In the winter of 88/89, I worked as an English teacher in a small agency in Bodrum called Era Yachting. The mild mannered owner, Erman Aras, was one of the nicest bosses I've ever worked for; always smiling and pleasant, thoughtful and innovative, he made my 6 month placement very enjoyable. While I was there, I overheard him discussing plans to start a sailing race at the end of the season. As an ex-yachtie I was a bit sceptical as everyone knew that the classic Bodrum yacht called a gulet was not a sailing vessel, some of them didn't even have sails and those that did, would only hoist the canvas on a long downwind cruise and anyway, Bodrumites were seafarers but not traditional sailors. Erman Bey thought differently and the first Bodrum Cup took place in October 1989. It has happened every year since and this October celebrated its Silver Anniversary. Era Yachting Club went on to start Optimist sailing classes for Bodrum children, some of whom have gone on to international sailing success, and the first ever Sail Training Ship in Turkey was built in Bodrum; on Sunday, I watched it power ahead to win honours at this year's Bodrum Cup. If Mr Aras was a Brit, he would surely have an MBE by now.
I started to write this post on Friday, regretting the fact that due to work commitments or bad planning, I had never taken part in a Bodrum Cup, but thanks to Turquoise Secrets owner, Fiona Thomas, I enjoyed seeing the final leg from a privileged position aboard the Tall Ship Johanna Lucretia. My sailing days are over as I no longer have the muscle or agility to get around a sailing yacht, I almost didn't even get on as the Johanna Lucretia has no gang plank and despite an attempt to give me a leg up, there is no way I can haul my bottom heavy figure up 2 meters. Luckily a very nice lad in a tender whizzed me around the quay to get on at a lower point, (to applause from a neighbouring yacht. I hope their photos don't turn up on Facebook).
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| No doubt now that gulets can sail. |
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| Owner/skipper of Johanna Lucretia, Rodger Barton |
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| Gulet and trandil (double ender) proving they can sail close to the wind. |
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| All this sail hoisted and lowered by just Rodger and Josh |
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| Josh proving that Tall Ship sailing is a young man's sport. |
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| After the race at Yalıkavak Palmarina. |
We had a great day but the poor skipper, Rodger was doubly handicapped, first by the race committee and secondly by having only one able bodied crew member to handle over 300 sq m of sail, but he still managed a 4th place on the final leg.
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I followed the link on the Johanna Lucretia...she's a bit of a handful for two chaps!
ReplyDeleteAnd a gulet with a spinnaker! Wow!
My very thoughts as I realised how few crew there were.
Deletedespite the sun and blue sea this brought back memories of my old 36' Maurice Griffiths designed long keeler and the delights of east Coast and Channel sailing. Still have all my pilots and other sailing books as well as charts. If you ever drop by this way you are welcome to admire and stroke them whilst enjoying a glass :-)
ReplyDeleteWith pleasure. It will remind me of times as a kid spent stuck on a sandbank somewhere between Brightlingsea and Mersea Island.
DeleteAnother East Coast sailor...and a Maurice Griffiths design too.
DeleteMade my day!
The spinnakers were splendid, and one gullet had a massive Turkish flag tied between their two masts. Rodger and Josh certainly had their work cut out.
ReplyDeleteSorry "gulet" - every time I write this words it gets changed to gullet.
DeleteWhat a fantastic sight - all those gulets sailing and beautiful blue skies. We are all 'battening down the hatches' as a huge storm approaches the UK. Dave got a nasty whack on the head by a rogue windsurf rig that took flight this afternoon. xx
ReplyDeleteHope Dave has a hard head. I was very wary of the two booms on Johanna Lucretia. I was trying to work out the last time I went sailing and think it was probably in 1994 - i.e. last century.
DeleteI'm sure your leg up was very elegantly done!
ReplyDeleteNot a bit of it. Even a shove up the bum and a haul from above couldn't get me launched upwards.
DeleteI know that envy is one of the 7 deadly sins, but.... My Better Half and I did the RYA Day Skipper qualification a few years ago (despite actually being inland dinghy sailors!) and so enjoyed it. We both passed - but haven't been out on a yacht since then! Now I'm too disabled even to sail my Access Liberty (designed for disabled sailors), and he is getting more creaky in his old age (81) and hasn't sailed his Flying Fifteen much this year at all. How great to have a sail like that!
ReplyDeleteHelva, I feel for you. Despite being relatively fit, I couldn't be of any help on the boat. I remember Flying Fifteens - such elegant vessels. We were always very jealous of them in our GP14 or Merlin Rocket.
DeleteWell, shiver me timbers, B to B! Stunning photos make it clear how wonderful the day was. (I'm glad I didn't have to get one of my legs up!)
ReplyDeleteIt was a long way up from the jetty.
DeleteFantastic photos Annie - so glad you finally made it! The one hour concert was great followed by a rather long and tedious 3 hour prize-giving but we stuck it out to the end to see rival ship Bodrum STS win the Cup - Congratulations to all winners!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a fitting thank you to Erman that the Bodrum built Sail Training Ship won the 25th Bodrum Cup.
ReplyDeleteFabulous photos, and what an event; so good to see it is in the silver anniversary, hope many more to follow - and how I wished to be there :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a sailor, Annie, but love the sight of those elegant vessels against that blue sky and fantastic landscape. How enterprising of Mr Aras to start the Bodrum Cup and I'm glad it's been such a success. That trip in the Johanna Lucretia must have been wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWish I was there.
ReplyDeleteDear Annie,thanks for providing the other links. And also for your sharing with us your being there at the onset of this 25-year-old tradition. I'm wondering what in your mind--as someone who used to sail--is the difference between a sailor and a seafarer. You noted that Bodrumites were the latter not the former. I've never thought about the difference. So thank you for giving me a new thought!
ReplyDeleteThe sailing vessels with the wind in the sails just lift my heart and I'm almost sure I can feel that same wind lofting me into the skies over Bodrum! And how wonderful that you got to be on a ship and experience all this! Peace.