Canakkali to Istanbul - potential nightmare to a dream run...

The Sea of Marmara is a rough, windy confused and very uncomfortable to punch into 270 days of the year but as Istanbul has always been high on our bucket list, we were just going to have to grin and bare it...

The first leg we would like to have moored in Gallipoli Harbour but this is now actively discouraged and so the harbour/ferry terminal Lapseki right across the seaway was the only choice before entering the Sea of Marmara.

It was a windy run straight into our face but thanks to the narrowness of it, the sea was quite smooth. Lapseki is a large, ugly harbour full of dilapidated fishing boats, no room on the dock, but thankfully large enough for us to anchor.The adjacent highway choked with hooting, frustrated trucks and cars all waiting to board the ferry to take them across to Gallipoli. The queue did not clear until well after midnight. So, if you were thinking of putting Lapseki on your 'must visit whilst in Turkey list' I'd advise against it.

The good news was that the wind was predicted to abate sometime later the following day and we were just hoping the prediction was accurate. It was going to be a 46 Mile voyage that none of us were looking forward to...6 - 7 slamming hours.

At 8:22 on the 10th August we weighed anchor and headed out into it... The first three hours were as expected. I'd had attended a 3.5 hour board meeting by phone from 1:30 - 4:00am so the crew allowed me some shut eye. I pretty much missed the bad stuff and on waking found the sea to be quite sedate. By the time we arrived in Port Marmara, it was smooth as..

And a very pretty Port it is. Power and water and cheap by Turkish standards, the sort of place we would normally stay a couple of days but the weather window and Istanbul beckoned.

Next stop Silivri on the northern shores of Marmara. We woke to the most perfect, windless day, took our time over breakfast and headed out at 10:30.










As we left the harbour we waved to the guys on the super slick looking Coast Guard boat and noticed there was a female on board... Unusual.

15 minutes out and they came roaring by, right up close and gave us a quick blast on the siren... Highly unusual!

The things we do to impress the ladies hey?

We could not believe our luck. Any wind on The Sea of Marmara and it becomes uncomfortable unless it is coming from behind.

We are looking forward to that on the way out.

Nil wind is unheard of and here we were motoring on glass, Fishing rod out, hatches open, music pumping and Sally for the first time ever, sunbathing on the sunbed on the trampoline.

And then came that sound a fisherman lives for! It's when a big fish takes the bait and a high pitched shreek issues from the reel.

Neutralise the engines, grab the rod before the fish takes all the line and start the fight... Cameras out, everybody gathers, this is only the second time since we began this whole caper that this has happened.

While the boat still had some momentum, the fight was on, but as we slowed to a stop, the fight was little too consistent to be something you can eat...

Yep, a synthetic hessian sack...







Everybody back to their bunks, there's nothing to see here....

We arrived in Silivri at 4:30pm. Not a pretty harbour. We were tricked twice by slime lines that weren't in fact slime lines but bits of line hanging off the harbour wall attached to nothing at all.

We eventually dropped the anchor and Med moored, found a power outlet that worked, plugged in, shut the boat up and headed into town.

A nice surprise. Probably the best and longest promenade we've seen. The kids had their bikes, went off to explore and returned with news of many activities for which they needed money.












Trampolines and aerial tramps only $2.50 a go. Fine,if they only want one go, but it is things like this that makes them want to stay a few days and whinge when we explain that that ain't gonna happen.

And then there was the shooting 'gallery'. A string of balloons 15 meters out or a row of eggs 10 meters out. Me, always bragging of my marksmanship as a young man had to have a go, as did everybody else.
Who was the only person not to hit an egg... You guessed it.... Your's truly!

It gave everybody a good laugh, but what was not so funny was what greeted us when we returned to the boat.

The local bird life had discovered a nice new vantage point on the upper spreaders of our mast from which to survey their domain and poop and poop and poop!

A disgusting cleaning job, Al heaving with the pungent aromas of rotting digested fish....

A lovely farewell as we headed off on the last leg to Istanbul, the sea still like glass. everybody assumed the same position as the previous day as we played dodgems with the hundreds of freighters and cruise ships that proliferate these waters.

As we entered the Istanbul precinct, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins... How about that?