Sunday 3^rd July – Zeytinbaği – Karşiyaka

40:26.468N 28:00.318E

This morning we had a favourable forecast for a sail west, so we were up and out promptly, seeing 12 knots in the harbour as we slipped - a good sign.

Just outside the harbour, we readied the genoa and the wind disappeared completely just as we started unfurling it, so we motored in light airs whilst having breakfast, after which we had some unexpected light wind from the south which allowed us a beam reach for about half an hour, before it too disappeared.  Just as the wind disappeared we were joined by our first pod of dolphins of the day.

We headed for a harbour half way along the coast that Richard had seen on the charts but was only mentioned in the pilot to say it was being built but that there was no information on it.  We decided to get some information for ourselves.  As we approached the harbour entrance we were careful as we knew that the next harbour along was silted up and too shallow for us according to the pilot book, so we wondered if the same may have since happened here.

I stood on the foredeck and all was fine.  We had deep water to the breakwater, then we rounded it – 6m, then 4m, and I still couldn’t see the bottom – then we stopped!  The water had shallowed and grounded us within a boat length – now I could see the bottom and it was paddling pool deep.  There was a sand bar right across the entrance.  Oops!  Luckily we were going slowly and it was just a gentle stop.

Richard managed to get us off the sand bank, reversing hard and turning us round with a good deal of de-coking of the engine.  We got out of the harbour entrance and took a deep breath of relief.

Onto Plan B (we also had a Plan C).  We motored along to the small fishing harbour of Karşiyaka.  We had a choice of two harbours on this part of the coastline and chose to try the smaller one first.  As we approached the coast I could see that both harbours were packed with large fishing boats.  We entered the packed harbour and one of the large purse seine fishing boats invited us alongside and so we are moored up in his lee.  The boat is currently laid up and they are aboard working on her.

Later we went ashore, via the fishing boat, which was interesting as we had to climb down the stern where they normally keep the rigging and the two small motor boats they carry, to look around town.

It is extremely rural here.  It is a strange mix of fishing port, town and farming community.  The harbour was busy with fishermen working on their boats.  In town many of the men were sat in the çay houses along the front talking in the afternoon sunshine.  As we walked past some of the houses in town, we could smell typical farmyard smells.  Then, as we passed one house, I saw that the ground floor was actually occupied by a cow and her calf; that explained why some of the houses seemed to have bails of straw in the downstairs rooms.

We bought some bread in one of the small shops and came back to Pyxis for dinner. 

Karşiyaka

© Pyxis 2011