Sailing in Turkey

Sample life on the ocean wave with a tailor-made Aegean boat holiday

Surely there was some mistake? As the magnificent wooden yacht bore us out of the Turgutreis harbour and towards the azure and beckoning ocean I surreptitiously surveyed my fellow crew mates. There was Hoxton Boy, whose corduroy flat cap remained firmly on his head, even in the 30-degrees-plus heat, Ragga Boy, with dreadlocks down to his bum, itsy-bitsy-bikini-clad Boho Girl, who lived in Notting Hill and added ‘Cool!’ and ‘Wicked!’ to the end of every sentence, and the sophisticated and chic South African fashion editor, with big sunglasses and pashminas. Wasn’t yachting supposed to be all stripey shirts, boating shoes, and Home County knitwear? This lot would be trendy for Shoreditch, never mind the Aegean. As the sole representative of M&S Girl, kitted out in sarong and baggy lilac kaftan, I felt distinctly out of place.

Tussock Sailing, the Anglo-Dutch company who run the cruises round Southern Turkey, even keep the schedule fashionably languid. Life on board the 20 metre gulet (a local boat traditionally used for sponge-diving and fishing, but now being built with old woods and Dutch designed rigging for greater speed) begins with an early morning dip in the warming Aegean. This is followed by a breakfast of fresh melon, apples, honey, eggs, cheese, ham and coffee on deck. While you eat, with the sun already brushing your skin, the boat whisks you off through the ocean to another stunning and deserted bay, or to a pretty harbour fringed by whitewashed houses and trails of scarlet hibiscus. The rest is simple: you grab a book and some sun lotion, pick one of the sun loungers that line the deck and let the roll of the boat, the heat of the sun and the unspoilt southern Turkish coastline lull you into a state of near comatose relaxation. The biggest exertion is sipping the fresh Turkish coffee that the tirelessly attentive crew brew up every few hours.

While we lolled and debated the merits of The Avalanches versus The Magic Numbers as the music most suitable to have on your iPod when racing across the Marmaris peninsula, the real work was being done by the crew. Headed by the charming captain Tuncay, they clambered the mast, hoisted the main sail, and hauled the jib around us as we lounged on the sun deck, lodging our beers carefully between different cushions to suit either port or starboard tack.

Even the cabins were comfortable, tastefully kitted out in dark wood and blue furnishings and with ensuite bathrooms in which I soon became adept at taking a shower at a 60 degree tilt. Only those in the cabin next to the kitchen, where the water pump could be a little noisy, had any gripes.

And so the trip proceeded, like a lazily unravelling spool of thread. Every morning after breakfast, the captain would ring a little bell to call us for the ritual ‘briefing’. With his map of the coastline spread across the table he marked out the route we had taken and pointed out where we were next headed. Whether we lounged on the deck all day sipping the complimentary beer, or went ashore to walk through the unexplored ruins of the Carian people which litter the Bodrum peninsula, was for us to decide. During our week we visited the remains of a 2,000-year-old Greco-Roman city snuggled into the crook of the island Cnidos, and a magical forest waterfall at Selimye.
We had a night barbecue on a silent and deserted beach and one day explored the hills in original 1948 American Willys Jeeps. Less commendable was the crowded Turkish Hamam in Bodrum, where we were slapped about like pieces of meat alongside bus-sized German tourists.

But the best moments were undoubtedly on the boat itself: enjoying the beauty of skimming through a glittering and luminous sea; watching schools of dolphins jump, yards from where we stood on deck; eating exquisite, freshly prepared food under the Turkish stars, lulled by the combination of waves and wine. It’s a wonderful way to unwind. If yachting is the new cool, count us in – just remind me to ditch the kaftan next time.
Tussock Cruising (020 8510 9292 / http://www.tussockcruising.com) offers a week’s sailing holiday from £386 per person including transfers, breakfast, lunch and five dinners. Specialist weeks such as nature, yoga, painting and cookery cruises are also available. Cruises run from April to November.

Rebecca Taylor
Time Out Issue 1830: September 14-21 2005