Telltales 59 Sylphe Black Sea Voyage 2005

Turkish North Coast

Our stop in Amasra turned out to be a bit longer than foreseen – it certainly was not the laundry man´s fault, true to his promise our nickers and shorts were ready the following afternoon.  We spent a very relaxed sunday in Amasra, our first leisurely day in the Black Sea. We made a first attempt at leaving on the Monday morning, upon leaving the protection of the harbour we were met with 25 knots of wind and subsequent waves, the latter also a residue from Sunday´s fierce winds..  After stamping into the elements for one hour, Sylphe´s engine running at full blast, and barely making 3.5 knots, we decided to return and try again the following day early, before the wind would rise.  It meant another nice BBQ on board that night with a lovely moon, in the by then windstill bay.  A further exploratory tour of the town resulted in meeting with a few of the women entrepreneurs at the local market and outside one of the many “pensions”.  In both cases there were the obligatory cups of tea and home-made pastries, but also many enquiries as to women´s ways of life in our part of the world.  They did not seem too surprised when told we live on board a yacht – permanently!!

Amasra market run by women.

Log 5, Tuesday,  14 June 2005

Amasra – Cide (30.4 NM)

It´s six o'clock in the morning, still cold and the sun, or its first rays, nowhere in sight when we finally leave the harbour of Amasra – no wind, but a terrific swell greats us when we point Sylphe´s nose in the direction of Kurucasile, 17 NM further along the coast where we intend to have breakfast and visit a few of the small boatyards.  Wooden fishing boats are this town´s specialty and we would like to see a few of the craftsmen at work.  But, as so often on board a sail yacht, we have to change our plans.  Two and a half hours after we´ve left Amasra the wind starts picking up, as usual from the north-east and on our bowsprit; by 08.30 a.m. we have 20 knots of wind and increasing rapidly.  We decide to continue straight for Cide, the only port with good protection, at least on this stretch of the coast, from eastern and north-eastern winds, as well as that darn swell.

But on to Cide:  the scenery has changed with steep green hills lining the shore and a few small beaches in between.  Behind the coastal hills, we can see higher mountains, their tops covered in clouds.  The sea takes on a special green-blue hue and we pass a few lovely, natural bays, like the one at Gaidaros and another one near the bridge over the Irmakcay river.  A few miles outside Cide the rolling green hills give way to flatter land and at the end of a long sandy beach the fishing harbour is situated.  The town of Cide itself is 2 kilometers inland from the sea, so after anchoring in the middle of the harbour, and a nice siesta, we take the dinghy ashore and walk along a dusty road, lined with houses standing in large gardens in search of the local supermarket.

We´re a sight in this laid-back little town, unaccustomed to foreign visitors, but one can sure find just about everything imaginable shopping-wise, including lamp oil which we need to start the heater at night.  Just in case temperatures decide to drop even lower at night!!  Young boys on their bicycles follow us around all the while practising their few words of English with us and having long discussions in between (in Turkish) on how to formulate the next question.  In the port we are, once more, the only yacht, the only other boats belonging to the local fishermen.

Log 6, Wednesday, 15 June 2005

Cide – Inebolu  (37 NM)

We leave Cide the following morning, north-east in the direction of the small cape of Kerempe Burnu. There is a very hazy sun and what little wind is blowing is coming – once more……from the direction where we´re going, so it´s on engine and good ol´ Manolo, otherwise known as our auto-pilot.  The beautiful scenery on shore makes up though for the lack of sailing pleasure and there are plenty of dolphins accompanying Sylphe for shorter or longer stretches.  Meanwhile we do the odd jobs, for on a 65-year old lady something always requires attention one way or another, take care of our e-mail and when the wind changes we´re even able to put up the genua. Eastwards of Kerempe Burnu the coastline becomes generally flatter and we spot some magnificent sandy beaches.  Almost too quickly for our liking we spot the breakwaters of Inebolu, which can be seen protruding from the headland that shelters the harbour from the west.  The two men on the quay give us a curious look when we moor alongside, but drop their bicycles immediately when I ask them to take our lines.

Inebolu is a charming town with colourful Ottoman houses on the cliff top overlooking the harbour and the very attractive and well looked after town on the other side of the hill. We walk around town and climb the hill, encountering many old but restored houses and watch the sunset, enjoying the view of the sea below.

Inebolu port and the cliff houses....

Log 7, Thursday, 15 June 2005

Inebolu – Caylioglu (37.6 NM)

At 07.00 o'clock the smell of freshly made coffee wafting out through Sylphe´s open hatch attracts a few of the local fishermen who are now flocking on the quay next to us – too bad we don´t understand enough Turkish to fully grasp what they are speculating about…

It´s going to be a busy morning; our Turkish friend Onur is joining us, having taken the overnight bus from Istanbul, and will stay on board until Trabzon. Twenty minutes after his arrival the diesel man shows up in an old dilapidated truck with a huge oil drum and a thick rubber hose.  We have immediate visions of fuel spilling all over Sylphe´s deck and he does not know exactly how much of the stuff is in the drum….but it´s this or taking our boat to his petrol station somewhere inland he warily informs us.  We realize that this is what´s it going to be like for most of our trip through the Black Sea and opt for the drum – and it works, not a drop spilled!

