Sailing Calista8 July 2024 to 11 July 2024
We untied our stern lines and left our berth around 11.45am and motored out of Kos Marina, Greece to head over to Turkey. Once out of the marina, Paul plotted a course to Datca for our check in to Turkey. We needed to get Calista out of the EU to reset the Vat Clock on Calista, and we were excited to be going back to Turkey in our own boat to explore more of the beautiful Turkish bays and anchorages.
The seas were rough and rolly with a swell of 1.5 – 2.0 metres. The wind was strong, gusting at one time at 37.8 knots.
We had the Genoa and Main sail well reefed and still getting along at around 7.5 – 8.9 knots. Washing Calista before hand was a waste of time, as she was getting covered in salt spray.
As we were entering Turkish waters Paul took down the Greece courtesy flag and replaced it with the Turkish courtesy flag and the yellow quarantine flag as we were entering a new country.
As we rounded the headland on the home stretch to Datca we lost the heading sensor for the autopilot, and consequently Paul had to hand steer in 30 knots for the last hour. After about 5 1/2 hours we were anchoring in the South bay of Datca and it was abit challenging in 30 knots amongst the other boats.
Datca is a port town in Southwestern Turkey situated on the narrow Datca Peninsula on the Aegean Sea.
We stayed on board for about an hour to ensure the anchor had set, then around 6.30pm we took the dingy into the town quay as the Agent was waiting for us to check in before 7.00pm. With google maps we found the Office of Datca Marine. On arrival Sinan’s wife Cansu offered us a nice cold glass of water which was most welcomed – it was still sweltering at 37 degrees.
We were given the Blue Card (for emptying our black waste water) and Transit Log, then together we went with our Agent Sinan to the Police Office a few doors down to get our passports stamped and our photos taken. While the Agent took the remaining paperwork to Customs we were free to wander around for half an hour before meeting back at the office to collect all of the paperwork. We found a Turkcell store and bought two data sim cards for 2400,00 TL.
Total check In costs through the agent were $300.00 euros cash for the transit log, state tax, customs, agency fee, port registry and blue card. We found the whole proceedure easy and stress free.
Afterwards we went for a walk around the town and stopped off at a cafe for a lovely cold beer.
The first beer hardly touched the sides so we ordered a second. We were in no rush and it was nice and cool sitting under the shade while admiring the view over the anchorage and keeping an eye on Calista.
On our way back to the town quay we stopped off at Mavi Cafe for prawns and calamari. Both were very fresh and cooked to perfection. The waiter introduced us to his Boss who had been to NZ and worked in a restaurant in Auckland. Small world.
The following morning we had a swim in the anchorage, the water was lovely and refreshing at 28 degrees. It was our first swim in Turkey.
There were numerous gullets, some traditional and some slightly more modern. Their diesel engines were so throaty sounding.
We went ashore the following day and wandered around the pretty town.
We wandered down to the far end of the anchorage and back up into town.
The streets were cobbled with the small square bricks interwaived with a pattern. It must have been very back breaking and labour intensive to lay but looked amazing.
All the taxi’s in Turkey seem to be yellow. Great idea as they stand out if you are needing one.
On the foreshore there was a massive conk shell sculpture.
All around the water’s edge of North bay there were numerous restaurants lining the bay.
We went out for dinner one evening with our friends. It was a lovely dinner with a selection of various authentic Messi dishes. Unfortunatetly, Paul ended up with bad reflux after drinking too much Raki (we think) and was off his food for all of the next day.
We stayed for three days in Datca, then decided it was time for us to move on and explore some of Turkey’s anchorages. Before departing we activated our Blue card and got it stamped, even though they have no facility to pump out black waste they still charge for stamping the card.
