Thank you Turkey but time to leave!

After much preparation we were ready to drop our lines and leave Turkey – more than two and a half years since we first arrived. However it was with some sadness that we were leaving.

Turkey gave us sanctuary and care during Covid – at a time when other countries were closing their borders and didn’t want to know. Even our home country of Australia didn’t allow us back without extortionately priced mandatory isolation (user pays) for two weeks. And that was if you could actually get a flight which was nigh on impossible.

Greece literally told us to “go home” (despite there being no flights) IMMEDIATELY when we tried to extend our allocated visa free time of 90 days. And yet they had literally put a bar across the marina entrance and not allowed us to leave for the past three months.

Turkey welcomed us, vaccinated us, and gave us temporary residency.

So we have so much gratitude for Turkey. We are also grateful for all the lovely, welcoming, helpful and generous people we have met during our time here.

We have loved the rich history, the many archeological sites, the marvellous museums and galleries (cheap entry as we were residents) and the colourful markets. We will also never forget the many gorgeous little bays and even the touristy areas too (for the first year or so there were no tourists so we had them virtually to ourselves!).

There are so many highlights but if I was going to chose one (apart from the sailing and the people we have met) then it would have to be the road trip to South East Turkey we did with a group of yachties.

We saw so many absolutely amazing historical sites, museums and galleries, and many, many other things besides – some of which are now buried in rubble after the recent earthquake there.

Another highlight was our road trip to Cappadocia when we were surprised by a huge snow storm and saw the beautiful “fairy chimneys” and cave dwellings magically glimmering before our eyes , covered in sparkling snow.

So much to be grateful for and yet we were more than ready to move on. Although the centre of Istanbul is absolutely fabulous it is also polluted, crowded and vastly more expensive than further south.

Turkey is also going through a tough time both politically, and financially – with galloping inflation (85 per cent inflation recorded last November!) Many people are struggling to make a living and many companies (such as our marina and some marine contractors) have tried to claw back profits by overcharging.

Time to go!! And so it was that we made our way out of Viaport Marina alongside our buddy boat Catabella with four guests aboard and headed towards Çanakkale where we would check out.

The first night we anchored in the very quiet village of Armutlu – supposedly a resort town but except for a few restaurants, has little to recommend it. But it felt so good to be anchoring out again!

The following day we had a wonderful sail, made all the better by a long visit from a group of bottle nose dolphins (including a young one) who played around at our bow for at least half an hour.

What a treat! And what a way to start the sailing season! We always feel incredibly happy and privileged when we have an encounter like this – especially in this region as it’s a rare occurrence.

Our second night was spent at the half completed marina on Avşa Island in the Marmara group of islands.

We were able to anchor right in the middle of the marina and were surrounded by the sturdy marina walls which gave us great protection from the dramatic thunderstorm that came over just after dark.

The next day we sailed under the massive span of the “1915 Çanakkale Bridge” that spans the Dardanelles Strait and which was opened in 2022.

The trip was uneventful except for when a police boat with its siren blaring came hurtling towards us but then turned and pursued a massive container ship. It did a circuit of the boat and then appeared to give up. Don’t know what that was all about!

Around 4.30 pm we anchored outside the small harbour at Çanakkale. Catabella with her four guests aboard arrived shortly afterwards and went into the harbour for the night.

We decided to go out for a meal somewhere a little bit special with the Catabella crew as it was our last night in Turkey but sadly the restaurant that Sue had discovered was absolutely full!

So we decided to stroll along the sea front and find another likely looking place.A little further on we found a restaurant that looked good and was fairly full but not bursting at the seams.

The menu had normal standard Turkish fare with one or two additions including chicken and Wiener schnitzels. Two or three of our group ordered these while others had lamb chops, kebabs etc.

After a reasonable time a couple of the meals came out and rather than wait for them to go cold the recipients were encouraged to start eating. Just as well they did! Two or three more meals came out (including mine) and again, the lucky ones started to eat theirs.

Although we were trying to eat slowly so at least at some point we would all be eating together, the schnitzels still didn’t make an appearance. The waiter apologised, saying the restaurant was very busy (hmm surely not that busy!) and saying the food would arrive “very soon”.

Literally an hour after we had ordered and well after the rest of us had finished nothing had arrived so after a few tries at getting some response, we asked to speak to the manager. He was apologetic but offered no explanation for the delay. After some prompting he did give the people waiting for their meals free drinks but by then everyone was too tired and hungry to enjoy them. Same with the food. What an inauspicious way to end our stay in Turkey!

The next day the immigration agent called by Catabella early. We had left all our paperwork there for him to collect and then went for a short walk round the town.

Later in the morning we motored into the quay to fill up with diesel – at the lowest price we’d seen in months (a cynic might suggest that this was because the Turkish elections were being held the following weekend.)

By the time we’d filled up it was just about the appointed hour for the agent’s return and the final part of clearing out at the Port Police which were in an office opposite the back of the boat.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Then the marina manager said he would charge us an hourly rate for being in the marina so we dropped our lines and went out to reanchor.

Eventually we were called in again and we went in our dinghy and tied up next to Catabella. Then we had to wait a mind numbing couple of hours as one by one we went in to be identified. It must have taken at least 15 minutes to stamp each passport. The agent explained that the port policeman was new and therefore slow!

At least he stamped our passports with exit stamps, one poor fellow – a couple of days later – was given a second entry stamp instead of an exit stamp which caused untold problems when he arrived in Greece.

The skippers had warned us that 3 pm was the absolute deadline for leaving, otherwise it would be another night in Çanakkale. Fortunately we were all done by just before 3 pm and at 2.54pm precisely I photographed Catabella steaming out of the harbour!

The exact moment we turned to port (left) out of Çanakkale a wretched ferry tooted a warning and without hesitation just set off right in front of us. Of course they have right of way but they could have easily gone behind us or waiting a few seconds! Instead we had to take action to avoid a collision.

There was a very strong current as we motored down the Dardanelles for the last time so we shot out of the entrance like a cork from a bottle! This made our trip significantly faster and we arrived at our anchorage for the night in a small deserted cove on Bozcaada Island called Mermer Bay at 6.30 pm.

The cove might well have been deserted but all around us, as far as the eye could see, were scores of tankers and container ships waiting for their turn to travel along the Dardanelles to deliver or pick up a load. So we were alone but not alone!

At 6 am the following day we hauled anchor and bade farewell to Turkey. The sunrise was gorgeous and the sea was bathed in gold. It was so lovely that I wondered to myself why I don’t get up at dawn every day and resolved to do so more frequently in the future!

Weaving between the cargo boats we set sail for our first destination in Greece – Limnos Island.

Around 11.15 am we departed Turkish waters and entered Greek territory. Jonathan lowered the Turkish flag and raised the Greek one in its place and with it the yellow “Q” (quarantine) flag which would remain flying until we had been fully cleared by customs and the port police.

Before too long, we caught sight of that iconic Greek symbol of a white church with blue domed roof sitting atop a steep hill.

As we rounded the headland the small town of Myrina came into view. We were very excited to see what appeared to be a quintessential Greek village – complete with an ancient castle towering above the houses, cobbled streets, quayside tavernas, and colourful caiques (Greek fishing boats) tied up in the small boat harbour. Greece at last! We had been waiting so long for this moment to arrive!