Sailing Turkey Gocek and Fethiye
19 June 2025 · 31 min · 129 views
What this video covers
Sailing vessel Reality transits a large bay in Turkey over six to seven hours in 11 knots of wind, running one engine, en route to Gocek. The crew delays entering Gocek to manage a mandatory black-tank pump-out requirement: Turkey enforces a 14-to-15-day pump-out cycle using an electronic barcode system, with heavy fines for non-compliance; Reality is on day 11, so the crew anchors overnight in a bay two hours short of Gocek to preserve a one-to-two-day buffer. At Gocek the crew fills both diesel tanks and completes the pump-out, then anchors in 20 metres among six marinas. The central problem is finding a year-long berth: one quote from Gocek and one from Kas both come in around 40,000 euros (1,150,000 lira), compared with 16,500 euros paid the previous year in Montenegro and 11,000 euros the year before in Cartagena. Supply-and-demand pressure is driving prices; hard-standing is considered as an alternative. The crew then sails seven to eight miles to Fethiye, anchors in Fethiye Bay, rents scooters to visit ancient tombs and ruins, and plans to pick up a guest before continuing south. A chance visit to a small boatyard reveals two wooden boats under construction using a laminated steel curving frame. Rhodes or Simi remain fallback options if no affordable Turkish berth is found.
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