Bozuk Bükü, south coast of Turkey

N36°34.09 E028°00.77
(September 2009)

Anchored and tied back to the north side of the west cove under the citadel. There's a yellow buoy here that looks like a mooring buoy but is actually marking a mooring chain lying on the bottom. Good holding and shelter (despite the storm that passed through during the night). The water is lovely and clear for swimming. There's a restaurant in the corner of the cove with its own jetty for visitors to med moor at. A popular spot with lots of activity. Several launches selling ice-cream, linen, fruit etc. In fact the ice cream seller approached us, like a thing possessed, before we'd even reached the entrance to the bay.

Datça, west coast of Turkey

N36°43.19 E027°41.33
(September 2009)

Anchored outside the harbour (surprisingly not noisy). Shelter good and holding OK once you’re well dug in. We landed at the wall between a couple of moored boats but others left their dinghies on the beach. BIM supermarket left off main street. Greengrocers in main street.

Yedi Adaları, Gökova Körfezi, west coast of Turkey

N36°52.89 E028°03.32
(September 2009)

Another quiet and peaceful spot. Anchored and tied back, good holding and shelter. A great spot for a walk around the coast path with gorgeous views of the seven islands. Locals come by in a dinghy selling fresh bread, eggs, honey etc. (at a premium price obviously).

Söğüt, Gökova Körfezi, west coast of Turkey

N36°56.71 E028°11.21
(September 2009)

Much busier here than back at English Harbour. We anchored and tied back to a rock but there are pontoons here too. Good holding and protection. Several restaurants and a couple of small shops. The shop we went in was overpriced, even for a village shop. Dolmuş to Marmaris (twice a day, TL5 each way, journey time about 45 mins).

Bay to the east of English Harbour, Değirmen Bükü, Gökova Körfezi, west coast of Turkey

N36°55.40 E028°09.53
(August 2009)

The ultimate antidote to the Bodrum anchorage. Quiet, pretty and calm. The most frequent fast traffic here is the passing Kingfishers. Anchored and tied back, good holding and shelter. Heavenly!

Landed at English Harbour and walked the coast path – very nice too.

We also dinghied across to the other side of the water where there’s a pontoon for mooring. Water available. Restaurant/café and small shop.

Kale Köyü, Bodrum, west coast of Turkey

N37°01.77 E027°25.98
(August 2009)

We anchored here with friends from Finike so that we could anchor watch for each other whilst on a visa run to Kos. Good holding and shelter but otherwise an uncomfortable anchorage. The hideously loud music goes on til 4am every morning and there is constant wash from passing traffic and RIBS flying about. The Coastguard seems to patrol this area rigorously too. It’s quite a dinghy ride from the anchorage around to the marina, which was OK in the morning before the wind got up but a bit of a wet ride if you were going ashore in the afternoon. We left the dinghy safely inside the marina area (past the ferries on the right, bear left and tie to the pontoon walkway straight in front of you). There is a rubbish collection point on the pontoon right where you land the dinghy. The town is pleasant. Maxi Tansaş is behind the otogar (from the pedestrianised area take the main road to the right and the bus station is on the left, the supermarket is up a ramp behind the station making the entrance not immediately obvious). There’s also a mini Carrefore on the marina front amongst the posh shops. We visited St Peter’s Castle, which houses the Underwater Archaeology Museum (TL10 per person). It’s extra to go into the Glass Wreck exhibition (TL5) but we thought that was the best bit. It’s also worth watching the short DVD about the wreck recovery before you go in.

Visa run to Kos –

Easy and straight forward with the added bonus that a visit to Kos is a lovely day out. The ferries are on the right as you round the breakwater into the marina area. Immigration Control is here too. Same day return ferry trip costs TL60. Make your booking and collect your boarding card from the ticket office on the jetty (just before the security gate if you’re coming from the castle direction). Take your boarding card to the Immigration Police and get your exit stamp in your passport. Then go to the window to buy a new visa sticker in readiness for re-entry. The ferry leaves at 9.30 and returns at 4.30 and you need to be there at least 30 minutes before to complete formalities. On arriving back in Bodrum go to the Immigration Police window again to get stamped back in.

Piresun Köyü, Yalikavak Limani, west coast of Turkey

N37°07.07 E027°16.22
(August 2009)

We tried to drop the anchor just behind the buoyed off beach but we had a bit of a job getting a hold there. We ended up a bit further back. Once well dug in the holding was good. On one of the three afternoons we were there it was quite gusty in the afternoon/evening. The shelter was good. Nice walks ashore. A couple of beach cafes but the loud music didn’t carry on into the night. A rubbish skip just behind the beach.

