Inseltörn

Arrival of the guests, time for getting to know each other, and of course for visiting Marmaris, the Castle, the Bazaar, the Bar Street and the Beaches. After 5 p.m.the technical inspection and the preparation of the yacht by the charter company has been finished. Checking in to the cabins and a first crew meeting. The last sailing partners will arrive shortly before supper, and at table we jointly discuss the course of the trip and the cash box regulations.

Shopping, clearing, health and safety briefing, and we are on our way through the Bay of Marmaris towards Rhodos. The direct route is approx. 20 sm, but with tacking it might easily take 60 miles.

Mostly, we sail under beam reach, and we swiftly proceed towards Rhodos.

The Mandraki harbour is overcrowded, and the new „Marina“, under construction for six years, is still not finished. But due to our advanced booking, an accommodation berth is waiting for us. The „entry“, called „clearing inward“ by sailors, is not a problem, even with a Turkish-flagged yacht and is swiftly handled by the agents.

Today’s trip will take us to Symi, against the wind we tack through the Rhodos Strait in the direction of Bozukkale towards the Turkish coastline, and from there around Cape Ala Burun into the Symi Strait. The wind veered from west to northwest – so we go on tacking. After a Bluewater Swimming break we arrive at the large bay offshore the port entrance, recover the sails, and motor-driven we enter the small idyllic harbour.

Totally different from Rhodos, the small island of Symi receives us with a view of colourful houses which seem to cleave to the flanks of the hills.
Anchoring in the harbour is rather tricky, and after the yacht has found its proper berth, we watch quite a number of „harbour cinema“. After the obligatory registration with the Greek Harbour Police we explore the small town. Symi, the island of sponge divers, is one of the most beautiful island off the Turkish coast.

Breakfast at the Symi harbour, in addition other „harbour cinema“ scenes, with anchors breaking free and lots of excitement at the neighbouring yachts. Later we take off and sail through the channel between Symi and the island of Nimos, situated upstrem. Under beam reach we sail again towards the Turkish coast. We pass the harbour of Palamut and later on the inlet to the bay of Knidos.

A gigantic archaeologic open-air museum.

After several turns we reach Thilos, our today’s destination. The harbour master, a lady from Hamburg, welcomes us in accentless „Hamburgisch“. The ambience of Thilos once again is totally different from Rhodos or Symi. No Italian influence noticeable, Thilos is a typically Greek island. White-blue houses around the small harbour. We have some time to spare to explore the small town, and we stroll along the narrow streets close to the harbour. After supper the skipper couple announced a surprise. We get into a van that takes us through the night for about 20 minutes, first on roads, later on a dust piste. When we exit in total darkness, we have to walk around a bend – and there we see the dimly illuminated ruins of a town. This will be another memorable evening.

Thilos was another great experience, in particular the evening in the „abandoned“ town. Our next destination is the island of Nisiros, a volcano island. We have to tack again and arrive at the small harbour of Paloi in the afternoon.

It is still early, thus we rent motor scooters and drive up to the volcanic crater.

We really should have stayed another day at this place – alas, it is not quantity but quality that counts. And we must start thinking about the rest of the trip and return to the Turkish coast.

Under free wind we sail vom Nisiros towards Symi. We must clear outward, which can only be done in a „Port of Entry“, Symi or Rhodos. After the formalities have been settled, we return to Turkey. The small town of Datca on the peninsula of same denominator is a Turkish „Port of Entry“. Here we reenter Turkey and from the Agency receive our Turkish Transitlog. There is still time to explore the town. A beautiful beach, many shops and few tourists.
At the Restaurant Emek a splendid Turkish Dinner is waiting for us.

Afterwards, we sit in the Sunrise Bar for hours and make plans for the next joint sailing trip. We haven’t seen enough of the beautiful Turkish coastline. And in Datca, a small town without European tourism, there again is too little time

After a final swimming in the harbour of Datca and the Turkish breakfast we hoist anchor and sail out towards Hisarönu Gulf. Forests down to the water’s edge, small bays and islands. The Hisarönu Gulf inspires us. The free wind shoves the yacht. The spindrift splashes on deck, and we watch some dolphins.

In a beautiful fjordlike bay we take a swimming break, before we continue towards Orhaniye. There our sailing trip ends at the jetty of the small Hotel Palmiye. The vacation for part of the crew continues here with a stay at the hotel; for the others their vacation ends. We sit together in the restaurant for a long time and reminisce about our unforgettable impressions.

We have to leave the yacht by 9.00 a.m.; after the technical inspection the final cleaning is performed. At the pool of the Hotel Palmiye we also meet the guests for the next sailing trip. Same as we were one week before they are excited about what awaits them on board. We, of course, know – an unforgettable vacation. The transfer bus takes us to the Dalaman Airport. We are certain that soon we will be back here, on board, for another joint sailing trip in the Aegean Sea.

With some changes, the Island trip can start/finish at Orhaniye or Orhaniye/Marmaris A combination with other routes is possible. Clearing inward and outward may result in higher costs for the board cashbox. Wind and weather conditions as well as technically required changes are reserved, as usual.