Bareboat Sailing Vacations in Orhaniye, Turkey

Overview

Turkey could be considered a large peninsula, with the Black Sea to the north, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey is inextricably linked with the water and its seafaring history spans thousands of years. The earliest culture in present-day Turkey began as far back as 6000 B.C, steadily evolving as the roots of modern civilization took hold in the Middle East. Among the most advanced of the early peoples of Turkey were the Carians. They occupied the mountainous, heavily forested, and cliff-lined coast at the junction of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. To the east was the land of the Lycian people. Today, the Carian Coast is one of the least crowded and most scenic cruising grounds in the Eastern Mediterranean. An Orhaniye sailing vacation unveils secluded coves along of the Gulf of Hisarönü between the Bozburun and Datça peninsulas, and includes a foray into Greece’s Dodecanese Islands in the eastern edge of the Aegean Sea. An Orhaniye yacht charter is an ideal opportunity to sail in pristine protected waters in an unspoiled natural setting that looks much the same as it did thousands of years ago.

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Sailing in Orhaniye

An Orhaniye sailing vacation on Turkey’s Carian Coast is a cruise through paradise. The passages between anchorages are short, providing plenty of time to enjoy all the pleasures of sailing as well as for sojourns ashore to explore, sample the local cuisine, and to sit idly with a cocktail at a café to soak in the wonders of Turkey. The sailing season runs from April 15 through November 15. Gentle and warm westerly winds seldom exceed 15 knots, making an Orhaniye yacht charter very family friendly for couples with younger children or skippers with less experienced crews. During July and August the summer meltemi can blow strongly in open water, but it generally dies off at night. The tidal range is just one to two feet and therefore tidal currents are not a concern. Average temperatures during the cruising season range between 74°F and 80°F (23°C to 26°C). An Orhaniye yacht charter is well within the reach of sailors who have basic skills in coastal navigation.

Orhaniye Highlights

An Orhaniye sailing vacation is distinctly historic in character. It couldn’t help but be otherwise in a region so steeped in the past. But an Orhaniye yacht charter is also all about the sailing. Within the bays and around the islands are some of the best cruising grounds in the entire Mediterranean, with sandy beaches ideal for swimming and snorkeling, snug anchorages, and picturesque harbors where restaurants can usually be found. The waters of the Carian Coast are so beautiful, shimmering in the bright sunlight as a gentle warm wind fills the sails, that they are responsible for the area’s nickname: Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. The appellation is quite fitting for such a splendid and special place to explore aboard a graceful yacht.

Serce Liman

In the year 1030, the crew of a 49-foot merchant vessel sailed west along the Carian Coast with a cargo of clay pots, wine amphoras, copper cauldrons, and more than three tons of glassware. The captain feared a coming storm and guided the ship through the narrow opening of Serce Liman, which today is a popular anchorage for sailors cruising the waters off the Bozburun Peninsula in Turkey. Just after the anchor was set, a fierce gust of wind spun the ship around, fouling the anchor cable, and drove the hull onto the rocks. The vessel sank in 108 feet of water, coming to rest on a flat, sandy bottom, where it remained for more than 1,000 years, until a team of archaeologists excavated the Glass Wreck, as it’s called, in the late 1970s. Parts of the hull and cargo are on display at the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology.

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Datca

Charter guests visiting the resort town of Datca, on the Datca Peninsula, frequently plan a sojourn to the ancient Carian city of Knidos. It’s about 21 miles by taxicab from Datca and is one of the more impressive ruins in Turkey. The streets, houses, temples, churches, amphitheaters, and other vestiges of this once great city reveal a startlingly poignant glimpse into life as it was in 540 B.C. Knidos was a rich cultural and artistic center of the ancient world. It had two harbors, owing to its strategic position on the south end of the peninsula. Another excellent option is to sail to the overnight anchorage off the city.

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Bozburun

The sound of hammers and saws and the scent of freshly cut wood fills the air on most weekdays in the small cliff-lined village of Bozburun, on the Bozburun Peninsula. The craftsmen there are carrying on the age-old trade of building traditional Turkish gulets, broad-beamed wooden sailing vessels with schooner rigs. The gulets, from the French word goelette for schooner, were widely used for fishing and sponge diving. Gulets are presently very popular for sailing excursions along the Carian Coast. Shipbuilding and yacht services represent the lifeblood of tiny Bozburun, a quaint town with its share of intimate cafés and eclectic shops where Old World charm is alive and well.

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Simi

An Orhaniye yacht charter is an adventure of many kinds. Exploring ancient ruins, swimming on pristine secluded beaches, anchoring in scenic coves, it’s all part of the experience of sailing on the rocky, pine-forested Carian Coast. Just offshore between the Bozburun and Datça peninsulas is the eastern edge of the Aegean Sea. Greece’s beautiful Dodecanese Islands are in full view. The cosmopolitan and mountainous isle of Simi is a jewel not to be missed, with its stately 19th century mansions, cafés, restaurants, boutiques, and museums at the main harbor town of Gialos. Arid and rocky Simi is the essence of the Greek isles in both its aesthetics and its ambience.

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