Asin Limanı, Güllük Körfezi, west coast of Turkey

N37°16.51 E027°34.91
(August 2009)

Free anchored or anchored and tied back just inside the entrance on the west side. Holding good once pulled well into the soft mud. Shelter good. The afternoon wind consistently came from the south when we were here. We liked it here. Small village with a couple of shops for essentials and the usual restaurant/cafes. Apparently there is an hourly dolmuş to the town of Milas (journey time 45 minutes, cost TL5). The ruins of ancient Iassus are at the foot of the hill and on the top is the fort built by the Knights of St John. The archaeologists are still excavating at both sites. No entrance charge. A lovely site – middle of August and we virtually had the place to ourselves. There is also a quay wall where you can med moor. There are locked boxes on the quay that look like they contain a water supply but not sure about electric.

Kazikli Iskelesi, Güllük Körfezi, west coast of Turkey

N37°20.01 E027°28.66
(August 2009)
We anchored on the west side just before the head of the inlet. The holding and shelter were good but it’s a bit of a scruffy place because of all the litter ashore and the fish farm stuff everywhere. Not many other yachts around and it would have been very peaceful except for the fish farm traffic buzzing you. Murky water.

‘Paradise’ Bay
N37°19.15 E027°28.00
We anchored and tied back. Good holding and shelter. Fish farm stuff here too. OK, but not my idea of paradise exactly.

Only swam ashore with Flossie so didn’t explore but there is what looks like a restaurant towards the top of the inlet.

Agathonisi, east bay, Greek island, Aegean

N37°27.48 E026°59.21
(August 2009)
Another lovely remote spot with gorgeous clear swimming water. Holding and shelter seemed good but there wasn’t any wind to speak of when we were there. We tied back to a rock. Nice!

Pythagorian, Samos, Greek island, Aegean

N37°41.31 E026°56.79
(August 2009)
Busy anchorage. Good holding. Don’t anchor too far over (i.e. inline with the harbour entrance) as a ferry comes in that needs to drop its anchor to back onto the harbour wall and they move anyone who is in the way. Nice little town ashore, several small stores. You can also moor at the harbour front. Water and electricity available. I understand the charge is currently €5 a night.

Sarpdere Limani, west coast of Turkey

N38°11.06 E026°31.00
(August 2009)
On our way to Sarpdere we checked out Mersin Körfezi (seemed a bit bleak) and Zeytineli Körfezi (holding OK but the shelter didn’t seem brilliant).

In Sarpdere the holding was tricky and we had to make sure we were well in. It took a couple of attempts. There’s some flat rock patches on the bottom. The meltemi was doing its thing when we were there. Fierce gusts of the high land. What looks like a private holiday complex is at the head of the bay. They didn’t seem to mind cruisers leaving their rubbish in their big black bin on the beach. Nothing else there. The East Creek is quite small and the holding seemed iffy in that area. Nice spot for a swim though. Lovely clear water.

Abandoned marina, Khios, Greek island, Aegean

N38°23.20 E026°08.35
(August 2009)
We were alongside on the inside of the harbour wall. No electricity or water. Diesel from fuel station on the main road. Medium sized Eurospar 5 minutes walk from the marina. (Go out of the marina, turn left and it’s along the road on the right.)

CAUTION: On entering and exiting the marina stay close to the harbour wall to keep clear of the shoal patch that comes out from the shore.

Karaada, island in Ildir Korfezi and Hoteleratan, West coast of Turkey

Karaada Island
N38°25.67 E026°20.17
(August 2009)
We were in the first inlet if you approach from the west. It’s a lovely remote spot, the holding is good and the swimming great but you can’t stay overnight. I’d nearly reached the ruin on the top of the hill when the Coastguard came and told Derek that it’s a grade 2 military zone and we had to leave. Quite a few tripper boats visited the anchorage when we were there.

Hoteleratan
N38°20.74 E026°19.14
We spent the night here after having to leave Karaada. It’s popular and very busy but there’s room for plenty and most visitors don’t stay the night. Presumably they return to the nearby marina. The holding seemed good but there wasn’t any wind to test it.

Mandraki, Oinoussa, Greek Island, Aegean

N38°30.77 E026°13.02
(August 2009)
Anchored off the harbour wall. The holding and shelter were good. The water is lovely and clean and clear – nice swimming. You can moor at the harbour wall if you can get a space as it seems to be monopolised by big motor boats. There are water and electricity connections but they also seemed to be monopolised. There are a couple of small shops up the hill in the village. An enjoyable stop.

Alibey (opposite Ayvalik, west coast of Turkey

N39°19.80 E026°39.31
(July 2009)
Good holding and protection but the locals charge TL30 a night for anchoring within the harbour. Most yachts anchor outside the harbour, off the restaurants, where you don’t incur the charge. Alibey is probably a charming little place but it was alive with tourists and the noise and hustle bustle was all a bit much after the quiet of the north. There are a couple of convenience stores and apparently there’s a ferry service to Ayvalik.