Friday 16 June 2023 saw the last leg of our overall journey from Lefkas Marina which we waved goodbye to on 27 May some 23 days before.
As forecast, the winds were blowing strongly from the South East and were predicted to increase throughought the day so we had planned an early start telling the Agent to expect us at the Passport and Customs dock in Turgutreis at about 11.00.
We soon left Greece and Kos behind us and had Turkey in our sights ahead.
With the wind blowing 25-30 knots, we decided that we would make fast progress on the genoa alone so unfurled this and headed to the point just south of the marina.
Once we were transitting from Greek to Turkish waters, Donald moved forward to change flags replacing the Greek flag with the Turkish one and raising the yellow Q flag which signals arrival from another country.
The wind continued to increase in strength and by the time we arrived outside the marina at 11.00, the wind was a steady 30 knots and gusting 36, effectively nearing gale force.
We could see who we were sure was our agent, on the dockside so called the marina on VHF 72 to send somd staff to help with tying up to the customs key. Soon, one of their marineros was on the quay plus another 2 in a rib and, having sorted our lines and fenders, made our approach. In such strong winds, it was not an easy manoeuvre! Once tied up, we took it in turns to go to passport control and then the agent completed all the other formalities with the harbourmaster and customs.
We called the marina staff again to let them know that we were ready to enter the marina but had to wait a while before they were ready for us.
Eventually a rib appeared with 3 staff on board and we followed them into the marina.
We hope that there would be a lot more shelter inside the marina but, whilst it was a little calmer, there were gusts of over 30 knots funnelling through.
Altogether, there were 4 ribs manned by about 12 marina staff helping us manoeuvre into a spare berth, of which there were not many. They aborted the first approach and then directed us to another spot which they thought might be simpler. With the strong winds and the tight space in the marina, it was all very difficult but, eventually and with much nudging from the ribs in the water and hauling on ropes and fending off from those on land, we were safely installed on G pontoon, berth 55.
It had been a stressful time for all involved but once securely moored, we thanked the marina staff and drew breath.....
We weren't expecting to arrive in such dramatic conditions but we had completed our mission and are looking forward to exploring Turkish waters in the months and years ahead.
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