Voyage overview
- Year: 2015
- Destination: Turkey
- Boat: Xenia
- Vessel type: Bavaria 46
- Distance sailed: 188 nautical miles
- Skipper: Mike Scrivens
- Crew: Andrew Wagstaff (“BigTurk”), Simon Tyler (“DivorC”), Warren Creates (“WarTurk”), Boris Ulehla (“Borisphorus”), David Ashfield (“Dasher”)
Logbook notes
The winds were shy, but the spirit strong.
Days of light airs gave way to stillness, leaving time for swimming, hiking, and exploring ruins older than imagination. We climbed rock faces to gaze down over turquoise coves, and each evening dined like emperors beneath fading Ottoman skies.
Post-sail, we toured across both sides of the Bosphorus. Old Istanbul and its bazaars, (invasive and aggressive) hammams, mosques, barbershop quartet, whirling dervishes and then to the Asian side of Istanbul for a contrasting cultural delight, then a journey inland to Bursa revealed the heart of old Turkey — a place where English vanished entirely and generosity took over.
A slower voyage, perhaps, but rich in stories and camaraderie and carpets.
