage the first night of charter. On the charts it’s Gunlukluk Koyu.
Wall Bay and Ruin Bay (Ruin Bay is also known as Cleopatra’s Bay—yet another name!): In Rod Heikell’s Turkish Waters and Cyprus Pilot (6th ed), this is how these two bays, where we spent the second night, are described. But on the charts these neighboring bays are identified as Kapi Koyu and Hamam Koyu.
Tomb Bay: In Heikell, it’s called Tasyaka. On the charts, it’s Siralibuk Koyu, and of course, the common name given during the chart briefing by the Moorings staff is Tomb Bay.
We can go on and on, but for now, we’ll just enjoy the ride and figure it out. The adventure is something between geocaching and doing a crossword puzzle in the Sunday New York Times!
Photo Caption: After sorting out the different place names and spellings in the guides and the charts, we made the long upwind motorsail to Ecincik from Skopea Limani, a distance of some 30 nautical miles. Some of Sunsail’s fleet are tucked in at the docks at My Marina.
