NOTH SIDE OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE DARDANELLES

We dropped anchor a couple of times in the bay just below the Turkish monument to Gallipoli, see photo below.  We eventually held having dragged a few times in eel grass, bringing up a whole garden with the anchor.  Third time lucky and this time the sandy patch we aimed for worked.  The Meltemi was blowing hard and the wind howled around leaving a sense of despair in my case. Here we were anchored in a bay where many died in the first world war; the wind added to the feeling of loss and sadness.  We were cheered up when a motor boat came and circled us with a crowd on board asking us if we would like to join them at their big white house across the bay.  We would have loved to but could not in all sense leave Aqualuna in case she did drag again, so had to decline.  For some reason they thought we had come all the way from the Pacific, I think it was our dark blue ensign that confused them.

We were up at 5.30 the following morning, which is when I took the photo of the monument.  Motored out into the stream of the Dardanelles, running at 3 knots against us, the wind had not got up completely yet but we were still banging into short waves.  We made our way across the shipping lanes to the starboard side and slightly more out of the current.  By 14.30 we had dropped anchor in the sea of Marmara at a little place called KEREM.  It is not far from a power station.  The whole of the area as we came up through the Dardanelles appeared more industrial.  The channel was very busy with ships one behind the other and pilot boats waiting to load and off load pilots.

The bay we are in is a little murky compared to the crystal clear waters we have been used to.  The wind dropped though and we have had a very pleasant afternoon sorting out the yacht a little more, swimming, sunbathing and reading.