Fethiye Gulf

23^rd June 2011

We are now close to our final destination, Gocek, and intend spending today exploring the western side of Fethiye Gulf, which is well protected from the open sea by a number of islands. There are a number of small bays many set up with jetties and restaurants.

We left the marina at 10am, only to be chased by one of the marina staff, who explained we had not paid our marina fees for our stay. We thought this was covered by the fee we paid the agent who processed our papers, but apparently not. We paid our dues on the spot and set sail for Tomb bay. We called the other 2 boats to explain what had happened. “Xenia” was still at the marina, so went to the office to settle up, “Pamina Blue” was ahead of us and had slipped out unnoticed, it was too late for them to turn back, so we will see what develops.

We had a good sail across the gulf to Tomb bay, pulling down our sails as we entered the bay. The plan was to have a swim and lunch, before moving on to another location for the night. As usual the water was crystal clear and very refreshing. Lunch was a mix of leftovers and salad.

Helmsman for the day sailing nicely at 7 -8 knots

We had to employ some desperate tactics when the wing dropped

Whilst there we were visited by a small local boat offering freshly cooked pancakes, but had to decline as we had already eaten more than we should have.

The pancake lady

At around 2.30pm, we decided we should head off to find a berth for the night, as this area is a lot busier than we have experienced to date and chances are you need to arrive early to get a good spot. Wall Bay was the choice for tonight, only about 4nm away, so we motored south to try our luck with a berth at the wharf at the Wall Bay restaurant.

Fortunately we were all able to get and outside berth along the outer wharf at the restaurant, filling most of that side. By 7 pm the berths were packed and a few larger boats turned away.

We all tied up on the outside wharf ( on the left in this photo)

Some of the team went for a swim off the back of their boats, before pre dinner drinks.

Swimming at Wall Bay

We had sundowners on “Xenia” at around 5.30pm, and most of the ladies were impressed with the generous amount of living space that is available on a catamaran of this size.

Sundowners on Xenia

We ate at the restaurant, along with all of the other boats that had tied up at the wharf. The restaurant was very well run and we were marched up to the kitchen, (a table and a wood fired oven), where you could select your main course, which they would then cook for you.

We didn’t realize that there was mezze also included in the fixed price for the meal, so sat down to a huge meal, which was very nice. Many of us had the oven roasted chicken, which was almost half a chicken and nicely cooked.

The restaurant was right on the waterfront , as usual

The chicken was great