We shop in the local market among the sheep and a few donkeys, buy a few loaves of the tasty Black Sea bread which is fresh from the oven and too hot to touch and stock up on beer, raki and strawberries.  When we stroll back to the harbour, we can see the coastguard soldiers being ordered to do push-ups by their chief and Onur shares with us his fears that this is where he´ll end up once he does his military service – we´ll take him out to sea first.

We have the wind on our stern and apart from the perpetual swell there is nothing to disturb the next leg of our journey.  It´s a sparkling day and the first real warm one since we´ve entered the Black Sea. With 10 knots of wind from the west/north-west we hoist the genua once more, put up the sun-tent over the cockpit and settle back to enjoy.

It´s 5.00 p.m. when we enter the port of Caylioglu and look around in amazement.  Ashore there is a small village with mostly traditional wooden houses built amongst the trees and hillsides.  The port, however, is bigger than Atakoy Marina in Istanbul with two enormous piers sticking into sea to protect the bay, totally empty apart from a few fishing boats pulled up on the beach.  The only reason we can imagine behind a port this size is to be able to provide space for the navy in case of an emergency, i.e. war – after all most of the other countries surrounding the Black Sea have had a rather turmoiled past until quite recently.  We take the dinghy to go ashore and take a walk along the narrow track that winds its way between the houses and meet Celalettin Cayli, a retired pilot boat captain who invites us for tea and stories about this part of the Black Sea coast.  The village has about 35 permanent inhabitants, all related and called Cayli and most of them retired.  There is a mosque, of course, but no shops – an itinerant baker brings bread on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  When we leave his wife gives us a loaf of bread for breakfast tomorrow.

PARADISE..........

We go back to Sylphe to be met with a few cows on their way “home”, followed by a fierce looking black bull that we avoid and a baby-donkey, with mother hovering nearby for protection.  Not a human being in sight – what paradise!!

Cayli and Onur

Log 8, Friday, 16 June 2005

Caylioglu – Sinop (40.6 NM)

Waking up in the bay of Caylioglu is what waking up in paradise must be like….the singing of birds and the distant putter-putter of a fishing boat the only noises to disturb the perfect peace.  We would have loved to spend a few days here, but it´s time to move on, further East – we must be doing something wrong, still having deadlines!!

The swell is once more there and stays with us all the way to the headland of Ince Burnu, which is Turkish most northern point, and sometimes jokingly compared to Cape Horn. The winds are usually contrary here, and there can also be a significant current.  When we get a few knots of wind, from the west/north-west, we hoist the genua once more, partially also to try and stabilize Sylphe a bit.  The headland itself is steep with many indentations and a few nice anchorages like Akliman and Hamsilos. Once around Ince Burnu we can see the low neck of land over which the town of Sinop is situated, before the high promontory which ends in Boztepe Burnu.

The town of Sinop is a natural site for a port and has been one for a thousand years:  it was colonised in the 8^th century B.C. and had a series of successive rulers before the Seljuks took Sinop in 1214.  Much of the fortifications, many times re-built, are still intact.

We anchor and tie up - stern to the quay in the eastern or Yacht Harbour, next to the yacht from our Swiss sea-snale friends and set off to explore the town – although charming, it seems almost too busy and noisy after the peace and quiet of Caylioglu.  Many people stop on the quay to take a good look at Sylphe and as usual it´s the young who dare to ask the first questions…..and so we meet  Suat who is 13, a fervent optimist sailor and leader of his group.  He comes on board and tells us all about life in Sinop where his father is the local prison director – we are offered a private tour…  And then there is Habes, a 78-year old former sea captain and fisherman, speaking impeccable English, who is the unofficial Harbourmaster.  He shows us pictures and souvenirs from a distant past, knows all the waiters in the restaurant where we have dinner, as his spouse, a midwife, brought them all into this world.  He was also there in 1997 to take care of the participants in the first Black Sea Yacht Rally, KAYRA, which cruised the Turkish coast of the Black Sea. Towards the end of the evening the expression on his cheerful face saddens when he gestures towards the many fishing boats in the harbour:  twenty years ago there was plenty of fish from baby shark to anchovis and boats returned with a night´s catch of 50 or 60 kilos;  now there is hardly any fish left – too many boats and no laws or regulations as to how and when to fish.  We look at the leftover lufer fish on our plates and feel a little bit guilty.

Do you need a bigger quay?????

We will spend Saturday here, enjoying town and the sun, before we do a nightpassagfe to Samsun, the place where Ataturk started his take-over of Turkey in 1919. And to pick up more turkish friuends who will join us for a few days: Cem, Sanem, Oguz and Nazli. We are coming, do not worry.