I love Bozburun. I think that’s partly because it was where we first checked into Turkey after our mammoth sail from Spain, (which wasn’t bad for a couple of noob sailors and thanks to our sailor friends Mike and Elaine). Partly too because Bozburun has a variety of anchorages in the large bay, a good town quay and a small, harbour town pretty much untainted by banana boats and thumping disco music that blasts into the wee hours of the morning.
In last week’s video we relocated to a little bay opposite and just slightly south west from Bozburun’s town harbour. I’ve looked at several sources and can’t find an actual name for this anchorage, although you’ll find it marked as an unnamed (and undiscussed) anchorage in the * Turkish Waters & Cyprus Pilot guide.
This bay was ideal. There were only a few boats anchored, I could easily swim to the end of the bay and enjoy a snorkel around the rocks, and it was very close for us to get to the village by dinghy.
Talking of dinghies, we towed our sailing buddy Kev in his dinghy to Bozburun one day as his outboard motor wasn’t working and there was someone on shore who would apparently fix it.
Best British Breakfast
We don’t eat bacon that often in Turkey, because although it is available in most large supermarkets, it is very expensive. Pork sausages and pork chops are even rarer to come across, but there are a few specialty shops where you can get them.
Mike and Elaine first introduced us to Osman and Lyn at Osman’s Place when we arrived in Turkey. We remembered how tasty and reasonable their English breakfast had been so we thought we’d take Kev there while he sorted out his dinghy engine issue. As usual, Osman and Lyn were super friendly and the breakfast lived up to our expectations. That btw, included a cup of tea, served in a beautiful china teapot with matching cup and saucer. I know, I’m English. That kind of thing impresses me. What can I say? You can read our review on Trip Advisor here.
During lockdown and winter, Lyn and Osman had renovated the restaurant and it looks great! We had long, hot showers there one day, as that is a free service if you eat there and I appreciated that Lyn had included a hairdryer in the ladies shower room.
Along with the restaurant providing vegetarian and vegan food options, Lyn also makes little jewellery boxes and the money she makes from selling them goes to providing stray animals with vet care.
A day at the beach
One day Baz and I took our dinghy and what felt like everything but the kitchen sink (folding chairs, table, picnic food), to have a picnic on one of the nearby beaches overlooking Kızılada Island. The water there is crystal clear and so shallow that it turns from deep azure to turquoise by the shore. There were plenty of other boats tied line ashore in that area, so there was lots for Baz and myself to watch before I went snorkelling.
Time to go north
Barry and I had a plan to travel as far north as time and the summer northern winds would allow us before having to return to Kaş before our marina contract ran out at the end of August. So while we loved being in Bozburun, after five days it was time to keep moving.
On the northern side of the Bozburun peninsula are quite a few anchorage, some of which still afford shelter when the summer wind blows. As we headed north before rounding the tip we slogged into 23 knots of wind on the nose with waves of around 1-1.5 metres.
Fortunately it wasn’t a long haul before we rounded the headland, where we got the headsail out, turned off the motor and enjoyed a lovely 5.6 knots speed over ground with only the sound of the waves lapping against A B Sea’s hull.
Our Plan A anchorage was Cennet Köyü which was a two hour sail from Bozburun. Unfortunately many other people had chosen that spot and when we got there the anchorage was full. The wind was picking up slightly and we were anxious to drop the hook early rather than later, because the wind was forecast to increase into the afternoon. We headed to Plan B anchorage at Selimiye Köyü which is quite a large bay a little further south east around the peninsula from Cennet. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea. The only places left were either too deep or too shallow.
Doubling back to find shelter
Realising these sheltered bays in this area were packed with boats who had already anchored in anticipation of the building wind, we decided to back track and go to Kocabahçe Köyü where Kev on Barbara Ann were tied up to the restaurant jetty.
Along the way the wind picked up and we had 25 knots on the nose and we were glad to turn into the finger shaped bay. At the end was the restaurant jetty but it already had boats either tied up or who had reserved a space. They did however have a mooring buoy available, which we headed for.
The owner came out and again, Aannsha had fun with a mooring buoy! This time the guy provided the line so I quickly took ours off the cleat and took hold of his but after trying to get it through the fairlead (as we always do), I realised it was too short. We had to abort that attempt, but the second time around I whipped the line around the bow cleat like an old pro! The owner then gave us a stern line from shore which we tied to our stern cleat and that kept us nicely in place. Baz as usual did a great job of manoeuvring A B Sea in the wind which was gusting to about 30 knots.
Join us next week as we continue our journey north.
To watch this week’s YouTube episode that accompanies this blog just click here.
Until next week, I wish you health, wealth and courage, as you take the actions to bring your dreams to life.
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