Muskrat - 38:26.253N 26:56.703E

38:26.253N 26:56.703E

Muskrat

Chris and Alison

Sat 9 Sep 2023 12:33

09/09/23

After a visit to Mersin Koyu, we headed to Dalyan Koyu. A large anchorage but when there are 40+ yachts (only 8 were sailing yachts) in the bay, it felt very small. We stayed there to get some much needed supplies and some water for washing and showering (the water maker is not working, see previous posts). A noisy anchorage, where it appears motor yachts congregate to play loud unpopular music until the early hours.

From Dalyan Koyu we needed some respite from the music, so headed to Kara Ida, the complete opposite of Dalyan Koyu. A deserted island except for one family and their goats and donkeys. Day tripper boats pile in during the day but once they have gone, we had the anchorage to ourselves with blissful peace and quiet, except for the donkey who insisted in letting us know we were in his patch.

………….“winds and sea can build up quickly, sometimes murderously so”. Rod Henkel Turkish Waters and Cyprus Pilot 2018. So, we were expecting, from the many forecasts we study, a 6 hour flat sea, motor with no wind from Kara Ida to Eskifoca. Sure enough it started like that with the first hour motoring in a glassy sea. Then, all of a sudden a rather large swell started building and in the distance we could see white breaking waves. Within minuets of putting the sails up and enjoying a F4 NE breeze in flat water, we were beating against a F5-6 in a heavy steep sea with breaking tops. Muskie buried her bow into the largest waves with white water rolling down her decks and sometimes down our necks as well, as the spray found its way into the cockpit. So a 21nm passage turned out to be a 39nm beat to windward tacking all the way in, at times a F7. However, the sail plan of 2 reefs in the Genoa and small amount of main worked and Muskie was very easy to steer despite the awkward seas. The only casualties were some teak decking from the top of the anchor locker came off and we didn’t see the going of the forward hatch cover.

Thankfully Eskifoca anchorage was quiet and we were able to choose our spot in a very sheltered bay opposite a sailing holiday centre where Lasers, Aero’s and Dart 16s were having a race. Unfortunately, there were a lot of jelly fish in the water, so that put pay to our swim until they all drifted off for the night and we were able to enjoy a quick plunge.

So you think we would have learnt from that experience. Not a bit of it. With strong wind forecast for the Friday and the Weekend, we thought we had better get a move on and get to Candarli for some shelter. So on Thursday we again looked at the weather predictions and decided that a 21.3nm motor in light conditions would be worth it to find good shelter for the F7-8 ?9 wind expected for the weekend. As soon as we had left the shelter of the anchorage and got the sails up, the swell started and the white water was spotted in the distance - not again? Muskie was prepared for the inevitable with reefs in both sails and the life jackets and life lines donned again. Again we found ourselves beating in a F6 NE with large breaking waves, but this time we also had very large container ships and oil tankers bearing down on us lining up for the TSS and what looked like a large tanker parking area, and many fishing/trawling boats scattered about our route to keep us on our toes. 35nm and 7 hours later, we finally sailed into the bay at Candarli and dropped the anchor in 6.7m of mud. This will probably be our home for the next 4+ days if the forecasts of F7-8 ?9 can be believed.