Nergis Koyu

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Tue 2 Jun 2009 18:36
38:10.0N 26:31.1E

Monday 1st June
Chose to stay in Cesme for another day as there is free water and virtually
free power and joy of joys, free Wi-Fi. This is all quite strange as the
marina is a far from a finished project, another one where completion has
stalled due the current financial climate. Very sad for the chap running the
nearby chandlery as all the resident yachts have left and gone to one or
other of the posh expensive marinas that are not many miles away.

It also has to be said that the nearest minaret does have quite the most
powerful load hailers that we have come across in our travels and the first
call is just before dawn, around 4.40am!

Fascinating town with bits of everything. It had seemed to have a quiet laid
back charm, but as you get closer to the castle you discover clues as to
another identity by way of the 'No Problem' English bar/cafe offering your
full English breakfasts etc. etc. and then the rows of Gulets (trip boats)
and the attendant bars and restaurants. Somewhere nearby there must be some
big hotels to feed all this!

Sarah spent the morning polishing the half of the hull she didn't polish
yesterday and then in the afternoon she did a little bit of looking round
the town coupled with a shopping run! Blisteringly hot day and although
there was a breeze blowing it made little difference.

Various boats left and new ones arrived amongst which there were three
British yachts. Lord Strathcarron (in his pretend Admiral's cap - or not
perhaps?) moored his Freedom yacht 'Vasco da Gama' two up from us and there
was a Farr 50 something and a HR36.

Tuesday 2nd June
Forecast is for strong southerly winds for the next two days, which is a
little unfortunate as the lovely bays that we are off to visit are mostly
very exposed to the south, however, there were a couple of options that
offer protection and so after trying to settle our electricity bill ("pay
next time you come here") we sailed off into a fresh south easterly 14 knot
wind.

This predictably died away and we ended up motoring most of the way today to
Nergis Koyu which is a fabulous little bay offering protection from most
directions, crystal clear water and a firm looking sandy bottom. Fingers and
toes crossed the holding is better than the last time we had a blow! Sun
disappeared around midday as we approached the bay and so we sat all
afternoon in hot, humid, overcast conditions, sharing the bay with just two
other boats. A French catamaran and a Swedish couple on a small German
registered Swedish yacht who we met two days ago in Cesme. They were great
fun and were full of their trip last spring, passing through countries they
had barely heard of, as they sailed down the Danube on their way from the
Baltic to the Black Sea (which they so enjoyed that at the end of the season
they are having their boat transported by lorry to where they can do it all
again!).

The wind gradually increased during the afternoon, but not only did it get
stronger but also very much warmer. By 6pm the Swedish couple had to
re-anchor as the Catamaran was looming over them and I decided at this point
to swim out and take a look at our anchor which seemed to have dug into the
sand pretty well....

Wind continued to rise and the Swedes gave up and recovered their anchor and
set off for another nearby bay where they hoped to be able to get a line
ashore. Shortly after this the wind died away again! We decided though that
we would at least start the night with an anchor watch, not because we were
too worried about our anchor holding, but mainly because we were directly
downwind of the catamaran and we had seen the diminutive size of their
anchor a few days earlier in Mandraki and commented to each other about it
then, particularily bearing in mind the very large windage that they
presented!