Swimming With The Fish Bwoy

Over the summer I sailed 900 nautical miles in Esper. Aside from my Day Skipper course eight hundred of these were with people less experienced than myself. Enjoyable as they were, these miles were always a little stressful because of the responsibility that went with them.

It was with excited anticipation, therefore, that I welcomed Tim 'Fish Bwoy' on board for a week's sail. Regular visitors to followtheboat have got to know Tim pretty well as he's cropped up throughout my short sailing career. On top of this Tim is pretty familiar with sailing in Turkey, having visited many times with his family. For once I could sit back and relax and enjoy a good week's sail.

Knowing Tim's penchant for drink, girls and general high energy socialising I thought I'd spoil his fun by getting him out of Bodrum within 24 hours of him landing. I have a clean reputation to keep after all! Actually the real reason for heading off early was to get us back on Thursday for a boat party, and I wanted to show Tim some sights that I hadn't even seen myself, so we set off straight for the fantastic anchorage of Mersincik and wowed Tim with some crystal clear waters. Tim and I share a love for the water and we quickly got into the habit of going for a swim, getting out and showering down, and then going for another swim as soon as we'd dried off. The water was irresistible and swimming with the backdrop of Mersincik makes it that much more special.

Lush green vegetation sets off the deep blue waters

Sometimes it's always worth taking note of the great big sign that clearly warns "Beware of the dogs". And even if it is in Turkish, the picture of the salivating pitbull is always worth making a note of before trespassing across someone's garden. After we anchored up we decided to go for a little walk and opted to head towards the tiny hamlet that sits at the top of some whitewashed steps leading up from the beach. It was very quickly apparent that this group of three or so houses with beautifully maintained walled gardens were in fact the owners of the few acres of orchard that spans across Mersincik beach. After plucking a few figs from the fig trees and nodding to the farm hands who seemed to indicate that wandering up the hill was ok, Tim and I took a wrong turn back towards the hamlet. We could tell it was a wrong turn because about fifty nine huge wolf-like dogs jumped up from nowhere and started barking and running towards us. Tim's face was a picture but I know I had "I've just filled my pants and need to run back to the boat really quickly" written across my face too! The truth was there were actually only about four dogs but man did they bark for Turkey! Whoohoo! They certainly did their job and before you knew it Tim and I were in the dinghy rowing back to Esper like a couple of scared girls!

Note: when visiting Mersincik, do so from the safety of your boat. The orchard doesn't need a closer inspection!

Crystal clear waters and a rather exclusive backdrop for dinner

The rising moon completes the eerie and lonely ambiance of Mersencik