Finike to Alanya
Posted at 3:38 PM, May. 23, 2010
Blogging regularity still a problem as we seem to be busy all the time. At the last blog posting we were at Finike which is the furtherest point we have been to in Turkey previously so after this all new ground.
Finike women making Turkish bread at the marketplace.
Finike is very much a working town although with a large marina complex but apart from this not much tourism. The rally had booked out the local haman (bathhouse) so after an hour or so of excessive water of varying temperatures and plenty of soaping we emerged particularly clean and then back to the boat for dinner.
Cocktail party quayside with local entertainment
On Tuesday 18th May it was departure time and we scored again as the last boat to leave the marina. There had been a gale centred about 20 miles offshore for the past 24 hours so there was considerable debate as to whether the rally would leave Finike or delay 24 hours. In the end it was left to the skippers as to whether they would leave or not and all choose to go. The first leg was a 14 mile run to the cape and then a 90 degree turn and 32 miles along the coast to Kemer. All the rally boats are allocated into groups and we are “dark blue” group 6 which is for the bigger boats. Each group is then given an arrival window of 60 minutes the purpose being to ensure that arrival marina staff (marino’s) can get the 71 boats into pre-allocated berths in an orderly manner i.e. avoid shouting, screaming and general mayhem. Our group, being for larger boats always has the earliest arrival time so we start last and hope to pass all the other yachts en route.
We left Finike in a heavy rolling sea and motored for 5 miles until we got into the wind and after that we had a screamer of a ride to the cape, wind well aft of the beam and with full sail up, getting some good rides and regularly over 11 knots for sustained periods. Great sailing – after the cape it was a gybe and then a broad reach up the coast. We were one of the first few boats into Kemer and the 46 mile passage took a little over 5 hours so a very good average speed maintained despite a period of light winds after the cape.
Overtaking a smaller boat on route to the Cape.
Kemer has a great marina, is a very nice town and a huge tourist centre with many large hotels dotted along the coast. There are nearby ski fields and still a bit of snow (or ice) on the peaks. The largest mountain peak is 2345 metres rising from the coast that we ascended by cable car. Unfortunately it was shrouded in cloud so the expected views did not eventuate. The landscape around Kemer and the adjoining coast is very mountainous and quite spectacular. It is certainly a place where we will spend a few days on our way back up from Israel in September. The nearby site of Aspendos has a second century amphitheatre that seats 17,000 and is still in use with regular opera and concerts there.
At Kemer we had the first (of what looks like many) hosted formal dinners i.e. collar, tie and jacket and a sit down many course dinner. This was held at the Turkiz Hotel in a stunning setting on the waters edge with beautiful table arrangements etc. We are seated in our groups which works well as we get to meet other nationalities. In our group we have some delightful people from Austria, France, Sweden and Australia. Greta bunch of people – mind you we are among the youngest I think. Many people on the rally are retired and have sold their business. The band that played for us at Kekova were also at Kemer and they effortlessly moved from the Beatles to Strauss waltzes – the latter clearly popular with the Europeans.
The key guy (Dave Gerrard closely supported by his wife Kath) organising the show on a day to day basis is a retired Brit, living in Cyprus, and participating on his boat Mashona. I doubt he gets much sleep as his work load is phenomal! The other key guy who will participate in the rally in his boat from now on is Hasan Kacmaz who started the event off 21 years ago. Hasan is a great guy and Mr Yachting in Turkey.
So Thursday 20th May saw us departing Kemer for the new marina at Alanya (where Hasan is a shareholder) a leg of 67 miles, heading due east, that proved frustrating as a consequence of numerous sail changes – the A sail up and down several times. Light winds and plenty of motoring with the throttle down for the last two hours to ensure we arrived five minutes before the expiry time for our arrival window.
That’s it for now.
Cheers
Keith