Looking down from the castle at Kalekoy |
On 4th May 2015 we finally left Finike to start our sailing
season and head west along the Turkish coast towards Greece. Our first stop was
in the beautiful Kekova Roads. We had planned to anchor for the night in a
quiet bay, but as we tried to drop anchor our electric windlass, which provides
the power to drop and raise the anchor, refused to work. Neither of us fancied
the idea of hauling in 60m of anchor chain by hand, so we headed back to the
village of Kalekoy, hoping to find a mooring there.
Kalekoy is a magical little
place that nestles under the remains of a Byzantine castle built in
the Middle Ages to fight off pirates. In the summer it’s rammed with tour boats
so there’s little chance of finding a mooring for a yacht, but in early May the
place was almost deserted and we received a warm welcome as we approached one of
the restaurant pontoons.
Anita above the Kekova Roads |
We spent a very pleasant couple of hours wandering around
the castle and the surrounding area, which is full of Lycian tombs. Then we
enjoyed an excellent, candle-lit fish dinner sitting out over the water – a
great start to the season.
There are Lycian tombs everywhere, even in the water |
We were planning a long sail the next day so needed to set
off at first light, but we were also concerned about negotiating our way out of
our very shallow berth in the early morning light, as it was surrounded by rocks. We mentioned this to the couple that ran the
restaurant and they said ‘No problem, we will help!’ Sure enough, they were up
at 5.30am the next morning guiding us through the narrow channel to deeper water.
Now we were on a mission, we needed to reach Fethiye by the
end of the day as Cliff’s sister Jean and her husband Ron were arriving to join
us for a few days sailing. The weather Gods were kind to us, and after an 11 hour (motor) sail we arrived in Fethiye. After a night at the strangely named 'Yes Marina', we moved to a pontoon at the Yacht
Classic Hotel, close to where Jean and Ron were staying. This is a rather plush establishment with two pools
and a very good waterside restaurant.
As we approached the hotel pontoon we
were directed to a tight spot which involved reversing down a very narrow
channel then making a sharp turn into the berth. We held our breath as we
inched down the channel, but Cliff did such a good job manoeuvring that the
neighbouring boat applauded as we tied up.
Dinner with Jean and Ron at the Yacht Classic Hotel |
Jean and Anita exploring at Kapi Creek |
For the next few days we enjoyed a leisurely cruise around
the beautiful islands of Skopea Limani, the gulf between Fethiye and Gocek.
Jean and Ron were great company and we enjoyed showing them some of our favourite
spots. We were very lucky with the weather, the sun shone and a light breeze
provided some gentle sailing.
Ron takes the helm |
At the end of our cruise we headed down into Gocek and were surprised to find that the Town marina was full, so we decided to book into Marinturk Village marina. The downside was that this was a ten minute walk from town, but on the upside it was part of a holiday development with a very nice pool! Unfortunately all was not as it seemed… as Cliff and Ron walked towards the pool they were intercepted by two burly security men who made it clear that (despite there being no physical barriers) the holiday complex was a separate enterprise and marina visitors were not welcome.
Waiting for the taxi at Marinturk Marina |
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