Bozburun

With the clearance paperwork completed first thing on 1 September, we were free to leave Greece and spend the rest of the day making the short 10 mile passage across to Bozburun in Turkey. We left Pedi at 1150 and had one of those frustrating passages when you think there’s enough wind to sail, you get the sails all set, only to then find that it dies away. The engine was on and off a few times and the sails set like this but essentially we motored the 2 hours across to Turkey. We’d picked Bozburun as our chosen port of arrival into Turkey because we had both read, and been told by other sailors we had met, that the authorities are pretty efficient there and the agents, that you are expected to use, charge a reasonable fee.

Approaching Bozburun. Boatshed top right    

Bozburun is tucked in at the head of a bay with a few islands to the side helping to provide even more shelter. As we made our way towards the harbour we saw the enourmous boatshed for large boatyard on our right. They still make the gulets here all from wood in the taditional way, some of which are over a hundred feet long and very luxurious; the gulet equivalent of superyachts. There were also a great many yachts and more modest sized gulets moored in the small bays on either side of us.

As we got even closer the shiny silver cupola of the mosque stood out exactly as highlighted in our pilot book.

We headed into the harbour and found it to be very empty at 1400. The harbour assistant indicated that she wanted us moored up in the corner and very quickly we were all sorted and secure. To our side they were setting up equipment for filming and throughout the afternoon and evening an episode for some sort of Turkish soap opera was recorded around the quay and on a large gulet which was moored just up from us. Presumably, therefore, we will feature in the background of the Turkish equivalent of Coronation Street!

It would have been nice to have watched the filming, however, our priority was to purchase a Transit Log and work through the formalities for checking into Turkey. We found the right offices but it quickly became clear that we were expected to use an agent. There are 2 agencies in Bozburun and we found the chap that runs one of them and handed over all of our documents. We enjoyed a drink at the café whilst he printed up the transit log and then went backwards and forwards between health, immigration and port police collecting the necessary stamps. After about an hour we were the proud owners of a new transit log for Turkey. The agent had cost €45, a significantly better deal than the €300 we had been quoted for an agent when we arrived at Kemer last year to do the same thing. Then we had elected to do a DIY job, here relaxing and letting the agent do the legwork for us was by far the more sensible option [Ed: and perhaps the only option!]

After legally arriving in Turkey we were able to walk around the town a little more. It is quite small with a few cafés, lots of restaurants, as well as several medium sized supermarkets. Bozburun very much caters for the sailing community. We saw a steady stream of RiBs making their way into the harbour and returning to their mother yachts filled with supplies. There were also regular visits from large gulets, some only stopping for a few hours, but all delivering their cruising passsengers to immigration to have their passports stamped into Turkey.

Behind the seafront and beside the mosque is a small square with a beautifully tiled water fountain. Under the shade of the trees the local senior gents were relaxing playing cards, backgammon and something akin to dominoes. We pottered about getting the lie of the land, finding a laundry service and working out where we would shop for food; with so many supermarkets to choose from you have got to make sure you are getting the best deal!

Looking out from the harbour wall the anchorage outside looked very good; also a little further away from the loudspeakers for the dawn call to prayer. We intend to return to Bozburun when Alex and Lucy are on board so it was good to know there is an anchoring option if the harbour is full. And full it became! By the evening there was absolutely no space left. Two charter yacht flotillas had arrived as well as gulets and other sailing yachts; we were glad that we had arrved early and bagged a good spot.

In the end we spent 2 nights in Bozburun. We’ll never know if BV features in the background of the soap opera but we successfully got the arrivals paperwork completed, the laundry done, the fridge re-stocked and a couple of blog entries uploaded. It had proved to be an excellent place to arrive in Turkey.

Bozburun, Turkey