Visitors on the boat

Looking down from the castle at Kalekoy

On 4^th 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

Our first priority was to sort out our broken anchor windlass. Luckily Ron is an electrician, and with his help Cliff quickly identified the cause of the problem, a corroded junction box, and they worked out a temporary fix until we could find a suitable replacement.

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 

The following day Jean and Ron took a taxi to Dalyan for the next part of their holiday and the settled weather left with them. We spent two more days in the Gulf dodging the thunderstorms before the forecast looked good for us to continue on our travels.