Black Sea Logbook Entry
Date: 6/3/2010
Distance: 44 nm (+10 nm side trip to Kerpe)
Sailed from: Kefken Adasi to Akçakoca
Lat: 41° 05.4’N
Long: 31° 07.4’E
With a good forecast and less of the swell on the Black Sea this morning, we decided to back-track a few miles so that David could explore the coast between Kefken and Kerpe. He had a question in his mind about the exact location of ancient Kalpe, a place used by Xenophon and his band of 10,000 Greek soldiers in 400 B.C. Once the history research was complete, we resumed our voyage east. Kefken Adasi was abeam again by legal anadrol online djokovic exhibits noon, and we motored all the way to Akçakoca, stopping in at one harbor along the way to gather updated pilotagecinformation.
The coastline is very scenic with long stretches of sandy beaches backed by dunes and low hills which gradually get higher as we travelceast. With the calm water, it was easy to spot harbor porpoises (3) and dolphins (3) along the way.
We were med-moored on the quay in Akçacoka alongside the German-flagged Cherokee, the same yacht we anchored with last night, by 7:20 p.m. Fahrettin Karacan, the friendly owner of Balikçim, the small fish restaurant on the quay, greeted us when we arrived and helped us with our lines.
Tired after a long day of motoring and information gathering, we stepped off the boat and took a table at his restaurant. Robert and Susanne, the couple on the other yacht, joined us after they returned from a walk in town. This is when we learned of their difficulties while anchored in Kefken Adasi two nights before.
We strolled through town the following morning and bought a big loaf of rustic sourdough bread which reminded us of the casareccio bread we used to get in southern Italy. The modern and tidy town is fairly large and busy with activity in the morning. Several large buildings sit unfinished and empty, making us wonder if some were a bit ambitious in building up the town. Municipal workers were cleaning up the channelized streamed after a construction project. Men sit around low tables on small stools sipping Turkish tea in front of their shops. We made a quick harbor survey to note any updates to our cruising guide and were underway again in the late morning.
Just before leaving, we decided to top-up our water tank from the convenient faucet on the quay. Unlike most places we have visited, no one was hovering around with a bill for this essential service. As a matter of fact, on the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, we don’t even pay mooring fees. An added touch in this small harbor: the restaurant owner’s wife served us Turkish tea “on the house” while we filled the tank. You gotta love Turkish hospitality!
